Read a report on our visit here

Tickets £25 SOLD OUT

Waiting list in operation

Home of Sir Frederick Leighton RA

12 Holland Park Road, London W14 8LZ

We will be guided around Leighton House for 1.5 hours, starting at 11.30.

The nearest station is Kensington High Street then it is a 10 minute walk to Leighton House, or you can take buses 9, 27, 28 or 49 to Stop X (Design Museum)

Contact: Gill Mann

Image: Studio, Leighton House, courtesy of Daderot, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Tickets £41 - A few places still available

Contact: Rita Bishop

The Charterhouse has been a significant part of London's history since 1371.  It has been a monastery, grand mansion, boys' school and is now almshouses, those living there called brothers.  A brother will conduct the tour.

11.00 Meet for refreshments in the Sutton Room

11.30 Tour commences

1.00 Light lunch served in the Sutton Room

There will be free time to explore the museum shop and chapel.

Address: Charterhouse Square, London EC1M 6AS

Nearest stations: Barbican and Farringdon, then a short walk

Image: Charterhouse EC1, courtesy of Stuart Taylor, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.

Tickets £61.50

09.30     Traps Hill, Loughton

09.45     Bakers Lane, Epping

Coffee on arrival followed by a tour lasting one hour

16.00     Depart Bletchley

Contact: Rita Bishop

Image: Creative Commons licence

Imitation Game Bombes at Bletchley Park by David Dixon

Tickets £20  SOLD OUT Waiting list

This is a return visit for those who were unable to join the 2025 tour due to its popularity.

For those of you who have reserved a place please ensure you have made payment; there are some spare places for others.

Contact: Gill Mann 

(Image courtesy of Wikipedia)

Tickets £12.70 

Duration approximately 90 minutes

Discover the history, view the book-handling room, the reading rooms, find out how the books are stored and see some of the greatest treasures displayed in the Sir John Ritblat Gallery.  

Learn the history and architecture of this iconic library.

Maximum 30 places

Contact Rita Bishop

Image: Txllxt TxllxT, CC BY-SA 4.0  via Wikimedia

Tickets £22

View the spectacular snowdrops and hellebores at Gibberd Garden, Old Harlow 

Contact Gill Mann: gill.mann44@btinternet.com

Your visit to view the Spring flowers and the Gibberd room will be followed by a light lunch.

On arrival at 10.30 am, coffee will be served accompanied by an introductory talk.
Approximate finish time will be 1.00-1.30 pm.
Address: Marsh Lane, Harlow CM17 0NA.
Travel instructions will be issued to ticket holders nearer the time.

A decision as to whether to proceed if the weather forecast is not favourable will be made on 1 February and payments will be returned if cancellation is necessary.

Image: Courtesy of Gibberd Garden

10.45 am for 11.00 am Tour on Zoom  

The Zoom link will be forwarded to those who have booked and paid

Tickets now on sale: £6

Contact Gill Mann: gill.mann4@btinternet.com

Image: Greek Street by James Emmans, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Ticket: £28.50

Meet at 11.00 am for refreshments, followed by a guided tour lasting approximately one hour.

27 St James Place, London SW1A 1NR

Built between 1756-1766 this Grade I listed Georgian house was commissioned by John Spencer, later the first Lord Spencer.  Charles Spencer, 9th Earl and brother of Diana, Princess of Wales now owns the freehold, but it has been let continuously since the Second World War.  It houses an impressive collection of paintings and furniture, which we will be shown throughout our tour.  An extensive restoration programme was carried out between 1985-1994.  As an important architectural landmark set in a prime position overlooking Green Park it promises to be an interesting visit.

Maximum 30 places

Tickets will go on sale at the 1 October meeting

Contact Rita Bishop: ritadbishop@icloud.com

Image by Paul Harrop, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Cost £24

11.00 am: The Wonder of Art Tour led by Emma Matthews

In May 2025 the National Gallery completed a two year redevelopment of the Sainsbury Wing and a rehang of the whole collection. Several rooms have been beautifully refurbished. It is full of surprises and aptly named the ‘Wonder of Art’.  More paintings are on display than ever before with fascinating pairings of portraits and rooms dedicated to single themes or artists.  No paintings will be lent out to other museums for a year to allow as many people as possible to enjoy this spectacle of masterpieces of Western art. 

Emma Matthews, Blue Badge Guide and National Gallery Official Guide, will take us round. She regularly leads National Gallery members' tours covering all the major art movements.  

Highlights include: 

Leonardo da Vinci’s Virgin of the Rocks and the Wilton Diptych 

Titian gallery 

Anthony van Dyck and the collection of King Charles I 

Mantegna’s Triumphs of Caesar from Hampton Court Palace 

Turner and Constable 

Monet’s garden at Giverny 

Maximum 20 places

Contact Gill Mann for further information

Image by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 

Sunday 14 to Wednesday 17 September 2025

Provisional programme is still to be confirmed but our four-day trip is planned to include the following visits:

Compton Verney Art gallery

Boughton House

Kirby Hall

Kelmarsh Hall

Rennie Mackintosh House Northampton

Tour of Stamford

Ashby St Ledgers church

 Please note that the visit is from Sunday to Wednesday this year!

Indicative Cost:   £539 twin or double room, £576 single room

Availability:     14 rooms double or twin occupancy, 20 rooms single occupancy

Please contact Lis Goodwin for further information: lisgoodwin@btinternet.com

(Image of Boughton House courtersy of Wikipedia)

Cost: £28

Once the home of the Master Planner of Harlow and leading 20th Century Architect, Sir Frederick Gibberd. 

Its Grade II listed garden contains an eclectic collection of sculptures and architectural elements and has been recently renovated.

10.00-10.15:     Arrival and coffee

10.30:               Introductory talk

11.00:               Visit Gibberd Rooms and Sculpture Garden

Sandwich lunch served at the end of the tour

Contact: Gill Mann

gill.mann44@btinternet.com

Image: Lynda Poulter, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=14167185

(Torso image courtesy of John Farnham)

Cost: £20.50

Apothecaries Hall, Black Friars Lane, London EC4V 6ER (10 minute walk from St Paul's Underground Station)

Refreshments will be served from 10.00 am and the tour will commence at 10.30 am and finish at midday.

Contact Rita Bishop for further information

(Image courtesy of Wikipedia)

Tickets £36

The tour is now sold out; for a place on the waiting list please contact Gill Mann.

Our tour will last 60-90 minutes and cover the Cathedral Floor and Crypt, as well as the Geometric Staircase and the Quire – areas not usually open to visitors.

We will meet at 11.15 am at the Guiding Desk located in the Cathedral after the tills.  Guides will be wearing red sashes.

(Image Jacek Herbut)

Link with lecture on 7 May 2025

Tickets £41

Coach pick up at Epping, St John's Church 0900, at Loughton, Traps Hill 0930.

Return approx 1730

The trip is now sold out with a waiting list; please contact Rita Bishop if you wish to be added

(Image courtesy of Stanley Spencer Gallery)

Ticket price £12

11.00 am Meet at Tottenham Court Road tube station, exit 3.

The tour will end at Piccadilly Circus at 1.00 pm

Further information from Rita Bishop

(Image courtesy of Wikipedia)

Cost £18

All tickets are now sold but a waiting list is in place. Contact Gill Mann for further information.

We will be meeting at the Royal Opera House main entrance on Bow Street at 11.00 am.

The tour will begin from the 'tours meeting point' on the ground floor by the complimentary cloakroom and will last approximately 75 minutes.

Refreshments available in on-site cafe.

(Image courtesy of Wikipedia)

Cost £20.50

All tickets are now sold but names are being taken for a second visit to take place in July. Contact Rita Bishop for further information

We will meet at 9.50 am at Apothecaries Hall, Black Friars Lane, London EC4V 6ER.

Refreshments will be served from 10.00 am and the tour will commence at 10.30 am and finish at midday.

Nearest station St. Paul's.

(Image courtesy of Wikipedia)

This trip is being organised by Woodford Green Arts Society and if you wish to join them please contact Helen McPherson, 020 8531 1140. The cost of the trip is £20.

Andrew Davies will lead the walk discovering the 4 Ps of Southwark: Pubs, Prisons, Playhouses and Prostitutes.  Southwark has always had something of an outside status and we will find out why and enjoy, too, its many delights: fabulous riverside views, the Victorian Hop and Malt Exchange, the galleried George Inn, the site of the original Globe, the moving Crossbones burial ground, 'Tommys' with its delicious Georgian chapel, the remains of Winchester Palace and also wonderful 'Dirty Lane'.

Meet at Wellington Arch at 11.00 am

Nearest tube station Hyde Park Corner on Piccadilly Line

Cost: £31 or £12 for English Heritage members

Maximum 20 places

The Arch we see today is not in its original setting, nor in its original form.  First built in 1825-7, it was moved to its current position in the 1880s and the sculpture now on top, was placed there in 1912.

Apsley House is the London town house of the Dukes of Wellington.  It stands alone at Hyde Park Corner, on the south-east side of Hyde Park, facing towards the large roundabout in the centre of which stands the Wellington Arch.

Our visit commences with a guided tour of the Wellington Arch at 11,00 am and then we visit Apsley House with its opulent interior where we will have another guided tour.

The tour of the Wellington Arch takes about 45 minutes and the tour of Apsley House takes about an hour. 

There is no catering facility at either site, so please bring a drink with you.  There are several eating places nearby,

Image courtesy of Wikipedia

We will stay 3 nights at the Mercure Darlington Hotel****

The main visit each day is shown below.

16 September Departure via visit to Rockingham Castle
17 September City of Durham
18 September Bowes Museum
19 September Return via Doddington Hall, Lincolnshire

Spend a day in Maldon visiting Plume Library, Maeldune Tapestry and Moot Hall.

There will be time to wander the town to see the Thames barges and, perhaps, the longer walk to the Brythnoth statue at the end of the promenade walk.  You can buy lunch in the town or take a picnic.

COST £30

Coach leaves Traps Hill, Loughton at 9.00 am and outside St John's Church, Epping at 9.30 am

Cost £46.50

Our first stop is at Tudeley church, near Tonbridge, which has windows by Marc Chagall installed from 1967-1978.

We then go to Chiddingstone Castle nearby. The current buildings mainly date from the early 1800s but remains of earlier buildings have been incorporated.
We leave Loughton Traps Hill at 8.45 and Epping at 9.00. we expect to return about 17.00 Loughton and 17.15 Epping.

The cost includes the entry and tour in each place, coffee and biscuits on arrival at Chiddingstone and the coach fare and tip. You can either bring your own lunch to eat in the gardens at Chiddingstone castle or wander into Chiddingstone village, described as one of the most beautiful and oldest villages in Kent, where there are various refreshment rooms. There is a tea room at Chiddingstone castle.

Camden Place is a Grade 2 listed building in Chislehurst and home now to Chislehurst Golf Club. We are going to visit the home of Napoleon III and Empress Eugenie when they left Paris towards the end of the nineteenth century. The house was built by Robert Weston in the early eighteenth century.

Arrival 11.00 for coffee
Tour will last about 2.25 hours
Sandwich lunch 13.15
Depart 14.15

Address Camden Place Camden Park Road, Chislehurst, Kent BR7 5HJ
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We are travelling by private car this time and Chislehurst from Theydon Bois by the M25 takes about 50 minutes. It is in the ULEZ zone. There is plenty of parking.

30 places available
Price £31 per person