UK Excursions

Pashley Manor (Tulip Festival) and Merriments Gardens (Inclusive)

A special all inclusive package, spending the morning at the Pashley Manor Tulip Festival. View the 11 acre gardens with in excess of 15,000 bulbs (both growing and cut) and a spectacular arrangement of sculptures throughout. After time for lunch (not included), we will move up the road (10mins) to finish the day at Merriments Gardens with its four acres of landscaped gardens, the bird centre and the opportunity to make purchases from the nursery. Excellent on-site Cafe, the afternoon tea and cake are highly recommended. (This excursion is sponsored by Chichester U3A).

Dunsfold “The Bus Rally” OR The Wey Arun Canal at Loxwood

The annual “Rally” which we attend to show off our latest acquisition(s) has moved this year from Wisley to Dunsfold Aerodrome (Home of “Top Gear”) which poses a problem in attracting those not interested in hundreds of preserved and modern buses and coaches and taking rides on them. However, the Wey Arun Junction Canal runs past Dunsfold and just down the road is Loxwood where the Canal Trust has its centre of operations. Therefore, as an alternative to the “buses”, why not spend time at Loxwood, walking the canal and see some of the restoration work (including the controversial new bridge), or taking one of the boat cruises offered every Sunday. The canal side “Onslow Arms” can be unreservedly recommended for a Sunday Lunch. (Coach Fare Only)

Highclere Castle; as seen on TV as “Downton Abbey” (Inclusive)

No doubt many will want to see this incredible house which provided so much of the background to the TV Series “Downton Abbey” and with the second series nearly upon us, you will be able to sit back and say “I’ve been there”! However, as one of the greatest houses (and still occupied by the same family) in Hampshire, it is a must to visit just to see the architecture (Charles Barry) variously described as “High Elizabethan” or “English Renaissance”. Connoisseurs will have great fun deciding which! The surrounding park designed by Capability Brown also has its own follies and “eye-catchers”.

The 5th Earl of Carnarvon was famously linked with the discovery of Tutankhamun’s Tomb and included in the (inclusive) entry price is access to the “Egyptian Exhibition” to see the collection he started . Viewing of the house is by a possible short guided tour and the rest by free flow assisted by guides. The Castle Tea Rooms provide hot lunches between 12:00 and 14:00 and light refreshments at other times.

Rochester OR Chatham Choice (Coach Fare Only)

Something for everyone whatever your interests. First Drop-off will be for Rochester Cathedral, Castle (EH) and the “Dickens Trail”. Alternatively you can stay on the coach through to Chatham. The Historic Dockyard has everything; ships, buildings and a genuine naval atmosphere. “No 1 Smithery” has just been opened as a joint project with the National Maritime and Imperial War Museums. Unique and previously unseen maritime artefacts and models plus touring art are on display. Even if you are not nautically minded, it is also the “Medway Festival of Steam & Transport” with hundreds of vehicles and related displays in the dockyard complex. Alternatively, you can walk up the hill and and visit the Royal Engineers Museum just round the corner or even explore the Fort Amhurst complex built to protect the Dockyard below. Staying next door to the Dockyard and going “from the sublime to the ridiculous” you could always visit the “Dickens World” theme park!

Exbury Gardens plus (Optional) Calshot Drive (Coach Fare Only)

Bankers may be having a bad press but the Rothschild Collection of Rhododendrons, Azaleas, Camellias and rare trees and shrubs never loses it appeal; it now even has a “steam railway” (of sorts!). An ever popular venue for a whole day out with over 200 acres of gardens and forest to explore plus catering facilities, gift shop and plant centre.

Optional for those looking for something entirely different after lunch; the coach will run down to Southampton Water at Calshot where you can sit on the shingle and admire the passing ships or visit Henry VIII’s Calshot Castle (EH).

RAF Uxbridge Bunker and RAF Museum Hendon (Inclusive)

Winston Churchill is claimed to have first uttered the immortal words “Never in the field of Human Conflict was so much owed by so many to so few”, here at the 11 Group Operations Bunker at RAF Uxbridge, a full three days befor his inspirational speech in Parliament. The base is shortly to be redeveloped  but the deceptively massive underground Bunker, abandoned by the RAF in 1958, remains as a museum. From 1970 it has been progressively restored to wartime condition by a Charity. Our Coach Fare includes a donation of £3.00 to the Charity. We will be given a guided tour of the Bunker and insight into its various uses, until abandoned, with special refernce to the Battle of Britain. (NB. We regret, there is no Lift and lots of Staircases in the Bunker!). After our tour and time to view what little there is above ground, we will move onto the RAF Museum Hendon (Free Entry) in time for lunch and time to view the exhibition halls and, following our WWII theme, the “Blitz Exhibition” commemorating its 70th Anniversary with collections of material from the many public services and organizations involved at the time (ie Fire, Police, Ambulance etc.)

Alfriston Clergy House (NT) & Lewes (Coach Fare Only)

We shall spend the morning in Alfriston, one of the oldest and best preserved villages in Sussex. Aside from the “Cathedral of the Downs” (14th Cent.), the Market Cross (Chichester has the only other remaining one in Sussex) and the famous Inns, NT members can make the “Pilgrimage” to the Clergy House and pay their respects at the first property acquired by the National Trust back in 1896 (See article in NT Spring Mag.). We shall be supporting the “Thatch Appeal” with a donation from everyone’s fare.

Onto Lewes for lunch and the afternoon. Time to visit the Castle and Anne of Cleves House (joint ticket available). Aside from the fascinating and picturesque shops, why not visit the Barbican House Museum for an insight into Lewes’s history going back to Saxon times

South Kensington (Victoria & Albert Museum et al.) OR The West End (Strand for the National Gallery, Covent Garden etc.)

Our primary destination is the South Kensington Museums, principally the V&A. “The Cult of Beauty” (Aesthetic Movement) promises to be superb but equally interesting (!) sounds the Architectural Photography of Bedford Lemere & Co 1870 – 1930. “Everything for Everybody”, all within a few hundred yards and hopefully (still?) FREE except for a few of the specialist exhibitions. Enjoy while you can! For those with other interests, the coach will travel on into the West End, dropping on The Strand, just round the corner from the National Gallery, Covent Garden and a stones throw from Whitehall. (Coach Fare Only)

Kew Gardens OR Kew Pubic Records Office (Coach Fare Only)

This excursion is sponsored by Midhurst DFAS

As a perennial favourite, Kew Gardens and Kew Palace need no introduction and there is so much to see and do whatever your interests, either general or specific. You can choose your own entrance package on the day, (the joint ticket with Kew Palace is available again this season, pre-book only) and view the many attractions including the Palm House & for those with a head for heights, the Xstrata Treetop Walkway. Also new for this year, the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art is exhibiting the “First Time Out Scheme” with previously unseen treasures from five different London Museums (entrance free with Kew Gardens Ticket).  For those studying their family history, after dropping at the Gardens entrance, the coach will move onto the PRO for those wishing to do their own research (individual entrance). (Coach Fare Only)

The Normandy Invasion Beaches; An Overview

For Full Details, please view “Continental Excursons” page