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PROGRAMME 2025
Thursday 22nd May 2025
Visit to Hever Castle
On arrival, members will cross the main road to go to the main entrance, where a five-seater buggy is available to navigate the drive. It will stop outside the Moat café, where our visit will begin with included coffee and biscuits. Manual wheelchairs are allowed on the ground floor – and are available on the day for a refundable £25 - but there is one step down to the Gatehouse.
There are five rooms to explore on the ground floor and the first floor is reached and exited by a stone spiral staircase, although a wide wooden staircase gives easy access. There are no lifts in this truly historic building!
* For security of your data, you will need a Google account to complete the Booking Form. If you don’t have a Google account, please CLICK HERE and follow the simple instructions on obtaining an account. There are no financial implications
Thursday 12th June 2025
Outing to Kew Gardens
Join us for a wonderful day at Kew Gardens, which combines breathtaking natural beauty, world class science and over 200 years of history. The Gardens were founded in 1759 and, today, Kew remains in the forefront of plant/fungal science and conservation.
* For security of your data, you will need a Google account to complete the Booking Form. If you don’t have a Google account, please CLICK HERE and follow the simple instructions on obtaining an account. There are no financial implications
Wednesday 16th July 2025
Visit to Basildon Park House (National Trust)
via Beale Wildlife Park
(near Reading Berkshire)
Basildon Park is a fine 18th century stately home – with a somewhat chequered past. Built in 1776 for Sir Francis Sykes, it had been through a number of owners and had reached a sad state of dilapidation by 1952, when it was bought by Lord and Lady Iliffe. A remarkable restoration was then undertaken and the house was redeveloped with a fine collection of Old Master pictures and period furniture.
National Trust website
Beale Wildlife Park, situated alongside the River Thames, is an unusual ‘zoo’ with a wide variety of uncommon and endearing species – capybaras, meerkats, tapirs, lemurs, armidillos etc, all occupying attractive and spacious quarters within the Park.
Beale Wildlife Park website
* For security of your data, you will need a Google account to complete the Booking Form. If you don’t have a Google account, please CLICK HERE and follow the simple instructions on obtaining an account. There are no financial implications
Thursday 14th August 2025
Cream Tea and Talk
Toy Train in the clouds (Darjeeling)
Presented by Paul Whittle
Paul has been a travel lecturer for all of this century, since retiring from his earlier career in banking. He has visited over 60 countries and he is the Vice-Chairman of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Society. He will regale us with the story of the railway, supported by his photos of the ‘Toy Train’ that continues to be important to the area to this day. Although diesel engines currently do much of the work, some steam engines from the nineteenth century still continue to ply the tracks.
As we have to cater for a specific number, we must ask attendees to BOOK for this event.
Tickets will NOT be issued, but we shall have to turn away those who attend on the day without having booked – sorry!
* For security of your data, you will need a Google account to complete the Booking Form. If you don’t have a Google account, please CLICK HERE and follow the simple instructions on obtaining an account. There are no financial implications
Wednesday 17th September 2025
Visit to Gilbert White's House and Kitchen Garden Harvest Day in Selborne
Join us for this ‘self-drive’ outing to Gilbert White’s House, Gardens and his C18 Brewhouse. Our visit includes a guided tour of the House and coincides with ‘Gilbert’s Garden’ Kitchen Garden Harvest Day, when garden crops and range of heritage vegetables will be harvested and the kitchen garden given a seasonal clearing and tidying. Meet the kitchen garden team and ask questions on all aspects of traditional vegetable growing.
Friday 12th December 2025
Christmas Lunch at Highfield Park Hotel
Details to follow
