Outing News
Latest Outing News
The last trip of the year was to Kew Gardens in November and what a finale, it was fantastic. The lights, lasers and music were truly amazing. We were very lucky with the weather as well, a dry, clear night and warmer than the freezing temperatures of the previous night.
All tickets have been sold for our Ballet trip in February. The ticket numbers have to be confirmed by 15th December so please complete and return your application forms as soon as possible.
Details of the outings planned for 2020 will be in the January newsletter.
Outing Reports
On 11th September we had an outing to Beaulieu, arranged by Pat Micklewright and Sandra Chandnani.
WOW what a great day we had. Such a pity the coach was not full as members really missed a treat. The mile long monorail gave a wonderful aerial view of Beaulieu even passing right through the roof of the National Motor Museum! There is something for everyone. Who knew one could be so interested in cars? BUT from the moment on entering the motor museum with over 250 vehicles on display there were SO many to impress. Here we found beautiful early Bugattis and Daimlers to the less glamorous Ford Anglias and a Morris Minor. Even the original Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and onto the incredible Land Speed Record cars which were so long it was hard to take photos! One cannot imagine how Donald Campbell broke the land speed record at 400mph in the space age looking Bluebird CN7.
But tearing ourselves away there was so much more to see. Beaulieu has been home to the Montague family since 1538. Remodelled in the 1800s the house is a fine Victorian example. Some rested their legs and boarded the 1912 replica London double decker open topped bus to arrive at the historic house. This passed the beautiful medieval ruined abbey where one could walk in the cloistered garden and up to the Domus, where the monks lived, to see the beautiful wall hangings which Belinda, Lord Montague’s mother, took 7 years to complete. Also on route was the top secret exhibition showing how Beaulieu trained over 300 special agents in WW2. Many died and their stories are very moving.
Outside people wandered through the fruit and veg garden with its pumpkins, the Rose Garden and the Victorian Flower Garden where the Dahlia displays were lovely.
One quirky feature was the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party themed topiary. The real Alice was invited here in 1887 for guess what? Yes, a tea party!
Dragging ourselves away we headed off and although home was 100 miles away we had a great drive back with no holdups!!
Sandra McDonald, photos by Stella Westrup
On 6th August we left Tunbridge Wells in sunshine and had a good journey down to Manston. On arrival at the Hurricane and Spitfire Museum, we were greeted by Matt and given a very informative talk on the Spitfire and the many other exhibits on display, allowing time to revisit the exhibition at our leisure and have lunch. Then over to RAF Manston History Museum, the displays included a number of aircraft, biplanes, jets and helicopters, along with many exhibits showing how Manston operated from 1916 up to the closure of the RAF base in 1996. On our journey home, a visit was very kindly arranged by Rosemary to Reculver, this is the area used in the testing of WW2 bouncing bombs. Along the shore are the ruins of a 12th century church, its two towers dominating he skyline. Our thanks to Stella, Rosemary and Pat for arranging a very pleasant and informative day out and to our driver Mark, who had to negotiate several unexpected detours on the journey. Report by Val Apps and photos by Stella Westrup and Colin West.
In July we had our trip to Hatfield House, which was another beautiful house, the childhood home of Elizabeth 1st , the weather was good and the smooth coach journey there and back was unusual for the M25 , arriving both early and arriving back earlier than expected. Well done Sheila Austin and Sylvia Joyce who organised this super outing. A full report and photos will be in the August newsletter.
In June we had our trip to Polesden Lacey, which was absolutely delightful with lots of Royal Connections from abroad and this country. Many thanks to Robby Holmes and Lynne Monckton who arranged the visit to this gem of a house and garden. Our journey was smooth thanks to bus driver Paul and we arrived exactly at 10.45 am as planned! There were two guided tours of the beautiful house and both guides were excellent and amusing. The weather was perfect after the previous day being very wet and we were able to explore the immaculate gardens with an optional guided walk in the afternoon. Once again, the garden guides were informative and interesting with stories about the family and their ‘celebrity’ guests. There was plenty of free time to look around the rest of the house, have coffee and lunch before catching the bus home.
These are some photos from the outings to Beaulieu, Manston, Polesden Lacey, Windsor, Bletchley Park, Saint Hill.
The last trip of the year was to Kew Gardens in November and what a finale, it was fantastic. The lights, lasers and music were truly amazing. We were very lucky with the weather as well, a dry, clear night and warmer than the freezing temperatures of the previous night.
All tickets have been sold for our Ballet trip in February. The ticket numbers have to be confirmed by 15th December so please complete and return your application forms as soon as possible.
Details of the outings planned for 2020 will be in the January newsletter.
Outing Reports
On 11th September we had an outing to Beaulieu, arranged by Pat Micklewright and Sandra Chandnani.
WOW what a great day we had. Such a pity the coach was not full as members really missed a treat. The mile long monorail gave a wonderful aerial view of Beaulieu even passing right through the roof of the National Motor Museum! There is something for everyone. Who knew one could be so interested in cars? BUT from the moment on entering the motor museum with over 250 vehicles on display there were SO many to impress. Here we found beautiful early Bugattis and Daimlers to the less glamorous Ford Anglias and a Morris Minor. Even the original Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and onto the incredible Land Speed Record cars which were so long it was hard to take photos! One cannot imagine how Donald Campbell broke the land speed record at 400mph in the space age looking Bluebird CN7.
But tearing ourselves away there was so much more to see. Beaulieu has been home to the Montague family since 1538. Remodelled in the 1800s the house is a fine Victorian example. Some rested their legs and boarded the 1912 replica London double decker open topped bus to arrive at the historic house. This passed the beautiful medieval ruined abbey where one could walk in the cloistered garden and up to the Domus, where the monks lived, to see the beautiful wall hangings which Belinda, Lord Montague’s mother, took 7 years to complete. Also on route was the top secret exhibition showing how Beaulieu trained over 300 special agents in WW2. Many died and their stories are very moving.
Outside people wandered through the fruit and veg garden with its pumpkins, the Rose Garden and the Victorian Flower Garden where the Dahlia displays were lovely.
One quirky feature was the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party themed topiary. The real Alice was invited here in 1887 for guess what? Yes, a tea party!
Dragging ourselves away we headed off and although home was 100 miles away we had a great drive back with no holdups!!
Sandra McDonald, photos by Stella Westrup
On 6th August we left Tunbridge Wells in sunshine and had a good journey down to Manston. On arrival at the Hurricane and Spitfire Museum, we were greeted by Matt and given a very informative talk on the Spitfire and the many other exhibits on display, allowing time to revisit the exhibition at our leisure and have lunch. Then over to RAF Manston History Museum, the displays included a number of aircraft, biplanes, jets and helicopters, along with many exhibits showing how Manston operated from 1916 up to the closure of the RAF base in 1996. On our journey home, a visit was very kindly arranged by Rosemary to Reculver, this is the area used in the testing of WW2 bouncing bombs. Along the shore are the ruins of a 12th century church, its two towers dominating he skyline. Our thanks to Stella, Rosemary and Pat for arranging a very pleasant and informative day out and to our driver Mark, who had to negotiate several unexpected detours on the journey. Report by Val Apps and photos by Stella Westrup and Colin West.
In July we had our trip to Hatfield House, which was another beautiful house, the childhood home of Elizabeth 1st , the weather was good and the smooth coach journey there and back was unusual for the M25 , arriving both early and arriving back earlier than expected. Well done Sheila Austin and Sylvia Joyce who organised this super outing. A full report and photos will be in the August newsletter.
In June we had our trip to Polesden Lacey, which was absolutely delightful with lots of Royal Connections from abroad and this country. Many thanks to Robby Holmes and Lynne Monckton who arranged the visit to this gem of a house and garden. Our journey was smooth thanks to bus driver Paul and we arrived exactly at 10.45 am as planned! There were two guided tours of the beautiful house and both guides were excellent and amusing. The weather was perfect after the previous day being very wet and we were able to explore the immaculate gardens with an optional guided walk in the afternoon. Once again, the garden guides were informative and interesting with stories about the family and their ‘celebrity’ guests. There was plenty of free time to look around the rest of the house, have coffee and lunch before catching the bus home.
These are some photos from the outings to Beaulieu, Manston, Polesden Lacey, Windsor, Bletchley Park, Saint Hill.
