Sunday 31 May
8.00am (a) from Northwich
Other pick-up points available - details and booking conditions here.
£26.00 - click here to book online.
Encircled by five sweeping valleys opening out to the River Severn and made famous by Laurie Lee’s novel “Cider with Rosie”, the scenery is dramatic around Stroud. The town has attracted and inspired artists for over a century – Victorian designer William Morris to twenty first century art superstars, Damien Hirst and Dan Chadwick.

After lunch we visit Berkeley Castle. The most remarkable thing about the Castle is that for nine centuries, the building, the Berkeley family, the archives (which go back to the 12th Century), the contents, the estate and the town have all survived together. Its place in history is significant, not just because it is still intact, but because the Berkeley family and their home have played an important part in the power struggles of so many centuries.


The contents of the Castle are items that have been chosen, collected and treasured by members of the Berkeley family throughout the centuries, and many reflect the history of the place. They include Francis Drake's cabin chest, Queen Elizabeth I's bedspread, and the banner that the 4th Earl of Berkeley took with him to the Battle of Culloden. Many of the unusual tapestries, paintings, ceramics and silverware, have their own story to tell.


A few minutes walk from the Castle is the village of Berkeley, where you can visit the house of Dr Edward Jenner, the vaccination pioneer. Smallpox was the most feared and greatest killer of Jenner's time. It killed 10% of the population, rising to 20% in towns and cities where infection spread easily. Among children, it accounted for one in three of all deaths. From the early days of his career, Edward Jenner had been intrigued by country-lore which said that people who caught cowpox from their cows could not catch smallpox. Jenner observed this in his local area. These observations led him to investigate and experiment using cowpox as a means to prevent catching smallpox.

Berkeley Castle 2015 Brochure here.
Stroud Town Map here.
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Bristol
Saturday 20 June
8.00am (a) from Northwich
Other pick-up points available - details and booking conditions here.
£27.00 - click here to book online.



Bristol Museum and Art Gallery has collections of art, nature and history on display in a beautiful building. Fine art includes paintings by French artists, including work by Lucien Pissarro, Italian and Dutch paintings (with a huge painting of Noah’s Ark by Dutch artist Jan Griffier the Elder), British and European Art (The Age of Enlightenment and the Birth of Romanticism) and paintings from the 18th and early 19th century, including Thomas Gainsborough and John Constable. There is also a stunning array of ceramics, carvings and glass from China and Japan. British and European collections are displayed alongside locally made wares, including Bristol Delftware and Bristol Blue Glass.

Bristol Cathedral began in the twelfth century as an Augustinian Abbey, founded by prominent local citizen, Robert Fitzharding. The remains of the abbey can still be seen in the Chapter House, the Abbey Gatehouse and the buildings of Bristol Cathedral Choir School, but it is the east end of the Cathedral which is particularly special; it is one of the finest examples in the world of a medieval ‘hall church’. This means that the vaulted ceilings in the nave, choir, and aisles are all at the same height, creating a lofty and light space with a series of elegant arches. The original abbey was dissolved by Henry VIII’s commissioners in 1539, and the nave that was being rebuilt at the time was never completed. The Church became a Cathedral in 1542 but did not get a new nave until the 1860s. Noted architect, G.E. Street, designed a new nave in a Gothic Revival design that mirrored the architecture of the hall church. J.L. Pearson then added the two towers at the West End and a further re-ordering of the interior was completed in the early part of the twentieth century.
Banksy Self-Guided Tour Leaflet here.
Bristol City Centre Map here.
Bristol Cathedral Guide here.
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Penrith and Lowther Castle
Saturday 11 July
8.00am (a) from Northwich
Other pick-up points available - details and booking conditions here.
£23.00 - click here to book online.
The imposing ruins of Penrith Castle have an intriguing past. It was begun in 1399, when a stone wall was added to an earlier pele tower. The castle was improved and added to over the next 70 years, becoming a royal fortress for Richard, Duke of Gloucester.

The Penrith Museum and Tourist Information Centre are housed in the former Robinson’s School, an Elizabethan building which was altered in 1670 and used as a school until the early 1970′s. The recently refurbished museum covers the history, geology and archaeology of the Penrith area.


Work to reverse 70 years of deterioration of the castle, gardens and stable courtyard started in April 2011, and a veritable army of craftsmen have been busy stabilising architectural features, restoring the Stables Courtyard, removing hundreds of tonnes of army concrete, and sympathetically installing modern services. The stable courtyard offers café, shop and a display area where visitors can find out more about the process of restoration.
Lowther is a garden that was once asleep but after 70 years of neglect is now springing back to life, with an ongoing programme of restoration. The BBC Antiques Roadshow was recently filmed at Lowther Castle.
Penrith Castle walk here.
Lowther Castle plan here.
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Chesterfield and Renishaw Hall
Saturday 8 August
8.30am (b) from Northwich
Other pick-up points available - details and booking conditions here.
£18.00 - click here to book online.

The Chesterfield Museum and Art Gallery traces the town's history from the day the Romans marched up Ryknield Street and built a fort, through the Industrial Revolution and the arrival of the railways (which brought George Stephenson to Chesterfield) right up to the present day. Pick up a Town Trail from the Visitor Information Centre and discover some of the less well known but equally interesting places of interest in the town centre, such as Secker's House and number 2 St Mary's Gate.

The stunning Italianate gardens (winner of the HHA/Christie's Garden of the Year 2015) were laid out in the late 19th Century by Sir George Sitwell. He was the brilliantly eccentric great-grandfather of the current owner Alexandra Sitwell. Walk around the formal garden enjoying the lawns and borders. Take a stroll down the lime avenue to see “The Angel of Fame”. Relax on one of the benches taking time to take in the beauty and tranquility of the gardens.
Venture further afield through the woodland and down to the lakes. See “the classical temple” and other areas of interest on the way. The lakes are a haven for wildlife; look out for butterflies, dragonflies and birds. Follow the path round the lake to take in the stunning views, and then up through the woods back to the lawns.

Download 20 poems by Edith Sitwell here and watch a Face to Face Interview from 1959 here.
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Thirsk and Nunnington Hall
Saturday 5 September
8.30am (b) from Northwich
Other pick-up points available - details and booking conditions here.
£22.00 - click here to book online.

James Herriot, local vet and author, is Thirsk’s famous son. He wrote 'All Creatures Great and Small' and other stories about his life as a country vet. You can find all about him at ‘The World of James Herriot’, the award winning museum converted from his house and surgery.
Thirsk has another famous son, Thomas Lord. The founder of Lord’s Cricket ground was born here in 1755 and his birthplace is now Thirsk Museum. There are eight rooms full of exhibits, featuring local life and industry, cricketing memorabilia, farming equipment, furniture, costumes and toys. Marvel at the bones of our Saxon Giant and shudder at the legend of the Busby Stoop Chair!
After lunch we visit Nunnington Hall (NT). The sheltered walled garden on the bank of the River Rye, with its
delightful mixed borders, orchards of traditional fruit varieties and spring-flowering meadows, complements this mellow 17th-century manor house.

From the magnificent oak-panelled hall, three staircases lead to the family rooms, the nursery, the haunted room and the attics, with their fascinating Carlisle collection of miniature rooms fully furnished to reflect different periods. This remarkable collection was formed over a period of 40 years by Mrs F.M. Carlisle. The collection consists of 16 individual rooms containing furniture and accessories at usually one-eighth of their natural size. Skilled craftsmen were commissioned to make musical instruments, furniture and other accessories some of which are made from ivory, glass, porcelain and silver.

The Hall also hosts a programme of high profile exhibitions across the year - when we visit there is a exhibition of work from well-known children’s literature.
Thirsk Town Walk here.
Download James Herriot's Books for Free here.
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Download/Print the Summer Tours Brochure here.
Download/Print the Summer Tours Brochure here.