Visit to Cyfarthfa Castle Museum and Art Gallery, Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales
Visit to Madresfield Court, near Great Malvern, Worcestershire
Visit to Dartmouth and Greenway, Devon
Visit to Heale Gardens, Middle Woodford, Salisbury
Visit to Tredegar House and Park, Newport, South Wales
Visit to Kiftsgate Court Gardens, Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire
Visit to Herefordshire Churches
Thursday 3 April
The “Ironmaster”, William Crawshay, commissioned Cyfarthfa Castle in 1824. This grand castellated mansion overlooked his immensely successful ironworks and has been called “the most impressive monument of the industrial iron age in South Wales”.
Admire the extensive fine and decorative art collections or stroll through the atmospheric social and industrial history galleries. Enjoy the elegant surroundings of this family house, set in beautiful parkland on the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park.
Also visit Joseph Parry's cottage, a typical ironworker's cottage, ten minutes' walk from the castle where Parry was born. He wrote the famous song, “ Myfanwy”, a favourite with Welsh male voice choirs.
There will be an introductory talk.
Wednesday 9 April
Madresfield Court, at the foot of the Malvern Hills, has been the home of the Lygon family and their descendants since the 12th century. It was rated among the top 50 by Simon Jenkins in his book, “England's Thousand Best Houses” (Allen Lane). Evelyn Waugh was a frequent visitor and found inspiration there for “Brideshead Revisited”.
It is a moated Elizabethan house, extensively rebuilt in the 19th century. It contains an outstanding collection of furniture, pictures, porcelain and objets d'art, and a wonderful library. It was a centre for the Arts and Crafts movement, and the chapel is regarded as the most complete and perhaps most lovely of all its achievements.
The gardens, too, are full of interest, having a yew garden, a maze, a wild garden, a pleached lime arbour and a rockery of “awe-inspiring proportions”, designed by James Pulham in 1879.
Friday 16 May
This visit offers the chance to spend the whole of the visit in Dartmouth, exploring the town with its narrow streets, fascinating buildings, pleasant restaurants and tea rooms, and fine marinas. Dartmouth was once the setting from “The Onedin Line” and, more recently, a filming location for the BBC television series, “Down to Earth”. It is also the home of the famous Simon Drew.
Alternatively, the visit gives opportunity after lunch to take the ferry (£6 to £7 per person) to visit Greenway, the gardens of Agatha Christie's former home, now owned by the National Trust.
Greenway was built on the heights above the River Dart. The garden, on the edge of wildness, is renowned for rare trees and shrubs, under-planted with native wild flowers. It is a peaceful haven, with magnificent views.
Thursday 29 May
The gardens have been created by generations of the Rasche family, who still live at Heale House – the house where, in 1651, Charles II secretly took refuge for six nights before riding on to Shoreham and taking a ship to France. Tributaries of the Avon flow through the gardens, which feature a Japanese tea house, Niko bridge and laburnum arches.
The gardens strike different moods according to the seasons and display exuberant and unusual planting. The vegetable garden has decorative apple tunnels and still supplies the house. A croquet lawn and boat terrace add to the attractions of the place.
Wednesday 4 June
Tredegar House is one of the most significant late 17th century houses in Britain. For more than 500 years, it was the home to one of the most famous of Welsh families, the Morgans, later Lords Tredegar.
The Morgans have included some remarkable characters, not least Sir Henry Morgan, a notorious pirate; Godfrey, the second Lord Tredegar, who survived the Charge of the Light Brigade and whose horse is buried in the grounds; and Viscount Evan whose collection of animals included a foul-mouthed parrot and a boxing kangaroo.
A major programme of restoration and refurnishing began in 1976 following the purchase of the house and 90 acres of parkland by Newport Borough Council..
The house lacked nearly all its original contents. There was very little furniture, few pictures, only one carpet and no curtains. The interior had also suffered from the wear and tear of a generation of schoolchildren; the panelling had usefully doubled as notice boards and the chalk imprint of blackboard dusters splattered the overmantel paintings. Moreover, the house was infested with dry rot and worm.
During the past 26 years, tremendous progress has been made, and today more than 30 rooms have been restored and are now open to the public.
Visitors are taken on a lively and entertaining guided tour. This includes the magnificent State Rooms, the elegant family apartments and an intriguing warren of rooms “below stairs”.
A series of walled gardens has been rescued from the brink of decay. A fine early 18th century orangery garden has been re-created on the basis of documentary and archaeological evidence. A sunken garden has been restored with an early 20th century planting scheme.
Tuesday 17 June
Set on the edge of the Cotswold escarpment, the garden was created in the 1920s by Heather Muir, the grandmother of the present owner, Anne Chambers. It is a series of inter-connecting gardens, each with its own distinct character and secrets.
The upper gardens, around the house, are planted to give harmonious colour schemes while the lower gardens re-create the atmosphere of warmer countries.
The newest addition is a contemporary water garden providing a contrast to the exuberance of the flower gardens which include the famous Kiftsgate rose.
Tuesday 24 June
This is a slightly altered version of last July's planned visit to Herefordshire churches which had to be cancelled because of the floods. We shall visit three churches and at each will be given a talk before being free to look around.
The first destination will be Brockhampton and its strikingly designed Arts and Crafts church, built in 1901, partly thatched and with two towers. The beautiful interior is full of works of memorable craftsmanship in wood, stained glass, tapestry and embroidery.
The second church is at Hoarwithy and is a surprising and most unlikely Italianate building to find in a Herefordshire village. It was transformed in the most dramatic way by a wealthy vicar in 1870 and onwards. A cloister runs along the south side and is reached by a steep path.
The nave is fairly plain but the east end is an exuberant burst of gold mosaic, white marble altar and pulpit inlaid with lapis lazuli and other precious stones, a marble floor and choir stalls of finely carved oak. There are unusual stained glass windows, and even the roof beams are elaborately painted.
The climax of the trip is provided by
Kilpeck, the most complete
Norman church in England. It is renowned for the richness of its
well-preserved carvings on the south doorway, the 85
corbels, the
chancel arch and the apse with its rib vaulting. It is a very special
place.