To mark the 250th anniversary of John Constable’s birth, we have arranged a trip to Constable Country.
The coach will leave Saxon Hall at 9am, accompanied by a Blue Badge Guide who will share insights into the area and its significance in Constable’s work.

We will visit:

·       East Bergholt

·       Flatford (National Trust) – coffee and a guided walk

·       Dedham – free time for lunch and an optional short church tour  

At 2:30pm, we will visit the Munnings Art Museum, celebrating its 65th anniversary this year, and home of Suffolk artist Sir Alfred Munnings RA. (A previous visit was cancelled due to Covid.)

Price: £40 (includes gratuities; refreshments not included) 

We will be taking bookings  for the above trip from April.

Hazel has organised another of our popular London Walks, to be led by Andrew Davies "In and around St. James Park". 

Arguably our most beautiful royal park, we will glory in its history and the fine buildings which surround it; John Nash’s terraces, the splendiferous Victoria Memorial, Georgian Queen Anne’s Gate, Horseguards and its memorials plus a planned visit to the moving Guards chapel.  

Tickets will be available at and after March lecture -  Limited to 30 places, the cost is £21.00 per person. 

 We meet at 11.15 at Green Park tube on the South side in Green Park itself. It will end there at 3.45 with a lunch break for you to obtain some refreshments.

Visits and Events programme policy

Please be aware of Our Refunds and Tips Policy for all events

No refund will be given unless the space is filled.  Partial refunds are not given.

Tips: The present policy is to give 10% for meals, unless part of an agreed package and £1 per head for the coach driver

Our Festive Christmas lunch outing 2025  will be at Hintelsham Hall on Thursday 11th December.

Details will follow, with costs and menu choices.

Booking and payment will be taken at the October lecture, the first of our new season.

See Hazel Green if you are interested. 

We will be holding our Christmas Lunch as usual, straight after the December lecture. More details will follow in due course. 

TAS Thames Estuary is organising another of our popular Guided Walks with Andrew Davies, " A Clerkenwell Canter, a Smithfield Saunter". One of Andrew's favourite and mos historic parts of London - Fleet River, Shakespeare's red-light area, Hatton Garden Heist, Barts hospital, Charterhouse Square, Victorian Smithfield Market, Ely Place and much more.

A maximum of 30 places on this walk

We meet at 11.15 outside Farringdon Station main entrance, and the walk ends there at 3.45. There will be a break for lunch. 

Price £20.00 per person. 

The coach will leave Saxon Hall at 09.45 a.m., reaching Windsor in time for shopping and lunch.

At 2.00 p.m. our tour of Windsor Castle will begin. We will visit the State Apartments, see Queen Mary's Doll's House, and also St. George's Chapel.

Price including all gratuities  will be £47.65 per person. This will be bookable from our June meeting. 

On Tuesday 1st July, TAS Thames Estuary have organised a trip on the Kentish Lady from Maidstone to Allington Castle, with a guided tour round the castle and gardens.

Bookings are firm bookings when made and refunds can only be made if we have a waiting list and the space can be filled. 

The pick up times for Maidstone trip are; 

Southend Airport              8.50

Thorpe Bay station           9.15

Queensway Southend      9.25

The Cricketers Westcliff   9.30

Chalkwell Park                   9.40

The Elms                              9.50

Thames Drive                     9.55

Hadleigh Church                10.05

A coach will take us from Southend to Maidstone, where there will be time for lunch, before we  join the Kentish Lady at its  mooring adjacent to the Archbishops' palace in Maidstone. We cruise down the river Medway to a private mooring at the castle estate. Here we disembark and are met by castle staff to begin their guided tour, the tour takes approximately 1.5hrs and is predominantly a walking tour. 

At the end of the tour it's back on-board the Kentish Lady for tea, coffee and cakes before heading back to our mooring in Maidstone.

The cost is £56.00 per person, please let Hazel Green know if you are interested. 

This programme has been put together on a provisional basis - more details will follow

16th October 2024

London walk with Andrew Davies visitin William Hogarth's London, Gin Lane, Molly Houses and the St. Giles Bowl. 

Meet : Holborn Tube station at 11.15 am. Price : £20.00

4th December 2024

Christmas lunch at Saxon Hall - price to be confirmed.

13th December 2024

Christmas lunch at Hever Castle, Kent. Two course lunch, and the rooms will be open for viewing

Price : £62.00

We have organised a coach trip to Hever Castle on Friday 13th December.

This will include a 2-course lunch, and some of the castle's rooms will be open for viewing.

The cost including coach, entrance, lunch and gratuities is £62 per person. 

The times of the coach pick ups are as follow;

Southend Airport           8.20

Thorpe Bay station        8.45

Queensway Southend   8.55

The Cricketers                 9.00

Chalkwell Park                9.15

The Elms                         9.20

Thames Drive                 9.25

Hadleigh Church            9.35

Our annual Christmas Lunch at Saxon Hall will be held straight after the December lecture.

It costs £28.50 (including gratuity) and will comprise 2 courses (Main and dessert)

Precise details are to follow, but expect traditional fare with a veggie option.

Andrew Davies will lead us on another London walk - this one is entitled  “William Hogarth’s London - Gin Lane, Molly houses and the St. Giles Bowl".

These walks with Andrew have become a regular part of our visits programme, and are always very well attended - and very informative and entertaining. 

Cost is £20.00 and we will be meeting at Holborn Tube Station at 11.15am.

If you haven't already booked a space, you can do so at our October lecture.  

TAS Thames Estuary visit to Polesden Lacey and Denbies Vineyard 

On 10th July 2024 we will travel by coach to the National Trust's  Polesdon Lacey near Dorking, in Surrey. 

After touring the house, there will be time to have lunch  in the National Trust restaurant. . 

We will then carry on to the nearby Denbies Wine Estate where we will have an outdoor vineyard train tour, followed by indoor wine tasting, before heading back to Essex.

Cost for National Trust members is  £47.50 pp including coach travel, tickets and the driver’s tip.   For non National Trust members the cost is £61.75 per person.

Please contact Hazel Green for more information. Tickets will be bookable from our May 2024 lecture onwards. 

This programme has been put together on a provisional basis

11th October 2023 : East London Walk with Andrew Davies - Whitechapel and Spitalfields.

6th December 2023 : Christmas lunch at Saxon Hall following meeting.

13th December 2023 : Festive Fayre Lunch at Hintlesham Hall, Suffolk - with welcoming drink and two course lunch. 

21st February 2024 : Coffee morning - venue to be agreed.

15th May 2024: Brighton Pavilion

10th July 2024: NT Polesdon Lacey, Dorking in the morning, followed by Denbie Wine Estate in the afternoon. 

TAS Thames Estuary visit to Brighton on 15th May.

On 15th May a visit has been arranged to Brighton on the South Coast.

In the morning, we will take a trip on the i360. This is a revolving observation tower, from which you can see views of  Brighton and the South Downs.

In the afternoon there will be a visit to the Brighton Royal Pavillion.

The cost is £51.50 per person, which includes coach travel, the tickets to the above attractions and gratuities. 

Pickup times are as follows:

Southend Airport.........................07.50

Thorpe Bay Station......................08.15

Queensway Southend...................08.25

The Cricketers.............................08.35

Chalkwell Park.............................08.45

The Elms....................................08.55

Thames Drive..............................09.00

Hadleigh Church...........................09.10

Contact Hazel Green for more information or to book a place.  

TAS Thames Estuary have organised a Festive Lunch at the wonderful Hintlesham Hall in Suffolk. For a cost per person of £54.00, you will enjoy Bucks Fizz, on arrival and a 2 course lunch with coffee and mince pies. Coach travel to and from the venue is also included. 

Please contact Hazel Green on 07793 614350 for more information, including menu choices.

The pick up times are as follows: 

Southend Airport - 08.05 am, Thorpe Bay Station - 08.30 am, Queensway Southend - 08.40 am, The Cricketers -   08.45 am, Chalkwell Park - 08.55 am, The Elms - 09.05 am, Thames Drive - 09.10 am, Hadleigh Church 09.20 am. 

Please note, this trip is fully booked, with a waiting list. 

On the 6th December 2023 we have arranged a Christmas lunch at Saxon Hall, immediately following our lecture.

The cost is £28.00 for a 2 course Xmas lunch (main and dessert) with both meat and vegetarian options available

Please book your place by contacting Hazel Green on 07793 614350 and arrange payment by Bank Transfer if possible (our preferred method)

If you are making the payment by bank transfer can you let Hazel know? Thank you

If you still possess a cheque book and wish to pay by cheque it would greatly speed up the process if your cheque is already written out before booking. (There can be quite a crush at the booking desk)  Thank you in advance.

  Payable to:    The Arts Society Thames Estuary

·        Sort code:      30 – 98 – 90

·        Account No:  15814860

Arts Society lecturer Andrew Davies will lead us in a walking tour of Whitechapel and Spitalfields. 

We will make our own way to Liverpool Street Station, meeting at 11:15a.m. to start the tour. There will be a break for lunch, and the tour will end at around 15:45. 

The cost is £19.00 per person - please contact Hazel Green on 07793 614350 for more information or to book your place on the tour. 

This visit is organised by TAS Thames Estuary

Our coach will pick us up in the morning, and take us to the The Savill Garden, which is part of Windsor Great Park, arriving late morning. You will have time to look around these beautiful grounds, before an afternoon drive to Runnymede for a two hour river boat cruise on the Thames, with a cream tea served on board.

The cost will be £55.00 per person.  Please contact Hazel Green on 07793 614350 for more information or to reserve a place. 

This virtual tour is being organised by TAS Thames Estuary

Wednesday 19th April at 10.00 a.m.

Luisella Romero will take us on the second part of a virtual walking tour of the district of Venice called Dorsoduro. Members and guests will no doubt recall our first virtual tour back in 2021, which was very popular. Luisella has been a registered guide in Venice for more than 20 years. 

You will start your tour by the Church of San Nicolò dei Mendicoli, once a very popular district, where fishermen, boatyards and small hospices for needy people would be. You will see the University of Architecture by the ex cotton factory, but also Campo San Barnaba and Campo Santa Margherita, quite well known squares, although far from the monumental atmosphere of some other Venetian campos. A very lively area for students, residents and lovely cafes and artisans’ workshops.

If you would like more information, please contact Hazel Green on 07793 614350. 

This Virtual Tour is organised by The Arts Society North Beds

Tour Guide : Stuart Harvey

2:00 p.m. Thursday 12th January 2023 - £10

An unforgettable journey to explore the highlights of the vast Vatican Museums collection, with a deep focus on the spectacular frescoes of Michelangelo Buonarroti and others in the Sistine Chapel.

Stuart Harvey takes you on a virtual stroll through the corridors and rooms to see ancient classical statues that influenced renaissance and later artists and intricate Roman mosaics, magnificent tapestries, and the beautiful frescoes by Raphael that decorate the private rooms of the 16th century Popes.

The journey ends  in the Sistine Chapel, where Popes are elected in secret at Conclave. Here we can examine in depth Michelangelo's famous Creation frescoes on the ceiling and the magnificent Last Judgement and its deep symbolism.

ALL WELCOME

Please email northbedsdfas@gmail.com if you are interested, or would like more information. 

TAS Thames Estuary Christmas Outing to Penshurst Place

Wednesday 13th December 2022

This full day coach trip will commence with arrival at the private entrance, with mulled wine around the fire in the decorated Medieval Barons Hall, before a private house tour featuring old traditions and customs. Finishing with a traditional 2 course lunch in a medieval banqueting room. Please note this trip will take place only if we have sufficient interest. 

The cost per person will be £55. 

TAS Thames Estuary is organising a trip to Rochester, Kent in October 2022. 

This full day coach trip includes a 90-minute guided walking tour of Rochester, showcasing its heritage.

It will include the cathedral, castle and Rochester’s connections with Charles Dickens. There will be time afterwards for members to have lunch and explore the city as they wish.

The cost of this trip will be £25.00 per person. 

TAS Thames Estuary is organising a visit to Mansion House (on Lincoln’s Inn Fields) and Sir John Soane's eclectic home Wednesday 20th July. 

Members are asked to travel by train independently, to meet near Holborn Underground. From here some of us will have coffee first then move on to Sir John Soane’s Museum whilst others will make their way to the museum first with coffee later to reduce congestion inside the museum.

 Suggested coffee houses:

• Redemption Roaster, Gate Street (Outdoor) or
• The Ship Tavern, Gate Street (Indoor, with interesting history)

Sir John Soane’s Museum on Lincoln’s Inn Fields is open from 10.00 for a free-flow visit. This museum is free, but a donation is requested. Travel back to Mansion House Underground/Cannon Street to find your own lunch. Caravan City, which is just round the corner is a possibility, but members are free to make their own arrangements.

 Meet at Mansion House Door A at 14.00 for a tour of the Harold Samuel 17th Century Dutch and Flemish paintings. All art tours are arranged around the Lord Mayor's diary and are approximately 90 minutes in groups of 20 and conducted by City Guides from the Guildhall Art Gallery. Members will then make their way home.

The cost per person will be £15.00. 

TAS Thames Estuary is organising a visit to Guildford and the Watts Gallery and artists village on Wednesday 11th May 2022

The coach will arrive in Guildford in time for you to find refreshments before a guided walk with the Guildford Town Guides (in 3 groups).

Lunch will be of your own choice in Guildford.

We will then be taken by coach to the Watts Gallery, a unique Arts & Crafts village in the Surrey hills, where there will be time to visit:

• the pottery building, home of the Compton Potters Guild

• the Gallery with many pictures by Frederick & Mary Watts

• and Limnerslease, their former home 

• the Arts & Crafts Chapel

• the shop and tearoom on site

Please wear suitable walking/flat shoes. 

The cost of £36 includes entrance to the Watts Gallery & site, guided walk in Guildford, coach and driver’s tip.

Please join TAS Thames Estuary  for a virtual walking tour of  Venice, in the DORSODURO district, starting at the Punta della Dogana, through the university area of Venice.

The virtual walk will be led by Luisella Romeo, who has been  a registered guide in Venice for over 20 years. It will start at 10.00a.m. on the 23rd March, and end at around 11.15. The cost is £5.00 per person, for members and non-members alike.

When it was doubtful that Andrew Davies would be well enough for the walk in London, we promised a walk along the Estuary instead. We did eventually have a lovely London walk along the canal system last week, but we would also like to have a local walk too!

 We are walking on Friday 26th November. Meet at Chalkwell Station at 10:00 for a walk along the seafront with coffee on the way back.

Andrew Davies has agreed to lead a walk along the Regent’s Canal , walking from Paddington Station to St. Pancras. In the morning we will experience the transformation of Paddington Basin, Little Venice, Rembrandt Gardens, the second Lords cricket ground, zillion pound houses and the zoo. Lunch will be at Camden Lock followed by a look at Camden Market and the extraordinary St Pancras & King’s Cross development, including the High Line, the Victorian coal drops and the gas holders which are now a public garden.

• Date: 28th October
• Cost: £20 per person
• Meet at Paddington Station 11.15 am at the entrance to Platform 1.
• End: 3.30/3.45 pm at King’s Cross/St. Pancras

If you are interested in going on this walk, would you please let us know via the Contact Us tab on this page, or by email, before October 1st 2021. 

Barbara Askew is a historian, a London Blue Badge Tourist Guide and a lecturer for the Arts Society.  She is an expert on royal history and Windsor Castle for which she has been the Blue Badge Guides’ Site Liaison Representative since 1990 and she organises the guided tours of Eton College. Clearly, the ideal person to lead us on this virtual walking tour.

We will see Windsor Castle, the oldest continuously inhabited castle in the world.  It has been home to 38 monarchs and is said to be the Queen’s favourite residence. 

We’ll explore Windsor’s medieval streets with their timber-framed house and the 17th century Guildhall where Charles, the Prince of Wales, married Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall.  We’ll also see the Long Walk, a three-mile avenue that connects the Castle to Windsor Great Park, a former royal hunting ground.  We’ll descend Thames Street, passing a statue of a favourite grandson of Queen Victoria and a monument to King George V, the first monarch of the House of Windsor.

We’ll cross the River Thames with its boat houses and royally-owned swans over Windsor Bridge which connects Windsor to Eton, a Saxon settlement dating back to the 8th century. 

We’ll proceed along Eton’s picturesque High Street to Eton College, the world’s most famous school, and hear of its foundation in 1440 by the saintly King Henry VI.  We’ll also hear about its longest-serving and most notorious headmaster, Dr. Keate, who had a great reputation for flogging the boys. 

20 British Prime Ministers have been educated at Eton College including the present one, Boris Johnson, writers such as Shelley and Ian Fleming who wrote the James Bond novels, actors such as Eddie Redmayne and Damian Lewis and Princes William and Harry.

The tour will start at 10.30 a.m. and last for an hour

There will be no charge to Thames Estuary members for this virtual tour, we hope that it will prove to be a suitable alternative to the actual visits we would love to be organising.  

Please note that this trip - already rearranged once - has now  been postponed  owing to the Covid-19 outbreak, and a refund paid to members who had signed up for it. We'll try to arrange it once things return to normal. 

A visit is being planned for 14th October 2020, to Flatford Mill, now owned by the National Trust. Guides will give groups a talk ‘In Constable’s Footsteps’. A light lunch is available in the Tea Rooms, before we carry on to Munnings House in Dedham.

Tickets cost £25.00, which includes coach and coffee, the talk and all gratuities. There is a waiting list for this trip. 

Contact Rosemary Sudlow 07909526551

To open a document with more information about the Munnings Art Museum visit click here http://www.tasthamesestuary.org.uk/DocumentStore/Munnings%202020%20ABOUT%20YOUR%20VISIT%20A4_.pdf

This tour has been cancelled owing to the Covid-19 outbreak. we will try to rearrange it when things retturn to normal.

A walking tour along Regents Canal from Paddington to St. Pancras will  be led by Andrew Davies.

Everyone will make their own way to the start of the walk, and lunch will be taken at Camden Lock.

This trip has been cancelled because of the Corona Virus restrictions. All people who had  booked on the holiday have been contacted. 

TAS Thames Estuary is  taking members and friends on a a 5 day / 4 night holiday to Prague in April (Wednesday 22nd to Friday 26th April 2020 )

We will fly from Southend Airport – very convenient for most of us – and will stay for four nights half board at the 4* International hotel in the suburbs of Prague, located  100m from a tram stop which is just 7 stops (15 minutes) from central Prague. 

The price is  £714 pp with an additional £144 for a single room . This includes a guided walking tour of Prague, a visit to the Convent of St Agnes of Bohemia, a coach trip to the Prague Castle Complex and a guided tour of both Konopiste Castle and Sternberg Palace. See below for a more detailed itinerary.

If you are interested, please contact Hazel Green at hlgreen@gmail.com

Day1 – Prague

Scheduled flight to Prague from Southend airport – transfer with our professional guide in our private executive coach to the 4* Clarion Congress.

Day 2 – Prague guided tour & Convent of St Agnes of Bohemia

Guided walking tour of Prague taking in sights such as Wenceslas Square, the Jewish Quarter and Charles Bridge – guided tour of the 13th century Convent of St Agnes of Bohemia, now home to the National Gallery’s collection of ‘Medieval Art in Bohemia and Central Europe’ with works from 14th century Czech artists as well as 15th and 16th century works by central European artists.

Day 3 – Prague Castle & St George’s Basilica

Originally the residence of Bohemian kings and today the seat of the Czech president, our guided tour of Prague Castle Complex takes in some of Prague’s best sights, including the Cathedral of St Vitus, the Powder Tower, the Old Royal Palace and the Golden Lane as well as wonderful views out over the Vltava River with the old town in the background – guided tour of St George’s Basilica, established in 920 as Bohemia’s first convent and the best preserved Romanesque church in Prague.

Day 4 – Konopiste Castle

Guided tour of Konopiste Castle, once the palatial residence of the ill fated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and whose richly decorated chambers are adorned with collections he inherited from Modena's house of d'Este and numerous trophies testifying to his passion for hunting – return to Prague for the rest of the day at leisure.

Day 5 – Sternberg Palace

Guided tour of Sternberg Palace, named after Franc Josef Sternberg who founded the Society of Patriotic Friends of the Arts in Bohemia in 1796, and home to the National Gallery's valuable collection of 14th to 18th century European art, including works by Goya, Rembrandt, Rubens and Donatello – transfer to the airport for our scheduled flight home.

Please note the change of date

Our "Christmas" trip this year will be to Leeds Castle, Kent, on Sunday 1st December.

Ticket price is £49 including coach, 2 course Christmas lunch, entrance to the Castle with Christmas decorations, and to  the grounds where you will find the Christmas market among other attractions. Tickets may be purchased for friends and family.

Hazel Green is the organiser - if you would like to contact her regarding this trip, send a message via the 'contact us' tab on this website, giving your own contact details, and she will get in touch.

We are organising a visit to The Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, where  Dale Chihuli's amazing glass sculptures are currently on display.

Tickets are now on sale, at a cost of £33 including  coach, admission, gratuities and land train.

Pick up points   : 

Southend Airport 8.00 a.m., Thorpe Bay 8.30 a.m., London Rd. Westcliff 8.50 a.m.

Chalkwell Park 8.55 a.m., Thames Drive  9.00 a.m., Hadleigh Church 9.10 a.m

Hazel Green is the organiser - if you would like to contact her regarding this trip, send a message via the 'contact us' tab on this website, giving your own contact details, and she will get in touch.

Andrew Davies will guide us on a walking tour around the Kings Cross / St. Pancras area.
This will consist of morning and afternoon walks, with time for lunch.

We will make our own travel arrangements and  meet outside Kings Cross Station in the square with the Henry Moore Sculpture at 11 a.m.

The cost for the guided walks will be £20.00 - lunch is separate and we can make our own choice from a number of restaurants and cafes in the area.

There is a waiting list for this trip. Margaret Ridley and June Marriott are the organisers. If you would like to get in touch with them send a message via this website's "contact us" tab giving your own contact details and it will be passed on.

Tickets are now on sale for a coach trip to Greenwich on Wednesday May 22nd, at a cost of £32.00.

Pick up points will be Thorpe Bay 8.30 a.m., London Rd. Westcliff 8.40 a.m., Thames Drive 8.50 a.m., and Hadleigh 9.00 a.m.

On arrival in Greenwich we will have coffee, and then there will be time to look around and visit other attractions before taking lunch at one of the many available eating places.

We will meet for a guided tour of the newly re-opened Painted Hall  in the Old Royal Naval College at 2.00 p.m.

We hope to return to Southend by around 6 p.m.

There’s no better way to enjoy the festive spirit than attending John Rutter’s popular Christmas Celebration, conducted and presented by John Rutter himself and performed  by the world famous Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

TAS Thames Estuary are hoping to take two coach loads up to this evening performance at the Royal Albert Hall, and so partners and guests are welcome.

Tickets cost £40.00 - this includes coach, gratuities and concert.

For this visit, we will make our own way up to the Docklands area of London, where we will meet our guide Andrew Davies, whose lectures have always been very popular with our society.

Andrew will take us on a walking tour of the area before a break for lunch, which we can take at a place of our own choosing.

A second, longer tour walking tour will follow, and then we will visit the Docklands museum, where Andrew will give a short talk about the museum and its contents. We will then be free to look around the museum at our leisure.

The fee for the guided walks and museum talk will be £20.00. All tickets have been sold for this event, but there is a waiting list.

A trip to the amazing Burghley House near Stamford is being planned for June 13th 2018.

Tickets went on sale at our February meeting, for £50.00 per person, which includes coach, entrance fees and a two course lunch - you will be asked to make your selection from the menu when you buy your ticket.

Our next holiday will be to Tuscany, from April 9th  to April 13th 2018.

We will be visiting Florence, Siena, San Gimignano, Lucca and Pisa.

The cost of £789.00 pp for two sharing, with a single supplement of £85.00 includes breakfast each day plus one dinner.

More information is available from Barbara Santarelli and Travel Editions.

A visit is being organised to the Courtauld Gallery at Somerset House in the morning, and Two,Temple Place in the afternoon, on 21st February 2018.

We will arrive at the Courtauld Gallery for coffee, and then take a Gallery Highlights Tour, lasting 1 hour.

After lunch, we will meet at Two Temple Place, which  will be hosting an exhibition presented by The Arts Society and Bulldog Trust, on "The Age of Jazz". This is part of the Arts Society's Golden Jubilee celebration, and was featured in the Autumn 2017 edition of the Arts Society Review. Our tour of this exhibition will take 45 minutes.

The ticket price including coach, coffee and gratuities, and the two guided tours, will be £30.00.

Our ‘Christmas’ visit this year is to Waddesdon Manor, Hertfordshire on Sunday 26th November.

Selected rooms are beautifully decorated for Christmas, this year on a theme of an Enchanted Menagerie. Decorations range from an elephant parade inspired by an 18th-century musical automaton to a life-sized zebra and trees decked with birds and mythical beasts.

 A two-course lunch will be taken in the Manor Restaurant at 12.00 noon, with a tour of the house to follow.

The cost will be £50.00, or £42.00 if you are a National Trust member.

All tickets for this visit have been sold, do contact us if you would like your name added to the waiting list

A visit has been arranged to on Tuesday 27th June 2017 to Gainsborough’s House in Sudbury. There will then be time for lunch at one of the many cafes in the town. In the afternoon we will go on to Ickworth.

The estimated cost of the coach including gratuities, entrance to and coffee on arrival at Gainsborough’s house is £24.00 plus £11.00 entrance fee for Ickworth if you are not a National Trust member. We hope to sell tickets at the April meeting.

This is our 'Christmas Trip' this year, to the Snape Maltings Christmas Spectacular, on Sunday 4th December 2016.

Coach pick up will start at Thorpe Bay at noon, Thames Drive at approx. 12.30, Hadleigh Church at 12.45.

The performance will begin at 4 p.m., and afterwards there will be a two course Christmas buffet. The coach will then bring us back for about 10.30 p.m.

The cost including performance, buffet, coach and gratuities will be £48.00.

There is a waiting list for this trip, please contact us if you would like to add your name.

A trip incorporating a private guided tour of the Wallace Collection is planned for Wednesday November 16th.

After an early coach pickup, you will be taken to the Wallace Collection, and then there will be a choice of morning activities. You can independently look around the collection, or spend some time shopping, or you can join a group walking to the nearby Handel House museum, and enjoy a guided tour and a coffee. You are then free to have lunch where you choose, all meeting up at 2.00 pm, back at the Wallace Collection, for our private guided tour, before returning to Southend.

There are still some tickets available for this.

Tickets cost £21 for the coach and Wallace Collection tour, and an extra £13.00 if you are joining the Handel House group.

The coach will start from Thorpe Bay at 07.45, and pick up from Thames Drive and Hadleigh Church before heading for Cambridge.

In the morning we will have a guided walking tour of Kings College and Queens College, Cambridge, which will take about 1 hour 30 minutes. We can then have lunch at one of the many cafes or restaurants in the town.

In the afternoon, we will be taken to Cambridge University Botanic Gardens, which we can examine at our leisure, before the coach brings us back to Southend.

The cost of £32.00 includes the coach, entrance fees and guides. All tickets have been sold, but members are welcome to add their names to a waiting list.

The next holiday planned will be to the Italian Riviera. The holiday will last for six days and five nights, from 25th April to 30th April 2016, and will cost from £899 per person (based on two sharing a twin room, single supplements will apply). We will be based in  Diano Marina, and a range of visits is planned during the week.

Full colour brochures are available, either at our meetings or on request.  Please note there have been some changes from the original plans, including changes to flights.

Our first visit of 2016 will be to the V&A for their “Botticelli Reimagined” exhibition, on March 17th 2016.

There will be an early morning pick up by coach from the usual places, so that we can arrive in time for an 11.30 talk about the exhibition by one of the museum staff, lasting about an hour (there may be time to buy tea and coffee first, if there are no serious hold ups).  After the talk, we can then have lunch if we wish, before visiting the exhibition itself. We’ll be split into in two groups, with timed entrance at 1.45 and 2.15. The coach will then bring us back to Southend. The visit will cost £35.00, which will cover the coach, talk and exhibition entrance plus gratuities. Lunch, tea and coffee will be purchased individually.

We have been fortunate enough to secure seats at the Royal Albert Hall for the John Rutter Christmas Celebration, on December 7th this year, at 7:30 pm.

Tickets went on sale on June 4th, at a cost of £35.00, which includes coach, concert and gratuities.

As we need to be in our seats by 6:45 pm, pick up will be from Thorpe Bay at 4:00 pm, Thames Drive at 4:20 and Hadleigh Church at 4:30.

It should be a wonderful evening.

Tickets have now all been sold for a trip to the Brick Lane Music Hall “Christmas Wonderland” matinee on 20th November at 2 pm.

The cost, which includes afternoon tea in the interval, coach and gratuities, will be £45.00. There is a waiting list, members should please contact us if they would like to add their name to that list.

Pick up will be from Thorpe Bay at 11.00, Thames Drive at 11:20 and Hadleigh Church at 11.30

Our next visit will take us to Highgate Cemetery and Kenwood House, both in North London.

Afer enjoying morning coffee just around the corner, we will be taken on a guided trip around Highgate Cemetery. For more information on this historic site, please go to http://highgatecemetery.org/. It is worth mentioning that the cemetery paths are rough and steep in places, and can be slippery in wet weather.

Lunch can be then taken at one of the many cafes and bars in the area. Please note this is not included in the price.

After lunch we will proceed to Kenwood House, an  Engish Heritage house with extensive grounds, on the edge of Hampstead Heath.  See http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/kenwood/ for more information. We can make our way round the recently restored house at our leisure, before returning to Southend.

I'm afraid the tickets(costing £30.00) are now sold out. There is a waiting list, members please contact us if you want to add your name.

Two interesting North London visits in one day

Our next TEDFAS visit will be on Wednesday 11th February 2015. A coach will take us first of all to the William Morris Gallery in Walthamstow. After a light lunch at The Bell, E17, we will then go on to Sutton House (a Tudor residence) in Hackney. The price of £29.00 includes morning coffee, tour guides and lunch. There will also be a £2.70 entrance charge to Sutton House for anyone who is not a National Trust member (a valid card must be shown on the day for free entry).

More information on the destinations can be found at the following locations:

http://www.wmgallery.org.uk/.

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/sutton-house/

Please note that all tickets for this trip have been sold, and a waiting list has been started.

Pick up is from Thames Drive at 09:00 and Hadleigh Church at 09:05.