For more information on this tour contact your Group Organiser 

Sue Dunn,suedunn934@gmail.com 

Flight details may be subject to change.

Price based on twin share. Minimum numbers

required. Normal booking conditions apply.

• 4* hotel

• Half board accommodation

• All excursion travel, entrance fees &

guided tours included

• Wine tasting included on Day 3

• Train excursion on Day 3 & boat excursion

on Day 5 included

• Return UK airport coach transfers included

• Direct scheduled flights from

Bristol to Prague

• Local professional guide

• Executive coach in Germany

• Dresden – guided city walking tour

• Frauenkirche

• Old Masters Picture Gallery – guided tour

• Steam train excursion from

Radebeul to Moritzburg

• Moritzburg Castle

• Tour & tasting at a sparkling wine producer

• Meiβen Porcelain Museum – guided tour

• Royal Palace – Historic Green Vault &

New Green Vault – audio tours

• Albertinum – guided tour

• Königstein

• Paddle steamer cruise from

Königstein to Pirna

• Prague – orientation tour by coach

We stay five nights at the 4* Radisson Blu

Park Hotel (www.radissonhotels.com) at

Radebuel. Located 6 miles from central

Dresden, facilities at the hotel include a

restaurant, bar, indoor swimming pool,

sauna, whirlpool and a gymnasium (a €5

per person charge applies each time the

leisure facilities are used). Situated within

annex buildings, all of our allocated

Standard Rooms are ensuite and feature a

hairdryer, television, an in-room safe, and

tea & coffee making facilities. A 3 course

buffet dinner without drinks is included in

our hotel every evening.

• Insurance (including Covid cover) £92

• Single room supplement £139

• Gratuities

• Lunches

EXTRAS TO YOUR TOUR

ACCOMMODATION

WHAT WE WILL SEE

FEATURES

The Art & History of

Dresden, Meiβen &

the Saxony Alps

TO SEE FULL DETAILS OF THE HOLIDAY AND THE ITINERARY AND BOOKING FORM GO TO THE  DOCUMENTS  SECTION UNDER OUR SOCIETY. 

Verdi's 'La Traviata'  

Monday, 14th -  Wednesday, 16th OCTOBER 2024

A programme for the tour had been drawn up by Tailored Travel.  3 days from £699. 

Reserved seats at Glyndebourne Opera performance at 4pm on 15th October. 

We will travel by coach. 

Accommodation has been booked for two nights at the 4* The Spa Hotel on the outskirts of Royal Tunbridge Wells.  Half board.  Facilities include a restaurant, bar, indoor swimming pool, sauna, steam room and a gymnasium.  All rooms are en suite and feature a hairdryer and television.  A set 3 course dinner without drinks is included at our hotel on the first evening and we enjoy a set 2 course dinner without drinks at Glyndebourne after the opera on Day 2. 

Single rooms:   The maximum number of single rooms available for the group is 11.  Single supplement £89.  Any extra singles will be subject to availability and will incur a higher supplement. 

Rooms Allotment:  10 Twin/Doubles,  11 Singles (see above note) 

Visits are being arranged to Brighton Pavilion (Guided Tour),  Ightham Mote with a Blue Badge Guide,  and  to Chartwell House.   Entrance fee to Brighton Pavilion included,  Ightham Mote and Chartwell are National Trust. 

 £699.00  Single Supplement £89. 

Tailored Travel are holding 27 Glyndebourne seats on short option.  In order to secure the tickets they would require £100 per person deposit by 3rd June. 

A detailed itinerary with booking form is available.  If you would like further information or a copy of brochure, please contact SUE DUNN

TEL 01752 667739.     suedunn934@gmail.com

To find out more about this tour please go to Our Society, Documents to see the details of the trip, Itinerary and booking form.

Enquiries, and if Paper Copy required please contact suedunn934@gmail.com

Deposits with booking form to Sue Dunn by the 15th January at the latest please.

The trip starts with a coach from Plymouth to St Pancras and direct Eurostar to Rotterdam. We will be staying at the Hampshire Hotel Delft, a modern hotel on the outskirts of Delft.

The 6-day trip includes a full day in Delft; full day tour to Leiden and Gauda; full day tour to Amsterdam. There will also be free time in Delft before the journey home.

For brochure and booking form please contact Sue Dunn:  suedunn934@gmail.com

Pastoral Beethoven

Plymouth Guildhall 

Mozart                   Don Giovanni Overture

Beethoven             Piano Concerto No.4

Beethoven             Symphony No. 6 'Pastoral'

Limited number of balcony seats available at a discounted price of £15.40 each.

Please telephone Jim Stevens for more information and to book tickets - the telephone number may be found on your membership Card

Natural Beauty

Mendelssohn, Brahms & Dvorak

Thursday 7th February 2019

Plymouth Guildhall

Mendelssohn:                          The Hebrides Overture

 Brahms:                                       Violin Concerto

 Dvorak:                                       Symphony No. 8  

Price £15.40 per ticket

To book, please contact:

Gail Reed - 01822 616393 gailreed@btinternet.com

or

Liz Lehmann - 01752 771609 lizlehmann@talktalk.net

11 a.m., WEDNESDAY, 31st OCTOBER, 2018

A behind-the-scenes tour of the The Lyric and The Drum gives you a unique look at how a busy theatre operates. The backstage tour aims to take you  behind the scenes to view the The Lyric auditorium from the stage, the flexible format of The Drum, the orchestra pit, the trap-rooms and front-of-house areas. Glimpse inside the dressing rooms, wings and backstage areas, experience some of the theatricality, heritage and tradition all in the company of well-informed and enthusiastic guides.

For the booking form, please go to 'Our Society' on our webpage and click 'Documents'.

South West Area Tour to Hertfordshire

Five Nights at the Cheshunt Marriott Hotel

(based on two people sharing)

Thursday, 28th June  to Tuesday, 3rd July 2018

Tour Price : £505 per person**

To include all coach travel, five nights dinner, bed & breakfast,

porterage and entrance to various venues.

Daily Itinerary:

Thursday, 28th June

 The first leg of our journey will take us to Bekonscot Model Village and railway and is the world’s oldest and original model village, opening for the first time in 1929. With over 80 years of history, a huge model railway, 1.5 acres of well-tended gardens and the finely detailed model buildings make it appealing to all ages.  This will be our lunch stop.

Friday, 29th June

Bletchley Park is our visit today.  Bletchley Park was the central site for Britain's codebreakers during World War Two, run by the Government Code and Cypher School; the German secret codes were broken here. Many radio amateurs were involved in the interception and decoding.

Saturday, 30th June

Hatfield House is the home of the 7th Marquis and Marchioness of Salisbury and their family. The Estate has been in the Cecil family for 400 years.

Superb examples of Jacobean craftsmanship can be seen throughout the House. The elaborately carved staircase, dating from 1611, is one of the finest examples of its kind in existence. The King James drawing room has always been the principal reception room in the House. It takes its name from the life –size statue of James 1, presented by the King himself which stands above the mantelpiece. It is made from stone, painted to look like bronze.

The chapel, consecrated in 1614 is still in use for worship. The stained glass window, showing Old Testament scenes, was made in 1610 by the glass-painters Richard Butler of Southwark, “Lewis Dolphin, a French painter” (probably Louis Dauphin) and Martin van Bentheim of Emden, Holland.

The gardens are extensive and very beautiful. Also there is an exhibition “Tanks, Tribunals and Tragedy”, the Story of a Great House in the Great War.

The Coach House Restaurant provides lunches or teas/coffee and pastries etc.

Sunday, 1st July

 Our first visit today will be Hitchin Lavender with around 25 miles of lavender rows. As well as growing lavender they also grow sunflowers and have a wildflower area. There is a 17th century barn where coffees/teas are light  lunches are available.

After lunch we will visit St Pauls Walden which is a notable landscape garden, laid out in the early 18th century covering above 50 acres. The original house was built about 1720; the house and gardens were designed by the owner, Edward Gilbert. His grand-daughter, Mary Eleanor Bowes married John Lyon, Earl of Strathmore. The property still belongs to the Bowes Lyon family. It was the birth place and childhood home of the late Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.

Monday, 2nd July

Today our venue is Woburn Abbey the historic home of the Earls and Dukes of Bedford for almost 400 years. There are over 250 works of art displayed in more than twenty rooms.  The gardens were inspired by Humphry Repton and in all there are 28 award winning acres. The Duchess’ tea rooms offer light lunches, tea and cakes.

Tuesday, 3rd July

Once the luggage has been packed away we will make our way to Dorney Court which is a rural oasis tucked away next to the Thames, just a stone’s throw from London. It stands in landscaped gardens overlooking parkland and ancient yew hedges and is one of England’s most beautiful Tudor Manor Houses.

Dorney Court Kitchen Garden is just five minutes’ walk from Dorney Court there is a plant nursery, café and a traditional ancient walled garden. This will be our lunch stop.

Tour Price:

The tour price is £505 based on two people sharing.

**Where available, single rooms carry a supplement of £22 per night.

The price includes all coach travel, five nights’ dinner, bed and breakfast at the Cheshunt Marriott Hotel, admission to Bekonscot, Bletchley Park, Hatfield House, Hitchin Lavender, St Pauls Walden, Woburn Abbey and Dorney Court together with a small charge for the driver’s gratuity.

PLEASE NOTE:  The right to amend the venue or alter the order of itinerary is reserved. The information given was correct at the time of printing this itinerary.

Members living outside the Taunton area contact Mary Ginger:

(( 01823 490527) regarding their travel arrangements please.

A non-refundable deposit is required by 1st February 2018 the balance will be due and payable not later than 18th May 2018 please.

Please note: if you are going to be away when payment is due will you be so kind as to let me have a post-dated cheque for this date please. I have a deadline to keep with the hotel and failure to pay on the due date could result in our losing the booking or a penalty to be paid.

NO FURTHER REMINDERS WILL BE SENT

For booking form please go to our 'Documents' page.

VISIT TO HARTLAND ABBEY

NORTH DEVON 

WEDNESDAY, 30th MAY 2018

Hartland Abbey was built in 1157 and consecrated by Bishop Bartholomew of Exeter in 1160AD as a monastery of the regular canons of the Order of St Augustine of Hippo. The Abbey remained as a monastery until 1539 when it became the last monastery in the country to be Dissolved by Henry VIII. The King made a gift of the Abbey to the Sergeant of his Wine Cellar at Hampton Court, Mr. William Abbott, whose descendants live here today. 

Hartland Abbey is a hidden gem on the stunning North Devon coast.  Passing down generations from the Dissolution to this day it remains a friendly, family home full of interest: architecture from 1160 to 1850 by Meadows and Sir George Gilbert Scott; murals, important paintings and furniture, porcelain, early photographs, documents, family memorabilia and changing exhibitions.  Family links to characters such as Sir Walter Raleigh, Rev William Stukeley, Pocohontas,  Haile Sellasie.  Woodland gardens and walks lead to the Jekyll designed Bog Garden and Fernery, restored 18th Century Walled  Gardens full of flowers, fruit and vegetables, the Summerhouse, Gazebo and the beach at Blackpool Mill.  (Allow about an hour for the beach walk.) 

We will leave Plymouth Milehouse at 8.30 a.m. and travel to Hartland Abbey by Plymouth Citycoach with pick ups at Yelverton(8.55) and Bedford Hotel, Tavistock.(9.05)  On arrival we will have a guided tour of the Abbey lasting approx 1 hour.  Thereafter free time for lunch and to explore the grounds. 

You are welcome to take a picnic to eat in the grounds, but if you wish to have a light lunch/tea in the Tea Rooms pleaase indicate on the booking form. 

Cost of visit includes coach hire, entrance, guided tour and gratuity: £30 per person

BOOKING CLOSING DATE: 1st May 2018 

PLEASE SEE UNDER 'DOCUMENTS' FOR BOOKING FORM. (Click on 'Our Society' for dropdown menu  and then click 'Documents' for access to booking forms)

Visit to Highgrove Gardens 

Wednesday, 2nd May 2018 

Departing Milehouse Park and Ride 9 a.m. 

Arrangements have been made for 26 members of The Arts Society South Devon to visit Highgrove Gardens.  We will travel by Plymouth Citycoach, departing from the bus stop within Milehouse Park and Ride (Life Centre end). 

The cost of the visit is will be no more than £50 (to be confirmed) which includes Entrance, Tour, Coach and gratuity. 

We are expected to arrive at 12.20 p.m., the Tour commences at 1.20 p.m., giving us time for a light lunch in the restaurant, visit shop.  

The garden tour takes 2 hours.  Some paths on the Estate are unmade, there are cobblestones on the Estate and there are no seating facilities in the garden.  This should be borne in mind, especially if anyone has walking difficulties.  Tours will continue in wet weather and it is recommended that stout shoes and suitable clothing is worn. 

Following the tour we will have time for tea and to visit the shop before leaving at approx 4.30 p.m arriving Milehouse at approx 7 p.m. 

As Highgrove require payment by the 21st March, please ring Sue Dunn (01752 667739) to reserve your ticket and bring the completed booking form and payment to the lecture evening on Wednesday, 14th March.   

Please note that all visitors must bring their admittance ticket and some photographic identification with them – ideally a passport or driving licence, bus pass (alternatively two utility bills). 

Mobile phones are not permitted to be used anywhere on the Estate.  Visitors should contact a member of staff in the event of needing to make a telephone call during their visit. 

No photography, binoculars or any form of recording equipment are allowed on the Estate. 

Smoking (including e-cigarettes) is strictly prohibited on the Estate. 

Admission tickets will be sent to Sue Dunn who will distribute them before the event. 

For Booking form please see in ‘Documents’ in drop down menu under ‘Our Society’ on The Arts Society South Devon website.

THE ARTS SOCIETY SOUTH DEVON VISIT TO DORSET. 

SUNDAY, 15th APRIL – WEDNESDAY, 18th APRIL, 2018.

Staying at The Cumberland Hotel in Bournemouth  Three nights bed, breakfast and evening meal.  We will travel by Plymouth Citycoach with pick ups at Yelverton, Plymouth (Milehouse) and Lee Mill.  Please bring National Trust card. 

The following is an outline of the itinerary.  There may be additions and amendments. 

Day 1.  En route to Bournemouth we will visit Mapperton House, Beaminster.

Home of the Earl and Countess of Sandwich.

Jacobean Manor House with RHS Partner hanging garden, which reflects at least three periods of history.  The house was entered in the Domesday Book as Malperetone. Used for various films including Far from the Madding Crowd. We will be given a tour of the house followed by free time in the garden.  On the day of our visit there is a  RHS plant sale.

(Simple refreshments only available due to work on cafe.  Therefore I suggest you may wish to take a picnic lunch.) 

Day 2.  With a Blue Badge Guide we will visit Hardy's Cottage. (N.T.)

Preceded by coffee in the nearby Visitor Centre, we will visit Hardy's rural childhood home and the birthplace of his literary land of  'Wessex'.  (Being a very small house we will go in in small timed groups.)

Following this visit, we will have a guided coach drive through Dorchester, Poundbury and through the  Isle of Portland to Portland Bill where we will have free time for lunch. (Available from the Lobster Pot restaurant).  The Portland Bill Lighthouse is open to the pubic if anyone feels energetic. 

During the afternoon we will visit the Portland Museum, founded by Marie Stopes, (birth control pioneer in the 1920's) in her two thatched cottages, now Grade 2 listed.  Inspired by one of these cottages, Hardy made it the home of Avice in 'The Wellbeloved'  This small museum contains exhibits about the history and culture of the island.

Stop at Tout Quarry Nature Reserve to visit Sculpture Park. 

Day 3.  With Blue Badge Guide we will visit Tolpuddle and the Martyrs Museum.

Visitors will discover how the Tolpuddle Martyrs changed the face of social history and, through their beliefs and actions, made such an impact on society. We will have a guided walk through the village.

Followed by a visit to Athelhampton House in Puddletown,  One of the outstanding manor houses in England. The late medieval great hall with tall oriel window is uniquely fine amidst the harmonious Tudor additions with their Ham stone mullions and heraldic carved beasts.   Tour of the house followed by free time for lunch in the restaurant and to see the Grade 1 listed gardens, dating from 1891. 

We will then visit The Church of St Nicholas and St Magna in Moreton to see its beautiful glass windows engraved by the late Sir Laurence Whistler.  Refreshments available in nearby Tea Room.

On way back to Bournemouth we will stop at Clouds Hill (N.T.) – the tiny workman's cottage which was home to T.E.Lawrence after he had abandoned the 'Lawrence of Arabia' persona and remodelled himself as a private in the army at Bovington Camp.   

Day 4.  On our last morning  we will have an early start in order to visit Minterne House, home of Lord Digby.  (Home of Churchill and Digby families since 1629).  Coffee and guided tour of the house by Lord Digby or his son.  Free time in the garden which is landscaped in the manner of Capability Brown. 

Free time in Sherborne for lunch. 

During the afternoon we will have a guided tour of Sherborne Abbey before leaving Sherborne to return home.

…......... 

I look forward to hearing from members who wish to join this mini tour.

Early applications advised.  Please see note on booking form which may be found under 'Documents'. (Click on 'Our Society' for dropdown menu  and then click 'Documents' for access to booking forms)

Sue Dunn Tel: 01752 667739.  email suedunn934@gmail.com  

Booking closes on 24th February, 2018.

South West Area 6 day tour this year is to Sussex and is amazing value at £498 per person for five nights dinner, bed and breakfast at the Felbridge Spa Hotel (four star) in East Grinstead, and visiting the great haouses and Gardens in Sussex together with time in Royal Tunbridge Wells.  We will be leavingfrom Taunton and visiting  Batemans, Nymans. Petworth House, Wakehurst Place, Sackville College, Standen House and Hinton Ampner with the usual tours for our group.  These trips/holidays are also very popular and this one is filling up quickly. 

Full details of this tour are on the South West Area web-site at www.nadfasswarea.org.uk with application form.

Date for your diary

Thursday, 23rd June 2016

Visit to Penlee Gallery Penzance.

Talk by Catherine Wallace on the exhibition Marine Painting from Turner to Wallis

Please see application forms for details.

​For application form go to About Us and click on Documents.

SDDFAS TOUR TO SHROPSHIRE AND SURROUNDINGS 

Sunday, 17th April – Friday, 22nd April 2016.

A SDDFAS Tour is being arranged to visit Shropshire and surroundings. We will stay at the 4 star Telford Golf and Spa Hotel (with indoor pool).  Bed, breakfast and evening meal at the hotel.  Two booked lunches, three coffee, one tea, and one cream tea included.

We will travel by Plymouth Citycoach from Bretonside with a pick up at Westward Inn, Lee Mill. 

Please remember to bring your National Trust card. 

The following is an outline of the itinerary.  There may be additions and amendments. 

Day 1.  An early start from Bretonside Bus Station.  Coffee stop en route.

Visit to Berrington Hall (NT). Herefordshire, with free time to visit the mansion and for lunch.  Berrington is a fine Georgian Manor designed by Henry Holland and sits within one of Capability Brown's final landscapes.  A perfect house in a perfect setting with delightful plasterwork which makes the interior feel airy and bright,

Proceed to our Telford Golf and Spa hotel. 

Day 2.  With our Blue Badge Guide.  Visit to Ironbridge, the birthplace of industry.

We will visit the Bridge Tollhouse small museum which will be opened specially for us and then walk across the Bridge to the town.  Free time for coffee in town.  We will then proceed by coach to Blists Hill Victorian Town where you will step back more than a hundred years.  This site is a bustling recreation of a Victorian town where pounds, shillings and pence are used for its transactions.. Free time to walk around and explore the homes, workshops and shops  and possibly buy curious products from the chemist, grocers and drapers shops!  Lunch can be obtained here. 

During the afternoon we will depart for a visit to the nearby village of Jackfield which was once the centre of the world tile industry.  The Tile Museum, housed in one of the old factories, is filled with beautiful tile displays and settings.

En route back to our hotel we will stop at Much Wenlock, birthplace of the modern Olympics. 

Day 3.  Today we will venture into Wales with our Blue Badge Guide for a visit to Powis Castle with coffee on arrival.  Free time to see the world-renowned gardens and for lunch.  The castle interior reflects the Elizabethan to Edwardian periods and houses the UK's largest private collection of Indian treasures housed in the Clive Museum. 

In the afternoon we will  drive through, explore and have free time in the Shropshire hills: including Long Mynd and Stiperstones where we will have (booked) tea and cake at the Bog Village Heritage Centre.

                                    “Into my heart an air that kills

                                     From yon far country blows

                                     What are these blue remembered hills

                                    What spires, what farms are those?”  

                                  A.G.Houseman.  A Shropshire Lad

Day 4.  We will have a walking tour in Shrewsbury with our Blue Badge Guide.  Medieval market town, birthplace of Charles Darwin, with museum, abbey, castle and interesting independent shops.  Free time to explore and to have lunch. 

In the afternoon, we will have a short river trip on the Severn which loops around Shrewsbury before departing by coach to nearby Battlefield 1403. Site of Battle of Shrewsbury, considered one of Britain's most important sites of conflict.  We will have a guide to explain the site, and  visit 1403 church, built at bequest of Henry IV following the battle, before having a (booked) cream tea in the Battlefield Farm Shop with free time to shop and to visit museum. 

Day 5.  Visit Wightwick Manor and Gardens, West Midlands, (NT), an Arts and Crafts home which houses rich William Morris furnishings and Pre-Raphaelite paintings.

Coffee on arrival followed by a morning private guided tour of the Manor with free time to visit the garden before a (booked) buffet lunch. 

In the afternoon we will visit Bridgnorth, once a thriving port on the banks of the River Severn, divided between High Town and Low Town and connected by the oldest steepest inland funicular railway in Britain, described by Betjeman “You feel you are being lifted into heaven”.

Our Blue Badge Guide will take us on a circular walk, including passing the Norman remains of Bridgnorth Castle.  We will then have free time to explore this very pretty town and get a cup of tea before taking the funicular railway to rejoin  the coach in Low Town.  

Day 6.  Today we depart from the hotel.  We will stop at the Dower House, Morville Hall, near Bridgnorth, home of Dr Katherine Swift, garden historian and writer.  Katherine's book re making the garden (The Morville Hours) was featured as Book of the Week on Radio 4 some years ago. The garden aims to tell the history of English garden in a sequence of separate gardens.

We will be met by Katherine and have coffee in the Dower House while she talks to us about making the garden.  We will then have free time to walk around the garden before departing for Ludlow.

On arrival at Ludlow we will visit the 15th century St Laurence's Church in centre of town. Known as “the cathedral of the marches” it has fine stained glass windows and was given a 5 star rating by Simon Jenkins in his England's Thousand Greatest Churches.  We will then have (booked) lunch in the Feathers Hotel followed by free time to either walk around town, visit Ludlow Castle, Art Room in Castle Square..... 

On departure from Ludlow we will have a coffee stop en route before arriving back in Plymouth at approximately 8 p.m.

…......

I look forward to hearing from members who wish to join the tour.  Early applications to show interest would be much appreciated.

For booking form please go to About Us on the front page and click on documents.

Closing date 1st March 2016, 

Sue Dunn.  Tel:  01752 667739

email:  suedunn934@gmail.com

1) Plymouth Guildhall on Thursday 21 January 2016. 

    We have 30 tickets available @ £10.50 each 

    Programme: Ravel - Le Trombeau de Couperin

                         Haydn - Cello Concerto

                         Beethoven - Symphony No.2

2) Exeter University Great Hall on Thursday 18 February 2016. 

    We have 49 tickets available at approx.  £23.00 each 

    Programme: Stravinsky - Dumbarton Oaks

                       Tchaikovsky - Violin Concerto

                       Schumann - Symphony No.1 'Spring'

3) Exeter Cathedral on Saturday 7 May 2016.

   We have 49 tickets available at a split of approx. £31.00 and  £26.00 each 

    Programme: Brahms - Violin Concerto

                       Mendelsohnn - Calm sea and Prosperous Voyage      

                       Elgar - Enigma Variations

In the first instance please contact Barbara Beadle (bbtrehill@talktalk.net) with your statement of intent on a first come first serve basis. Further details as to times and payment will be available at our first scheduled meeting in September.

DATE FOR YOUR DIARY

4TH - 9TH OCTOBER

SDDFAS TRIP TO LISBON

PLEASE SEE NOTICE BOARD

CONTACT SUE DUNN FOR MORE DETAILS

suedunn3@talktalk.net