Royal Ascot Ladies Day: Thursday 20th June 2024. The five-day meeting begins each day with the Royal Procession – the arrival of The Royal party in horse-drawn landaus, which parade along the track in front of the race- goers. The Royal Procession dates back to the 1820s and the reign of King George IV, at which time it was referred to as the Royal Parade or Royal Drive. The Royal Enclosure is at the heart of Royal Ascot.. Within this area, gentlemen are required to wear morning dress with a top hat and ladies must wear formal day wear. The origin of this tradition can be traced back to around the time of the running of Ascot’s most famous race, The Gold Cup, which was inaugurated in 1807 and remains to this day the most important long distance horse race on the flat anywhere in the world. Price coach and Windsor Enclosure admission £59.00 per person, coach will depart Stevenage at 08.30
Highgate & Hampstead: Wednesday 5th June 2024. When London’s churchyards filled up, just as a young Queen Victoria came to the throne, a scheme was launched to build The Magnificent Seven – huge, modern cemeteries in a ring around the City. As soon as it opened in 1839 Highgate Cemetery in the Northern hills became THE place to be buried if you were rich or famous. Highgate would become one of the greatest cemeteries in the world full of eccentric funerary architecture. In the heart of the grounds the Egyptian Avenue leads to the Circle of Lebanon created by earth being excavated around an ancient Cedar of Lebanon. The cemetery fell into ruin for many years until in the 1970s The Friend of Highgate Cemetery was formed to buy the freehold – the tours are run to raise money to look after it. Nature has gradually taken over and this remarkable site is now also an important wild-life reserve. Come and meet London’s famous dead in this Victorian Valhalla. 12 Noon Arrive in Hampstead for Fish & Chips lunch with dessert (cheesecake) and tea/coffee. The restaurant is on the ground floor and can cater for gluten free and other dietary requirement when pre-ordered. 2.00pm Guided tour of the West Cemetery (the extraordinary side with all the gothic tombs), which lasts around 70 minutes. Paths are steep and sometimes muddy and there are two flights of stairs so please do make you are aware of this and advise participants to wear appropriate footwear. Following there is time for a self-guided visit to the East Cemetery (where Karl Marx is). This is on a gentler slope with tarmac paths and is more easily accessible. 4.45pm Depart. There are loos at Highgate but no café. Price £59.00 per person. Coach will depart Stevenage at 10.30 .
Windsor Castle & 40 minute river cruise: Friday 24th May 2024. Windsor Castle, the family home to British kings and queens for over 1,000 years. The size of the Castle (5 hectares/13 acres) is breath taking, in fact it is the largest and oldest occupied Castle in the world and it’s where Her Majesty The Queen chooses to spend most of her private weekends. Visit the magnificent State Apartments furnished with some of the finest works of art from the Royal Collection, including paintings by Rembrandt, Rubens and Canaletto. Take in the splendour of St George’s Chapel, the burial place of 10 monarchs including Henry VIII and Charles I, and one of the finest examples of Gothic architecture in England. Be amazed at Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House, the largest, most beautiful and most famous dolls’ house in the world, created in the 1920s and filled with thousands of objects made by leading craftsmen, artists and designers of the time. Our short river cruise goes upstream to Boveney Lock & returns with fantastic views of Windsor Castle, Eton College, Mill House, Windsor Racecourse & the Brocas Meadows. The view of the Castle from the river is undoubtedly the finest there is, making this trip excellent for those who are visiting Windsor for the first time. Price £59.00 per person. Coach will depart Stevenage at 09.00
National Flower Show at Hylands House: Friday 17th May 2024. Hylands House is a beautiful designed stately home situated in the 570 acres of Hylands Park. Hylands House and its surrounding gardens will be filled with inspiration, flowers and plants and everything you need for your home and garden. Here you’ll discover tunning arrangements from nurseries up and down the country as they compete for our prestigious Best in Show prize. The Pavilion will be a riot of colour, fragrance and amazing plants with a whole range of specialists including Bonsai, fly trap plants, cactus and more, all with unique and special varieties you may not be able to find in your local garden centre. Price £35.00 per person Coach departs Stevenage at 09.00.
Suffolk Coast Tuesday 7th May 2024. Visits to Southwold and Aldeburgh with a fish & chip lunch at the famous Flora Tea Rooms on Dunwich beach. Meet the Blue Badge Tour Guide in Woodbridge, just above Ipswich, to buy morning coffee. In Aldeburgh the Moot Hall, once in the centre of the town, now teeters on the water’s edge. We see where the fishermen still sell their catch on the beach and marvel at the controversial Maggi Hambling scallop sculpture. On to Dunwich for lunch. The town has already been claimed by the sea but the brilliant Flora Tea Rooms survives on the beach. In addition to a choice of fish served with chips there’s a slice of bread plus a dessert and a cup of tea or coffee, all included in the tour fee. In the afternoon we continue along the coast. Thorpeness is an eccentric puzzle of mock Tudor houses and the quirky “House in the Clouds”. In the elegant little Edwardian resort town of Southwold old cottages of great charm cluster around the gleaming white lighthouse and candy coloured beach huts line the shore. Join the guide to explore possibly the finest mediaeval church in England – the home of “Southwold Jack”. The day ends with free time to enjoy this jolly seaside town and pick a spot for tea before heading for home at 4.45pm Price £59.00 per person. Coach will depart Stevenage at 08.30
