Our recent outings by coach from Oxford have included a day trip in September to the National Trust property Tyntesfield, a magnificent Victorian house remodelled in the Gothic Revival style.
In October we visited Batsford Arboretum to catch the autumn colours (it was a little early for changes in many leaves, but we had a sunny day!). Later that day we had a guided tour of Chastleton House, a Jacobean country house full of myths and memories, with a beautifully restored garden.
Our holiday in Chester
Thirty-seven of us ventured out on the holiday to Chester staying at the historic Queen at Chester Hotel where we enjoyed good food and comfortable rooms, mostly named after royalty (especially relatives of Queen Victoria) or well-known figures, such as Charles Dickens and Cecil Rhodes, who had stayed there in the past. One of our group even had the luxury of a four-poster bed!
Our visits took in a wide range of historic periods from the religious upheavals and persecutions of the 16th century (particularly highlighted at Baddesley Clinton, Speke Hall and Coughton Court) to the splendour of 17th-century Dunham Massey house and park, through to the Industrial Revolution with a visit to the cotton mill at Quarry Bank, and on to present-day Liverpool with a visit to Albert Dock and the glorious modern Roman Catholic Cathedral. Some of us also took time out to explore the many attractions of Chester including the Cathedral, the Rows, the city wall, and the zoo.
– Pam Lee
