| Status: | Active, open to new members |
| Leader: |
Steve Sell
|
| When: | Monthly on Wednesday mornings |
Planning Meetings are usually on the third Wednesday of the month from 11.00am at St. Clements Church Hall, Cheshunt Wash, Turnford, EN8 0LU.
Limited parking in front of the Church. Please DO NOT use parking places in front of the school as the teachers/office staff get VERY annoyed. If the Church side is full, please park in the adjacent Lea Valley Park or Hillview Gardens opposite.
PREVIOUS VISITS
OCTOBER 2025
Wednesday 8th October – River cruise from Westminster to Hampton Court.
SEPTEMBER 2025
Wednesday 17th September – Visit Chartwell, the family home and garden of Sir Winston Churchill.
AUGUST 2025
Saturday 30th August – East Sussex day out by train including Eastbourne.
JULY 2025
Wednesday 2nd July – Summer visit to St. Pauls Cathedral followed by Afternoon tea.
MAY 2025
In May we visited the Poppy Factory in Richmond-upon-Thames. Since our last visit the factory and offices had been completely redeveloped, and a new visitor centre and exhibition had opened in 2021.
We took the train from Cheshunt to Stratford where we changed onto the newly named Mildmay line of the London Overground. This operates between Stratford and Richmond, so we stayed on for the entire journey.
After some refreshment outside Richmond Station, we all gathered at the bus stop. The very frequent number 65 bus took us from Richmond Station to a stop outside the Poppy Factory in ten minutes.
Our visit Commenced with a 30-minute presentation (video and talk) about the history of the poppy and establishment of the factory initially, in the Old Kent Road in 1922, before moving to Richmond in 1926. We then explored the exhibition and had a go at poppy-making.
Since 1922, The Poppy Factory has offered veterans with mental and physical health conditions a supportive place of employment, making poppies, wreaths and other Remembrance products. The factory has 12 Production Operators including two Special Wreath Makers. They make around 100,000 wreaths and 250 Royal and special wreaths each year. Many of the recently used wreaths were on show in the exhibition.
We learnt the Poppy Factory helps veterans and their families on their journey towards employment. The people they support can face some of the most challenging situations in the Armed Forces community. Each year, their specialist team helps hundreds of people to change their lives, taking positive steps forward on their own terms. We all finished our visit with a very welcome cake and hot drink served by the friendly ladies in the small café area. Then it was time to retrace our steps before making our way back to Cheshunt.
APRIL 2025
In April, like other Exploring London groups, we visited the Tutankhamun Immersive Exhibition at Excel Waterfront. Several members decided to opt out of the virtual reality sections after having been to the Great Pyramid Khafu Experience earlier this year.
This exhibition had a lot more on offer however, including captivating background stories about Egyptian civilization alongside carefully curated replicas and artefacts. The experience continues into a huge immersive video mapping room which recounts the rich history of Egypt, its natural landscapes, cultural heritage, the life of Tutankhamun, his tomb, and its ground-breaking discovery. Everyone enjoyed the 30-minute immersive movie which involved large 8-metre-high projections.
MARCH 2025
Monday 17th March – Tour of the Musical Museum in Brentford. In March we visited the Musical Museum in Brentford. The Musical Museum was founded 60 years ago by the late Frank Holland. He started with his own private collection of some half-dozen reproducing pianos, and in 1963 he was given use of the former St George’s Church, Brentford to get the collection under one roof. He was initially allowed use of the premises for only two years, but the museum was still there 40 years later.
During its existence, the Museum’s collection has grown steadily, and it now encompasses a wide range of musical instruments and unique inventions which tell the story of how music was recorded and reproduced through the ages.
The current building was specially designed for the Musical Museum and was opened in June 2008. The shell of the building was funded by a Heritage Lottery Grant, and the transfer of the collection from the old building and the setting-up of the galleries was carried out entirely by volunteers. In addition to the instrument galleries and roll library, the Museum contains a workshop, concert hall, and a café with views of the River Thames.
We visited on a Monday when the museum is not open to the general public. Tea and coffee with biscuits in the café was organised for our arrival. We then enjoyed live presentations of a range of instruments and inventions including musical boxes, reproducing pianos, organs and self-playing violins. We were fascinated by the intricate workings and amazing sound of an orchestrion that recreates the sound of a concert orchestra.
Our visit concluded in the concert hall, where the Mighty Wurlitzer theatre organ was demonstrated at length, including the facility whereby the organ rises from below the stage. The organ was moved from the cinema in Kingston originally known as the Regal and latterly as the ABC in October 1972 where it had been for 40 years. Following our tour and demonstration we enjoyed an excellent buffet lunch in the concert hall. We returned to Cheshunt having enjoyed a unique museum where we were made very welcome.
FEBRUARY 2025
In February we visited the Tower of London. Unfortunately, it was raining when we arrived so no Beefeater tours were operating initially. Several group members chose to do their own thing. However, most members toured the Tower together. After some refreshment we visited the White Tower which contains an impressive collection of arms and armour, including the ‘Line of Kings’ with the royal armours of Henry VIII, Charles I and James II. Also inside the White Tower is a unique Romanesque chapel, the beautiful 11th Century Chapel of St. John. We took the opportunity for a rest as we stayed here to listen to an entertaining half hour talk about the history of the Tower of London.
After a spot of lunch, the rain had stopped, and we were able to join a tour with Yeoman Warder Wayne Glynn. It lasted well over an hour and was as expected very informative and entertaining. Wayne spared none of the gory details! We still had plenty of time to visit the Crown Jewels exhibition before we returned to Cheshunt.
JANUARY 2025
In January we visited the Wallace Collection for an excellent tour with our knowledgeable Blue Badge guide Sue. The Wallace Collection is a museum in London occupying Hertford House in Manchester Square, the former townhouse of the Seymour family, Marquesses of Hertford.
The Wallace Collection is one of the most captivating private collections of fine and decorative arts in the world. Independently collected by each of the four Marquesses of Hertford in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, together with Sir Richard Wallace who inherited the collections in 1870 and continued to add to it with gusto. It is one of the most incredible collections of its type ever bequeathed by an individual collector to the nation. It was opened as a museum 1900.
The collection features important holdings of French 18th-century paintings, furniture, arms and armour, porcelain and Old Master paintings (including the so called ‘Laughing Cavalier’), arranged into 25 galleries.
We finished the tour with the amazing collection of armour. This included the equestrian figure in fifteenth-century Gothic armour which was a stunning contortion of steel, the menace of its upflung sword matched by the menace of the remarkable spurs. Apart from the collection those using the lockers had an interesting experience. Fortunately, everyone managed to cope and remembered which locker and the number code they entered and managed to retrieve their coats and bags after the visit. Those using the café afterwards also had an interesting experience and the cakes were very tasty if a bit pricey.
DECEMBER 2024
The group Christmas dinner at the Bulls Head was enjoyed by 30 members in December.
NOVEMBER 2024
Recently we visited the Museum of the Home. Fortunately, the day we visited a guided tour inside Almshouse number 14 was available. We discovered what it was like to live in Hackney 200 years ago in the restored 18th-century Almshouse dwelling. Members agreed this was particularly interesting and enjoyable.
Almshouses were built on the site in 1714, to house the widows of ironmongers. The almshouses were funded by a bequest from Sir Robert Geffrye, a merchant who had served as Lord Mayor of London and Master of the Ironmongers' Company. There were 14 four-room houses, for up to 56 pensioners, with a large garden. In 1911 the Ironmongers' Company decided the area had become too dangerous for pensioners, moved them to the country and sold the buildings to the London County Council. Following this the almshouses were converted to house the museum which opened in 1914.
Geffrye was a merchant whose wealth was partly derived from the forced labour and trading of enslaved Africans. It is likely therefore that because of this, following the recent refurbishment, the name of the museum was changed from the Geffrye Museum.
The main permanent displays are a series of room settings furnished and decorated to show the main living spaces and elements of domestic life through the centuries, reflecting changes in society, behaviour, style and taste. Since reopening, the museum has new galleries to explore the concept of home through people's everyday experiences of making, keeping and being at home over the last 400 years.
NOVEMBER 2024
At the end of November around 30 members visited RHS Hyde Hall ‘Glow’ near Chelmsford. We boarded the coach mid-afternoon and arrived just before opening at 5:00pm. We were lucky with the weather as it was a reasonably mild evening for the time of year. Despite being a Friday, the site was relatively uncrowded and members found the trail very relaxed. The lights blended well into the landscape and the refreshment areas were well organised.
OCTOBER 2024
Guided Tour of Watermen’s Livery Hall. Recently we visited Watermen’s Hall, the only original Georgian hall in the City of London. The Hall’s elegance is characterised by 18th century domestic architecture, however, the Company of Watermen dates back much earlier. The Company of Watermen was established by an Act of Parliament in 1555 to regulate Watermen and wherrymen carrying passengers by boat under oars on the River Thames. In 1700 the Lightermen (carriers of goods/cargo) joined the Watermen’s Company. In 1983, the Hall underwent an extension to effectively accommodate larger dining and meeting parties with the addition of the Freemen’s Room. Now, the Freemen’s Room blends in perfect harmony with the Court Room, the Parlour Room, and the Silver Room. The oldest continuous boat race in the world, Doggett’s Coat and Badge Wager was first raced in 1715 and has now been contested by watermen and lightermen for more than 300 years. This potentially makes it the oldest continuous race in any sport. The Doggett’s Wager is rowed over 4 miles and 7 furlongs (7,400 metres) on a course chosen by Sir Thomas Doggett in 1715. I was particularly interested in this as, from my daughter’s family history research, it has been established that our ancestor won this race in 1878.
SEPTEMBER 2024
Recently we travelled by coach to Audley End. On arrival most members joined a comprehensive guided tour around the gardens. Following an introduction to the property and the front landscape, Head gardener Louise took us to the south of the house. We walked through the colourful Mount Garden and Parterre, with good views of the park beyond the ‘ha-ha’ (effectively a long ditch or wall sunken into the ground so as not to obstruct the view of the Temple of Concord in the distance. Our tour ended in the Elysian and Pond Garden and finally the very interesting Kitchen Garden.
After lunch there was plenty of time left to explore the house, kitchen, dairy and laundry. Originally a monastery, Walden Abbey, it was granted by Henry VIII to his chancellor, Thomas, Lord Audley, who converted the buildings to a house. The house was passed down to descendants the Neville/Braybrookes before being bought for the nation post-war. The tour of the house starts in the impressive Great Hall and Saloon and progresses through a number of other richly decorated and furnished rooms. Most members managed to climb the succession of stairs to the more recently restored nursery and were rewarded by an interesting suite of rooms and video about the Neville children that graced those rooms.
AUGUST 2024
At the end of August, a dozen group members travelled by train to Goring on Sea in West Sussex. It was a short walk from Goring station to the Catholic Church of the Holy Martyrs in Goring Way. It is a relatively new church built to replace the adjoining stone barn that now serves as a parish centre. The church now receives many visitors because of the unusual artwork and stained glass.
Parishioner Gary Bevans went on pilgrimage to Rome in 1987 and was transfixed by the wonder of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. He went on to spend his evenings over the next five and a half years reproducing the ceiling of his own parish church in Goring and then undertook painting the walls and décor of the Church, to create its glorious marble effect.
After our church visit we we used our bus passes to travel on the Coastliner 700 bus, stopping off at Worthing pier for some seaside strolling and lunch. When the group came together again we all enjoyed ice creams before rejoining a later 700 bus along the Sussex coast towards Shoreham on Sea and a train back to London.
JULY 2024
Thursday 29th August 2024 – We toured along the Sussex coast by train & bus. We included a visit to the Church of the Holy Martyrs to see the Sistine Chapel ceiling in Goring on Sea.
JULY 2024
Wednesday 17th July 2024 – Introductory Talk and self-guided visit to the Museum of Brands.
In July, we first visited the Museum of Brands in the Notting Hill area of London. It focuses on the history of consumer culture from Victorian times to the present day.
On arrival, we bought morning refreshments at the small café and took these into the lovely garden. The museum is housed in what was the London Lighthouse, so they have dedicated the garden as a quiet memorial space for those who passed away from AIDS and HIV during treatment here in the 1990's.
It was a lovely day so to start with we enjoyed an introductory talk from our host Florence in the garden. She explained the museum showcases over 12,000 items from the Robert Opie Collection, which were housed in the Museum of Advertising and Packaging at Gloucester Docks, from 1984 until its closure in October 2001. The collection moved to Colville Mews, Notting Hill in 2005. However, the collection needed more space and it finally moved to its present location in 2015 when the building, originally owned by theTerence Higgins Trust, became vacant.
After the talk we all explored the Time Tunnel and the remarkable story of how our consumer society has evolved since Victorian times. It’s a journey of discovery which puts our favourite brands into their historical context, along with royal coronations, two world wars, man landing on the moon and right up to the digital age. It certainly evoked a lot of memories in the EL4 members!
Saturday 20th July 2024 – Old Bailey Guided Tour.
Later that week 16 members enjoyed a Saturday tour inside the Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey, after the street on which it stands. The Old Bailey adjoined Newgate Prison until the jail's 1902 closure. Hangings were a public spectacle in the street outside until 1868. The condemned would be led along Dead Man's Walk between the buildings, and many were buried in the walk itself.
Following extensive damage in the Second World War the restored interior of the Grand Hall was reopened in 1952. This hall (underneath the dome) is decorated with paintings commemorating the Blitz, as well as quasi-historical scenes of St Paul's Cathedral with nobles outside.
After exploring the hall, we sat in Court No.1 and Court No.5 with some members being selected to sit up on the bench. We were all under strict orders not to touch any paperwork given that cases would resume again on the Monday. Finally, we descended to the day cells where everyone was told under no circumstances should they enter or even peer into the cells to avoid anyone becoming locked in.
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FEBRUARY 2024
In February due to illness at short notice Fiona Lukas led our City Churches Guided Tour. We managed to visit St Mary Aldermary, Bow Lane, a Gothic-style church which is the only surviving one of its kind. Next we visited St. Stephen, Walbrook. This wonderful church has the architect’s rehearsal dome (the precursor to St Paul’s Cathedral). It’s accompanied by Sir Henry Moore’s sculptured stone altar in the centre. Finally, we visited St. Magnus the Martyr church which stands at the head of the old London Bridge. It was Wren’s most expensive parish church and the first to be visited by all those crossing the old bridge into the City.
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Wednesday 22nd November 2023 was our Guided Tour of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
Wednesday 6th December2023 was our Guided Tour of the National Portrait Gallery with Blue Badge Guide Paula Cooze. We took in the London Christmas lights afterwards.
Friday 15th December 2023 was our Group Christmas Evening Dinner at the Bulls Head.
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SEPTEMBER 2023
In September we travelled by coach to visit the art deco mansion known as Eltham Palace. Our English Heritage guide Paul Fretwell was excellent. Because a full coach load of members from both EL4 and EL2 visited Eltham Palace the party was divided into two smaller groups. Paul’s guided tour of the house started in the Great Hall, the only surviving part of the medieval palace which then became a Tudor royal residence.
In the 1930s Eltham Palace was transformed by eccentric millionaires Stephen and Virginia Courtauld who saved the property from decline. We continued our tour in the dazzling circular entrance hall, a mix of Art Deco and cutting-edge Swedish design. It has been seen in a few Poirot and Marple episodes, together with various films set in the art deco era. After this we then wondered at the marvellous panelled dining room characterised by geometric and stylised shapes.
We visited more unusual rooms, including the map room where the Courtaulds planned their exotic world travels. Then upstairs the centrally heated sleeping quarters specially designed for their pet lemur! We were also shown inside a reconstruction of Virginia's walk-in wardrobe to see beautiful period dresses, hats and accessories. Then on to Virginia Courtauld's luxurious golden bathroom, which sits within a lavish gold mosaic niche containing a statue of the goddess Psyche.
Some members then visited the wartime basement bunker which would have provided the household with an extraordinary level of comfort during the Blitz.
When not enjoying Paul’s guided tour of the house, other members took the opportunity to explore the quirky mix of medieval and modern in the gardens. Here members were able to admire stunning herbaceous borders, walk through formal rose gardens and admire the Rock Garden, with its pools and cascades running down to the moat. The restaurant had some interesting options including King Henry VIII’s or the Six Wives brunch.
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AUGUST 2023
In August we joined the Thames Clipper (currently sponsored by Uber) at Westminster pier for a trip down the Thames. Despite the early rain the weather soon picked up. Members enjoyed taking in the famous London landmarks as the Clipper zipped back and forth between stops. Those choosing to sit at the back enjoyed experiencing the exhilaration as the Clipper speeded up shortly after passing under Tower Bridge.
The Clipper terminated at North Greenwich, and we headed into the O2 (Millenium Dome) for lunch. Afterwards we took the Cable Car with good views of the Thames, Lea, City Airport, Excel Exhibition Centre, and Docklands generally. We headed back to Cheshunt via the DLR, Jubilee and Stratford for a well-earned rest.
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JUNE 2023
In June we travelled to Greenwich, enjoying a visit and guided tour of the Painted Hall in the Old Royal Naval College grounds.
The Painted Hall is a true masterpiece, boasting one of the most spectacular Baroque interiors in Europe. The extraordinary ceiling and wall decorations were conceived and executed by British artist Sir James Thornhill.
The epic painting scheme, known as ‘Britain’s Sistine Chapel ’, took nineteen years from the start of the commission to its completion in 1726. Thornhill’s scheme earned him a knighthood and payment of £6,685.
The grandeur of Thornhill's composition reflects the importance of the new Royal Hospital’s main Hall. Originally intended as a grand dining room for the naval pensioners, it soon became a ceremonial space open to paying visitors and reserved for special functions. Perhaps the most significant of which was the lying-in-state of Lord Nelson in January 1806, drawing large crowds to view the hero’s body. The exact spot where the coffin lay is marked by a plaque on the floor.
We had been expecting to visit Greenwich with a Blue Badge Guide. However unfortunately she had to cancel at short notice following a family emergency. The plan was to visit the Queen House in the afternoon, so after lunch we crossed the road into Greenwich Park. After enjoying a stroll around an interesting open-air temporary globe art exhibition, we headed for the Queens House.
The architect Inigo Jones was Commissioned to design the building in 1616 by King James I’s wife, Anne of Denmark – supposedly a gift from the king to apologise for swearing in front of her after she had accidentally killed one of his favourite dogs during a hunt. However, Anne of Denmark never lived to see the house completed, dying in 1619 with only the first floor completed. It was not until 1629, when James’s son Charles I gave Greenwich to his wife Henrietta Maria, that work on it resumed and it was completed in 1636.
The house is now primarily used to display the museum's substantial collection of marine paintings and portraits of the seventeenth to twentieth centuries, and for other public and private events. It’s connection with great artists goes back to 1673 when two Dutch maritime painters, the Van De Veldes were given studio space by Charles II. We were just in time to join a tour of a special exhibition about these painters.
The Queen’s House is famous today for its extraordinary art collection including works by
were given studio space by Charles II.
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JUNE 2023
In May we met our guide Claire Ross outside Covent Garden Underground station for an interesting, guided walk around the area. As ever with these walks we were introduced to hidden areas and surprising stories around every familiar corner of London. First off we discovered the Bridge of Aspiration connecting the Royal Ballet School and the Royal Opera House. It was designed by Jim Eyre of Wilkinson Eyre and is meant to evoke the spirit of ballet dancers as one walks through it.
Our guide explained the history of Covent Garden itself from early Anglo-Saxon trading in the 7th Century, to the granting of the area to John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford in 1552, leading to the operation as a small open-air fruit and vegetable market in the 17th Century. Gradually, both the market and the surrounding area fell into disrepute, as taverns, theatres, coffee-houses, and brothels opened. By the 18th century it had become notorious for its abundance of brothels. An Act of Parliament was drawn up to control the area, and Charles Fowler's neo-classical building was erected in 1830 to cover and help organise the market. The market grew and further buildings were added: the Floral Hall, Charter Market, and in 1904 the Jubilee Market.
By the end of the 1960s traffic congestion was causing problems, and in 1974 the market relocated to the New Covent Garden Market about three miles (5 km) south-west at Nine Elms. The central building re-opened as a shopping centre in 1980 and is now a tourist location containing cafes, pubs, small shops, and a craft market called the Apple Market, along with another market held in the Jubilee Hall.
We then visited St. Pauls Church As well as being the parish church of Covent Garden, the church has gained the nickname of "the actors' church" by a long association with the theatre community. Memorials in the church are dedicated to many famous entertainment personalities of the 20th century, including Sir Charlie Chaplin, Sir Noël Coward, Dame Gracie Fields, Stanley Holloway, Boris Karloff, Vivien Leigh, Ivor Novello, Richard Greene, Diana Rigg, and Richard Beckinsale.
The tour finished at St. Martin’s in the Fields. We were taken to a life-sized marble statue of Henry Croft, London's first pearly king, which was moved to the crypt in 2002 from its original site at St Pancras Cemetery. A handy café was then available in the crypt for a well-earned lunch.
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APRIL 2023
In April we visited Chelsea's National Army Museum. It’s remit for the overall history of British land forces contrasts with those of other military museums in the United Kingdom concentrating on the history of individual corps and regiments of the British Army.
After lunch in the museum we walked further down the street to the Chelsea Physic Garden. This very interesting botanical garden was established as the Apothecaries' Garden in London in 1673 by the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries, to grow plants to be used as medicines. We were taken on a comprehensive tour of the garden by a very knowledgeable garden volunteer.
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MARCH 2023
In March we visited the London Canal Museum near Kings Cross and enjoyed a talk about the days when the museum was a 19th century ice warehouse. We learnt about the ice trade in Victorian times through the lives of Carlo Gatti and Mrs Agnes Marshall. Following this we were given a demonstration of ice cream-making using a replica Victorian ice cream churn. It was a very interactive demonstration with several members being asked to take part and we all enjoyed a small sample at the end. Afterwards we spent some time looking around the very interesting museum at our leisure.
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MARCH 2023
Recently we visited the Museum of London Docklands Museum. Some of the group visited the Executions Exhibition which closes in the middle of April. It features a very detailed look at how public executions shaped Londoner’s lives and the city’s landscape over 700 years. It included interesting sections on Charles I execution orchestrated by Oliver Cromwell and his regicides and the fate that befell them later when Charles II was restored to the throne.
After lunch the whole group enjoyed a highlights tour with a very entertaining Museum Guide. It started in the introductory gallery of Warehouse No.1 and continued looking at the galleries such as ‘Trade Expansion’, London, Sugar & Slavery, Sailortown, The Docklands at War and finishing with the modern transformation of the London Docklands area and how this evolved.
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FEBRUARY 2023
More recently we enjoyed a guided tour down the Tubes with our excellent guide Fiona. With this year being the 160th anniversary of the London Underground, we first listened to Fiona explain it was decided solutions to London’s transport was needed following traffic chaos when the Great Exhibition took place in Hyde Park in 1851. However the first line from Paddington to Farringdon was built using the cut and cover method and because this involved digging along the existing streets it caused traffic chaos in itself.
We started the tour at Baker Street station, which encapsulates much of that early railway. From there we travelled to Kings Cross and transferred to the deep level tube; much of this was built some 40 years later when tunnelling techniques had moved on (although still essentially hand dug back then). We learnt about the improvements that came about following the Kings Cross fire in 1987 before heading down to Embankment to discover the flood gates installed when the V2 rockets started hitting London at the end of the Second World War. We finished the tour at Westminster Station, which had to be redesigned to accommodate the Jubilee line extension; numerous plans had to be submitted before one was finally accepted due to it’s proximity to the existing infrastructure and more sensitive areas of the Houses of Parliament.
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JANUARY 2023
In January we enjoyed a guided tour of the highlights of the Victoria & Albert Museum, in Kensington. With some 145 galleries, it was so helpful to have our guide, Barry, take us on a journey around a variety of the more significant items in the museum, including the Great Bed of Ware, the Raphael Cartoons and the Ardibil carpet. We visited the huge VandA’s cast of Michelangelo’s David at the famous cast courts. There we also discovered the cast of Trajan’s Column (the original is in Rome) in two parts because it is so tall. Everyone was taken by the fascinating new Jewellery Gallery containing the small but beautiful crown that was designed for Queen Victoria. After the tour we all took lunch in the splendour of the V and A’s café.
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DECEMBER 2022
Then in December we enjoyed an evening visit by coach to the Christmas light trail at Windsor Great Park. Fortunately, although cold there had been no rain which helped as parts of the trail went through woodland. The projections of animals through the woodland were very effective, as were the sparkles of fireflies, luminous beacons, and dancing fairies. The huge lake was alive with flood-lit fountains and glimmering reflections and the talking tree at the end of the trail was very clever.
We followed this next week with a daytime Christmas food themed walk around London with our guide Ann. She beguiled us with stories about geese, turkeys, grand puddings, and mince pies. Finally, of course there was the infamous Brussel sprout which received mixed comments from her audience! We were each issued with our own sprout at the end of the walk; a small chocolate one however!
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NOVEMBER2022
At the end of November, we enjoyed a guided tour of the National Gallery with Simon Whitehouse, an award-winning blue badge guide - when he’s not acting. There are so many fine paintings to see in the National Gallery that the selection chosen on any visit is bound to be different. As in our previous visit we started with the earliest painting, the Wilton Diptych, painted for King Richard II of England at the end of the 14th Century. After this however we spent some quality time visiting entirely different paintings with our expert guide.
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NOVEMBER 2022
This month we went on a very long but very interesting tour with our July speaker Paul Barwick. Entitled ‘Eyes on the Spies’ we visited the locations associated with Nancy Wake, the ‘White Mouse’ and ex-Soviet spy Alexander Litvinenko, silenced permanently with the deadly nerve agent Polonium. We visited the MI6 building in Vauxhall and were treated to the sad story of ‘The body in the bag affair’ about the mysterious death of MI6 spy Gareth Williams.
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SEPTEMBER 2022
In September we joined with Explore London 1 for a very enjoyable tour entitled ‘The Great Stink’ for a history of sewage ending with a visit to Crossness Pumping Station.
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AUGUST 2022
In August, despite many members showing interest originally, we ended up being a very small group on a very enjoyable day visit to Brighton. We took a Greater Anglia train to London as usual and then purchased our onward tickets on Thameslink for £13.45 using railcards and Groupsave. The weather stayed dry and we walked through the Lanes to the seafront. We took the Volks railway to the Marina and returned by bus. After a stroll along the pier it was back to Harry Ramsden’s for a Fish and Chip Supper.
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JULY 2022
In July we travelled by coach to Bletchley Park near Milton Keynes home of the Codebreakers during the Second World War. After taking refreshment and visiting the introductory exhibition at the Visitor Centre in Block C we headed for the Chauffeurs Hut where we enjoyed an introductory talk from our very knowledgeable guide. Everyone agreed that the guided tour was excellent. We explored the Mansion, the Stable yard and the landscaped grounds with the associated huts and blocks used during the World War.
Before the Codebreakers from 1883 until 1937 Bletchley Park Mansion and grounds was owned by Sir Herbert Leon, a financier and Liberal Party politician, and his family. Herbert died in 1926 and when his widow Fanny died in 1937 the property was sold to a property developer and being near Bletchley railway station was about to be used for new housing. However, in 1938 Admiral Hugh Sinclair, Head of the SIS (Secret Intelligence Service) saw the potential for Bletchley Park and so it was acquired for use by the SIS and the more secret codebreaking and intelligence efforts of the Government Code and Cypher School.
On 4th September 1939, the day after war was declared, around 180 people were working at Bletchley Park, including newly recruited mathematicians like Alan Turing and Gordon Welchman. At its peak in early 1945, around 9,000 people worked at Bletchley Park and its associated Outstations.
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JUNE 2022
In June we enjoyed an amazing tour of the recently renovated Theatre Royal Drury Lane. The paintings and statues commissioned for the upgrade are very impressive and considerable effort has been made to make the guided tour a theatrical performance itself. Our two actor guides were excellent, to the extent that everyone was soon trying to anticipate the next surprise they had in store for us.
We learnt that the theatre is reputed to be one of the most haunted, and we were treated to a ‘ghostly apparition’ when we visited the auditorium. Andrew Lloyd Webber purchased the theatre in the year 2000 and has funded the recent restoration of public areas to a regency style, the upgrade to seating and facilities and modernisation of the theatre’s equipment. Recent shows at the Theatre Royal include Oliver, Shrek the Musical, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, 42nd Street and currently Disney’s Frozen.
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MAY 2022
In May we travelled by train to Stratford and transferred to Stratford International station by DLR (Docklands Light Railway). We caught the Southeastern High Speed train and thirty minutes later we arrived in Rochester. A guided tour was provided by Steve and combined texts from both a historical transcript and a Dickens literary guide downloaded from the internet. We toured the lovely High Street, which once formed the main A2 road from the Kent coast to London and was part of Watling Street in Roman times. Now fortunately the High Street is much quieter because the traffic uses an alternative road outside the main thoroughfare.
From the High Street we walked along the esplanade alongside the Medway River and around first the castle, then the Cathedral. We then walked across the green area known as the Vines because the monks used this area as their vineyard when a monastery existed prior to dissolution. From here we found Restoration House where Charles II stayed on his return to England before being crowned in 1660. It was used by Dickens and called Satis House in Great Expectations. We ended at Dickens’ Chalet, which once stood in the grounds of his house in nearby Higham.
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APRIL 2022
In April we enjoyed a guided walk starting at Bermondsey Underground Station called ‘Undiscovered London’. Interestingly
Bermondsey was as I expected one of a few Jubilee line stations that scored no points in a recent final of the Pointless TV show – somewhat confirming its undiscovered notoriety. On leaving the station we started the walk in a typical East London Road with
unsightly blocks of flats. Our guide then took us across the road and towards the river Thames where much more appealing housing and streets were the order of the day. We continued along the riverside
with lovely views of Tower Bridge in the distance, ending up in the lovely, preserved area known as Shad Thames and Butlers Wharf, with memories of use as docks when river traffic came up the Thames. Despite the strong winds on the day all the group enjoyed this walk.
The following day we visited Canada Water for the Titanic Exhibition. This was a very interesting and emotive presentation particularly since it did not only delve into the tragic events leading up to the disaster, but it revealed the stories and memories of those caught up in the Titanic’s one and only journey.
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MARCH 2022
In March we enjoyed a guided walk called ‘Past the Palace’. It was a gloriously sunny day as we walked from Embankment through many little alleyways and hidden passages, the down the Mall, past St. James Palace and finally into Green Park. We enjoyed lots of funny, fascinating, and often naughty stories about royalty.
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JANUARY 2022
On Tuesday 4th January 43 U3A members enjoyed a visit to the Kew at Christmas light spectacular. Although we went by coach again there was a slight complication because Richmond Council no longer permit coaches to drop off and pick up from outside the Victoria Gate entrance because Kew Road now has cycle lanes installed along it. This was not advised at the time of booking; however contrary to instruction from Kew the coach driver kindly dropped off and picked up from further up Kew Road by a bus stop.
Despite this small issue the light trail was again very impressive incorporating some old favourites with several new installations and an excellent twist to the grand finale in front of the Palm House. Once again, the coach driver obliged by taking us back via the West End Christmas lights. Although Regents Street lights had been switched off prematurely, we enjoyed Martyn’s entertaining commentary to compensate.
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DECEMBER 2021
We enjoyed another Christmas Dinner in the evening of 16th December at the Bulls Head in Turnford with 27 members attending. There were nine lucky winners in the free raffle. Thanks are due once again to Anne for organising the prizes and numbered place settings.
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DECEMBER 2021
We recently enjoyed two very colourful guided walks with Blue Badge guide Simon Law. Firstly, as dusk fell Simon took us through the streets of the Whitechapel District to discover the gory details of the unsolved murders attributed to the notorious ‘Jack the Ripper’. It was not for the faint hearted as Simon spared us none of the detail.
Following this we met Simon again on 1 st December at Tower Hill Tube and progressed in the opposite direction on a seasonal walk following in the footsteps of Charles Dickens and his Christmas Carol. Simon also explained the origin of many other seasonal traditions along the way.
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NOVEMBER 2021
We recently enjoyed a tour of St. Pauls Cathedral with Blue Badge Guide Alice Trickey. The present St. Pauls ,is the fifth cathedral to have stood on the site since 604, and was built between 1675 and 1711, after its predecessor was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666.
Temporary repairs had been made to the old St. Paul’s, but the structure was fundamentally unsound. Finally, in 1668, Sir Christopher Wren was asked to produce a design for a new building. Demolition of the old cathedral began the same year.
St. Paul’s is London’s cathedral and embodies the spiritual life and heritage of the British people. It has also held events marking important royal occasions such as Queen Victoria’s diamond jubilee and more recently Queen Elizabeth II has celebrated her jubilees at St. Paul’s. It has also been the site of royal weddings and state funerals. Famously the wedding of HRH The Prince of Wales to Lady Diana Spencer and the funerals of Admiral Lord Nelson, the Duke of Wellington and Sir Winston Churchill.
We were impressed with the mosaics that now decorate the ceiling and the walls of the quire. We learnt that these were installed after Queen Victoria famously complained that St. Paul’s was ‘dull, dingy and undevotional’.
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SEPTEMBER 2021
Our guided walk in September surpassed all expectations. It was a very pleasant and informative stroll from St.Pauls with our blue badge guide Fiona taking in the area badly damaged during the Blitz of 1940. We learnt how the Barbican filled the area devasted during the war and walked through the peaceful Postman’s Park with it’s memorials to unsung heroes.
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AUGUST 2021
We embarked on a successful visit into London on 18th August enjoying a Uber Thames Clipper trip down the Thames from Tower Pier to Greenwich
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MARCH 2020
We did manage to visit Southwark Cathedral earlier in March and it was a very informative and enjoyable day taking in both the Cathedral and the local Bankside area.
Monies paid for trips cancelled will of course be refunded or carried forward to re-arranged trips or new excursions when we are able to meet again hopefully in the not too distant future. I hope this is acceptable in view of the circumstances.
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JANUARY 2020
On 2nd January we filled a coach for an enjoyable visit to Kew Gardens for the Christmas lights. A change in the route of the trail this year taking in the refurbished Temperate House and a spectacular cascade beneath the tree-top trail. The old favourites were still there with new twists (fire garden, cathedral of lights and the Palm House finale). Add to this the excellent use of seasonal music, new and old. Our coach returned through central London .
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NOVEMBER 2019
In November the group enjoyed a visit to Kensington Palace where we were able to walk in the footsteps of royalty in two interesting exhibitions about Queen Victoria:
Victoria: A Royal Childhood included remarkable objects relating to Victoria’s early years including a poignant scrapbook of mementos created by her German governess, Baroness Lehzen and Victoria’s doll house.
Victoria: Woman and Crown which looked at the real woman behind the public monarch.
At the end of November, the group enjoyed an atmospheric visit to the house created by Dennis Severs who hailed from California in USA. He made his home in a dilapidated property near Spitalfields Market. Woven through the house is the story of the fictional Jervis family, originally Huguenot silk weavers. The rooms are arranged as if they are in use and the occupants have only just left.
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OCTOBER 2019
In October we broke free of London for a visit to Oxford. After meeting our three ‘Green Badge’ guides 54 members enjoyed a morning guided tour of Oxford starting at Christ Church Meadow. We ended at the Bodleian Library Divinity School in time for lunch. In the afternoon our guides took us on a tour of an Oxford College and we followed in the footsteps of Inspector Morse, Lewis and young Morse. Afterwards most members decided they either needed to explore the Morse books and TV series for the first time or to catch up on them all over again.
Future trips:
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AUGUST 2019
In August we took the Thameslink train to Brighton. We strolled down past the Dome and the Pavillion, then travelled on the Volks railway to the harbour, back for fish & chips and out on the pier for ice-cream.
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SEPTEMBER 2019
In September we enjoyed a tour of Spitalfields with John Halligan. This was a very interesting tour about the French Huguenots that lived in the area.
The following week we visited Buckingham Palace State rooms. The centrepiece of this year’s Queen Victoria exhibition was the Ballroom where the grand Victorian Ball of 1856 was brought to life using digital projections and a Victorian illusion technique called Pepper’s Ghost. Our garden tour was in bright sunshine with a very amusing Yorkshire lad taking us round the Palace gardens.
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JUNE 2019
In June, 22 members were guided around old Kensington by Adam Scott and Corin Mellinger. An enjoyable guided tour courtesy of London Walks. The walk took in Kensington Square thankfully saved from development planned by Barkers Department Store years ago. Then onward to the street named after William Thackeray of Vanity Fayre fame and a lovely old mews. Crossing the busy Kensington High Street there was more peaceful surroundings behind St.Mary’s Church Kensington and the charming state primary St.Mary Abbots Charity School that was attended by David & Samantha Cameron’s daughter Nancy. Over the doors marked ‘Boys’ and ‘Girls’ are two Bluecoat statues. Nearby was a fine mural and a street of charming old cottages (now apparently very expensive) and interesting little shops. We finished the walk in Kensington Gardens at the entrance to the Palace. Hence the visit inside planned for November.
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APRIL
At the end of April, we took a river trip from Westminster pier to Greenwich and enjoyed a very informative commentary on the one-hour cruise down the Thames. After a bite to eat at the Greenwich Wetherspoons we spent the afternoon on the Cutty Sark. We self-toured the lower decks before joining the free 2.30. talk on the Main Deck. By the end of the talk the whole of the Explore London group had joined, and the few remaining members of the public had drifted away. We all ended up sitting in the Captain’s quarters; the group was so enthusiastic that every time the costumed guide tried to wind up someone asked another question. I think the guide was pleased to have such an attentive and interested group to talk to. It just goes to show what a spirited U3A we have in Cheshunt!
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MARCH 2019
On a windy March day, we visited the Tower Bridge exhibition. Our very knowledgeable guides brought the experience to life with entertaining stories of those who designed, constructed and maintained the bridge. We learnt about the way the traffic was stopped prior to a bridge lift in early days of the bridge.
Our guides told us a very entertaining story about the December day back in 1952 when driver Albert Gunter found his Number 78 double decker bus caught in a surprise bridge lift. There was a fault with the warning lights and without any notice, the bus became trapped on the North arm of the Bridge as it started to lift. Gunter had two options; slow down and face falling into the Thames, or speed up and attempt the jump. Luckily the South arm wasn’t as high, so the bus was able to make the jump, falling onto the lower side and staying upright!
We enjoyed spectacular views from the high-level walkway with many of us able to look down through the glass floor onto the traffic and the tidal waters of the Thames below; there was a sticker for those brave enough to stand on the glass! The tour finished in the Victorian engine rooms with lots more anecdotes from our guides.
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FEBRUARY 2019
In February we visited the Science Museum in South Kensington. In the morning we entered the free exhibition entitled: ‘The Last Tsar: Blood and Revolution. This was very interesting. It explored the huge influence of medicine on the imperial family at the beginning of the 20th century; from the young Tsarevich Alexei’s haemophilia B—a rare blood condition passed down from Queen Victoria—to the Tsarina’s mental health, and the influence of doctors as well as spiritual advisers including the infamous mystic Rasputin.
The exhibition enabled us to discover the private lives of the Tsar and Tsarina and their children through unique artefacts, documents and photographs never before on public display in the UK. The royal family mysteriously disappeared in 1918 and finally there was an examination of the crime scene and more about the advances in medical and forensic science which transformed the investigation into their brutal deaths.
After lunch we met our Blue Badge guide who took us on an interesting tour of some of the museum highlights; through the Energy Hall with James Watt's preserved workshop, ‘the making of the modern world', the history of flight and the excellent new mathematics gallery. Everyone agreed that our guide made the afternoon very enjoyable.
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JANUARY 2019
In January we visited the Imperial War Museum in Lambeth. We travelled to Liverpool Street station and from across the road we used the very convenient 344 bus direct to the museum. As with all museums the tendency is for them to be busy and noisy with school parties in the morning. We had a blue badge guide arranged therefore for the afternoon, so everyone made their own choices in the morning. Many in the group visited the sobering adult only Holocaust gallery which tells the story of the dreadful Nazi persecution of the Jews and other groups before and during the Second World War.
Those who also visited the First World War gallery or took the curator led guided tour equipped with headsets were able to discover the story of that war through the eyes of the British people and the Empire, both on the home front and the fighting fronts. What impresses is that the exhibit reveals stories not only of destruction, suffering and loss, but also of endurance and innovation, duty and devotion, comradeship and love.
Our afternoon guided tour started with a brief history of the Imperial War Museum and the building’s origin as Bethlem Hospital. We went on to discover the exhibits from the First and Second World Wars and in contemporary conflicts. Our guide told us some of the everyday and exceptional stories of people whose lives have been impacted by war. We finished our tour at the top of the museum in the Lord Ashcroft gallery; this display houses a large collection of Victoria and George crosses. It tells stories of men, women and children who performed extraordinary acts of bravery to help other people in desperate need and who acted with courage and bravery.
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JANUARY 2017
This month we visited the Museum of Water & Steam at Kew Bridge. We enjoyed a guided tour of the steam machines originally used to pump the water. The museum kindly operated one of the smaller engines during our visit. The impressive larger engines are called ‘Co