| Status: | Active, open to new members |
| Leader: |
Sheila Barton
|
| Leader: |
Pat Smith
|
| When: | Monthly on Friday mornings |
| Venue: | Halsey Hall (Parson Room) |
Planning Meeting - First Friday of the Month – Halsey Hall (Parson Room) Turners Hill, Cheshunt EN8 8NJ at 10.15am.
Please note Cheshunt Free Church will no longer be available for our use from early 2026. We are now using Halsey Hall.
Please check the Monthly Programme for the new meeting place or make contact at the Monthly Meetings.
For information on our trips and planning meetings please visit us at our group table at the monthly meetings.
Future Trips:-
See the Monthly Programme for future trips.
For Exploring London 1 : Please visit our Group Leader at the Exploring London 1 Table at the Monthly Meetings to register for these and any future trips.
Please note due to demand we would ask you only join one Exploring London group. All Groups will visit places of interest in and around London and it is quite possible all will visit the same places during the year, so please don't feel like you're missing out on anything by only belonging to Group 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5! Please also come along to your relevant Group's planning meetings to suggest places to visit.
PREVIOUS VISITS
OCTOBER 2025
Alms house and museum.
SEPTEMBER 2025
Trip to Mayfield Bakery, Harlow.
AUGUST 2025
Afternoon tea at Deercote.
JULY 2025
Boat trip on Regents Canal.
JUNE 2025
Our June outing was a tour around Liverpool Street and Bishopsgate. We met our guide, Diane, at the Kindertransport statue at Liverpool Street. Kinder transport rescued approximately 10,000 children from Nazi controlled Europe, the majority coming to Great Britain. We then walked down Bishopsgate where, in a small park, there are old Turkish baths built in the 1800’s. It is not in use now but is a listed building. We also saw some old churches hidden away amongst the new buildings. The highlight of the tour was a visit to a building in Bishopsgate called Horizon 22 which is the second tallest building in London. We went up to the viewing gallery on the 58th floor, where we had panoramic views of London and beyond. Diane was able to point out a lot of landmarks of London. It was a very enjoyable trip for everyone.
MAY 2025
Our May outing was to the Tutankhamun, immersive experience, at the Excel. The British Egyptologist, Howard Carter and his team discovered the intact tomb of the mummified body of King Tutankhamun, as well as over 5000 Artifacts. Also, there were galleries which contained original and replica artifacts. We then had a virtual reality experience which was interesting. We finished up by having lunch by the river, watching the planes coming into land at city airport. It was a very enjoyable day.
APRIL 2025
Our April visit was to the Wallace Collection, where we had a guided tour of the museum. The house and collection were originally owned by the 4th Marquis of Hertford who then left it to Richard Wallace who is thought to be the illegitimate son of the Marquis. When Richard Wallace died, he left it to his wife. When she died, she bequeathed the house and collection to the British nation. The museum houses exceptional paintings, sculptures, ceramics and furniture.
MARCH 2025
Earlier this month 21 of us enjoyed a tour inside the old Bailey, the proper title of which is the Central Criminal Court. It is known as the old Bailey as it is in Old Bailey Street. It was built on the site of the famous Newgate Prison. We went into Court 1 and did role play, playing defendants, juror, clerk of the court and judge. It is the oldest Courtroom. We then went into one of the modern courts. We also visited the holding cells. The old Bailey deals mainly with murder, rape, terrorism, one of the exceptions was the trial of Geoffrey Archer. Our guide was Jay, who has worked there for over 40 years who was very informative and enthusiastic.
Old Baily Tour
JANUARY 2025
Our January outing was to Battersea power Station. It was good to see it close up. It is an impressive building. Inside there are a lot of shops, mostly designer brands. After lunch we went on a short walk to Battersea dogs and cats home. We were met by a guide who first explained the history of how the home was started. We then went on a tour, seeing the different areas such as the laundry room, the hydra pool, the surgery and then finally the kennels. We saw some of the dogs and lots of cute kittens. As tempting as it was, none of us come home with them!
NOVEMBER 2024
Monday 25th November 2024 - Trip down the Thames, followed by fish and chips and seeing Christmas lights
OCTOBER 2024
At the beginning of October we visited the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, formally known as The Midland Grand Hotel. It is considered one of Londons incredible Victorian Gothic Buildings, and is spectacular inside and out. It was designed by the architect Sir George Scott. In the 1960’s the poet Sir John Betjeman led a campaign to save St Pancras station and the hotel from being demolished. In which, luckily, he was successful. There is a statue on St Pancras Station of Betjeman.
SEPTEMBER 2024
On Monday 2nd September 14 members of the group went to The Princess Diana Exhibition in the stunning and picturesque Katherine’s Dock, a short walk from Tower Hill underground. Here we saw lots of beautiful photographs of Lady Diana Spencer who then became Princess Diana, Princess of Wales, our Queen of hearts, together with some photographs of her sons and daughters in law. We listened to an audio recording giving us a glimpse into the circumstances behind these iconic photographs. Well worth a visit, enjoyed by all, even the weather couldn’t put a dampener on our visit.
JULY 2024
On the 3rd July a small group of us went on a visit to the Houses of Parliament, being the day before the election we didn’t see any MP’s there. We had a guide who took us round, he was very interesting. He took us in the House of Commons and the House of Lords, we were not allowed to sit down in there! There had been a stained glass window installed dedicated to the memory of the suffragettes.
SEPTEMBER 2023
Unfortunately, our visit to Theatre Royal, Drury Lane was cancelled by the theatre. However, some members of the group went to London and visited a roof garden, then went on and managed to go to the Sky Garden.
JULY/AUGUST 2023
On a very nice day (one of the few) in July several members of the group visited the Physic Garden and had a most interesting guided tour.
We very recently had our Summer afternoon tea at Leafy Oak Nursery. After a few parking problems, they were having their car park enlarged, we settled in the conservatory for a very substantial tea, which was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone. The ‘doggie bags’ provided were very acceptable. Several members had not been there before so explored the nursery before we left.
JULY 2023
On 19th July 8 of us met at Cheshunt Station with the intention of going to see the wild flowers in the Tower of London Moat and visiting the Physic Garden.
We made our way to the Tower of London, where the flowers were lovely. We then made our way across the road to Wetherspoons for lunch, after which we took a bus to catch another bus to the Physic Garden. We waited a while for the second bus to Physic Garden but there had been a delay and nothing to say when it would come along. We abandoned the idea of the Physic Garden as we wouldn’t have had enough time there, and decided we would walk along the Embankment. It was a hot day so we got as far as Somerset House where we went for a cuppa. We then decided to come home. We all agreed we’d had a most enjoyable day, lots of laughs, and we ‘explored London’ on various buses.
MAY 2023
19 members of the Group met at Cheshunt station for a trip to the Royal Naval College, Greenwich. The weather was fine and we met our guide, Bob at the Visitor Centre. After a quick coffee we started the tour. Bob gave us an outline of the history of the College. He explained how Queen Mary II, wife of King William III, built the hospital for Navy Pensioners. It is now used by the London Group University. We visited the Church where Nelson’ body laid in state. We visited several buildings where we saw beautiful paintings on the walls and ceilings. The tour lasted just under 2 hours, after which several went to Cafe Rouge. A most enjoyable day.
MARCH 2023
5 members of the group went to London by train to see the Coronation preparations. It was a really cold day. The day after we had a very warm day but the temperature dropped by several degrees. We just ‘played it by ear’, train to Liverpool Street, bus to Westminster where they have erected a huge stand for the world’s media, opposite the Abbey entrance.
They have started to erect the Union Jacks in The Mall. For lunch we went to what we thought was Wetherspoons in Whitehall but that is now McMullens. Had a very nice fish and chip lunch. Plenty of tourists around, which is good. There were cranes everywhere, buildings being demolished, new buildings, and so many buildings shrouded in plastic. We very much enjoyed our day.
JANUARY 2023
At our last Planning Meeting we had a very interesting presentation from Louise of the Fire and Rescue Service, advising us on keeping our homes safe. Some of our members have had a visit from the Fire Brigade to check on appliances, etc.
For Exploring London 1 : Please visit our Group Leader, at the Exploring London 1 Table at our Group Meetings to register for these and any future trips.
Please note due to demand we would ask that you only join one Exploring London group. All Groups will visit places of interest in and around London and it is quite possible that all will visit the same places during the year so please don't feel like you're missing out on anything by only belonging to Group 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5! Please also come along to your relevant Group's planning meetings to suggest places to visit.