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| Sunday, 26 April 2026 |
| The History & Art of Madrid, Toledo, Avila, Salamanca & Segovia |
In conjunction with The Arts Society, Topsham, there are places available on the 6 day tour of Spain in April 2026. Details are here. |
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| Sunday, 24 June 2018 |
| Cornwall - 5 day tour |
Members may recall the lecture given by Catherine Wallace in 2016 on the artists of the Newlyn and other Cornish schools, on which she is the leading specialist. She will be our lecturer on this very special tour of the artistic centres of west Cornwall. She will speak about the artists of Falmouth, Newlyn and St Ives , and then guide us on special ‘behind the scenes’ tours of the galleries in Falmouth and at Porthmeor, St Ives. She will take us on a tour of the Lamorna Birch exhibition which will just have opened at the Penlee House Gallery in Penzance followed by a visit to some of the places he knew, and to St Hilary church, with its remarkable 1930s decoration. There will also be free time to explore St Ives, the Barbara Hepworth Museum and the recently extended Tate Gallery. Places are limited to 25. The cost is likely to be in the region of £725 and will include the cost of the coach from Sidmouth, accommodation and half board at a superior hotel in Falmouth, all lectures, excursions, entry fees and gratuities. Single rooms will be available at a supplementary cost. If you are interested in learning more details of this trip please complete the form, which can be found on the docs/forms page here, and return to Jeremy Pearson, Visits Secretary, at a meeting, or send to 3, Carlton Mansions, The Esplanade, Sidmouth , EX10 8BE pearson.jeremy@ymail.com 01395 514792 |
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| Sunday, 21 May 2017 |
| The Houses and History of Cambridge & Surrounds |
A four night tour of the houses and history of Cambridge and the surrounding area, staying in the 4* Cambridge Belfry Hotel. Cambridge (guided tour) Hugenden Manor Anglesey Abbey Ely Bury St Edmunds Ickworth Manor Dorney Court (guided tour) Full details and the booking form can be found on the Tailored Travel site here and the brochure can be found in the documents page of this website here. |
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| Sunday, 22 May 2016 |
| The Houses & Heritage of the Peak District |
Please note that booking for this tour is now closed. The five day tour starts on Sunday 22nd of May and continues to Thursday 26th May. The tour is arranged by our usual agents, Tailored Travel. If you wish to join it, please complete their booking form. The basic tour cost is £439 per person. A non-returnable deposit of £75 is required by Tailored Travel. In addition you may wish to add £16 for travel & cancellation insurance (unless you have your own). Please make your deposit & insurance cheque payable to Tailored Travel Ltd, and return it to me (not to Tailored Travel) for collation purposes, together with the completed booking form by 31st December 2015. The balance of £364, payable to Tailored Travel, must reach me by 18th March 2016. If you have requested a single room, please add the supplement of £89 (which would come to a total of £453). When you send the balance to me, please add a cheque payable to SIDDFAS for £45 per person travelling. SIDDFAS itself requires this money for gratuities, entrance to non-National Trust Properties, admin, and get-together drinks on the first night. To see full details of the tour and to load the booking form, you can visit the Tailored Travel website by clicking here. Jill Burke: Ailsa Craig, Salcombe Hill Road, Sidmouth EX108JR. Tel 01395 579839 or email jill1burke@btinternet.com. If you have any queries, please do contact me. |
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| Friday, 02 October 2015 |
| Three Day Tour of Sussex
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The tour is arranged by our usual agents, Tailored Travel. If you wish to join it, please complete their booking form. The basic tour cost is £184 per person. A non-returnable deposit of £50 is required by Tailored Travel. In addition you may wish to add £16 for travel & cancellation insurance (unless you have your own). Please make your deposit & insurance cheque payable to Tailored Travel Ltd, and return it to me (not to Tailored Travel) for collation purposes, together with the completed booking form as soon as possible. The balance of £134, payable to Tailored Travel, must reach me by 20th July 2015. If you have requested a single room, please add the supplement of £10 (which would come to £144). When you send the balance to me, please add a cheque payable to SIDDFAS for £45 per person travelling. SIDDFAS itself requires this money for gratuities, entrance to non-National Trust Properties, admin, and get-together drinks. To see full details of the tour and to load the booking form, you can visit the Tailored Travel website by clicking here. Jill Burke: Ailsa Craig, Salcombe Hill Road, Sidmouth EX108JR. Tel 01395 579839. If you have any queries, please do contact me. |
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| Sunday, 07 June 2015 |
| History and Heritage of Kent |
The Castles, Houses & Gardens of Kent 7th to 11th June 2015
What we will see on this 5 day tour... *Hinton Ampner *Guided tour of Canterbury *Canterbury Cathedral *Leeds Castle *Sissinghurst Castle Garden *Smallhythe Place *Hever Castle & Gardens *Chartwell *Mottisfont Abbey Garden, House & Estate
Please note that this tour is fully booked, but please contact Jill Burke if you wish to go on the reserve list. We stay four nights on half board basis at the 4* Bridgewood Manor on the outskirts of Chatham (www.Qhotels.co.uk). Ideally located near to the motorways to gain easy access to the places visited in our itinerary, the hotel boasts a nice bar area, restaurant and leisure centre with indoor pool. All rooms are ensuite and feature television, telephone, hair dryer and tea and coffee making facilities.All excursions & guided tours are included as well as a Blue Badge Guide on Day 2.The tour is arranged by our usual agents, Tailored Travel. If you wish to join it, please complete their booking form, which is in the brochure. The brochures are available at the lectures or from Jill or Sue. The basic tour cost is £389 per person. A non-returnable deposit of £75 is required by Tailored Travel. In addition you may wish to add £16 for travel & cancellation insurance (unless you have your own). Please make your deposit & insurance cheque payable to Tailored Travel Ltd, and return it to me (not to Tailored Travel) for collation purposes, together with the completed booking form, by 31st December 2014.The balance of £314, payable to Tailored Travel, must reach me by 23rd March 2015. If you have requested a single room, please add the supplement of £89 (which would come to £403).When you send the balance to me, please add a cheque payable to SIDDFAS for £75 per person travelling. SIDDFAS itself requires this money for gratuities, entrance to non-National Trust Properties, admin, and get-together drinks on the first night.For any queries, or to obtain booking forms, please contact either Sue or Jill. Sue Ogonovsky, Tel. 01395 577341 Jill Burke, Tel 01395 579839. |
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| Sunday, 08 June 2014 |
| The Historic Houses and Gardens of Oxfordshire and the Cotswolds. NOW FULLY BOOKED! |
Our 5 day tour based at the Four Pillars Hotel in Witney was arranged by Tailored Travel. This was the last tour organised and led by Pam Spillane, and Pam was duly thanked for all her contributions to SIDDFAS at the recent AGM.
Thirty eight of us left on Sunday morning on Sewards' coach and made our way to Berkeley Castle for a fascinating guided tour and lunch.Visits included Hidcote Manor Garden (NT) looking magnificent in early summer, followed by Batsford Arboretum (change of venue here as Bourton House Garden was unable to give us tea). Batsford was a quiet oasis of bird song and mature trees. Sudeley Castle was delightful, a family home with a stunning garden. Then on to Snowshill Manor (NT) full of a collection of "stuff', but, again, another beautiful garden.Our urban visit was to Oxford with Blue Badge Guides showing us some of the important buildings and history of this University town. Free time was spent visiting the college gardens together with the Ashmolean Museum which was completely rebuilt a few years ago.We left our hotel to travel the few miles to Blenheim Palace, home to the Dukes of Marlborough, for coffee and lunch together with a tour of the lovely state rooms and gardens. It was then time to travel home having had glorious weather for our time in Oxfordshire. |
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| Sunday, 19 May 2013 |
| The History and Heritage Houses of Norfolk
(see Gallery for photos!) |
19th – 23rd May 2013 The History and Heritage Houses of Norfolk including Sandringham, Holkham Hall and some NT properties.
Our 5 day tour of Norfolk, which was arranged by Tailored Travel, took place in May. 36 of us left early on a Sunday morning on Sewards coach and travelled to the 300 years old George Hotel in Swaffham. Our midday stop was in the city of St. Albans where there was time to visit the Cathedral and have lunch.Visits included Sandringham, set in 60 acres and a much loved home of Her Majesty the Queen, Holkham Hall, home to the Earls of Leicester which has a magnificent marble hall,Felbrigg Hall and Blickling Hall contain fine furniture and paintings and are now owned by the National Trust. Felbrigg has a particularly lovely walled garden.We spent a day in Norwich with a Blue Badge Guide to show us the delights of England's best preserved medieval city. Our tour took us to the Norman Castle, the City Hall and themagnificent Romanesque Cathedral. Narrow streets including Elm Hill and ,of course, Colman's Mustard shop. The Castle Museum and Art Gallery were visited in the afternoon.Having said our goodbyes to the staff at the hotel, where we were looked after so well, we made our way to Windsor. There was time to visit the Castle or have a river trip or just havea leisurely lunch.Pamela Spillane |
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| Tuesday, 01 May 2012 |
| The Castles and Gardens of North Wales |
A five day holiday to North Wales where we visited many of the outstanding historic castles, magnificent gardens and relics of the industrial past, including the National Trust’s Powis Castle, Caernarfon Castle, Plas Newydd, the Miners’ Tramway in the Llechwedd Slate Caverns, Portmeiron, Bodnant Gardens, Penrhyn Castle and, on the way home, Hereford Cathedral and its famous Mappa Mundi.
The journey on the first day includes a visit to the National Trust’s Powis Castle, that has one of the finest collections of paintings and furniture in Wales, and its world famous garden in Italian and French styles. Caernarfon Castle is the destination on the following morning. Founded by Edward I in 1283, this massive stronghold was also the royal palace and seat of government in Wales. The afternoon promises a gentler time at Plas Newydd, the fine mansion house and gardens of the the Marquess of Anglesey.Railed ways dominate the next morning with the Miners’ Tramway in the Llechwedd Slate Caverns, followed by a journey from Bleinau to Minffordd Station on the famous Festiniog Narrow Gauge Railway, before moving on to the delights of Portmeiron.On Day 4 the group visits Bodnant Gardens in the morning, followed by the neo-Norman fantasy of Penrhyn Castle. The journey home next day includes a visit to Hereford Cathedral and its famous Mappa Mundi. |
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| Sunday, 01 May 2011 |
| Houses and Gardens of Co. Durham and Northumberland |
This first major visit organised by our new Visits Secretary, Pamela Spillane, sold out very quickly. All we can offer to those unable to take part is a glimpse of what they would have experienced.
It was a tour not only of major sights in the neglected, magnificent North-East of England but also of fascinating places in Derbyshire, en route, including Calke Abbey on the journey up and the splendid Hardwick Hall on the journey home.The tour proper began with a visit to the Bowes Museum in Barnard Castle in Teesdale. This art gallery was created by John and Josephine Bowes between 1862 and 1875 and houses a large collection of fine art and decorative paintings from around Europe. The best-loved object is the 230 year-old Silver Swan, an English silver automaton which was bought by the Bowes in 1872. The life-size model is still in working order. Then on to Raby Castle, where 700 knights met to plan the Rising of the North by Roman Catholic nobles in 1569.Next day the group travelled north to Bamburgh, just south of Berwick on Tweed. This impossibly romantic coastal castle, restored by the 1st Lord Armstrong in the 19th Century, somehow looks even more real than its medieval predecessor could ever have done. Leaving Bamburgh, the group experienced a sharp constrast at Cragside, a National Trust Victorian mansion, also owned by Lord Armstrong, notable for its hydraulic lifts and ground-breaking internal telephone system.The Quayside area of Newcastle has been transformed in recent years and developments like the Baltic Flour Mill art gallery in nearby Gateshead have received world-wide acclaim. The group’s visit on the following morning was one of the highlights of the holiday, quite a contrast with the former industrial grime and poverty of the area.In complete contrast, the rest of the day was be spent with the two great historic treasures of Durham: its Castle and Cathedral.On their last day in Northumbria the group visited another of the amazing castles in the region. Alnwick Castle is the second largest inhabited castle in England, after Windsor Castle. It has been the home of the Percys, Earls and Dukes of Northumberland, famous in Shakespeare, since1309. Today, the castle is as well-known for being the site of Hogwarts in the Harry Potter films, and for the spectacular gardens, re-created about 12 years ago by the Duchess of Northumberland. The Alnwick Garden is now a vibrant place, with beautifully landscapedgardens, magnificent architecture and unique features, all brought to life with water. The Garden's centrepiece is the Grand Cascade, an iconic structure and the largest water feature of its kind in the country. A great ending to an unforgettable holiday. |
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| Saturday, 01 May 2010 |
| The History and Historic House of Chichester and Southern England |
| In early 2010, SIDDFAS was without a Visits Secretary so we were enormously grateful to individual members for organising events to fill the gap.This was a really happy, full and enjoyable visit, meticulously planned and led by Dick Sidwell and arranged by Tailored Travel. Visits included Uppark House, Fishbourne royal Palace, Mottisfont Abbey Garden, Arundel Castle and the Historic Dockyard in Portsmouth. Unfortunately, it was not possible to see the Mary Rose but the alternative visit to the historic Royal Marines Museum and the Officers’ Mess, dating from the 1560s, where [but not when!] Colonel Sidwell had enjoyed memorable occasions in times past, proved to be the highlight of the tour. |
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