Malta, March 14th – 18th 2016

We stayed at the excellent Excelsior Hotel in Valletta and were delighted with the weather, the programme and our guide, Amy.

We visited the old cities, key monuments and locations but the highlights for many were the two private houses – Casa Bernard and Casa Rocca Piccola. St John’s Co- Cathedral was also breathtaking. One of our three excellent journeys by water was  a trip to Gozo. Many of us also went to the opera, enjoyable and interesting, despite the limitations of our last minute seats!

Scotland, September 20th – 25th 2015.

We travelled partly by train and visited  Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s Hill House in Helensburgh and Luss on  Loch Lomond on our first afternoon. We then spent a full day visiting Mount Stewart House on Bute, looking spectacular in late summer sunshine. Our last full day in  Glasgow began with a tour of the House for an Art Lover before the members of the group chose a particular gallery or attraction, with many visiting Kelvingrove and the Burrell, while others went to the Willow Tea rooms or cathedral.

On day 4 we began the second phase of the trip and travelled south to Dumfries House, for many the highlight of our holiday.  This amazing and much loved house and its collection of Chippendale furniture was saved at the last minute from being sold by the intervention of the Prince of Wales.

We also saw Culzean Castle, another  Robert Adam design, which has a remarkable cliff-top location, before arrival at our second hotel. The Cally Palace, at the Gatehouse of Fleet, was comfortable and surrounded by an extensive golf course and grounds. From it, we were able to explore Kirkcudbright, including Hornel’s home, Broughton House,  and  to relax in comfort.

Our final day was spent in restored gardens close to the hotel and in the Tullie House museum and gallery in Carlisle from where we travelled home.

Andalucia, April 2015

We visited Granada, and the Alhambra Palace and were especially impressed by our time in Cordoba. The beauty of the Mezquita surpassed our expectations. Our second base was in Seville and we explored the cathedral, Alcazar and much more. We stopped in Ronda on our last day, seeing the town and amazing gorge which cuts through it. This was a very busy holiday and somewhat tiring, with early start and late finish, but certainly value for money and memorable, in perfect Spanish sunshine.

Devon, September 14th – 18th 2014.

We had wonderful September weather for our Devon trip. We visited Montacute House on the way and then, from our base in Exeter, we explored the town and Cathedral with excellent guides. Further afield we visited Buckland Abbey, Cotehele, and Coleton Fishacre. From Dartmouth we had an excellent cruise to Agatha Christie’s Greenway before enjoying a private tour of the Royal Naval College. Our final visit, on the way home, was to the SS Great Britain at Avonmouth.