Following in the footsteps of our Tudor ancestors, we are heading to Cambridgeshire for our 4 day / 3 night trip from 16 - 19 July 2026 inclusive. Our destinations connect us to the courts and histories of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I.

From Harrogate, we travel firstly to visit the impressive Cathedral of Ely, not far from Cambridge. Although the monastery here was destroyed in 1538, Henry VIII  re-founded the Cathedral in 1539. It was subsequently restored by George Gilbert Scott in the nineteenth century. The cathedral is a magnificent building, where we will have a guided tour, with some free time to look around the cloisters and gardens. Possibly time also to visit the nearby home of Oliver Cromwell, where he was the district tax collector!
We then head to our hotel base, the Holiday Inn Huntingdon on the racecourse, where we are booked in for dinner, bed and breakfast.

On Friday we spend the day visiting the very impressive Hatfield House and gardens, built by Robert Cecil, son of William, Lord Burghley, Chief Minister to Elizabeth I, adjoining the site of the Old Palace of Hatfield, where Elizabeth lived as a child and learned of her accession. We have a guided tour here, then free time to enjoy the splendid gardens, with the possibility of going inside the Old Palace.

On Saturday, we go into Cambridge with an expert guide. Going back to the time of Henry VIII, we will have a tour of Kings College and Chapel, built at his behest. The remainder of the day will be at leisure to look around the city.

On Sunday we make our way home, visiting Burghley House just outside Stamford en route. This was the home of William Cecil, Lord Burghley, the trusted advisor to Elizabeth I. Another fabulous destination, with magnificent State rooms and treasures. We have a guided tour of the house with free time, before leaving after lunch to return to Harrogate.

The cost of the trip includes all entrance fees and guided tours.
The price is per person with no single supplement, £619 per member, £629 per guest. Closing date for the non-refundable £60 deposit is 20 March 2026 with the final amount being paid by 15 May 2026.

Raby Castle is a medieval castle located near Staindrop in County Durham, amongst 200 acres of deer park. It was built in the 14th century by the powerful Neville family. The Nevilles were one of the most powerful families in the country, with vast lands, multiple castles and holdings and direct links to the Crown. This all came to an end in 1569 when Charles Neville took part in The Rising of the North - an attempt to replace Elizabeth 1 with her cousin Mary Queen of Scots. Charles was forced to flee into exile and the Neville lands were seized by the Crown. The castle is famous for its works of art, mostly collected by the Vane Family.

Coach leaves Harrogate 09.30 and returns by approx: 17.00. 

Cost for ASNV members £48, non-members £53. Closing date 1 June 2026 or when all places are filled. 

For further information contact niddvalley@theartssociety.org 

Visit to Wakefield Cathedral, Chantry Chapel and Hepworth Gallery

We will be visiting the City of Wakefield, granted city status in 1888. Here we journey back in history via a guided tour of the Cathedral, built on the site of an old Anglo-Saxon church, listed in the Doomsday book of 1086. Then we have a guided tour of the medieval Chantry Chapel which was built by the townspeople in the 14th century; it is now one of only three surviving Chantry Chapels in England. Finally, we take a short walk to reach our modern destination, the Hepworth Art Gallery. After a short lunch break we have an explanatory guided tour of the Barbara Hepworth galleries.

We leave Harrogate by coach at 9.30 and return by approximately 5pm. 

Cost Nidd Valley members £43; Guests £48. 

Closing date for this tour is 27 March 2026 or when all places are taken. For further information contact niddvalley@theartssociety.org 

A special date for members' diaries - a special day of interest at Goldsborough Hall which will be decorated for Christmas. International lecturer and jewellery maker, Andrew Prince will be presenting “The Changing Face of Fashion: Style in a Turbulent World”. 

In three talks, Andrew introduces “From Downton to Gatsby 1890-1929”, followed by “The Glamour Years 1929-1959”, finally looking at "Style in a Turbulent World and how I got involved". He will show how the period between 1890 and 1959 was probably the most tumultuous and extraordinary in our history, with political and world events having a profound and lasting effect, not only on how people lived, but also on fashion and jewellery design.

Andrew Prince became fascinated with jewels as a small child. Moving from working with real gemstones to designing and making costume jewellery for film and television (including for Downton Abbey and The Young Victoria), this has become his life’s work and interest.

There was great demdand for this day - all tickets now SOLD OUT. 

Our extended trip this year will take us to Warwickshire, with highlight visits to the being a tour of Bletchley Park and a private guided tour of Waddesdon Manor, filled with the treasures collected by the Rothschild family, including a world class art collection.
As well as free time in Stratford upon Avon, we will also be visiting three National Trust properties from different periods of time; Packwood House, a Tudor Mansion; Upton House, a Stuart mansion restored in the 1930’s; and Shugborough, a classical Georgian mansion, home of the late Earl of Lichfield.
Deposits are required before 24th January. 
£739 for society members and £749 for guests.

Leaving Harrogate at 09.30am, we will arrive at the National Trust's Beningbrough Hall for 10.30 allowing access to the gardens and restaurant on arrival and then seeing the Exhibition on The Botanical World of Mary Delaney. 

At 12.30pm we will leave for Allerton Castle arriving about 01.30pm where we will have a 2 hour guided talk and tour as well as tea, coffee and cake. We should be back in Harrogate by 5.00pm at the latest. 

Cost: Members £44; non-members £49.

Closing date for booking: Friday 28th February 2025

Three lectures with David will describe how the taste for such visits developed, from medieval hospitality, through the gradual introduction of formal visits with tickets and guidebooks, to the ways in which country houses today are cared for and maintained, as well as some of the problems they still face.

Our venue is the lovely country house Goldsborough Hall, which will be beautifully decorated for Christmas. There will be delicious refreshments: tea & coffee on arrival with Danish pastries, mid morning tea & coffee with shortbread biscuits, buffet lunch followed by tea & coffee.

Cost: £65 for members; £70 for non members. Excludes transport to and from the venue.

Book by 16th September to secure a place; booking forms available from niddvalley@theartssociety.org  

Staying three nights, with dinner, bed and breakfast, at the Double Tree by Hilton Westerwood, Glasgow. Visits include The Burrell Collection, Royal Yacht Britannia, Hopetoun House, The Kelpies, Holyrood House and Dumfries House – with some free time in Edinburgh.
Price: members £659; non-members £669.  We have 5 twin and 20 single rooms with no single supplement. 
Bookings close 30 April. For more information, email niddvalley@theartssociety.org 

This trip is now fully booked.

Mount Grace Priory was founded in 1398 as a priory for Carthusian monks, it was surrendered undamaged during the dissolution of the monasteries. It then passed through several owners until it was finally purchased by a Victorian industrialist, who was an admirer of William Morris, so the Manor House was given an arts and crafts style interior. In lieu of death duties, the Priory and Manor were finally given to the National Trust in 1905 but later taken over by English Heritage and reopened to the public in 1987. We will be given a short introductory talk. 

Kiplin Hall and Gardens - the visit will include a 1.5 hour guided tour. The Hall, a 17th century Jacobean mansion and estate, was built by George Calvert, Secretary of State to James 1 and Founder of Maryland USA. You can enjoy not only the hall but also walks around the lake, and in the walled and formal gardens and parkland as well sampling the delights of the award-winning tearoom!

Cost: £35 for members; £40 non members

Entry to Mount Grace Priory is free for NT or Heritage card holders. Otherwise concession ticket can be purchased for £13.60 on the day or £11.30 online in advance

For further information please email niddvalley@theartssociety.org

An opportunity to visit all the attractions (Auckland Castle & Gardens, Spanish Gallery, Mining Art Gallery plus the new Faith Museum).

For more information, contact niddvalley@theartssociety.org 

A visit to two art galleries at Welbeck Abbey: The Duke of Portland Museum, which includes a special exhibition of Tudor portraits, and the Harley Gallery, where the work of modern local artists is on view.  After lunch, a visit to Goldsborough Hall for a talk on the history of the house, with tea and scones, then hopefully time in the garden before returning to Harrogate at 5pm. 
Price: members £45; non-members £50.
Bookings close 15 April (or when all places have been taken).

For more information, email niddvalley@theartssociety.org 

Join us on a Grand Day Out: meander through 30 rooms filled with fine art and furniture, transformed with seasonal floral displays, stunning decorations and garlands. As well as the house, the grounds, Gift Shop and Stables Cafe are all open. The coach will leave Trinity Church at 9.30am. 
The cost is £40 for members, £45 for non-members – with a discount of £10 for holders of a Historic Houses card or an Art Fund card. 

Contact us at niddvalley@theartssociety.org if interested in finding out more or booking onto the trip. 

The programme in brief:     (visits subject to change)

Thursday 14th September - Visit  Erddig (NT), just outside Wrexham.  Arrive at the EVANS HOTEL in Llandudno.

Friday 15th September - Drive through the Snowdonia National Park to Portmerion Village, return via Caernafon.

Saturday 16th September - Bodnant Garden (NT) and on to Anglesey to visit Plas Newydd House (NT)

Sunday 17th September - Return home via  Speke Hall (NT) on Merseyside.

Accommodation - Evans Hotel in the centre of Llandudo; half board in single/double rooms.

Cost - Members - £509; non-members £519   (National Trust entrance fees not included)

For more information and a booking form, contact Janet Brearley, email janetbrearley@yahoo.co.uk.

Completed form and deposit required by 19th June.

This day trip is an opportunity to visit various attractions covered by the Auckland Project Pass (valid for 12 months) including:

Auckland Castle and Gardens

Spanish Gallery

The Mining Art Gallery

Members price - £55 for coach and the Auckland Project Pass;  (Non member £60)

Contact Janet Brearley for more details and a booking form; email: janetbrearley@yahoo.co.uk

A full day talk and tour.

Includes coffee, lunch, and tea and cakes; overview of the history;  a talk by one of their specialists. a behind the scenes tour, and time for browsing the exhibitions on display.

Cost: Members £55; non member £60.

If interested, please email us on niddvalley@theartssociety.org.for a booking form.

A visit to Castle Howard to see the house decorated for Christmas.  This year Charlotte Lloyd-Webber Events are set to transform the grand rooms into magical forests and faraway kingdoms with wonderful theatrical installations.. We expect this to be a popular visit.

Cost: £38 to include return coach travel and the entrance fee to the House and Gardens.

A 3-day visit to Norwich, staying for two nights at the Holiday Inn with dinner, bed and breakfast. 

We will break our journey to Norwich and back with a visit to a National Trust property (subject to availability).  During our time in Norwich we will visit the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts (an art gallery and museum located on the campus of  the University of East Anglia), plus have free time to wander around the very interesting city centre.

Cost: £369

There will be two scheduled stops – in the morning to the Laing Gallery (for those of you that are interested, there is a special exhibition to  see the Lindisfarne Gospels - not included in the cost of the trip) and in the afternoon on to the  Biscuit Factory, a private Art Gallery which has a delightful cafe for tea.  

There is also the option for you to ‘do your own thing’ in the city centre, if you prefer.  

Cost: £22

We will have a guided tour of the house.  Once the tours are over you will have the chance of visiting Home Farm, the Walled Garden and the cafe.

Temple Newsam is a Tudor-Jacobean house in Leeds with grounds landscaped by Capability Brown, and magnificent collection of Chippendale furniture.  The house captures over 500 years of history.  Following extensive restoration, over 40 interiors now display one of the most important collections of fine and decorative arts in Britain.  It is a treasure house of outstanding collections including furniture, ceramics, textiles, silver and wallpaper.

11 – 15 October 2021 – Brighton and the Wonders of West Sussex

Monday – NT Packwood House, Warwickshire.  Arrival at the Ship Hotel on the seafront in Brighton

Tuesday – guided tour of the Royal Pavilion.  Over 120 decorative works of art are on loan from Buckingham Palace.  Free leisure time in Brighton in the afternoon.

Wednesday -  Standen House and gardens; NT Wakehurst Place

Thursday – English Martyr’s Church, Goring on Sea to view the world’s only hand painted replica of Michelangelo’s Sistine ceiling.  Petworth House and park.

Friday – NT Anglesey Abbey, Gardens and Lode Mill 

Italian inspired hall with beautiful gardens and baroque styled architecture.