In the morning we visit Alexander Pope's Grotto, the last remaining part of his famous villa and gardens, which he built in 1720 on the banks of the Thames at Twickenham.  A mine of minerals gathered from all parts of the world, it is listed as Grade 2*and as Heritage at Risk.  'Of outstanding national importance'.  It is loaded with significance for British culture and for the birth of the English Landscape Garden Movement, described by Mavis Batey as 'A seminal event in the18th century search to establish man's relationship to nature'.

Demolished in 1808, the villa was replaced and the property became the subject of much redevelopment over the following 200 years.  In 1996 St James's Independant School for Boys acquired the estate, remaining for 14 years, during which time a Charitable Trust was created to preserve the grotto.  The current owner, Radnor House School, acquired the school in 2010 and has committed wholeheartedly to the project of conversation and to the activities surrounding it.

Following our May walk from ‘Little Venice’ to Camden (going east along the Canal) Simon Whitehouse guides us on this walk to explore the western area from Little Venice. Our first ports of call include a surprising Neo Gothic masterpiece & a village like churchyard where lie the remains of one of England’s most celebrated (& painted) actresses…….We then head to the heart of the area, “Browning’ Pool” with its delightful collection of barges, houseboats, narrow lanes, moored craft, and ducks. The walk also takes in the many developments in transport including a fascinating history of London’s waterways, the railways & the controversial Westway road scheme. We take in colourful narrowboats, Regency stucco terraces & a unique floating theatre before the walk transforms dramatically as we enter Paddington Basin. We cross modern footbridges that kinetically connect the two sides of the Grand Union Canal before passing a ‘royal’ hospital which was home to both one of the greatest discoveries in medicine & one of England’s most controversial surgeons….Our walk ends near Paddington Station where we marvel at Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s astonishing home to ‘God’s Wonderful Railway’ & learn of the poignant inspiration for that little bear from Darkest Peru……!

Please join us and Lou Cohen (our fabulous Westminster Abbey guide) on this walk along the Regent’s Canal, starting in Maida Vale surrounded by stucco-fronted houses, delight in Little Venice and stroll along the towpath to explore “the loveliest inland waterway in England”. It is a walk offering an oasis of calm before ending at the bustling Camden Market.

Guided tour of Westminster Abbey with Lou Cohen, one of the Abbey’s blue badge guides.

The Abbey has been the coronation church since 1066, and is the final resting place of 17 monarchs. The church that we see today was begun by Henry III in 1245. It is one of the most important Gothic buildings in the country and has the medieval shrine of an Anglo-Saxon saint at its heart.

More than twenty members of our Arts Society flew out mid October 2025 for a fascinating trip discovering the rich cultural city of Budapest. The Hungarian capital is comprised of two cities facing each other on opposite banks of the mighty Danube. On the hilly west side, Buda was the ancient capital built around the magnificent 13th century citadel, from which we admired commanding views from the turreted bastion. Spread out on the opposite side of the river, Pest is the main commercial sector where we visited the impressive Parliament building, stunning opera house, and the largest Synagogue in Europe, to name a few. Unified in 1873 to form Budapest, the central area along the Danube now classified as a Unesco World Heritage Site. We travelled down the river to Szentendre, known as the ‘artists’ village. Overall we had a wonderful time being expertly guided, some spoilt with an evening concert at the music academy, lots of local delicacies to savour and a few finished off the trip with a dip in the world famous thermal baths at Széchenyi.