Our visit to Bantock House Museum, Highgrove Garden, Berkeley Castle and the Cotswolds
27 – 29 June 2017
At the end of June 2017 a group of 26 of our members had a very enjoyable visit to The Cotswolds. En route to our comfortable 4 star hotel near Malmesbury we stopped at Bantock House, a beautifully preserved Arts and Crafts house near Birmingham.The next day after a leisurely breakfast we spent the morning exploring Tetbury. In the afternoon our coach picked us up for our visit to Berkeley Castle where we had a conducted tour of the castle, the keep of which was dates from the 12th century, the castle is fully intact and still lived in by the Berkeley family which gave it a lovely ambience.
The following day we were to return home but spent a pleasant morning in Malmesbury a charming market town which is England’s oldest borough with a stunning 12th century Abbey, also still in use today. However the afternoon was the highlight of our trip when we visited the garden at Highgrove, the home of H.R.H. The Prince of Wales, members had a conducted tour of the garden with a very informative guide and had the opportunity to have their photograph taken in the garden by a professional photographer (a member of the Prince’s Trust who now photographs most of the Prince’s official engagements.) Before leaving for our return journey our members had time to get a meal in the garden restaurant and visit the Highgrove gift shop, the profits of which all go to the Prince’s charitable trusts. We had a smooth journey home and members thanked our driver for his safe and considerate driving and everyone agreed it had been a very enjoyable trip and our chairman said he hoped everyone would join our trip next year to Highclere Castle.
Christine Goodall