On Monday 3rd July, excited members of the U3A Stately Homes Group crowded the pavement at Willerby Square with their suitcases to set off on our annual holiday. Heading south to Northamptonshire, our first stop was Althorpe House, the ancestral home of the Spencer Family set in magnificent grounds where we learnt some fascinating historical details of the generations of the family. The island in the lake is the resting place of the late Diana, Princess of Wales.

From Althorpe we headed into Warwickshire to find our hotel, a 16th century grade II listed building. Walton Hall Hotel is set in 65 acres of magnificent grounds and countryside.

On Tuesday morning the group visited Charlecote Park, a fascinating Tudor manor with Victorian additions, home of the Lucy family dating from 1558. The Lucy family played a significant role in the English Civil War and has on display many artefacts of this period of history including documents signed by Oliver Cromwell.

The afternoon was spent with free time in Stratford Upon Avon which needs little introduction, home of the RSC and Shakespeare. Many of the group took the opportunity to visit the Holy Trinity church to view the graves of William Shakespeare and his family. The riverside walk was a delight on a rather wet afternoon.

We had two stately homes to visit on Wednesday. Upton House near Banbury, with its outstanding collection of paintings and porcelain was purchased by the Bearsted family in the 1930’s as their country retreat. It houses a world-renowned art collection together with dramatic terraced gardens. Our second visit of the day was to Canons Ashby in Northamptonshire, an Elizabethan house with 18th century gardens, the house being home to the Dryden family for 400 years. Within the grounds can be found the stunning Priory Church founded in 1147.

Although the hotel was always very busy with numerous other guests, Chris Watson managed to commandeer the bar on the final evening for a lighthearted quiz. It was so exciting that we had a visit from a surprise guest. Unfortunately, this gate crasher, a duck, had waddled in through an open door and was promptly chased through the hotel by staff and evicted.

Thursday morning found the group heading home via Belton House in Grantham. We were blessed with better weather (even some sunshine) and had plenty of time to explore the wonderful house and gardens before making our return across the Humber Bridge to Willerby.

Without doubt all of the visited Homes proved fascinating, providing a fantastic glimpse into history. The knowledge of the guides in all of the properties further enhanced our visits.

A mention must be given to Sharon, our superb coach driver who found access to some of the properties very challenging for a large coach.

Finally, none of the above would have happened without Chris Watson’s organisation and planning of what has proved to be yet again a wonderful U3A stately home trip.

David Newman

Please click here to return to The Stately Homes page.