| Status: | Active, open to new members |
| When: | Various dates |
| Venue: | Various venues |
Group Leaders: Halina Gaskell Jan Cooper Jackie Evans Steven Evans
Members can book their places and pay at the general meetings or contact one of the Leaders.
£5 deposit taken for all trips at the Monthly General meeting.
All national trust trips will now pick-up at 2 points as follows:
1. At the bus stop in Forest Town outside the Arena.
2. At the roadside outside the Morrisons Car Park in Mansfield Woodhouse. This is because you are able to park for free all day in the Morrison car park.
Any queries please contact the National Trust organisers .Steve, Jackie, Jan and Halina by using the links above.
Clumber Park Walled Kitchen Garden.
The trip on May 3 will be to visit The Walled Kitchen Garden at Clumber Park for their Blossom Weekend.
There will be a craft market and wellbeing activities available.
There is now a trailer café, Glasshouse Brew, and seating in the glasshouse available for us.
The garden opens at 10.00 and for non-members cost is £6.50.
We will be travelling in our own cars. Anyone willing to take passengers and those who need transport please let me know at the April meeting so arrangements can be made.
Shugborough Hall
I am hoping to organise a trip to Shugborough Hall on Saturday 6 June.
We will be using Ravenshead Transport so only 14 places will be available. If it's popular I'll try to arrange another trip later.
I am awaiting confirmation that a driver is available so I'll just be taking names at the May meeting. Payment can be made in June. Cost likely to be £17.50.
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Hardwick Hall
Halina & I are also hoping to arrange a visit to Hardwick Hall to do a rooftop visit later in the month. More details to follow.
Jan Cooper
Wightwick Manor
A coach has been provisionally booked for Thursday 9 July 2026, leaving Forest Town at 08.30, for a day trip to Wightwick Manor & Gardens. To secure your place a £5.00 deposit (non-refundable) will need to be paid.
The full cost
will be confirmed when we know if we need a 32-seater or a 49-seater coach.
Mr Straw’s House
For the October outing we will be visiting Mr Straw’s House in Worksop and I need to know which date you all prefer, either 2 or 9 October, so I can book our slots.
Jackie Evans.
You can contact Jackie or any of the group leaders' via the links at the top of this page.
Previous Visits.
24th. April 2026 visit to Charlecote Park/Stratford-upon-Avon
What a lovely time we have all had today, for our first National Trust trip of the year.
Charlcote park and the Tudor Manor house were both stunning.
We were so lucky with the weather and afterwards, some of us were happy to sit at the side of the river when we got into Stratford upon Avon😊
A thoroughly enjoyable visit, so special thanks must go to Jan who organised the whole day❤️
Well done to Bob who sat in the lucky seat today and went home with 3 small bottles of wine😊😊 Halina.
(click on 1st photo to see larger image and slide show.)
Old Manor and Kedleston.
National Trust Group visit Woolsthorpe & Belton.
Our last National Trust outing for 2024 was on Thursday 17 October was to Woolsthorpe Manor and Belton House.
We had the most glorious perfect autumn day! Woolsthorpe was the home of Sir Isaac Newton.
Newton was a genius who had a curious, experimenting mind from an early age.
During the 17th century ‘lockdown’, the time of the Great Plague, Isaac came back to Woolsthorpe from Cambridge to develop theories in calculus, optics and the laws of motion and gravity.
Some of his experiments are still evident and of course the story of the falling apple, from a tree in the adjoining garden, that inspired Newton, is a scientific legend!
Belton Country House was built in the late 17th century by the Brownlow family and everything about its 1,300 acres was to impress.
The collection of paintings, silver, orientalist ceramics and books are some of the finest within the National Trust.
The formal gardens of Italian and Dutch design complete with conservatory and fountain are beautifully maintained.
The ancient deer park, grazing sheep, ponds and woodland provide miles of walking trails and, of course, the huge adventure playground for all to enjoy
National Trust Group visit Upton & Canons Ashby
After a misty, cool start to the day we had glorious autumn sunshine at Upton House and Canons Ashby. Upton House was the 1930's country retreat of Lord and Lady Beasted. Tapestries, a world famous priceless art collection and fine Chelsea porcelain are displayed here.
The gardens and woodlands were spectacular, making the most of the sheer drop into the Ice Age valley below with the Mirror Pool reflecting the skies above.
Canons Ashby is only 17 miles from Upton House, but it took us over an hour to arrive due to road closures because of HS2 work in the area.
Such an interesting Elizabethan manor house, largely left as it was since 1710.
For over 400 years the Dryden family lived, renovated and extended this property.
The house was built using the stone from the remains of a medieval priory. In the original part of the house there are wall paintings of coats of arms of visitors. One was of Sir Walter Raleigh! The gardens, with evidence of medieval farming, were beautifully maintained.
Click on or touch first photo to see slide show,
