islington
 Explore your city with visits to
places of interest in or near London. We'll walk a
bit as well, and learn about the history,
architecture, topography and people that make London
the fascinating place it is.Group Coordinator: Liz Simpson (click to contact) |
| When At least one visit a month, on
different days and times, to avoid always clashing
with the same iU3A groups.
|
| Where Visits cover all of Greater London including visits to historic houses, museums, galleries and churches. |
Members are advised of forthcoming visits by
email and sign up (by responding to the email) for each
visit in advance on a first come, first served basis.
Individual visits may be limited to 10-20 members depending
on the destination. To keep things simple (!) for me, I'll
open booking for each visit about a month before the date
and if numbers are limited I'll let you know.
Please note that many visits require payment
of entrance charges. Some events are free, but many require
a payment for an entry fee or guided tour. When an event is
'pay on the day' please have the correct money with you, in
an envelope with your name on it as this is the best way of
checking who has paid and who has not! If I ask for payment
in advance it should be by cheque made payable to ‘Islington
u3a’ and sent to me, or by electronic payment direct to
iU3A’s account. Email me if you need more information. If
the visit is ticketed, I will ask for a stamped, addressed
envelope from you so I can send you your ticket/s.
group met
together on 9 December 2024 to review the year’s events —
and the ten years since the group was first set up — which
meant there were plenty of reminiscences to share! There
will be a reduced programme of group ‘explorations’ between
March and May 2025, followed by a day trip to Deal in June.
Hopefully two or three more volunteers will step forward to
join a ‘committee’ to continue the group programming as
everyone present agreed that Exploring London was a
wonderful way to meet new friends and learn more about our
city — not to mention the Kent coast!iu3a 'Exploring London' — the future. After nearly 11 years coordinating this group Liz is stepping back from the detailed programming for this popular group. If you are interested in helping or taking over please contact Liz (contact details above).
Programme
Information for remainder of 2025:
See Liz's last email to all group members.
The London walks will all begin at 11.00am, and will cost £10 per person, subject to any last minute changes. All 'explorations' will open for booking approximately a month before each event and, as usual, you'll be notified by email when they are.
All listed visits will be open for booking approximately a month before the date of each event. Emails will be sent to members when booking opens — there is no link on the website to book events.
More information will be sent directly to Group members.
Other Events and Places Worth a Visit
Recent Visits
ently become an annual event
for Explorers, as our regular and popular guide Rob Smith
has helped us to explore the history and stories associated
with several of the Kent coast towns. Following on from
Margate, Whitstable and Broadstairs, on 24 June this year we
headed to Deal ...
Luckily for us, we seemed to have chosen a day between the worst of the high temperatures so it was pleasant to meet up with Rob at Deal Station and make our way through the centre of town, passing the Town Hall and St George’s Church, through attractive back streets lined with small Georgian — and earlier — houses down to the seafront. Our group photo was taken by the sea! A surprising number of attractive buildings had survived being on the ‘frontline’ of WW2 and offered venues for the obligatory fish and chip lunches for many Explorers! A new pier and 1950s sea-front shelters brought elements of modernity to our walk but we ended at Deal’s castle (English Heritage managed), built during the reign of Henry VIII, when invasion from Europe was also a present threat.
Most of the group returned to the High Street to finish our exploration with Rob — though one intrepid Explorer has headed off on a rented bike towards Walmer! — and it was time to chat about future seaside trips: Sandwich? Ramsgate? Rob leads group walks with the company Footprints of London and the group were interested to hear about a planned walk and bus exploration of the Kent coast on 15 July. Anyone interested in walks offered by Rob Smith and his fellow guides will find plenty of interest on www.footprintsoflondon.com where you can sign up for regular emails about the walks programme.
June: Grocers' Hall: Visits to City live
ry company halls have
always been popular with Explorers, and this was no
exception. A group of 22 gathered at Grocers’ Hall, close to
the Bank of England, for coffee and tea before starting our
tour of the building. Our knowledgeable guide, Dr Helen
Clifford, is the Worshipful Company of Grocers’ historian
and archivist so the tour took us round the main rooms of
the hall as she explained both the history of the Company —
the first reference to the predecessor of the company is in
1180 — and talked about the five halls the Company has
owned. The current, fifth, hall, stands on the same land the
Company bought in 1425 though it was completed in 1970 after
a major fire in 1965 destroyed the previous hall. The group
photograph (which Helen took for us!) has the modern
tapestries by John Piper as its background, while in other
rooms and corridors we were able to enjoy paintings and
sculptures, glass, furniture and an impressive wrought iron
ceremonial gate (by Tijou?) which illustrated various
aspects of the Company’s long history. The Company also has
a small but interesting collection of old books which could
be the basis of a specialist visit in the future for anyone
interested ...The Worshipful Company of Grocers has an excellent website where one can read more about its work and history www.grocershall.co.uk — and if you are ever ‘exploring’ the Yorkshire Dales in the summer, try to visit the Swaledale Museum in Reeth, near Richmond, www.swaledalemuseum.org. Run by volunteers, it was established by Helen, our guide for the day!
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