|
 |
Thursday
Morning departure with coffee/lunch stop at Sanders Garden World before heading to Reading and our hotel, Hilton Reading, chance to freshen up before early dinner and departing for London & The Household Division's Beating the Retreat held on Horse Guards Parade.
A spectacular evening
pageant of music and military precision drill, including horses, cannon
and fireworks performed on Horse Guards Parade in front
of the beautiful backdrop of St James’s Park
Military Beating Retreat concerts have a long tradition dating back
to the 1690s. Originally the beating of the drum was used to order
troops to break off fighting and withdraw to the safety of camp as
darkness fell, later it signalled the closing of the camp gates at the
end of the day and called troops back to base for the night. Today a
Beating Retreat is an evening military concert with a marching display
and usually marks the lowering of the Regimental flag at sunset.
Soldiers of the Household Division are instantly recognisable through
their distinctive uniforms and headdress and have a history spanning
over three centuries.
Invariably described as ‘truly spectacular’ and ‘London at its
finest’ the Household Division Beating Retreat cannot be seen anywhere
else in the world and is a not to be missed event.
After the Retreat return to Hilton Reading for the night.
Friday
Chance to use the leisure facilities before breakfast.
This morning we visit Kenwood House, on the edge of London’s Hampstead Heath, it was probably
first built in the early 17th century. Between 1764 and 1779 Robert
Adam transformed it into a neoclassical villa for William Murray, 1st
Earl of Mansfield, and the interiors include some of Adam’s finest
surviving schemes. Kenwood is now home to the 1st Earl of Iveagh’s
renowned collection of Old Master and British paintings, which includes
works by Rembrandt and Vermeer.
During the Second World War Kenwood housed servicemen. In 1949,
realising the need for significant repair work, the Iveagh Bequest
Trustees handed it over to London County Council. It was taken over by
English Heritage in 1986.
Following an extensive repair and conservation project begun in 2012, part-funded by Heritage Lottery Fund,
Kenwood reopened in late 2013. Work included repairing the Westmorland
slate roof and redecorating the exterior and interior of the house,
based on new paint research on the original Adam scheme, and a redisplay
of the Iveagh Bequest paintings in the south front rooms.
In the afternoon we plan to visit the RAF Museum which is located close by on the former Hendon Aerodrome, it holds over 100 aircraft in five themed aircraft halls dedicated to the history of aviation and the Royal
Air Force.
Included in the price of the break
Coach with pickups, Newton Abbot & Kingsteignton Greenhill Way.
Dinner Bed & Breakfast at 4* Hilton Reading
Ticket for seat @ Horse Guards Parade for Beating the Retreat
Visit to Kenwood House
Visit to RAF Museum
COST £135.00 PER PERSON SHARING
£20 single supplement
£25 per person deposit with booking
Final payment by 1st May
PLEASE NOTE INSURANCE IS NOT INCLUDED
*****************
SORRY NOW FULL PLEASE LEAVE NAMES INCASE OF CANCELLATIONS
|
