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The Historic Houses, Gardens, and Walks Gay Group

VISITS TO HISTORIC HOUSES AND GARDENS, AND WALKS THROUGH THE HISTORIC DISTRICTS IN AND AROUND LONDON AND THE SOUTH EAST

Pictures courtesy of London-GB.com

The group aims to bring together gay people who enjoy visiting stately homes, historic houses, and fine country gardens, or who may be interested in architecture or antiques. It has been operating for about six years. The programme consists mainly of walks in the various districts of London, though there may also be visits to stately homes, historic properties, and gardens in London and the Home Counties.

There is no membership fee, and the emphasis is on informality. If visiting a property, just turn up and pay the entrance fee (though members of the National Trust, the Historic Houses Association, or the Royal Horticultural Society may get in free, depending on the venue). The walks are based on established routes extracted from a variety of sources, ending when possible with a drink in a local pub or coffee shop. There is normally no charge for the walks.

PROVISIONAL PROGRAMME FOR 2010

Sunday 14 February 2010 – A Highgate Walk.  Click here for details

Sunday 14 March 2010- A Walk through Old Chiswick

Sunday 11 April 2010 – A Dulwich Walk

Sunday 9 May 2010 – A Thames Walk - Richmond to Kew

Wednesday 2 June 2010 – The Inns of Court Walk

Sunday 13 June 2010 – Hatfield House

Sunday 11 July 2010 – Nunhead Cemetery

Sunday 8 August 2010 - A Hackney Walk

Sunday 12 September 2010 – A Thames Walk – Tower Bridge to Rotherhithe

Sunday 10 October 2010 - A Pinner Walk

 

Highgate Village Walk – Sunday 14 February 2010

Copyright Martin Addison

Licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

Historically Highgate adjoined the Bishop of London's hunting estate.  The Bishop kept a tollhouse where one of the main northward roads out of London entered his land.  A number of pubs sprang up along the route, one of which, the Gatehouse, commemorates the tollhouse.  In the 1500s wealthy merchants and lawyers from London were attracted by its healthy position and fantastic views.  One such resident was Sir Roger Cholmeley who ideas for founding a grammar school eventually led to the public school now known as Highgate School.

The walk provides an opportunity to see a vast range of architecture, ranging from the red-brick Victorian school, through grand Georgian houses, half-timbered mansion blocks built for “lady workers”, the gothic Holly Village development, and the modernist Highpoint 1 designed by Berthold Lubetkin, as well as some slightly more modest, though still spectacular, recently built domestic properties.

Please meet in the booking hall of Highgate tube station (Northern line) near the ticket machines at 1.15 p.m.

Transport for London Journey Planner

MORE INFORMATION

020 8989 5295 or 07785 773917

info@outandabout-london.org

 

Updated: January 2010