24 Feb 2026 – Florence Nightingale Museum – Away Day
Florence Nightingale Museum: Tour. Florence Nightingale was named after the Italian city in which she was born. She laid the foundation of professional nursing when she established her nursing school in St Thomas’ Hospital, where the Museum is now situated. Her most famous contribution came during the Crimean War, where she gained her nickname, ‘the Lady with the Lamp’.
Our guided tour starts at 12.30pm and lasts about 30 minutes. Afterwards you’ll have the opportunity to look round the exhibits on your own, which, it is suggested, should take another 30 minutes.
There are a couple of places nearby to stop for coffee – Gail’s Bakery and the Slug & Lettuce (they are happy to serve coffee only), located on the corner of York Road and Chicheley Street. Afterwards a stroll around the Jubilee Gardens near the London Eye may be in order, weather permitting, or a visit to Tate Modern, about a 15-minute walk along the South Bank, or you can take the bus.
Meeting Time/Place: 11.15am (note later time than usual), Waterloo Station opposite Platform 4 Travel: From Waterloo Station it’s approximately a 15-minute walk to the Museum in Lambeth Palace Road.
Cost: £13.40 (includes entry fee and tour)
Accessibility: The exhibition is all on the ground floor.
To join us, please fill in the form in the centre of this newsletter and send it with your cheque, made payable to Kingston u3a GAS, to Pam Townsend. pamandgil@icloud.com, 07789 397635
26th March Away Day – Visit to the Handel/Hendrix House
In one London street, separated by a wall and 200 years, are the homes of two of history’s great musicians. From 1723 to 1759 George Frideric Handel lived and composed at 25 Brook Street.
Two centuries later the legendary guitarist Jimi Hendrix lived in a flat at number 23, the adjacent property.
Step back in history and see how a typical Georgian gentleman’s house would have looked and then step forward, yet still in the past, to the heady world of the 1960s.
Handel House occupies four floors, with all rooms now restored. Additional rooms in the adjoining house are also used for temporary exhibitions, which focus on aspects of his life in Georgian London, his legacy and the baroque instruments used in his extensive body of work.
There are new exhibitions about Hendrix’s music, Handel’s music and the musicians he worked with, and displays about London in the 18th century and the 1960s.
Hendrix’s flat occupies the upper floor of number 23. The main room where Jimi lived, entertained friends and wrote new music has been restored. There are also displays dedicated to his legacy and performances.
Date: Thursday, 26 March
Meeting Time/Place: 10.15am at Waterloo Station opposite platforms 1-4
Travel: Jubilee Line to Bond Street (3 stops). We’ll go into the Caffè Concerto, a few steps from the station in South Molton Street (refreshments not included in the price), then it’s a short walk to Brook Street, to arrive at 11.30/11.45am for our self-guided tour.
Cost: £13.45 Free entry for National Art Pass holders Accessibility: Visitors move up through Handel’s House first. At the top the route crosses over to the Hendrix side and back down to where the tour began.The lift can access all areas of the house.
To join us, please complete the booking form in the cerntre of your Newsletter and send it with a cheeque made payable to Kingstonu3a GAS to to Hazel Burr. 07950 687553
20th April Away Day – Visit to Denbies Vineyard
Join us on a visit to Denbies Vineyard in Dorking for a wine-tasting experience, which begins in their cinema with a film showing the vineyard as it changes through the seasons. Learn the history of the estate and also a little of the geology of the area and why this makes it an ideal place to grow grapes. See the winemaking process from vine to bottle.
This 20-minute film is followed by a guide through a selection of their classic wines with one of their wine experts. There’ll be an opportunity to taste some wines and visit their cellars.
The complete tour lasts approximately one hour.
Date: Monday, 20 April Cost: £15.35
Travel: The journey to Denbies will be by the 465 bus from Kingston or you can join the bus in Surbiton.
Freedom Travel cards accepted. Meeting times/places: ● 10.10am Kingston: Cromwell Road Bus Garage, stop A16 ● 10.15am Surbiton: Claremont Road, opposite Waitrose The journey time is about one hour.
Get off at Pixham Lane, which is the stop opposite the driveway to Denbies Vineyard. We cross the busy road and a 10-minute walk along the driveway will bring us to the entrance of the Visitors’ Centre, where we can enjoy a coffee in the conservatory (not included in the price) before the tour begins at 12 noon.
Return journey: The timings of the buses from Pixham Lane are 1.25pm, 1.43pm, 2.10pm and 2.38pm. To join us please fill in the form in the centre of this newsletter.
Remember to tick the box to indicate which bus stop you will be using and check your availability before applying.
Send this form with your cheque, made payable to Kingston u3a GAS, to Pam Townsend. pamandgil@me.com, 07789 39763520th April
20th May Away Day – Ewell Walk & Visit to Bourne Hall Museum
Come and discover some of the history of Ewell, founded as a spring-line settlement, where the chalk of the North Downs meets the London clay.
We’ll take an hour’s guided walk around the area. This will be centred round the Grade II listed Bourne Hall, where there is a café (refreshments not included in the price) and a small but interesting museum.
The museum is free and its highlights include Lord Rosebery’s hansom cab, a 19thcentury fire engine and extensive Derby races memorabilia.
Date: Wednesday, 20 May
Cost: £3.40 for the guided tour
Meeting Times/Places:
● 9.30am at Cromwell Road Bus Station to catch the 406 bus to Epsom High Street or
● 9.44am to board the bus at Surbiton Library or
● 10.05am to board the bus at Tolworth Broadway.
Alight at The Spring in Ewell, where you’ll be escorted to Bourne Hall. If you wish to go by car, there is a large car park at Bourne Hall (cost £2 for 2 hours, £3 for 3 hours, £4 for 4 hours). You can pay by card or cash.
Meet the group in the café at Bourne Hall around 10.30am, in readiness for the start of the walk at 11am.
Accessibility: The walk is on flat ground and will take approximately an hour. The small museum is upstairs but there is access by lift.
To join us, please fill in the form in the centre of this newsletter and send it with your cheque, made payable to Kingston u3a GAS, to Pamela Crisp. pamelacrisp50@hotmail.com 07846 722278
4th Dec – Christmas Lunch – Open to all Members
Join us for our Christmas lunch, open to all members of Kingston u3a and a chance to get together again at Glenmore House and renew friendships in a friendly environment with delicious cuisine.
This year children from the local St Andrew’s and St Mark’s Primary School choir will welcome us with cheerful festive songs before we sit down to lunch.
Menu
● Starter: Cured salmon and beetroot terrine with French bread
● Glenmore sorbet
● Main Course: Roast turkey with all the trimmings
● Dessert: Cream profiteroles with chocolate sauce
Please note: The chef will cater for you if you have a food intolerance. Make sure you explain this on the reverse of the booking form.
Date/Time: Thursday, 4 December Arrive from 12 noon. Please be seated by 12.30pm. Place: Glenmore House, 6 The Crescent, Surbiton KT6 4BN. Free car parking is available on site.
Cost: £38.40 per person (includes meal and gratuities). Drinks are not included in the price but will be available to buy from the bar.
To join us, please fill in the form (with details on the reverse of special dietary requirements) in the centre of this newsletter and send it to Jacqui Hine. Closing date for bookings: 20 November jacqui@hine.org.uk, 07817 264959 (for cancellations on the day only, please
14 Jan 2026 – National Theatre Guided Tour – Away Day
Come along for a backstage tour of the National Theatre. Founded by Sir Laurence Olivier in 1963, it is adjacent to the South Bank Centre at Waterloo. The building, designed by Sir Denys Lasdun and Peter Softley, contains three theatres, which were opened individually between 1976 and 1977. It has been a Grade II listed building since 1994.
Our tour starts at 11.15am and lasts 75 minutes. There is a limit of 20 places, so please book early.
Date: Wednesday, 14 January Meeting Time/Place: 10.15am Waterloo Station. It’s a 10-minute walk to the Theatre and we’ll stop for coffee on the way.
Price: £15 Accessibility: Only a few steps to negotiate during the tour
To join us, please fill in the form in the centre of the newsletter and send it with your cheque, made payable to Kingston u3a GAS, to Pamela Crisp. pamelacrisp50@hotmail.com 07846 722278
6th Nov – Charles Dickens Museum – Visits
48 Doughty Street in Bloomsbury was the London home of Charles Dickens 1837-1839.
The five-storey house opened as a museum 100 years ago on 9 June 1925. It holds the world’s most important Dickens collection. It contains many mementos from Dickens’s life and writings.
The house is furnished throughout as it was when Dickens and his family were in residence. There are thousands of objects on display, including the writing desk where he wrote Great Expectations and A Tale of Two Cities. I
n the basemen kitchen is the washhouse copper, which was cleaned out every December so they could boil the Christmas pudding. The artefacts, manuscripts, paintings and furniture give a valuable insight into Dickens’s life,
his family and the times in which they lived.
Only small handbags or backpacks are allowed in the Museum and must be worn on the front, or carried by hand.
After the visit, to round off your day, you may want to spend time in the British Museum, which is a short walk away from Dickens’s house.
Date: Thursday, 6 November
Meeting Time/Place: 10.15am, Waterloo Station opposite platforms 1-4
Travel: We leave the Station via the escalator to walk to the bus stop and take a bus to Russell Square (details to follow). After refreshments at the Caffè Tropea in the Square (not included in the price), we set off for the 15/20-minute walk to the Museum. Depending on the group size, our entry may be staggered, with half entering at 12pm and half at 12.15pm. If this is the case, the second group will stay a little longer at the Caffè to avoid congestion outside the Museum.
Cost: £11.35 (entry to Museum and self-guided tour). There is no reduction for National Art Pass holders when in a group.
Accessibility: There are five floors with many stairs. There is a staff operated platform lift as far as the 4th floor, then stairs to the attic.
To join us, please fill in the form in the centre of this newsletter and send it with your cheque, made payable to Kingston u3a GAS, to Hazel Burr.
07950 687553
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