For more information contact the Social Team
Birmingham (FULL) September 9/10th
We will be visiting the Black Country Living Museum on the way to Birmingham. Experience the Black Country of yesteryear as you explore over 250 years of history, from the Industrial Revolution to post-war prosperity. Explore over 80 reconstructed shops, houses and industrial workshops, and meet historical characters who bring history to life with demonstrations in authentic settings.
We stay at the Park Inn Hotel in Walsall, where breakfast is included, and on the afternoon of 10th September we will have some free time in the centre of Birmingham before going to a matinee performance of Mrs Doubtfire The Musical at Birmingham Hippodrome. This is generally reviewed as a high energy, heartwarming and fun show, which has enjoyed success in London's West End and on national tours.
Salt's Mill (Full) October 7th
The Mill now houses a variety of galleries, including a permanent David Hockney exhibition. Shops include the Poster Shop, selling licensed Hockney posters and postcards, a bookshop, a furniture shop, and an antiques gallery. The galleries include a jewellery exhibition, and an early music shop. There are two cafes in the Mill, and an espresso bar. The Mill is on five levels, with good accessibility throughout. There are lifts and disabled toilets. Saltaire and the Mill are free to enter, the only cost is the coach, which is likely to be between £10-£15, depending on numbers. We would leave Ethel Ward car park at 9am and return at 5pm. Salt's Mill opened in 1853, the centrepiece of Sir Titus Salt’s Utopian vision of Saltaire. He built the adjoining ‘model village’ to house his workers. Cloth production continued until 1986, and the following year the Mill was bought by the philanthropist Jonathan Silver, who re-imagined it as a place where culture and commerce could thrive together.
Donna Nook (FULL)
Donna Nook is a nature reserve on the North Lincolnshire coast, where in November hundreds of grey seals come to give birth to a new generation of seal pups. This stretch of coastline becomes a major draw for nature and wildlife enthusiasts, with rangers on duty to provide information and point out imminent, recent and live births in very close proximity. This is nature ‘in the raw’! It may not appeal to everyone, but it’s a unique opportunity to capture that 'Attenborough experience’ as we celebrate the great man’s centenary. Entrance is free, but there will be donation buckets. We will spend 1-2 hours there, depending on the weather (bear in mind this is November on the Lincolnshire coast, and you will need to wrap up warm). Afterwards we will go to Brigg Garden Centre, where we can warm up, have lunch and do a bit of pre-Christmas shopping.
Future Outings
The Social Team are currently looking into:
A Christmas concert or music event 2026
Christmas lunch in York 2026
The Himalayan Gardens and Sculpture Park 2027
Tour of an Amazon Warehouse 2027
We look forward to hearing your suggestions so do let us know if there’s somewhere you think others would enjoy visiting.