Our 2-day outing in the Eastern part of Belgium will give us the opportunity to discover famous nature spots, rich merchant houses and romantic castles. It will also give us sufficient time to get acquainted with the region’s history, economy and institutions.
The Ommegang on the Grand Place in Brussels is one of the most interesting and unexpected aspects of Brussels' history, enacted by some 1400 participants dressed up in dazzling historical costumes.
This is to give you advance notice that the 2019 UK Trip to visit National Trust Properties will take place from June 18 to 22 and will visit Essex and Suffolk.
Save the date! This is a preliminary programme - Full details will follow soon.
The Citadel of Namur, 100 m above the confluence of the rivers Meuse and Sambre, is one of Europe's great fortifications. We will visit the information centre “Terra Nova” and the huge underground tunnel system, 'The Termite Mound of Europe' as Napoleon once called it.
With the Brexit conundrum raging on both sides of the Channel, nothing more timely than a visit of the Port of Zeebruges, Belgium’s most important gateway for traffic to and from the UK.
The Kemmel Command Bunker in Dranouter and the Talbot House in Poperinge.
We visit the historic city of Mechelen and its recently renovated Museum 'Hof van Busleyden' which is housed in a magnificent Renaissance 'hôtel'.
The Port House is the head office of the Antwerp Port Authority. The new building symbolise the dynamic, reliable, ambitious and innovative nature of the Port of Antwerp.
In British historical writing the Battle of Mons is an unlikely victory against overwhelming odds, similar to the English victory at Agincourt. Mons gained a myth, the Angels of Mons, the phantom longbowmen from Agincourt, who saved the British Army.
Belgium is a land of castles but if you wish to discover one of the oldest, one of the best preserved, still with a moat as castles should be, you have to come with us to Corroy-le-Château.
Francis Peeters and Guy Vandesande, who present the weekly garden show on RTBF “Jardins et Loisirs”, will guide us through their 40 are “Amoena Garden”. After lunch we discover the “Gardens of the World” in the “Domaine de Cambron”.
Eurostar from Brussels Midi to St Pancras. Accommodation in the residence of the Imperial College in South Kensington. Weekend price is about €680 ppers sharing a double room, with a supplement of €95 for a single.
More than thirty members of the association, under the watchful eye of Carole Ducastel, toured an exciting variety of places in Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and Herefordshire. Review by Colin Puplett
The region between Ghent and Deinze, where the river Leie meanders through woody marshland, played a crucial role in the development of 20th C Belgian art. Come with us to Deinze, Latem and Deurle for a discovery.
Chimay, one of Belgium's smallest towns, is reputed for its typical landscape, its historic castle and the famous “Trappist“ ale, brewed at the “Abbaye Notre Dame de Scourmont”.
Father Damien of Molokai and the famous arboretum of Herkenrode, including the private estate of Viscount Philippe de Spoelberch, a renowned dendrologist. The Annual General Meeting for NTAB-members will take place at lunch time.
A handsome Art Deco house in Schaarbeek provides the setting for a unique collection of ceramic mantlepiece clocks. Next stop is the Train World museum at the Schaarbeek Station, where we have lunch and discover the social history of train travel.
We shall be in the centre of Antwerp all day: first at the Vleeshuis Museum, a museum on 600 years of music and dance in the city. After lunch we move on to the Wolsack in the Oude Beurs (17-18th C), which has recently been renovated.
We will close this year’s activities on December 9th in the prestigious setting of the Academy Palace, in the centre of Brussels. We visit the apartments of the Prince of Orange and have a tour of the rest of the palace and its gardens, followed by a drink.
During the Middle Ages, the town boomed thanks to the flax and wool trade with France and England. We visit the the Golden Spurs Museum, the beguinage and the Textile Museum, which tells the story of the raise and fall of the flax industry along the Golden Leie river.
Celebrations will start at 3 o’clock with a seated session at the Château. From 4 until 5 o’clock there will be a guided tour of the Château - where the negotiations leading to the original Treaties of Rome took place. A drink at about 5 o’clock will close the day.
Our day will start in Kerniel, a formerly independent municipality of Borgloon. There the Mariënlof Abbey excels by its tranquil and timeless beauty and authenticity. After lunch we will have a guided tour of the Castle of Duras and its English landscape garden.
Our traditional Year End reception will this year take place in Brussels historical Egmont Palace. We will start with a short lecture about this famous palace, followed by a guided visit of the main rooms and a festive reception.
Over the course of the 19th century the development of the port of Antwerp attracted a sizeable number of Germans to the city. Many were involved in banking, shipping and commerce and made a valuable contribution towards the rapid growth of the port.
Today, Catteau-Keramis ceramics are collectors’ items. After our visit you will recognize them at first glance in museums all over the world.
Our day on the battlefield will be a very different experience from the normal tourist visit. Our visit will be led by a Waterloo historian and official 1815 guide, Michael Farrar, who will begin with a talk in the morning putting the scene in perspective.
The Scottish Borders is a region often overlooked by visitors to the UK’s most northern country; wrongly so in our opinion for it is one of great beauty. Its main features are the bubbling River Tweed, which offers great salmon fishing, and the Southern Uplands.
For this event we have worked closely with Herita, the organisation created recently to promote the heritage of Flanders.
David Teniers immortalized Perk and its surroundings in paintings to be found in museums all over the world.
We invite you for a discovery tour by public transport in Ghent to visit, firstly, a stained glass workshop hidden in the historic centre and, secondly, Belgium's oldest psychiatric hospital that also houses a museum and an extraordinary collection of art.
Reserve your first Sunday of spring for the guided visit (English and Dutch/French) of two original and rather recent artistic centres in Brussels: the Wiels museum of contemporary art in Forest and the lnstitute Bruno Lussato - Marina Fédier in Uccle.
Richard Wheelers talk will look at the restoration of National Trust gardens over the last 40 years.
Beloeil is the ancestral home of Prince Charles Joseph de Ligne (b.Brussels 1735 - d.Vienna 1814), a real bon vivant who befriended Goethe, Rousseau, Voltaire and even Casanova. The interior has fine furniture and an art collection.