Opera at Glyndebourne
The Marriage of Figaro & The Barber of Seville
with Peter Medhurst

Day 1 – Guided tour of Eltham Palace

Our Glyndebourne odyssey begins at Victoria Coach Station where we meet our executive coach and make our way to the 4* Spa Hotel in Tunbridge Wells for a four night stay. En route, we take in a guided tour of Eltham Palace, which was the childhood home of Henry VIII. However, the Tudor palace now incorporates what is regarded as the best example in Britain of an Art Deco house. This was built by the Courtauld family and has interiors that show the glamour and allure of 1930s high society. We follow our visit with an included lunch before travelling on to our hotel in Tunbridge Wells. A private drinks reception this evening at the hotel is followed by dinner.

Day 2 – Guided tour of Firle Place, Berwick Church & opera & dinner at Glyndebourne

The morning begins after breakfast with a lecture by Peter on the opera to be presented this afternoon at Glyndebourne. Later in the morning, we take a guided tour of Firle Place, home of the Gage family for over 500 years. The building is set at the foot of the Sussex Downs and possesses its own parkland. This house was originally Tudor, and built of Caen stone, possibly from a monastery that had been dissolved by Sir John Gage, friend of Henry VIII. Firle Place contains a magnificent collection of old masters paintings, fine English and European furniture, and an impressive array of Sèvres porcelain, collected by the 3rd Earl Cowper from Panshanger House, in Hertfordshire. Following lunch, and time permitting, we visit Berwick Church, after which, we transfer to Glyndebourne for this afternoon’s opera performance. After the opera, we can relax over an included dinner, enjoyed in one of the Glyndebourne’s excellent restaurants.

Day 3 – East Gate House, guided tour of Rochester Cathedral, Rochester Castle & Scotney Castle

After our morning lecture, we visit Rochester for a walk through the high street, and a visit to East Gate House, where can be found Dicken’s Swiss Chalet, used by the author as his study at Gad’s Hill Place. Following a guided tour of Rochester Cathedral, we make our way to the adjacent castle, which is one of England’s finest Norman structures. Later in the day – and after lunch – we drive to the National Trust’s Scotney Castle, located south-east of Lamberhurst, in the valley of the River Bewl, in Kent. The house was designed by Anthony Salvin in the Elizabethan style, and built in 1837 for Edward Hussey III. The grounds possess the romantic ruins of an earlier, medieval castle and moat, which are the focal point of the celebrated gardens. Dinner is at the hotel.

Day 4 – High Rocks & opera & dinner at Glyndebourne

This morning’s lecture focuses on the opera to be presented at Glyndebourne this evening. However, by way of contrast, and weather permitting, we make our way to the High Rocks pleasure gardens, located in the outskirts of Tunbridge Wells, close to our hotel. Once there, we wander among the sandstone rocks that are linked by 11 bridges. The atmospheric location was once a stone age camp, which has been used in a range of films, including ‘Lord of the Flies’. After lunch, we travel by coach to Glyndebourne for this afternoon’s opera performance. This is followed, once more, by dinner in one of Glyndebourne’s excellent restaurants.

Day 5 – Guided tour & organ recital at Mayfield Church & Ightham Mote

After checking out of our hotel, we visit the historic village of Mayfield for a guided tour of the magnificent church of St Dunstan, where Peter will give an organ recital. This is followed by lunch in Tunbridge Wells, in the Pantiles, at the Tunbridge Wells Hotel. The final feature of our itinerary is a visit to the National Trust’s Ightham Mote, a superb, moated manor house and garden, nestling in a picturesque, sunken valley. The house dates from 1330, but its main features span many centuries, and include a great hall and Tudor chapel, with a fine painted ceiling. After our visit, we travel back to London and end our peregrinations at our starting point, Victoria Coach Station, in the late afternoon.

We stay four nights at the 4* Spa Hotel on the outskirts of Royal Tunbridge Wells (www.spahotel.co.uk). The hotel has an indoor heated pool along with sauna, steam room and a spa (extra costs apply). Dinner in the hotel is included on our first and third evenings, with post-opera dinners at one of Glyndebourne’s restaurants on the other two nights. All the bedrooms have private en suite facilities, WiFi, satellite television and tea and coffee making facilities.

Insurance £38

Double room for sole use supplement £189

Entrance fees to National Trust properties (free to NT members)

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