Solihull Discovery Walks
2012 will see some more eXplore Days being organised. These take the format of a little more adventurous discoveries. In the past we have visited the Morgan car factory followed by a walk on the Malvern hills. On another trip we had a guided tour of the Houses of Parliament. We also met at Stratford and walked along the river and back to the "old" theatre for lunch followed by a "behind the scenes tour".
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Example eXplore Days
One such trip organised was for a guided tour of the Hook Norton Brewery followed by lunch and a short afternoon walk.
A visit to Hook Norton Brewery
Wednesday 14th May 2008
Situated on the edge of the pretty Cotswold village of Hook Norton, the brewery was started in 1849 by John Harris and is now one of the few independent family-run breweries in England. It is a fine example of a Victorian tower brewery and the only one still driven by steam.
We have arranged a guided tour of this interesting building for a maximum of 30 people. The morning will start at 10.15 in the Brewery Visitors Centre and will include a 2 hour tour of the brewery, a visit to its museum and a tasting session, all for £9.50 per person.
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Another
Explore Day was to Bletchley Park on 23rd October 2008. This has proved
to be extremely popular and is already fully booked by our existing members
but a reserve list can be created for anyone still interested.
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On 8 Sept: The Abbots Bromley Horn Dance took place and it was another interesting discovery being able to enjoy and watch this ancient traditional clash of horns and handkerchief waving in this beautiful historic part of Staffordshire.
ARRANGEMENTS:
This is NOT our usual format for an eXploreDay event – the timings,
venues and dancers are unpredictable. Many others activities are organized
in the village and do expect large crowds for this unique historical day.
This self-guided day is a departure for SDW and I am sure you will enjoy
the ambience.This day will not come under the usual Solihull Discovery
Walks management and programme so it is offered on the basis of each person
being entirely responsible for their own welfare and safety. There is
no start / finish time or meeting place – the final local details
are available from the Information Centre on The Green where you can also
buy short 2/3/4 mile walk booklets from 20p and a detailed history of
the Horn Dance.
LOCATION MAP
Full details of the detailed road routes, car parking and the village
roads can be found on www.abbotsbromley.com or your car road atlas. The
village is on the B5014 and B5017 between Rugeley and Burton upon Trent-
journey time about 1.5hours.
BACKGROUND
The Abbots Bromley Horn Dance, well what is it all about? Nobody is really
sure as to the exact origins of this ancient dance but here’s a little
insight into this tradition which involve the families of Abbots Bromley.
The dance consists of twelve dancers, six carrying reindeer antlers, accompanied
by the hobby horse, a jester, Maid Marian, a boy carrying a bow and arrow,
a musician playing an accordion and a boy playing the triangle keeping
the beat of the music for the dancers. Sometimes a Green Man can be seen,
but look hard.
There are three white horns and three blue horns (painted brown!) They
weigh from 16lbs to 25lbs.
These Horns never leave the Parish and are kept mounted on the wall of
St. Nicholas' Church Abbots Bromley. They will be collected at 8am from
the church.
The origins of the dance is believed to be that King Henry the Third in
1226 granted that the dance be performed to the Abbots of Burton at the
Barthelmy Fair celebrating St Bartholomew's Day August 24th in 1236. Over
time the dance has moved to the beginning of September and the three day
fair has become one - the dance has been performed for over 800 years.
One of the white horns was radio-carbon dated to over a thousand years
old!
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Brintons Carpet Factory
Tour
On Wednesday 5th May 2010 there is an eXplore Day organised to visit the famous carpet manufacturer. The tour will include:-
An Introduction to Brintons Ltd.
A visit to the archives.
Meeting the design team.
A full tour of the factory
The
cost will be £10 per person
Numbers have been limited to 30 by Brintons. THIS EXPORE DAY IS NOW FULLY BOOKED
Telephone 704 9529 for details etc.
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Highgrove
On Monday 30th August we were fortunate to arrange a visit to Prince Charles' beautiful gardens at his home Highgrove near Tetbury Gloucestershire. This 3 hour tour was led by one of His Royal Highness' volunteer guides who was extremely knowledgable about the gardens and its history. A most informative and enjoyable day was had by all.
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Watch this page for details of future eXplore Days being arranged for 2012 and 2013
GRW 15.11.11
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