Tuesday, 18 August 2026, 9:00 AM
Location: Bradford-on-Avon, Bradford-on-Avon, Bradford-on-Avon, BA15 1BY
Bradford-on-Avon has an extraordinary history for a small town—an Iron Age hill fort, a Roman villa, two of the most outstanding medieval buildings in the country (the Saxon church and the Tithe Barn), fine Georgian houses, a hillside of weavers’ cottages and a varied and fascinating industrial history. We will meet an intriguing gallery of people—a couple of kings and a queen, a saint who talked in riddles, a Dutch master, a couple of Olympic medallists and the first woman to fly around the world.
Arriving at 10.35 am, we will first have tea/coffee at The Hall, a Jacobean man-sion house with a wealth of architectural, industrial and engineering history to explore. We will then divide into two groups, and while one group has a guid-ed tour of The Hall the other group will have a guided walking tour of the town. There will be free time for lunch. Options include Timbrell’s Yard riverside coaching inn, Pablo’s Bistro for Spanish tapas, the Sweetpea Kitchen at the Weaving Shed in Bridge Yard for comfort food, the Bunch of Grapes in Silver Street for pub food and the Bridge Tea Rooms, a cosy dining room filled with homely trinkets, hefty wooden beams and the chink of fine bone china. We could also explore The Shambles (the only timber framed houses in this stone built town) for independent shops and cafés, or walk to The Lock Inn and Café over-looking an active lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal. Picnics can be enjoyed in the grounds of The Hall or the Tithe Barn. In the afternoon each group will have its second tour, and we will leave Bradford at 16.25 pm, arriving back at Royal Well at 18.00 pm.
CLHS members – please book using the paper booking form enclosed with your March Newsletter.