Introduction

Itinerary

Day 1

Meet the coach in London, visit Penshurst Place, check-in at the Grand Hotel Eastbourne, private drinks reception, dinner

Our Glyndebourne odyssey begins in London at 10.30am when we meet our executive coach. En route to Eastbourne we visit Penshurst Place in Kent (right0, one of the finest fortified manors in England and home to the Sidney family for over 450 years. The 14th century Great Hall is the architectural gem of the building and this – as well as other important rooms – will be seen on our special private tour. We follow this with an included lunch in the restaurant at Penshurst Place. We then travel on to the 5* Grand Hotel in Eastbourne for a four night stay.

With its uninterrupted views of the sea and surrounded by ornamental gardens and tennis courts, the Grand Hotel is one of the most magnificent Victorian hotels in the country. Completed in 1875, but totally refurbished and modernised in 1999, the hotel dominates the beautiful shoreline of King Edward’s Parade. Over the years, its visitors have included Winston Churchill, Charlie Chaplin, Arthur Conan Doyle and King Constantine of Greece. Also, Claude Debussy completed his three symphonic sketches for orchestra La Mer in Suite No 200 at the hotel, in 1905. A private drinks reception in the lobby of the hotel will be followed by dinner in the restaurant.

Day 2

Morning opera lecture, visit to Charleston Farmhouse, lunch, opera performance, dinner

Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901)

The morning begins after breakfast with a lecture by Peter on the opera that is being performed at Glyndebourne in the evening. After this, our coach takes us to Charleston Farmhouse, in Firle, which is famous for being the country meeting place of the Bloomsbury Group. The story begins in 1916 when Virginia Woolf suggested that the painters Vanessa Bell (left) and Duncan Grant make the farmhouse their country home. ‘It will be an odd life’ she wrote ‘but . . . it ought to be a good one for painting.’ Charleston is an example of Bell’s and Grant’s decorative style within a domestic context and represents the culmination of 60 or more years of artistic creativity. After lunch, we transfer to nearby Glyndebourne to view this evening’s opera performance. We have an included pre or post- opera dinner in one of the excellent restaurants in the opera house complex.

Day 3

Lecture on the history of Glyndebourne, a day in Lewes, tour of Anne of Cleves House, lunch, free time to explore Lewes, dinner, private concert in the hotel

The Garden Front, Glyndebourne

After breakfast, Peter presents an illustrated study session on the history of Glyndebourne and its musical associations with composers, performers, designers and directors. We then make our way by coach to spend the day in Lewes, one of the most beautiful and architecturally rich towns on the Sussex coast.

Among other things, Lewes (right) is famous for its 15th century bookshop, its Norman castle, and for being home to the townhouse of Anne of Cleves (fourth wife of King Henry Vlll). Although Anne never lived in Lewes, the house formed part of Anne’s divorce settlement from Henry VIII in 1541. It now displays period furnishings, various every day domestic objects and tells the story of Lewes from the 15th century to modern times. We are scheduled for a guided tour here in the late morning, after which we enjoy lunch at a nearby restaurant. In the afternoon there is free time to explore the historic high street and you may wish to visit the famous bookshop, or perhaps explore some of Lewes’s many antique stores. Afterwards we return to Eastbourne.

This evening we have an included dinner at our hotel, followed by a private concert in one of the function rooms. The music performed will be drawn from – or inspired by – the world of opera. The performers will be announced later in 2017.

Day 4

Morning opera lecture, free time, lunch, visit to the Towner Art Gallery, opera performance, dinner

Jules Massenet (1842-1812)

Again, after breakfast we start the day with a lecture by Peter on the opera that is being performed at Glyndebourne in the evening. After some free time to wander along the waterfront, visit the pier, or take morning coffee in the hotel lounge, we have lunch together at the hotel.

In the afternoon we visit the Towner Art Gallery (right), an award winning contemporary art museum which has over 4,000 works by historic, modern and contemporary artists including works by Edward Bawden, Paul Nash, and Duncan Grant.

We have an introductory guided tour of the collection and then make our way by coach to Glyndebourne for this evening’s opera performance. Again, we have pre or post-opera dinner at one of Glyndebourne’s Leith run restaurants.

Day 5

Morning lecture, visit to Mayfield, organ recital, visit to The Pantiles in Tunbridge Wells, visit to Church of King Charles the Martyr, lunch, return to London

After breakfast and a summing up lecture by Peter, we make our way to Tunbridge Wells via the historic village of Mayfield. Peter was born in this village and was head chorister in the parish church of St Dunstan’s. Mayfield has an interesting history. It rose in importance during the boom of the Wealden iron industry in the 16th and 17th centuries, but before that, it had connections with the Archbishops of Canterbury, including St Dunstan (909-988), who is said to have tweaked the Devil’s nose with red hot tongs drawn from his forge in Mayfield Palace. Writhing in agony, the Devil is said to have leapt into the air and cooled his nose nine miles away in the spring water of The Pantiles, Tunbridge Wells. Peter is scheduled to give an organ and song recital in St Dunstan’s church.

The Pantiles, Tunbridge Wells

Following on with our theme, we then make our way to The Pantiles in Tunbridge Wells to view the Georgian colonnade, the minstrels gallery, as well the famous drinking well. Perhaps we may even sample some of the health giving waters which are noted for their high iron content. We also visit the church of King Charles the Martyr (founded in 1676 and the first permanent structure erected in Tunbridge Wells) to hear Peter sample the excellent organ. We then have lunch together at Woods, a long established restaurant in The Pantiles, after which we make our return trip to London and end our journey in the late afternoon at our original meeting place.