WESTERN ADVENTURE
Twickenham and Syon Park

Adults: £14.50  Seniors: £13.50
Availability: April to October, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday
Coach miles: 5
Walking: Gentle
Wheelchair access: Limited

Today’s visit follows the course of the River Thames in a picturesque part of West London. You meet our guide at 10.30a.m. in Twickenham for coffee. Today the name is synonymous with Rugby Union, but in the 18th and 19th centuries it was the Beverley Hills of its day, where the fashionable and wealthy met. We start with a gentle guided walk past a superb Palladian villa designed for a king’s mistress before stopping for a view across the river to see another great house whose owner was described as a woman ‘of a most ravenous covetousness'. There is also an Italian-style garden with some very naked ladies and the

island where the inventor of the clockwork radio lives. After lunch we visit Syon Park, the London home of the Duke of Northumberland which has played a pivotal role in English history — Henry VIII quite literally exploded here, and Lady Jane Grey became queen. Our tour includes the magnificent rooms designed by Robert Adam for the second Duke. The influence of Adam’s study of classical sites in Italy can be clearly seen. There is also time to explore the wonderful gardens, designed by Capability Brown, and take a look at the Great Conservatory. Finally, it’s time for refreshments before you set off for home by 4.45p.m.

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