Visits

The society organises trips to visit places of interest, exhibitions and conferences. Members pay for shared transport and any entrance fees as appropriate - with the society obtaining group discounts wherever possible.

Upcoming Visits - TBC

Past Visits

Bletchley Park - 25th/26th June 2025

Our big trip this year was to Bletchley Park (Alan Turing et al).

Wednesday 25th June - Members and guests visited The Rollright Stones. Whilst not quite Stonehenge, there is still perhaps (in the case of the Kings' Circle at least) an astronomical dimension to their genesis and purpose, however incidental.

This was followed by a visit to the fascinating pile of Chastleton House (NT): the best preserved Jacobean building (built 1607-1612) in England. 'Best preserved', however, needs explaining. The features and decor of the house (both interior and exterior) have been left virtually untouched for 400+ years by the increasingly impoversished owners who could not afford its upkeep! The house therefore became increasingly decrepit and the National Trust, after its acquisition in 1991, decided to kleep it as is. The reuslt is unspoilt features and artefacts from every century to the present but left to gently age and show centuries of wear, tear and decline. A true archaeological fossil!

Thursday 26th June - Bletchley Park. The home of Britain's WWII codebreakers. The site has been significantly upgraded and expanded over recent years thanks to benefactors and contributors. A marvellous museum which attests to the intellect, skill, ingenuity and downright perseverane of the many brilliant men and women who significanlty contributed to a substantial foreshortening of the war.

Pictures of the trip to follow soon...

Jodrell Bank - June 2024:

HAS members and partners went on an overnight visit to see Jodrell bank in June. We also visited the National Trust site at Little Moreton Hall, a fabulous Tudor house and gardens on the way to the overnight hotel in Congleton

The beautiful weather continued for the visit to Jodrell, which has a number of immersive video shows on the history of the site as well as explaining that we are all made of stars 🙂

Wandering around the site to see the main radio telescope, a truly impressive piece of engineering, still in active use and part of e-Merlin linked telescopes, now stretching around the world.

Smiles all round with the HAS party and a wonderful mini-escape.

Now watch this space for possible future events 😉

Keith

28th - 29th February 2020 - Hanwell Observatory and Oxford

A Society trip to Hanwell and Oxford was made on Friday 28th and Saturday 29th February 2020 (just before COVID Lockdown!) This included a guided visit to the Hanwell Community Observatory (here) starting late afternoon on the Friday to view the 30 inch telescope. After an overnight stay, we enjoyed a guided visit to the Museum of the History of Science in Oxford (here) followed by an afternoon guided walking tour of "Astronomical Oxford".

For further details of this and other past visits, please visit our Archive pages under 'Home'.

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