Events
September 2026
Please note Thursday 10 Sept, not 9 Sept as in May Miscellany
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The extensive gardens are well worth visiting and are mainly at the top of the slope above the Castle. The Castle and buildings also contain and display nearly all the family’s art collections and historic archives.
Arrangements made for the visit are:-
(1) Numbers of cars and visitors will need to be declared 14 days in advance. There will be a reserved area for Sexmog in the Mill Road Car Park opposite the main entrance to the Castle – (BN18 9PA). Parking charges will apply.
(2) Entry tickets cover access to the grounds and gardens open from 10am each day and the Castle and State Rooms which open from 12 noon.
(3) Admission tickets will be at a discounted price of £27 per person or £29 if access is wanted to the bedrooms. The latter might not be available for the date of our visit in the unlikely event of the Duke requiring them for his guests. This will be known before payment is needed for the visit.
(4) There are volunteer guides in all the main rooms.
(5) As the drive is a little steep in places there will be a free ‘buggy’ which can be hailed at any point to take visitors to and from the Castle and/or gardens.
(6) For anyone finding stairs within the Castle to be difficult there is:-
(i) the main lift which can be for used for entry to/departure from the Castle buildings.
(ii) a further lift giving access to the 1st floor State Rooms.
(iii) a platform lift to negotiate 3 stairs in the Baron’s Hall.
Do note there is no lift for the optional visit to the Castle bedrooms on the 2nd floor which are approached by a short flight of stairs.
(7) For those wanting access to the Inner Gatehouse and the Keep access is by steep steps and spiral staircases .
(8) Refreshments are available:-
(i) from 10am in the Garden Cafe and,
(ii) Coffee Shop in the Castle entrance, and
(iii) in the Restaurant for light lunches from 12 noon.
For those fancying a cup of coffee first I suggest meeting in the coffee shop say, between 10:30am and 11:00am.
I have to pay in advance for the tickets and will need to receive the money before the end of August. Meanwhile it would be useful to know as soon as you can whether you will be likely to be attending please. Named tickets will be left for collection at the entrance.
My bank details were shown on the email of 22 July but please telephone me if you cannot access this.
John (01323 478558)
October 2026
I need to establish names and numbers of those interested to attend and also the number of members intending to have lunch plus their menu choices.(Jolly Drovers Menu attached)
We have both the morning and the afternoon sessions pencilled in.
The morning session starts at 10.30am and concludes at midday.
The afternoon session starts at 2pm and concludes at 3.30pm.
Lunch is booked at the Jolly Drovers for 12.30pm to enable both groups to dine together.
Could you please email me if you wish to attend indicating if you would prefer the morning or afternoon session. We will do our best to accommodate everyone’s choice if at all possible however we have a limit of 15 attendees in the morning and 15 in the afternoon.
The cost is £20 per person as a donation to Racing against Dementia collected on the day.
Vintage Bentley specialise in the sale and repair of vintage Bentleys, check out their website www.vintagebentley.com <http://www.vintagebentley.com/> for more information.
Vintage Bentley can be found on London Road, Hill Brow, West Sussex, GU33 7NX which is roughly an hour’s drive from the A23.
Please regard this as a unique opportunity and rarely offered to clubs.
The attendees will be chosen on a first come basis if we are oversubscribed.
Ray Sommerville
Starters
Marinated Olives (vg/gf)- £5.50
Crispy Pork Bites – £6.50
Soup of the Day (v/gfo) – £7.85
Whitebait, garlic mayo, salad – £8.95
Spiced lamb koftas, tzatziki, flatbread, salad (gfo) – £9.95
Halloumi Fries (v) – £8.00
Tomato, basil and mozzarella bruschetta (v) £7.95
Mains
Smokehouse Burger, with Cheese and Bacon, Served with Fries and House Slaw (gfo) – £18.00
Moving Mountains Burger with vegan cheese, fries and slaw (vg/gfo) – £17.00
Fish and Chips with homemade Mushy Peas (gfo) – £18.50
Pie of the day with Mash Potato and Seasonal Veg – £17.95
Hampshire Lambs Liver with Crispy Bacon, Mash Potato, Seasonal Veg and Gravy (gf) – £17.50
Thai Red chicken curry, sticky rice £18.50 (vegetarian available for £16) (gf)
King Prawn and Chorizo Linguine – £18.95
Ratatuille mille-feuille, cous cous (v) – £16.50
Chicken and wild mushroom risotto, manchego, herb oil – £18.95 (gf)
Sandwiches (Available 12-2.30pm) (gfo)
Cheese and Ham Sandwich – £10
Prawn and Marie Rose Sandwich – £11
Coronation Chicken Sandwich – £10
Bacon, Brie and Cranberry Toasted Ciabatta – £10.50
Tomato, Brie and Pesto Toasted Ciabatta – £9.50
Fish Finger Ciabatta – £10.50
Tuna and Sweetcorn Ciabatta – £10.50
Add fries £2.50
(All Sandwiches and Ciabattas served with Salad Garnish)
Sides
Chunky Chips – £4.50
Skinny Fries – £4.00
Sweet Potato Fries – £4.50
House Salad – £4.50
Seasonal Vegetables – £4.50
Garlic Ciabatta – £5.00
House Slaw – £3.50
Beer Batter Onion Rings – £4.50
November 2026
December 2026
June 2027
David Braddock is organising this stay at Petwood House Hotel at Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire, which is the old officers mess for the famous 617 ‘Dambusters’ Squadron. (see www.petwood.co.uk).
Woodhall Spa is a picturesque village approximately 19 miles east and slightly south of Lincoln. It is an ideal base to visit some of the many attractions of Lincolnshire and the surrounding areas. These include:
- Scenic drives in the Lincolnshire Wolds, we think it is a stunning area. We will see if we can get a scenic run in collaboration with Linmog.
- Lincoln Cathedral – we will be arranging a group visit and tour of this stunning building (admission fees will apply)
- Apart from the Cathedral, in Lincoln itself there is Lincoln Castle (Magna Carta on display), Brayford Pool, Steep Hill, Guildhall and Stonebow, Usher Gallery, John Dawber Garden and more.
- Woodhall Spa itself (a lovely village with nice independent shopping within walking distance of the hotel)
- East Coast venues like Skegness (it is bracing!), Mablethorpe. Beautiful market towns (Louth, Newark etc)
- the famous ‘Cinema in the Woods’ at Woodhall Spa www: thekinemainthewoods.co.uk
- The Humber Bridge
- Ledgerwood Morgan are nearby in Winterton – the ‘BHM of the North’
- Doddington Hall and Gardens (not NT), Tattershall Castle, Belton Estate and The Workhouse and Infirmary (all NT)
- Lincolnshire Road Transport Museum
- Very importantly in this vicinity, RAF heritage. The area is steeped in RAF history. Near to the hotel is the memorial to the 57 airmen who died during the Dambusters action. Additionally, the intention is to visit RAF Conningsby which is the home of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight hangar housing several aircraft including Spitfires, Hurricane and the Avro Lancaster ‘City of Lincoln’ (one of only two flying examples in the world). Also nearby there is the International Bomber Command Centre, numerous RAF based museums as befits one of the main UK centres during WW2 and afterwards. These include RAF Waddington Heritage Centre, Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre (see the Lancaster manoeuvring on the runway), Thorpe Camp Visitor Centre and others.
- The hotel itself is full of 617 squadron memorabilia, and we can use the actual bar where Guy Gibson and his team socialised.
There is plenty more and we should have no difficulty filling our time, whatever the weather!
Petwood House Hotel
The hotel itself has 51 rooms. It is slightly tired in places, and we couldn’t inspect bedrooms as it was fully occupied when we visited. Nonetheless other Morgan groups have used it – Linmog, Donmog and the CX group (Jann Robinson, MSCC chair, raves about it we subsequently discovered) – and rate it highly. The location and grounds and gardens are beautiful and quite extensive. There is good secure parking on site.
We have provisionally reserved 15 rooms (10 classic, 5 garden view) and I am waiting to see if more can be made available. This would be for arrival on Sunday 13th June 2027 and checking out Thursday 17th June, so four nights. The hotel has given us rates to include two group dinners, which we will arrange for Sunday 13th (first night) and Wednesday 16th June (last night). Their restaurant will be open each evening and they do serve bar meals. The room rates and deposit / payment requirements are as follows (in italics, cut and pasted from the email the hotel sent):
The rates are:-
Classic Double / Twin rooms – 2 guests £620.00 per room
Classic Double / Twin rooms- 1 guest £540.00 per room
Garden View room – 2 guests £760.00 per room
Garden View room – 1 guest £680.00 per room
These rates are inclusive of dinner (3 courses & coffee) on 2 nights and Bed & Breakfast for 4 nights.
Dinner we would serve in a private room, you did say that you would pre order for Dinner, Thank you
Breakfast would be served in the restaurant each morning from 7am – 9.30am.
If guests call the hotel and book from the allocation, quoting “Hopmog”, we would ask for a deposit at the time of booking – £50.00 to secure the room. This would be non-refundable or transferable. The balance for their stay would be payable 7 days prior.
We will be providing more details about what is available to see and firm up arrangements for those who wish join arranged visits in the coming weeks. There has been a great deal of interest shown so it is possible that the rooms will go quickly.
Please use the Hopmog booking form on their website to confirm your booking (www.Hopmog.com – go to Events Calendar) but call Petwood House Hotel directly to make the booking and pay your deposit. The telephone number is 01526 352411.
David Braddock david.braddock@zoho.com 07809 828427
Please Note : If you require any further information on the trip to Lincolnshire, please do NOT use the reply button either on your computer or listed below but make direct contact with David Braddock on david.braddock@zoho.com or ring him on 07809 828427
Regards
Sexmog Social Group