LICHFIELD & THE NATIONAL MEMORIAL ARBORETUM

This is a day to remember in the company of a top notch Blue Badge guide. This illuminating tour includes the entrance fees to see the Staffordshire Millennium Tapestries and silver collection in Lichfield as well as the new Landscapes of Life exhibition at the National Arboretum.

Lichfield is Staffordshire’s premier heritage city just to the north of Birmingham. We begin our day to remember here at 10.30am with time to buy morning refreshments before a gentle and flat walking tour to bring out the best in this ancient cathedral City. Where are the Ladies of the Vale? Why was son of Lichfield Samuel Johnson so rude about the Scots? We also visit the Heritage Centre to see the Staffordshire Millennium Embroideries and a fabulous treasury of silver. This is a small city with a lot of contrasts from the bloody history of the Civil War to the genteel elegance of Georgian times and there is an interesting cast of characters to discover.

 We’ll stay in Lichfield for free time for lunch: there’s lots of choice and this not only keeps the tour cost down but it is also designed to give your members time to visit the beautiful Cathedral which offers free entry for individual visitors.

The afternoon is dedicated to the National Memorial Arboretum - the UK’s year-round Centre of Remembrance that celebrates and honours the men and women who have served our nation.

A brand new Remembrance Centre is now open with the state of the art Landscapes of Life exhibition which examines the concept of Remembrance and why it is has been an important human need over many thousands of years. Admission to the new exhibition is included and so too is a 50-minute land-train tour of this massive 150 acre site. There are some 300 memorials here - diverse in nature and rich in symbolism representing not only the armed forces but also the emergency services, charity groups and individuals.

There is a café back in the Remembrance Centre where you can buy tea. A thought provoking day comes to a close when you start the drive home at 4.45pm with plenty to talk about.

Adults & Seniors: £28

Available daily from March

to December.

The National Memorial

Arboretum covers a massive

150 acres so on our tour

we’ve included a ride on the

land-train so that you can see

a lot without walking too far.

10 miles

2