Each year ASHER organises one or two Outside Visits, comprising day trips by coach to a venue of likely interest to our members, e.g. country houses and/or gardens, art galleries or museums. Please be aware that in a change from previous years, lunch is not included in the cost of visits, which in 2025 is £40 per person. Details of future visits, including the Booking Forms, are given in the the annual Newsletter.
Raby Castle, Park and Gardens
ASHER’s only outside visit of 2025 is to one of the finest medieval castles in Britain, Raby Castle.
Originally built as a Viking settlement for King Cnut, Raby Castle as it stands today was built as a 'palace-fortress' for the powerful Neville family in the 14th century - later created Earls of Westmoreland and forebears of the Plantagenet line of royal succession.
The Nevilles lived there until 1569 when Raby was forfeited to the crown for their plotting in the failed Rising of the North but in 1626 Raby was bought back from Charles I by the Vanes, later Lords Barnard, who occupy it to this day.
The date of the visit is Tuesday 1st July 2025, leaving from Willerby Square at 8.30 am. Full details of this visit are to be found in the ASHER Newsletter for Spring 2025, or by contacting Keith Bottomley who is the visit organiser.