5 days, 4 nights in a **** Hotel on outskirts of Winchester, coach travel from Diss.

Click HERE for more details and Booking Form that can be downloaded and printed.

Historic Houses, Art & Heritage of Northumbria

20 - 24 September

Five days from £749, with a single room supplement of £99.

Staying at the 3* Gibside Hotel: www.gibside-hotel.co.uk,  on a half-board basis.

This is an introduction to the Art and heritage of Northumbria.  If you’re interested in finding out more, please click the attachment link below for further information and the booking form.

Places are going fast, so if you’d like to join us, please sign up!

For further details, please contact sara.muldoon@icloud.com

or download the flyer HERE

Link HERE to  go to the details and booking form

Photos taken during the tour are now in our Gallery Section

Price based on twin share. Minimum numbers required. Normal booking conditions apply.


• 4* central Eastbourne hotel
• Half board accommodation
• All excursion travel & guided tours included
• Blue Badge guide on Days 2 to 5
• Executive coach throughout
• Sissinghurst Castle Garden
• Eastbourne & the Towner Gallery
• Scotney Castle
• Emmetts Garden
• Charleston House – guided tour
• Great Dixter House & Gardens
• Hastings Contemporary Gallery & the Soutine & Kossoff Exhibition
• Ightham Mote

plus other venues

Download the full brochure and reservation form here

Mary Beal exhibit at Moyses Hall followed by tour of the Guildhall

NEW!! TRAVEL DATES POSTPONED TO 20-24 JUNE 2021

Trip to Cardiff and South Wales 5 Days from £529. 

Fliers for the trip were delivered to the membership at the end of August.  Arts Society members can go to the Tailored Travel website and quote disd201 to get to information on the tour. https://www.tailored-travel.co.uk/dissartssociety_cardiff_2020

Please note that no one can book onto the tour online – the booking form  must be completed and returned  with the deposit payment to Sara Muldoon. However, once booked on the tour, the invoice received  invites  payment of the final balance online. Also payment of the final balance by cheque or by debit card on the phone is possible

Find full details of this stimulating day in the 'Our Society/Documents' section of the website and download the prepared material, which includes a booking form.

A holiday to classical Spain, visiting Granada, Seville, Cordoba and Ronda. We are travelling with Riviera Holidays and flying from Gatwick to Malaga for six nights (April 1st to 7th) in 3 and 4 star hotels, with the services of an experienced tour manager. The cost is £679 per person, and we are travelling to Gatwick from Diss by mini-bus.

This year's tour will include visits to Salt's Mll, RHS Harlow Carr, Betty's Tea Rooms in Harrogate, Castle Howard and Whitby via steam train.

The journeys to and from God's Own County (their name, not mine) will be broken to enjoy time in Lincolnshire venues.

Tour to Sicily April 2015    Martin Beech:

Twenty four of us boarded the coach in Diss at 2.30am for the early BA flight to Catania airport on the north-eastern coast of Sicily where Elizabeth Cross, our very knowledgeable guide, shepherded the party onto the coach that would be our transport for the week. The drive of two and a half hours to our hotel in Agrigento, south-western Sicily, was through beautiful rolling countryside.

The Valley of Temples high on the escarpment above Agrigento is the site of the main temples dedicated to Zeus, Concord, Hera and Heracles. The small, but excellent, museum was visited before a walk around the town. 

The Benedictine Abbey in Monreale is in the north and noted for its medieval Mosaic Cycle that occupies the whole nave and the aisles. From here we enjoyed a panoramic coach tour of Palermo before returning to our hotel.  The small town of Piazza Armeria lies in the centre of beautiful countryside and nearby is the 4th century Villa del Casale that had remained buried, covered by a landslide in the 12th century until re-discovered in the 19th. Many of the mosaics and frescos have remained intact.  It has yet to be decided who owned this house.

The party transferred to the hotel in Giardini Naxos at the foot of town of Taormina. The group had time to explore this picturesque town, to visit the Greek Theatre with its magnificent views of snow clad Etna in the distance.

Another excellent DDFAS Tour and extremely well organised by Christopher and Alison Rainer

The weather was looking very promising even at 7:30 a.m. when we set off from the Coach Company. About an hour or so into our journey, our ‘cabin crew’ – Alison and Christopher - came round and presented us with our onboard refreshments: a selection of fruit juices and a mouth-watering choice of cake! This was very welcome after that very early breakfast and the first of the special touches which made the short trip so enjoyable.

Although a little late for our ‘highlights’ tour of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford (entrance opposite the Randolph, shades of Inspector Morse), our guides showed us some of the Museum’s most highly-prized exhibits, as well as some of their own favourites. My group’s first stop was the Uccello painting La Caccia, rich in his lovely horses. We saw paintings, jewellery, ceramics and statuary, including a whole gallery of casts of ancient statues.Lunch was in the crypt, a good selection of sandwiches and hot and cold dishes. After lunch, some members of the group went to the special exhibition centred on Cézanne. Far too short a visit; and it was suddenly time to get on our open-topped tour bus for a breathless ride round the city: so much information to digest. It was a bit unnerving, as there were 37 of us on the top deck and no-one apart from the driver below.

Our hotel, in the still-attractive town of Buckingham, was a bit of a rabbit warren but the rooms were comfortable and, joy of joys, there was a bath! We had a Pimm’s reception before dinner, which enabled us to meet those members we did not know already. After a few extra glasses of wine the conversations were lively and sometimes unexpected: there was a lengthy discussion on what exactly Eton Mess should be like, and should there be quite so much cucumber in the Pimm’s jelly? We spent the whole of the second day at Stowe, visiting the house and then the very extensive gardens. As usual, the house caused a conflict in my mind: yes, it had been lovely, yes, some parts of it were still lovely (especially the Music Room), but why does the history of its construction and decline not acknowledge the skills of the ordinary craftsmen who did the bulk of the work, going home to relative poverty and squalor after their work was finished? The gardens are beautiful, but how I longed for a herbaceous border and a walled kitchen garden. The National Trust manages the gardens, and, of course, there was the always-reliable NT café where we all gathered to have lunch (and ice creams on our return from the walk in the hot sun).On the second evening, I was lucky to be at the table where Christopher Rainer was asked about the next tour: what about going abroad next time? Another lively discussion, a quick show of hands confirmed that Sicily was the most popular of the suggestions. As 2015 is DDFAS’s Silver Jubilee, it would be a suitably exotic tour.On our way home on Saturday morning, we went to Bletchley Park and got wet for the first time; some of us lingered in the newly-opened café in the visitors’ centre while the weather sorted itself out. This was a poignant visit, on the day after the 70th anniversary of D-Day (and also the 60th anniversary of the death of Alan Turing). There was a museum, arranged chronologically, showing the work done by the code-breakers. What intelligence and what loyalty to their country. There was a section on the stories of some of the secret agents, which seemed like the preparatory notes for a John le Carré political thriller. We also visited the main house, where some of the rooms had been preserved as if the occupants had just slipped out for lunch. It seemed such an ordinary setting for such extraordinary events. We ate in the house, served with an austerity lunch – no pudding! This was not a typical NADFAS tour, but it certainly was a thought-provoking one.Back to Diss through bright sunshine and again our cabin crew showed the meticulous care they had taken with all the arrangements: more drinks and cake.This short trip had been a joy from beginning to end, thanks to Christopher and Alison for their careful planning; they spoke to everyone in the group; checking up on anyone who seemed to be alone and asking our opinions of what we had seen, and eaten and drunk. If you have ever wondered whether to join a DDFAS trip, I can only say that when it is as well-organised as this one (and they usually come very close) it can only be a pleasure. See you next time!

Report on the Tour to Dublin and South East Ireland by Glynne Lloyd-Davis

“Caed mile failtè” the Irish say: ‘a hundred thousand welcomes’, and we certainly received many warm and friendly welcomes on our recent tour of Dublin and south east Ireland. “We” were a group of old friends from Diss DFAS and some new friends from the Deben, Granta and Norwich DFAS groups. Dublin was our home for a week and we started with lunch at Phoenix Park. We drove and walked around much of the city during the following few days, and most of us used the LUAS (tram) system which was very efficient.The Liberties was the Irish speaking district where the Guinness family carried out much social housing in the 19th century and there were the first public baths in Ireland. The Viking-medieval area included Dublin Castle and the fabulous book and manuscript collection of the Chester Beatty library and galleries. We saw St. Patrick’s Cathedral where Jonathan Swift was dean (and brought Handel to Dublin where he composed the Messiah), and Christchurch Cathedral with the fascinating exhibits in the crypt.The charming elegance of the Georgian district, especially the houses on Merrion and Fitzwilliam squares, reflected clearly Dublin’s position as the second city in the British Isles at the time. Trinity College, or TCD, and its long room was yet another treasure housing the Book of Kells. Part of the National Gallery was closed but we enjoyed our visit especially to the Irish and Dutch galleries and also to the temporary exhibition of the cartoons of Jack Yeats (brother of WB) and others. The National Museum of Archaeology included many wonderful gold torcs and the superb Ardagh chalice; the newer museum in the former Collins barracks was well worth visiting. To bring us up to date we drove through the financial district towards the dock area.Outside Dublin we visited two grand Palladian houses: Castletown was one of the earliest buildings in this style and thus innovative in various ways, and has been restored by the Government. The second was Russborough House, a magnificent house of the 1740s and more recently the beautiful home of Sir Alfred and Lady Beit, great collectors but also great philanthropists. During our visit to Kilkenny, we spent some time in the Castle, wonderfully restored and with an interesting collection of portraits; we also had an introduction to the latest exhibition (utensils) of the national craft centre for which Kilkenny is famous. Our visit to Avoca Weavers was instructive: the business is the oldest weaving mill in Ireland dating from 1723, and still uses old hand mills as well as more modern machines. They employ arts students as designers and some of their recent work is quite beautiful: quite good enough to tempt several ladies to use their credit cards! Avoca was also known as the location for the filming of the TV series Ballykissangel some years ago.Nature was also catered for. The gardens of Powerscourt were beautifully laid out and immaculate: it is no exaggeration to describe them as magnificent. By way of contrast we travelled on to Mount Usher where the gardens were set in a much more naturalistic setting, very different but equally charming. As so often on these visits the time whizzed by, new friendships were made and, I suspect, a few pounds were added to most of our weight both from the Guinness and the fine food we enjoyed. Our thanks to all our guides who showed us with great interest and enthusiasm some of the glories of their country and to everyone who made us so welcome.

Discovering the Baltic Capitals - 30th Sep to 7th Oct 2011 by Paul & Ockie Bruning .

* Friday. After a rather long day of travelling and waiting, we were collected by our guide, Heli Reimann, (Heli means "sound") and taken to our first hotel at the edge of the medieval town of Tallinn. Weary as we were, we went out for dinner and a "happy getting to know each other" session began the start of a most interesting and enlightening week. From the first day, Heli began to weave a web of stories of myths and history: of the lady Linda, who after losing her husband, cried a lake full of tears, of the crusader Knights, who rampaged through the Baltic countries, of the Swedes, the Russians, the Germans and, again, the Russians!

* Saturday. The first morning we spent exploring the walled medieval city with its Tall Hermann tower, the Palace Square, the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral with its golden icons and St Mary's Cathedral, a Lutheran Church. The contrast between the ornate and the plain was striking. We walked through the cobbled streets to the St. Nicolas Church, now a museum, and some of us stayed to listen to a choral concert; others went to an evening concert in the big 'Charles Church'. In the afternoon we visited the Kadriorg Park with it's Palace, and it's Italian Art collection the former kitchen building, which contains the private collection of Johannes Mikkel and the Kumu Museum, which we found the most interesting with its modern building designed by a Finnish Architect. It houses Estonian, some subversive produced in the ‘Soviet Era’, and realistic Russian art.

* Sunday. We drove to the beautiful Lahemaa National Park, the first in Estonia, through golden coloured woods, to Palmse Manor, a well-restored house, where we watched a slide show about the National Park, which can be visited on foot. Not far from here is the 18th century Sagady Manor, which had a display of hundreds of mushrooms and very tempting woodwork souvenirs. On we went to the coast to visit a small fishing village on the river Altja, where the old wooden houses still can be seen, and at the end of a wonderful day,returned to supper and bed.

* Monday. We left delightful Tallinn for Riga. It was raining but it did not stop us from visiting Parnu en route, an old University town on the seaside .After a stop at the border, which provided a welcome break, we arrived in Riga in good time for an early explore and a deserved dinner.

* Tuesday. Thankfully in view of the uncertain weather Heli decided to have a morning bus-tour instead of a walking tour. We got a good glimpse of the city and a walk around the Art Nouveau quarter, where hundreds of houses still survive. Some were built by Mikhail Eisenstein, the father of Sergei, the filmmaker. The afternoon was free. We visited the museum of the Occupation of Latvia, a stark reminder of the suffering endured by the Latvianpopulation during the occupation by two foreign totalitarian regimes and the remembrance of its victims. We also visited St. Peter's Church and, to cheer ourselves up, the museum in the art nouveau open house. Some of us attended an unusual chamber concert in the House of the Blackheads featuring piano and saxophone!

* Wednesday. We left Riga, this rugged town, for our transfer to Vilnius. The drive took us through the Latvian countryside, rather empty and mainly wooded, and a few villages. We stopped at the Rundales Palace, built by Rastrelli who also built the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg; beautifully restored, with immaculate gardens. We had lunch at the Palace and continued our travels, only stopping to visit the Hill of Crosses, Thousands of them left by visitors in this strongly Roman Catholic country. I am afraid it struck most of us as rather depressing. The adjoining Franciscan Chapel was plain and peaceful. We arrived in Vilnius, our last destination.

* Thursday. In the morning we had a walking tour with the local guide Virginia, who was very knowledgeable. We again heard much of the history of Lithuania and visited many Churches, many still in the process of restoration, the old city streets and the university. The afternoon was taken up with a visit to the old capital of Lithuania, Trakai. The island castle has recently been restored and is in a spectacular location in a large lake. It is used by many filmmakers and gets many visitors. In the evening most of us met for a farewell supper in a lovely cellar restaurant to swap stories and reflect on our holiday together.

* Friday. This was spent at our own leisure -there were many interesting museums and other sights to visit, including one on amber, very prevalent throughout the entire region, and another containing some wonderful silver hidden and only re-discovered after the Soviets had left. In conclusion, the Baltic people of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have, since their independence in the 1990s, have worked wonders on the restoration of many buildings, which were totally neglected during the Soviet occupation. Their new-found, but hard won freedom filled all we came into contact with a sense of joy. This was apparent throughout the trip. They view their future with much optimism. The guides gave us a clear picture of the history of these intrepid countries. It was a joy to visit them.