York Association of the National Trust
Social Events Organiser: social@yant.org.uk
York College Christmas Lunch
Sim Balk Lane, York YO23 2BB
Wednesday 13th and Friday 15th December 2023 at 12pm
If you would like to join us on one of these days, please complete the Booking Form which was sent with the September Newsletter (also available using the Button below) and I will contact you to confirm the menu nearer the time.
If you have email, it will be useful to contact you this way to confirm your menu choice. Otherwise, you will be telephoned to discuss the possible choices.
N.B. This is a training restaurant, so please do not attempt to enter until invited to do so either by a member of the catering staff or YANT leader. If you have any special dietary requirements please let the organiser know on the Booking Form.
Parking at the College is limited and expensive. The "Coastliner/City Zap" and number 13 buses pass the door.
Visit to Middlethorpe Hall
Wednesday 26th July 2023 at 2.30pm
£15 per person
The afternoon begins with a tour of Middlethorpe Gardens, with Head Gardener Andrew Leighton, followed by home-made scones, tea, coffee or fruit juice served in the Drawing Room.
Please wear suitable footwear for the garden, especially if it has been wet; you may wish to bring a change of shoes for the drawing room. The hotel is non-smoking.
The cost is £15 to include garden visit and tea with scones.
The number 11 bus passes nearby and there is a 14.01 bus from York Station to Bishopthorpe on weekdays. There is plenty of car parking available.
Middlethorpe Hall Gardens tour review
30 of us met in the grand surroundings of the Drawing Room then gathered outside on the lawn in the sunshine. We split into two groups, and each was taken round by a gardener called Andy.
We heard how the main house was built in 1699 and two wings were later added by the Barlow family. By the mid 20th century, the house was used as a nightclub that some of us could remember frequenting! In the 1980s it was bought and restored by Country House Hotels who donated it, along with two other hotels, to the National Trust in 2008. There are not many historical records of either the house or the 20 acres of parkland and gardens.
We were taken to the edge of the parkland to admire a 300-year-old cedar tree, over the croquet lawn and down to the lake which is a difficult area to plant due to flooding from the nearby river Ouse. Andy told us about 6 Roe Deer living in the grounds which are treated as pests as they eat even yew trees. He also battles with squirrels which eat the soft fruit in the Kitchen Garden. There are also resident foxes and there used to be 4 beehives, but the bees sadly succumbed to a virus.
The more formal gardens nearer the house are divided into “rooms” and include a Spring Garden, White Garden, Shade Garden, Kitchen Garden and Rose Garden. Here the roses are selected for scent and pruned to head height and underplanted with geraniums and aquilegias. The hotel kitchens make use of produce such as squashes, pears, damsons, peaches, apricots, cherries, and various other fruits that grow in the gardens. Andy, Garden Manager, is full of enthusiasm and has plans to increase year-round interest and encourage wildlife. He was very pleased to see a Small Copper butterfly while we were there. After our very interesting and informative garden tour we returned to the Drawing Room for tea/coffee and excellent scones, cream, and jam.
Many thanks must go to Catherine Brophy for organising the afternoon.
Rosemary Anderton
We are planning to return for a Spring visit if the hotel and gardeners agree!