Tuesday 8th September 2026, 10:00am
Leighton Hall, Silverdale, LA5 9ST
The AGM will take ace at 10:30 in the Music oom.
Come and join us as we experience one of the county’s most beautiful landscapes in the magical setting of Morecambe Bay to the west and the Cumbrian hills to the north. Leighton was first recorded in 1246 and has associations with Viking invaders, Georgian park makers, and the famous Lancaster furniture firm of Gillow. On its boundary is the reclaimed wildfowling marsh, now the reserve for birdlife Leighton Moss; on a hill with the best view to the bay lie the foundations of a summerhouse with a disputed past – was it built over an ancient stone circle?
We shall have a guided tour of the hall, Grade II*, to admire its lovely Gillow furniture and some remarkable landscape paintings.
A light lunch will be taken in the homely café, then we shallexplore the walled garden and its bee-hives, and for the energetic, a stroll up to Summerhouse Hill. An added attraction is a stroll past the home farm to the edge of the bird reserve. The hall lies in a bowl, its Georgian parkland rising in copses and glades, ‘tongues’ of woodland and specimen oak trees, all framed by sea and sky. Capability Brown could not have done better.
To benefit from a group discount, we ask you to apply without delay as we need 20 people.
PROGRAMME
10.00 Coffee/tea is served in the café to the rear of the hall.
10.30 Our Annual General Meeting takes place in the Music Room.
11.15 Tour of the hall with Mrs Suzie Reynolds, a Gillow descendant.
12.45 Lunch in the café includes soup, a sandwich selection and coffee/tea.
1.30 Park and garden exploration led by Elaine.
3.30 Birds of prey are flown with viewing from the terrace, open to the public.