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Dracula Society trips before 2011 For details of our more recent past trips and other events, from the current year and from last year, use the relevant links under the Events link on the left. Lancashire Witch Weekend 2010 Friday 17th to Monday 20th September 2010 From a participant: There are two notable fictionalised accounts of the Pendle witch-trials, Harrison Ainsworth’s The Lancashire Witches of 1848 and Robert Neill’s 1951 novel Mist over Pendle. It was this latter title that struck us most forcibly on the Sunday morning when we marched resolutely through the rain up to the top of Clitheroe Castle, peering from under our umbrellas at the magnificent view of Pendle Hill wrapped indeed in a blanket of thick, opaque mist that clearly wasn’t going to disperse half so fast as our plans for an open-air picnic. But the organisers had pre-empted any disappointment by finding us a great pub lunch at the White Bull in Ribchester. It boasted a wonderful old wooden bull as its inn sign, the remains of a Roman bathhouse at the end of the garden and, best of all, a charming young man who told us about its haunted history and took us into the cellar to see where prisoners had once been chained before being led through a tunnel to the gallows. Several of our ladies would gladly have followed him down any tunnel he cared to name, but this one was long-since stopped up, so we staggered back into the rain to Ribchester’s surprisingly good Roman museum. Samlesbury Hall was our last calling point – the Samlesbury witches were also tried in 1612, but acquitted after a farrago of crudely concocted evidence was dismissed. The Hall, which for some reason we approached by limbo-dancing under a barred gate, is an attractive, rambling black-and-white building just made for costume dramas. A mixture of stately home, wedding venue and antique shop (with a garden centre thrown in for good measure) it has featured in various TV ghost-hunts, but no white ladies were observed as we made our utterly inevitable way to the gift shop. Whitby 2009 Friday 11th - Monday 14th September 2009 Society members once again visited Whitby for a pleasant weekend excursion into the literary Gothic, in particular to trace the footsteps of Mina, Lucy and the Count. The weekend began with a dinner amongst opulent surroundings at Bagdale Hall, an atmospheric Tudor manor house. The next morning, we began our tour with the Bram Stoker Memorial Seat, which was erected in 1980 by Scarborough Borough Council and the Society to mark the 68th anniversary of Stoker's death. From the bench, you can look directly across the harbour as Stoker did, to the churchyard with its 199 steps up from the town, to the ruins of Whitby Abbey, and to Tate Hill Sands where the Demeter crashed ashore. After photographing the blue plaque that marks 6 Royal Crescent, where Stoker stayed with his family during one of his longer excursions, we visited Tate Hill Pier, and then climbed the 199 steps to the cliff-top churchyard and looked down on the red roofs of the old town, before exploring the beautiful Gothic ruins of the Benedictine Abbey. On Sunday a group of intrepid explorers braved the 7.5 mile coastal hike to Robin Hood's Bay. Mina described in her journal how she and Lucy had "severe tea at Robin Hood's Bay in a sweet little old-fashioned inn, with a bow-window right over the seaweed-covered rocks of the strand". The Society preferred to indulge in pints in The Bay Hotel pub before exploring the rock pools on the sandy beach and the cobbled streets lined with second-hand book shops. That evening we visited The Magpie Café, a celebrated fish restaurant, and listened to the entries submitted to the short story competition. There are not many creative souls that can spin a yarn using a set of requisite words that included "dishwasher", "kipper" and "penetrate" but the stories told ranged from the humorous to the haunting to the horridly macabre. The weekend was brimming with friendly conversation, good food and sunny weather, although compared to Romania, Whitby was found to be severely lacking in Dracula merchandise! Romania 2009 20th - 31st May 2009 Maintaining the six yearly cycle on from 1997 and 2003, we returned to the Society's founding roots with another trip to Romania for 2009. As always, we visited the essential Dracula related sites in Transylvania, both relating to Bram Stoker's fictional Count Dracula, and the real historical Vlad Tepes Dracula, the Impaler. Some images of the trip relating to both Draculas are in our Photo Zone. We also visited areas to the west and south of Romania, which was new territory for us. We climbed over ancient ruined citadels, and braved the rickety ladders within the towers of medieval fortified churches. A splendid time was had by all! A new Dracula-related highlight was our very first visit to Lugoj, the birthplace of the immortal Bela Lugosi, who took his stage name from the town. Sadly, there is no "blue plaque" or equivalent thereof marking his birthplace. The town does not acknowledge Bela as one of its famous sons, largely because he was actually Hungarian by birth. Lugoj (Lugos) was in Hungary at the time! Here's to our next trip, which should now be in 2015! The Byron Weekend 2008 19th-22nd September 2008 The weekend began on Friday in Lincoln, where excellent accommodation had been arranged at the Newport Guest House and at the Old Bakery, and after a joyous "tuica" at the former, the party repaired to the Old Bakery for a traditional Lincolnshire meal. On the following morning, our coach transported us to Hucknall. Having passed the "Byron Bingo Hall" (no comment!), we arrived at the Church of St Mary Magdalene, where Byron, along with his daughter, Augusta Ada, is buried in the vault. The church was restored by the Victorians and has some lovely Pre-Raphaelite features. We were made very welcome. From here we travelled to Newstead Abbey. It would take far too long to describe in detail this lovely and fascinating place, set in wonderful grounds. Having completed the tour of the house, we sought out the monument that Byron erected to his dog, Boatswain, who died in 1808. From there, it was on to Nottingham and the "Olde Trip to Jerusalem" pub, hewn out of soft rock at the base of Nottingham Castle. On Sunday, we visited Newark, which, as well as housing the printing press where Byron had his first work published, also boasts a castle with strong Civil War connections. Byron’s ancestor Sir Richard Byron was here, on the Royalist side. From there, we visited the somewhat grim but superbly maintained and preserved Southwell Workhouse, and then, after a few drinks at the "Saracen’s Head", we came to Burgage Manor, the place where Byron spent his holidays as a young man. We were unable to go inside, but we enjoyed some Byronic readings on the grass outside, and then had time to see Southwell Minister with its famous green man carvings. The evening was enlivened by a somewhat riotous meal back in Lincoln. This was a wonderful weekend. Weekend Trip to Rye 2007 28th-30th July 2007 Mrs Amworth and The Turn of the Screw was the title of this three-day long weekend trip to Sussex. In the past, we had only done this as a single day trip, but this year we decided to take in more of this marvellous location. We visited Lamb House, the home of Henry James for 18 years of his life, which later became the home of E. F. Benson. Rye itself is a treat in itself, with many tea-rooms, restaurants and drinking establishments. On the Sunday we availed ourselves of a coach, and headed off to see Smallhythe Place, former home of actress Ellen Terry, and Bateman’s, Rudyard Kipling’s Jacobean house. Bodium Castle, a medieval pile with superb moat and battlements, was a great playground and made for a fine finish to the weekend. Gothic Dublin Weekend 2007 8th-11th June 2007 We arrived at our hotel mid-afternoon, which allowed time for a little relaxed sightseeing (particularly to get a first view of the amazing Dublin Spire which had been just a hole in the ground on our last visit in 2002). In the evening we met for dinner at the 101 Talbot restaurant where we were joined by Brian J. Showers, the author of Literary Walking Tours of Gothic Dublin who was to be our guide for the serious expedition on Saturday. Bright and early on Saturday morning we congregated at Trinity College for the grand tour which took in many sites with literary connections, including the homes of Oscar Wilde, Sheriden Le Fanu and Bram Stoker. We visited the church where Stoker married Florence Balcombe in 1878. We lunched in "The Bleeding Horse" (a splendid pub mentioned in Le Fanu’s The Cock and the Anchor). The afternoon provided more leisure time which many used to take advantage of the glorious weather with a spot of sun-bathing. On Sunday morning we took a train to Clontarf to visit the birthplace of Stoker in Marino Crescent. We also visited The "Bram Stoker Dracula Experience" which was both entertaining and informative, but sadly lacking in souvenirs. In the afternoon we visited the Dublin Writers’ Museum and had more time for shopping, afternoon tea and relaxation. In the evening we had a very enjoyable meal at "Gallagher’s Boxty House". Monday provided opportunities to visit St Michan’s Church with its mummified bodies in the crypt, followed by an educational visit to Jameson’s Whiskey Distillery. We made our way back to the airport only to be faced with massive delays – but nevertheless we left with many happy memories of the sites we had seen, the excellent company, the food we had eaten, the films we had seen and of course the whiskey and the wine. "Gothic Paris" Trip 2006 22nd-25th September 2006 A splendid long weekend in Paris was had by approximately twenty members with visits to catacombs, cemeteries, cathedrals, and galleries. Sites visited included the Paris Opera House to pay respects to The Phantom, and the splendidly Gothic cathedral of Notre Dame - home to gargoyles and hunchbacks. Bath 2006 May 2006 A group of Dracula Society members enjoyed a delightful weekend in Bath. The events included a trip to William Beckford’s tower and tomb on Lansdown Hill, a ghost walk and a day excursion to Silbury Hill, Avebury and Glastonbury, interspersed by plenty of delicious meals and suitably chosen DVDs, including Roald Dahl’s The Landlady set in this beautiful (if sometimes spooky) city. A good time was had by all! Egypt 2005 November 2005 Fourteen of us had a splendid trip to this timeless and magical land where we saw many wonderful sites, and sights! We covered the length of the country visiting such splendours as The Pyramids, The Sphinx, Cairo Museum, Abu Simbel, Karnak and Luxor, together with the treasures of the West Bank such as The Valley of the Kings. One of the major highlights was gently travelling the Nile from Aswan to Luxor in a Nile cruise boat stopping off at beautiful places en-route. This was a truly amazing experience! Whitby 2005 15th-18th April 2005 A major event in the Society's calendar for this year, this was our first official visit to Whitby since 2000. This trip was held in April specifically to commemorate the 25th anniversary of our Dracula Society Bram Stoker seat. This was placed up on the West Cliff at Whitby, and unveiled on 20th April 1980, the 68th anniversary of Stoker's death. From the seat all of the main locations in Whitby which feature in "Dracula" can be seen. An unprecedented 35 members made this one of the largest Dracula Society trips ever, and a splendid time was had by all! Bram Stoker's West Country 2004 17th-20th September 2004 A long weekend in Exeter and Taunton Summer Outing 2004 West Wycombe Caves 15th August 2004 A visit to West Wycombe, in Buckinghamshire, to see the famous caves, the home of the infamous Hell-Fire Club, and visit the National Trust village there. Edinburgh 2004 21st-24th May 2004 This long weekend saw the Society's first trip to Edinburgh. Led by Society member Dr. Gail-Nina Anderson, we explored the Kirkyards, art galleries old and modern, Edinburgh Castle, and the restaurants! Edinburgh Castle, despite its expensive entry ticket, proved to be a real delight. The sun shone on us everywhere we went. We had a screening of the film Mary Reilly, based on the Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde story. The Jekyll and Hyde connection was plain to see everywhere in Edinburgh, from exhibitions of the author's work to the pub named after the famous story. The Witchery By The Castle restaurant proved a big hit with members, with its Gothic splendour and fabulous food. Romania 2003 29th May to 10th June 2003
The Romania Travel Centre created the above graphic to promote this event, which was arranged through them. They continue to offer other Dracula-themed trips to Romania, following on from the success of our trip. One Traveller's Report This was a 12-day tour of Romania, and it included many of the best experiences from the trips that the Society had done in the past. We visited the city of Cluj in the north, after an internal flight from Bucharest following the international flight from London. We stayed at Hotel Castle Dracula in the Borgo Pass and spent an afternoon going out into the countryside, enjoying a picnic, and an exhilarating cart ride! We marvelled at the fantastic painted monasteries in the north-east of the country. We walked through the Bicaz Gorge, with its sides towering above us, with the rushing river beside us. We visited Sigisoara, one of the best preserved walled medieval towns in Europe, which has the birthplace of Vlad to its credit, currently home to a tourist restaurant. We visited many citadels, including climbing the hundreds of steps to stand in Vlad Tepes's real home at Poenari, a fabulous ruin set high up above the Arges River. We also saw the Princely Court at Targoviste, residence to both Vlad and his father at one time, with its imposing tower. This final trip for some years to Romania by the Society was, in this author's opinion, the best he can remember! (Webmaster's note: The Society's next Romanian tour took place six years later, in 2009. Details of that itinerary are here and a photo record here.) Trip to York 2002 August 2002 A trip we had wanted to do for some time, recommended by one of the membership. The theme? Medieval Vampire Monks! Yes, it's true, there were such things, apparently! We stayed at a B&B (Bed and Breakfast) near the city centre, so we did not have far to go to do some shopping! We were guided around haunted abbeys across the beautiful Yorkshire countryside in what can only be described as heat-wave conditions. We were regaled with stories that would chill your blood, which was handy considering how hot it was, and took in the wonderful Newburgh Priory, Byland Abbey, and Rievaulx Abbey. These fantastic places inspired the imagination. We ate in York City at some excellent restaurants, and wished our 2 day trip had been longer. York is a great city. Literary Dublin 2002 28th June to 1st July 2002 It was off for a long weekend in Dublin, leaving from Luton Airport on the Friday. It was the first time that an official trip to the birthplace of one of our favourite authors had been organised by the Society, and we were near to turning members away this trip was so popular. Julia Kruk and Des Bradley organised this trip, and we took in the literary sites of Dublin on a tour organised on the Saturday. We saw the home of Oscar Wilde, visited his statue in St Stephen's Green, and went to one of the houses Stoker lived in during his time in Dublin city centre. We had dinner and a tour of Trinity College courtesy of David Lass of The Bram Stoker Society, and visited Stoker's birthplace in Clontarf. The park opposite Stoker's former home has been renamed The Bram Stoker Memorial Park, and there is a tree and notice board to mark this special memorial. | |||||
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Fly back to the top! |
As always with the Dracula Society, shopping is a must, so plenty of time was reserved for this, yet we even squeezed in a ghost walk! |
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