Annual General Meeting at Fulford Village Hall followed by a visit to The Old Vicarage, Fulford, ST11 9QR

A rare ‘not to be missed’ opportunity to experience the many features in one large privately owned garden of the Old Vicarage, in a quiet ‘off the main route’ village, along the gentle slope of a beautiful valley.  Mike and Cherry Dodson have lived here for over 40 years. Besides the ornate vegetable gardens and the formal garden, they have created an extensive and imaginative arboretum with carefully maintained grass paths and more than one hundred specimen trees from all over the world.  There is a circular walk around a beautiful lake to one side of the arboretum.There will be plenty of time to enjoy this visit after the AGM at 2.00pm.

Guided tour of the gardens and house followed by tea and cakes. Brian Vowles, who bought and restored the derelict historic gardens with Nigel Daly will guide us.  The Pevsner entry will whet your appetite. This is a not to be missed visit.  (See Pevsner).

Tea, coffee and biscuits on arrival followed by a motorised tour of the gardens and park, and a tour of the house, a ploughman’s lunch, and a self-guided visit to the gardens adjacent to the house.

Charlie Gifford took over the running of the estate and house from his parents John and Crescent in 2024 and set about investing to bring in more paying visitors to fund the running of the estate.  This visit includes a ride in a trailer to see the parkland and the James Paine bridge. It is worth reading the entry in Pevsner to prepare for the visit.

A guided tour of the newly opened Forest Garden which is now called Arcadia, and we shall be able to see progress made on the walled garden since our last visit in 2022.  Also, progress on opening the Lichfield Drive entrance and visitor facilities due to open in 2026.  Members could have lunch afterwards in the Mansion Tea Room

An illustrated talk by Sir Henry Every on the founding and development of the National Memorial Arboretum at Alrewas followed by tea and cakes.  This talk will enhance your subsequent visits to the arboretum.  The 2024 Pevsner entry for Blithfield provides some information on Blithfield.