The u3a has several Interest Groups that arrange trips on a regular basis for Members. The majority of these are arranged
by the Out & About Group.
If you want to receive information on all these trips, please register your interest by joining the Out & About
Registration Groupon the Groups page, please Click Here to go to the Groups Page.
This will enable the Group Leader to keep you informed by e-mail of future trips.
All future trips will have their own entry on the Groups page and you must join the relevant group for the trip you are interested in to apply for a place.
If you do not have access to e-mail, then the Group Leader will contact you by your preferred contact method specified by you when you joined the U3A.
A desk with all the information on future trips is also set out at the monthly meetings. Booking at the monthly meeting and the monthly library desk is also
available. If you need to contact someone about a trip, please do so by using the u3a Contacts button in the top menu bar.
Please note that outings are available only to members of Holmes Chapel & District u3a.
All trips at the time of advertising are provisional and maybe subject to change or cancellation. The cost of each trip will be based on the number of people
attending and what is included in the trip. e.g. entry fees etc.
We fully recognise the importance of enriching the lives of others within our u3a. But please note, on all Out & About and
Theatre trips Members must be able to manage independently or should be accompanied by a carer; companion or partner. It is not the responsibility of the Group Leader nor
any other Member to have to accompany someone who has independently signed up for the trip and be responsible for their welfare. Every Member is responsible for their own
health, safety and welfare and that of the person/s they have agreed to accompany.
Click on Booking Details for Terms and Conditions for booking trips.
Title :
Southport Flower Show
Date : 22nd August 2026
Status Live: Bookings now being taken
Southport Flower Show is one of England's most prestigious horticultural shows. This year the show will focus on health and wellbeing. The benefits of flowers and gardening and the positive impact they make on daily life.
The Show features:
Show Gardens
The centrepiece of the show. Full-scale designed gardens created specifically for the event, the same calibre of craft you'd see at Chelsea or Hampton Court. The brief changes each year; some years formal, some naturalistic, some contemporary.
Competitive Classes
The heart of the show. Classes for flowers (roses, dahlias, sweet peas, chrysanthemums), vegetables (leeks, onions, potatoes, runner beans), floral art, and more. Exhibitors compete nationally. The standard is exceptional. This is where the show's century of heritage lives.
Show Shopping
Enormous range of exhibitors selling tools, plants, garden accessories, gifts, and specialist items you won't find elsewhere. Much better quality than a garden centre sale. Allow time for browsing, and a bag for what you buy.
Food Market
Regional food and drink producers, street food, and specialist suppliers. Quality is consistently high. The food market has become one of the show's highlights in recent years, you could plan to eat lunch here rather than bringing a packed lunch.
Demonstrations
Live demonstrations from horticultural experts, chefs, and craftspeople. Cooking on the outdoor stage, planting and growing workshops, and specialist talks throughout the day.
The Lakeside Reset
New for 2026: a dedicated wellness garden area with sensory planting, water features, and quiet seating. A place to step away from the crowds for half an hour. Particularly good for those who find large shows overwhelming, or who just want to sit somewhere green and quiet.
The Arena
The place for brilliant entertainment and amazing performances especially brought to you from all over the country. A place to stop for a rest and enjoy the entertainment.
Piazza Stage
The Piazza Stage is right in the centre of the showground and provides continuous ‘easy listening music’ and lots of seating.
Cost £45.00, includes entrance to the Show and transport.
Title :
RHS Bridgewater
Location : RHS Bridgewater Garden
Date : 16th September 2026
Status Live: Bookings now being taken
RHS Bridgewater
The former site of Worsley New Hall, in Salford, is a heritage landscape that's been transformed into an iconic RHS Garden. Landscape architect, Tom Stuart-Smith created the masterplan and the Bridgewater team, alongside award-winning garden designers, have brought ‘gardens within a garden’ to life by blending history with world-class horticulture
RHS Garden Bridgewater is the fifth RHS garden.
The garden opened on 18 May 2021. The 154-acre garden is the biggest hands-on horticultural project undertaken in Europe since planning permission was granted in 2017. Around 7.8 million people living within an hour’s journey time of the garden are now able to access world-class horticultural inspiration and expertise, at the closest RHS Garden to a major conurbation.
Named after the Bridgewater Canal that runs to its side, the garden today is an incredible resource for garden enthusiasts and local communities. Its setting draws both city visitors and water wildlife to its unique location, and in its young life as an RHS garden it has already made a big impact. With future plans to develop new areas in the wider landscape, it is exciting for all to watch how this incredible site is growing and thriving.
As part of our visit I have arranges a guided tour of the Chinese Streamside Garden with one of the garden volunteers.
The RHS has been working with the Chinese community in Greater Manchester to create a unique, Chinese-inspired garden at RHS Garden Bridgewater. Covering just over seven acres, the Chinese Streamside Garden has a central location. Its pretty stream meanders slowly from Ellesmere Lake to Moon Bridge Water. Along the length of the watercourse are a series of smaller pools and weirs, while a sinuous path weaves over five stylised wooden bridges. This predominantly woodland garden is in its early years but its distinctive character will evolve around specific horticultural themes including a Chinese meadow and a bamboo garden (or ‘Bambusarium’).
Throughout the site, there kiosks where you can purchase drinks and cafes and restaurants where you can purchase snacks and lunch. There is also a shop and a plant nursery on site.
Cost £21.00 for RHS Members; £36.00 for non RHS Members, includes entrance to garden; tour of Chinese Streamside Garden and transport. Departs Holmes Chapel at 09:00; Goostrey 09:10. Please be at departure point at least 5 minutes before the departure time.
Title :
Windermere - The Jetty Museum & Blackwell House
Location : Windermere
Date : 23rd September 2026
Status Live: Bookings now being taken
Today we will visit The Windermere Jetty Museum in the morning and Blackwell House in the afternoon.
Windermere Jetty Museum - stories of boats and steam
Discover over 200 years of Windermere’s boating heritage through historic vessels, interactive displays, hands-on activities, and a fascinating collection of objects, oral histories, and curiosities connected to the lake in this spectacular lakeside setting.
Across the site you can visit the Conservation Workshop where the boats are actively cared for by an expert team of boatbuilders, the Wet Dock where vessels from the collection are kept afloat. The exhibition area allows you to "Gain insight into the world of boatbuilding and explore the process of making Windermere Jetty Museum’s newest skiff, from ideation, sourcing materials, to the moment it launches on the water." This exhibition celebrates craft, Windermere’s boating heritage and the region’s traditional boatbuilding culture. It also highlights how they are helping to keep endangered traditional wooden boatbuilding skills alive for future generations.
Whilst at the museum you can also experience Windermere from the water aboard beautifully restored heritage boats. These 30-minute boat trips cost £16.50. Tickets can be purchased on the day.
At the Jetty Museum there is the Lakeshore cafe, serving drinks, snacks and lunches.
Blackwell - The Arts & Crafts House, Bowness-on-Windermere
Blackwell – the Arts & Crafts house is one of the Lake District’s most beautiful historic houses.
Designed in 1901 as a holiday home by architect Mackay Hugh Baillie Scott, it offers a beautifully preserved snapshot into the British Arts & Crafts Movement. Blackwell has become an internationally significant historic house and a rare and wonderful example of the survival of the Arts & Crafts Movement.
When Blackwell joined Lakeland Arts in 1999, the house did not contain any original Arts & Crafts furnishings. Today the objects in the house’s period rooms are drawn from their own collection, as well as a selection of exceptional loans from other galleries, institutions and private lenders. When you visit, you’ll discover beautiful furniture and objects from leading designers and makers. These include leading members of the Arts & Crafts Movement, such as MH Baillie Scott, Archibald Knox and William De Morgan, and local makers and designers, such as Annie Garnett and Arthur Simpson of Kendal.
2026 marks a milestone year for Blackwell, celebrating 125 years of the house and 25 years since opening to the public.
To celebrate 125 years of Blackwell, Lakeland Arts will be showcasing a major exhibition of works by its architect, the Arts & Crafts designer Mackay Hugh Baillie Scott (1865-1945). This exhibition brings together significant works by Baillie Scott from Blackwell’s own collection, alongside loans from national, regional and private collections, offering a rare opportunity to explore the full breadth of his creative practice. Visitors will encounter furniture, textiles and interior designs that reveal his contributions to the British Arts & Crafts movement and reflect his position as an architect and designer of international influence.
There is a cafe at Blackwell serving refreshments.
Cost £40.00, includes entrance to The Jetty Museum and Blackwell Arts & Crafts House, a tour/talk at Blackwell and transport. Departs Holmes Chapel at 09:00; Goostrey 09:10. Please be at departure point at least 5 minutes before the departure time.
Title :
Location : High Society - Lowry Theatre - Matinee Performance
Date : 30th September 2026
Status Live: Names being taken for waiting list
Cole Porter’s, High Society delivers a glorious dose of Golden Age musical theatre escapism.
Helen George (Call the Midwife) leads the 28-strong cast as glamorous socialite Tracy Lord in this lavish new production, where plans for the society wedding of the year descend into chaos as old and new flames vie for attention, and a sharp-eyed tabloid reporter hunts for scandal at the waterfront estate.
Brought to life by a multi award-winning creative team, including Rachel Kavanaugh and choreographer Anthony Van Laast and with a score overflowing with the best of Cole Porter’s songbook including Just One Of Those Things, Let’s Misbehave, I Love Paris, Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?, Well Did You Evah?, True Love and many more.
Cost £77.00, includes transport and ticket for the stalls.
Title :
Location : Autumn in Kent
Date : 11th October 2026
Status Live: Booking now complete - 2 places available sharing a twin room or double room
Autumn in Kent
11th - 15th October 2026
* Half Board at the Bridgewood Manor Hotel, Chatham
* Visit to Anglesey Abbey
* A day in Canterbury with guided walk and time to explore
* Visits to Leeds Castle; Ightham Mote & Chartwell
* A guided tour of Hever Castle
* Executive coach travel from local departure points in Holmes Chapel & Goostrey with Hollinshead Coaches
Costs:
£604.00 per person sharing a Twin/Double Room
£80.00 Single Room Supplement per person - noting limited availability
£82.00 Discount for National Trust Members
Deposit of £100 per person required to secure your place on this holiday.
If you would like to receive a flyer giving further details of the holiday and a booking form, please contact the Group Leader.
Title :
Location : The Legends in Vegas - After Hours!, Bridgewater Hall - Evening Performance
Date : 3rd November 2026
Status Live: Names being taken for waiting list
The Legends in Vegas - After Hours!, Bridgewater Hall - Evening Performance
The Strictly Legends Brendan, James, Pasha, Vincent and Ian present their brand new show Vegas After Hours!
After Hours–Where the Dance Floor Never Sleeps! Get ready for the ultimate night out-Vegas: After Hours brings five Strictly dance legends together for a spectacular new show that captures all the glitz, glamour, and excitement of Las Vegas. The show that celebrates the magic, glamour and thrill of Las Vegas like never before. Think neon lights and electric nights, roulette tables spinning, glamorous showgirls, dazzling casinos, desert sunsets, lavish pool parties, whirlwind weddings, iconic hotels, and world-class entertainment. Vegas: After Hours captures it all in one unforgettable evening.
With their incredible female partners, our five dance legends will bring the spirit of Sin City to life through breathtaking routines and nonstop entertainment—all set to a soundtrack inspired by the greatest Las Vegas performers of all time.
Vegas: After Hours isn’t just a show—it’s a celebration of the entertainment capital of the world, promising five legends, one stage and a night of pure Vegas magic. Lights, Legends and Vegas–Vegas: After Hours is the ultimate dance spectacle!
Cost £76.00, includes ticket for stalls & coach. We will leave Holmes Chapel at 5:00pm for this 7:30pm concert. We expect to be back in Holmes Chapel for approx. 11:00pm.
Title :
Matthew Bourne's Cinderella
Location : Lowry Theatre, Matinee Performance
Date : 26th November 2026
Status Live: Bookings now being taken
Matthew Bourne's Cinderella Music by Prokofiev
London 1940. The Blackout. A siren sounds...
New Adventures return to Lowry with the 30th Anniversary celebration of one of their most popular and beloved productions, Matthew Bourne’s CINDERELLA – a thrilling and evocative love story, set in London during the Second World War. Matthew Bourne’s epic interpretation of the classic fairytale, has, at its heart, a true war-time romance. A chance meeting results in a magical night for Cinderella and her dashing young RAF pilot, together just long enough to fall in love before being parted by the horrors of the Blitz.
With Lez Brotherston’s glorious Olivier Award-winning designs, lighting by Olivier Award-winning Neil Austin and video and projection designs by Duncan McLean, CINDERELLA features sensational sound design by Paul Groothuis which will take the audience into the heart of Prokofiev’s magnificent score, and the sights and sounds of war-torn London.
CINDERELLA is both a tribute and a testament to the spirit of London during a time when every second counted and lives were changed forever. Bourne's vivid storytelling has never been more heart-stopping and touching, creating a unique and unforgettable depiction of a familiar but timeless fable.
***** ‘A VALENTINE TO THE POWER OF LOVE’ LA Times
‘FRESH AND VITAL, HILARIOUS, PROFOUND AND STUNNINGLY ORIGINAL’ The Times
‘A PERFECT TREAT. GLORIOUS’ Daily Telegraph
‘A FINE ROMANCE AMONGST THE CINDERS OF LONDON’ Daily Telegraph
‘A BIG-HEARTED BALLROOM BLITZ’ The Observer
‘A GRIPPING THEATRICAL SPECTACLE’ The Guardian
‘DAZZLING. SEDUCES THE SENSES AND TOUCHES THE HEART’ San Francisco Chronicle
Cost £79.00, includes transport and ticket for the stalls.
Title :
A Christmas Carol, Lowry Theatre, Matinee Performance
Date : 18th December 2026
Status Live: Names being taken for waiting list
A Christmas Carol
Matthew Warchus’ big-hearted, smash hit production of Charles Dickens’ immortal classic comes to Lowry following nine sell out years at The Old Vic, joyously adapted for the stage by Jack Thorne (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, His Dark Materials).
On a bitter Christmas Eve night” a cold-hearted miser is visited by four ghosts. Transported to worlds past, present and future, Ebenezer Scrooge witnesses what a lifetime of fear and selfishness has led to and sees with fresh eyes the lonely life he has built for himself. Can Ebenezer be saved before it’s too late? A Christmas Carol fills the auditorium to the brim with mince pies, music and merriment in this unique big-hearted production full of music and festive cheer.
Reviews
★★★★★ ‘A festive staple’ - Daily Express
★★★★★ ‘An absolute delight’ - Daily Mail
★★★★★ ‘The very best of Christmas’ - The i
★★★★★ ‘A magical revival’ - The Times
★★★★ ‘An irresistible pageant of delights’ - The Standard
★★★★ ‘Euphoric joy’ - Sunday Mirror
★★★★ ‘Joy to behold’ - The Telegraph
Reviews from multiple productions of The Old Vic’s A Christmas Carol
Cost £90.00, includes transport and ticket for the stalls.
Title :
The Hallé - Viennese New Year Concert
Location : Bridgewater Hall, Manchester
Date : 9th January 2027
Status Live: Bookings now being taken
The Hallé - Viennese New Year Concert - Bridgewater Hall Manchester
Ring in the New Year with a concert of sparkling Viennese music. This traditional celebration is packed with the best-loved melodies, from the buoyant Blue Danube to the beautiful Wiener Blut waltz.
Also in the programme is music by Richard Strauss (unrelated) including the serenely optimistic song ‘Morgen!’.
Conducted by Stephen Bell, and joined by soprano Rebecca Bottone, the Hallé will make The Bridgewater Hall feel like a ballroom.
This is always such a special event full of joy and sparkle. Join us to step into 2027 in style.
Programme includes:
J. Strauss II The Gypsy Baron: Overture
J. Strauss II Wiener Blut waltz
Eduard Strauss Österreichs Völker-Treue
R. Strauss Morgen!
Josef Strauss Village Swallows from Austria
Suppé Light Cavalry Overture
Binge Faire Frou Frou
J. Strauss II Tritsch-Tratsch Polka
J. Strauss II Pizzicato Polka
J. Strauss II On the Beautiful Blue Danube
Cost £50.00, includes ticket for stalls & coach.
We will leave Holmes Chapel at 12:30pm for this 3:00pm concert. We expect to be back in Holmes Chapel for approx. 7:00pm.
Title :
Location : A Little Night Music, Manchester Royal Exchange Theatre, Matinee Performance
Date : 20th January 2027
Status Live: Names being taken for waiting list
A Little Night Music
Stephen Sondheim’s breathtaking classic, a life-affirming fairy-tale for adults.
‘I frequently laugh myself to sleep contemplating my own future.’
In Sondheim’s enchanting musical, set in turn-of-the-century Sweden, mismatched couples waltz through a series of self-delusions in search of a happy ending.
This lighter-than-air confection of romantic misfires and magical songs features Sondheim’s bittersweet masterpiece, ‘Send in the Clowns’.
Old, young and middle-aged are equally determined and witty in this Tony award winning musical comedy.
Cost £71.00, includes transport and theatre ticket either Stage Level or First Gallery. We will leave Holmes Chapel at 12:30pm / Goostrey 12:40pm. We expect to be back home for approx. 6:30pm depending on the traffic.
Title :
Jesus Christ Superstar
Location : Palace Theatre, Manchester Matinee Performance
Date : 17th February 2027
Status Live - Bookings now being taken
Jesus Christ Superstar
The record-breaking West End production of Jesus Christ Superstar, starring Sam Ryder in the iconic role of Jesus is now coming to Palace Theatre, Manchester.
Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Jesus Christ Superstar follows the events of the last days of the life of Jesus Christ, as seen through the eyes of Judas. Reflecting the rock roots that defined a generation, the legendary score includes ‘I Don’t Know How to Love Him’, ‘Gethsemane’ and the iconic title number ‘Superstar’.
Cost £80.00, includes ticket for the stalls and transport.
Title :
The Rise & Fall of Little Voice - Matinee Performance
Location : Lowry Theatre
Date : 25th February 2027
Status Live: Bookings now being taken
The Rise & Fall of Little Voice
The hardest voice to find is your own.
Alone in the sanctuary of her small bedroom, Little Voice fills the air with pitch‑perfect renditions of her deceased dad’s prized record collection of the great Divas, from Judy Garland to Billie Holiday.
But when her mother Mari's latest fling, local wheeler dealer Ray, hears her sing he’s certain he’s struck gold. Will Little Voice be pushed into a spotlight she never asked for?
Jill Halfpenny (After the Flood) and Francesca Mills (Silent Witness) play mother and daughter in this major new production of Jim Cartwright’s modern classic. A joyful, tender and bittersweet celebration of music, ambition and the courage it takes to be heard, directed by National Theatre Deputy Artistic Director Robert Hastie.
Cost £68.00, includes a ticket for the stalls and transport.
