We are planning on going to Fountains Abbey on Monday 10th October. Details are:

1. Meet at the ticket office at the main Visitor Centre to be booked in. They have said we can arrive at 9.45 so we beat the crowds! There is an entry cost of £16.15pp for a group over 14 but firstly it is free entry to any National Trust, National Trust for Scotland and English Heritage members who have their cards present on the day. However, if you don't have a card then let me know as we hope to be able to help with the cost.

2. We will start with tea and coffee and a short talk by Bob Whiting in the restaurant. You can grab a drink and cake and then get comfortable to hear some of the Abbey's history. Please note that we are in a public area but hope to get a corner of it altogether.

3. Bob will lead us down to the Abbey where he will continue to share his knowledge as we wander around the grounds. Then you have time to go for a walk round the Abbey and grounds before lunch, or go back up to the restaurant and continue eating cake or visit the shop and spend lots of money.

3. For lunch we will come back to the restaurant for about 12.30ish(will confirm on the day), where you can choose from the menu of hot main meals, soup and one pot, light snacks including sausage rolls and pasties, sandwiches, paninis, traybakes and sweet treats. We will need to queue and unfortunately the NT team can't reserve tables for us in the restaurant.

I haven't booked a coach, as this will make it more expensive, so if you are going and have spare seats please let me know. If you need a lift let me know I WILL TRY to match you up with someone, as we would like people to be able to go!!!

The Abbey is fairly accessible as there are a selection of options available to us to assist those less able, this includes:

• A lift in an estate vehicle to an alternative entrance to avoid the steep hill, please note this is only possible for a limited number of people.

• Mobility scooter or manual wheelchairs, we only have a limited number of these available so please book them out in advance. These are available from our West Gate entrance (entrance nearest to the Abbey) so some members of your group may require a shuttlebus down to the West Gate entrance. If you speak to the team members on the admissions desk, they will be able to radio the shuttlebus for you.

We need to let them know in advance if we would like any of these options for our visit so we can ensure that they have a driver available.

Booking is essential, so please email me before Sunday 2nd October if you would like to come and/or with any questions or requirements. As always if it is terrible weather we won't be going but I'll send an email to everyone if that is the case.

Blessings

Debs (debbie.stephens@belfrey.org)