What we’re about
Welcome to the London Cultureseekers Group!
If you're interested in exploring London's history & culture with other like minded people, then this is the only group you need to join! We are London's largest & most active cultural and history group!
We meetup 2-3 times a week to explore museums, art galleries, historical buildings, go on guided walks and attend history talks. We also have historic treasure hunts, visit the theatre, coffee evenings, social evenings, meals and attend classical music concerts. In the summer we also have day trips outside of the capital by train or coach to explore historical towns and the countryside.
The group is very friendly, we have members from 20 to 80 years old and across all backgrounds. The group has been running for over 16 years and is a great way to meet and make new friends. Plus after events we generally head to a local pub or cafe to chat.
You can either pay as you go at events or we do have an optional annual membership fee (details below).
Membership Fee
The group charges an optional annual membership fee of £14 per person.
Benefits of paying the membership fee and becoming a Full Member are:
- Discounted entry at 11 museums and galleries around London (You can view them here: https://www.meetup.com/london_cultureseekers/messages/boards/thread/53768500)
- 10% discount on any purchases at Foyles bookshops or from their website
- All treasure hunts we do will be FREE (normally £7 each)
- The 'Wren City Churches', 'Charlie Chaplin', 'Roman Wall', 'Have I Got Mews For You', ‘What’s in a Name’ and 'Shakespeare's London' Guided Walks will all be FREE (normally £7 each)
- All talks the group does will be FREE (normally £6 each)
- All Thames foreshore visits will be FREE (normally £6 each)
- Guided highlights tour around the Museum of London & Museum of London Docklands will be FREE (normally £6 each)
- All ‘London’s Lost Rivers’ hikes will be FREE (normally £6 each)
- All day trips by train out of London will be FREE to attend (normally £6)
- All coach day trips out of London will be discounted by £6 per trip
- All the Blue Badge guided walks we do will be discounted by £2 per walk
- Entry to 20-30 paying museums & historical buildings that we visit across the year will be discounted by £2 each
Once you pay the membership fee, you will receive a membership card, go to (https://www.meetup.com/london_cultureseekers/dues) to pay online or you can pay cash at an event.
Events
Have a look at the events page: https://www.meetup.com/London_Cultureseekers/events/ to see what's coming up and where we have been. London Cultureseekers is a brilliant place to make friends in London whilst experiencing some of the very best areas of culture and history which the city has to offer.
We keep costs low and the quality high and have a star rating of 4.6 out of 5 from 19,340 reviews!
Our events always go ahead, regardless of the weather. Feel free to email or text me if you have any questions or would like to suggest somewhere we can visit.
Click on the video clips below to view our day trips to Bath and walking the Seven Sisters:
https://youtu.be/WAXipRxXtnc
https://youtu.be/06scGec8CcY
RSVP'ing
Click on the 'Join Us' button below, enter your details and then RSVP Yes to any events that you would like to attend, it's that simple! All new events get sent out on Friday evenings, so keep a lookout then.
When you turn up for an event, look out for the red & blue 'London Cultureseekers Group' flag and then come over and say hello.
Please be aware of the groups rules, which you can read here: https://www.meetup.com/london_cultureseekers/messages/boards/thread/53768478
Hope to see you at an event soon!
Robert - 07905 901 834 (text only please) / general@cultureseekers.org
I'm a member of the AGTO (Association of Group Travel Organisers) and in 2022 I was a finalist in the GTO (Group Travel Organiser) of the Year Awards!
You can follow us on:
The group blog: www.cultureseekers.blog
YouTube: Cultureseekers channel
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LondonCultureseekers/
Twitter: @Culture_Seekers
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- Day trip by coach - Sutton Hoo & the coastal town of Aldeburgh! (NOW FULL)Coach bays on Tothill Street (nearest tube: St James's Park), London£31.00
THE TRIP IS NOW FULL, IF YOU WISH TO ATTEND, ADD YOURSELF TO THE WAITING LIST AND I WILL CONTACT YOU IF A PLACE BECOMES AVAILABLE.
Come along on Saturday 21st September for day trip by coach visiting historic Sutton Hoo and the coastal town of Aldeburgh!
About the day
We will be going up the Suffolk coast to visit the Anglo Saxon site of Sutton Hoo and then onto the pretty coastal town of Aldeburgh.Sutton Hoo
Sutton Hoo in Suffolk is the site of two Anglo Saxon cemeteries dating from the 6th to 7th centuries. Archaeologists discovered the site in 1938, when a previously undisturbed ship burial containing a wealth of Anglo Saxon artefacts (including the Sutton Hoo helmet, which is in the British Museum) was discovered. It is still one of the best preserved archaeological finds that has ever been found in Britain!The site was first excavated by Basil Brown, a self-taught archaeologist, under the auspices of the landowner Edith Pretty, but when its importance became apparent, experts from the British Museum took over. The story has been told recently in the 2021 Netflix film; 'The Dig'. Part of the site has also been re-excavated recently for the T.V series 'Time Team' and was live streamed on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYtVvEG8414
The artefacts the archaeologists found in the burial chamber include a suite of metalwork dress fittings in gold and gems, a ceremonial helmet, a shield and sword, a lyre, and silver plate from the Byzantine Empire. All these are now in the British Museum.
We will be having a guided tour for the group, where we will be able to get onto the burial mounds. The site also has a cafe and a good sized museum about the dig. You can also visit Edith Pretty's former home.
Aldeburgh
Aldeburgh is a very pretty small town on the Suffolk coast. Its pastel-coloured 19th Century holiday villas line the promenade and to the east, the pebble beach with fisherman’s huts selling the daily catch.Its historic buildings include a 16th-century 'moot hall' (a place to have meetings) and a Napoleonic-era Martello Tower. It was home to composer; Benjamin Britten and the crime writer; Ruth Rendell. The annual Aldeburgh Literary Festival (setup by Britten) takes place every May.
When we get to Aldeburgh, I will give you a mini tour of the town, before leaving you to explore on your own.
Entry & Tour Costs
Entry and the guided tour at Sutton Hoo is £20 per person, I will collect this on the day (by cash or PayPal). For National Trust members, entry is free and the tour is £5 per person.Sutton Hoo entry is optional, if you don't want to come in, you can go to the cafe or look around the nearby village of Woodbridge. If you don't want to do the tour, the entry cost is £15 per person.
Coach seating
- If you wish to reserve a seat on the coach in advance, after you pay please look at the seating plan in the photos here and then email me (general@cultureseekers.org) with the seat number/s you wish to reserve. Its first come first served.
- The seat you sit on when you board the coach is yours for the day. If you wish to change seats on the coach during the day, you will need to get permission from the individual who is seated there.
Cost
Cost is £25 per person for Full Members and £31 per person for everyone else.Go here to become a Full Member - www.meetup.com/London_Cultureseekers/dues/
After you RSVP:
- you will need to make payment (its not automatic), so either send a direct PayPal payment to: general@cultureseekers.org or if you email me via Meetup here and I will send you my bank details to make a bank transfer payment.You have 3 days to make a payment, if no payment is received within 3 days, your place will be offered to the first person on the waiting list.
Once you RSVP and then pay, I will confirm your place.Food & drink
Its up to you whether you wish to bring your own food and drink or purchase items whilst we are there.If you can't see us on Tothill Street, please text.
Please note, we only wait for 10 minutes after the advertised meeting time, so please be early or on time. The coach has to leave at a specific time.
Look out for the red and blue 'London Cultureseekers' group sign.
Hope to see you there!
Robert
07905 901 834 (prefer text)Please make sure you are aware of the group rules here before RSVPing -
https://www.meetup.com/london_cultureseekers/messages/boards/thread/53768478 - ‘What’s in a Name? Street & Pub Name Origins’ Guided WalkBank Tube Station (outside the station - come out of exit 3), London
Come along on Sunday 22nd September at 1:30pm for a guided walk in the City of London on the origins of street names and pubs.
About the walk
Ever wondered why a street is called that name? or why a pub has an unusual name? We walk down streets and go to pubs like this everyday, but don't know why they are called what they are.We will walk around the City of London walking down some of the well known and obscure streets, passages and alleys. I will tell you the origin of their names, how the names have changed and evolved, plus the stories behind them. We will also see some historic pubs and I will tell you about why they are called what they are and events that have happened inside them in history.
The walk will be led by myself.
We finish the walk on Fleet Street, close to Blackfriars and Temple Tube Stations.
Payment
Full Members of the group will be free, everyone else the cost is £6 per person (payable by cash or PayPal on the day).To become a Full Member, go to: https://www.meetup.com/london_cultureseekers/dues
Afterwards
After we will head to 'Starbucks Coffee Shop', 34 New Bridge Street (near to Blackfriars Tube Station) for a chat over a drink.Please note, we only wait outside the station for 10 minutes after the advertised meeting time, so please be early or on time.
If you can't see us outside the station, please text.
Look out for the red and blue 'London Cultureseekers Group' sign.
Hope to see you there!
Robert
07905 901 834 (text only)On the day, if you can’t make the event, just change your RSVP to No or text me to say you can’t make it.
Please don’t post any messages in the comments that you can’t make it, as this generates spam for everyone else.Please make sure you are aware of the group rules here before RSVPing - https://www.meetup.com/London_Cultureseekers/pages/26449165/Group_Rules/
- [ONLINE] Cultureseekers Midweek Coffee EveningLink visible for attendees
On Wednesday 25th September at 6:30pm, we will be having an online Midweek Coffee Evening!
It's a chance to keep in touch and chat with others in the group.
So nearer the time, pour yourself a coffee (or tea) and click on the link after you RSVP.
Hope to see you there!
Robert
07905 901 834 (prefer text)Please make sure you are aware of the group rules here before RSVPing - https://www.meetup.com/london_cultureseekers/messages/boards/thread/53768478
- Day trip by train - visit the Watts Gallery & Artists' Village!Waterloo Train Station (on the concourse under the clock), London
Come along on Saturday 28th September to visit the Watts Gallery & Artists' Village, which is just outside Guildford!
About the Museum
We will be catching the train to Guildford and then getting a bus to the village of Compton where the gallery and village are.The Watts Gallery & Artists' Village is a vibrant cultural hub in the Surrey countryside. Founded by artists George Frederic Watts and his wife Mary Seton Watts in 1904, visitors will encounter art, old and new, in engaging ways. The building is styled in the Arts & Crafts movement.
The couple moved to the house in 1891 with the aim of building a museum devoted to his work. Today, It is one of only a few galleries in the UK devoted to a single artist.
In the gallery, we will see Victorian art and in the artists village, there is a magical chapel and the artists' historic home. It is all set in 18 acres of woodland and immaculately kept gardens.
About George Frederic Watts & Mary Seton Watts
George Frederic Watts (1817–1904) was a British painter and sculptor associated with the Symbolist movement.Mary Seton Watts (1849–1938) was a symbolist craftswoman, designer and social reformer.
Itinerary
12:30pm - catch train to Guildford
1:03pm - arrive at Guildford
1:15pm - catch bus 46 to the museum from Friary Bus Station
1:25pm - arrive at the museum
4:00pm/4:30pm - meet back in the cafe in the museum
5:00pm - head back to LondonCost
Entry is £7.50 per person (half price using the National Rail 2for1 vouchers) and for ArtFund members its half price at £7.50. Payable on the day by cash or PayPal.Train Tickets
We will be getting GroupSave train tickets, so when you arrive, I will put you into groups of 3 people to purchase your tickets together, they work out at £14.10 each.Trains going back to Waterloo at: 5:04pm, (slow train), 5:20pm, 5:34 (slow train), 5:42pm (slow train), 5:50pm, 5:59pm and the same times past each hour. The journey takes about 31 mins.
Please note, we only wait at the station for 10 minutes after the advertised meeting time, so please be early or on time.
If you can't see us at the station, please text.
Look out for the red and blue 'London Cultureseekers' group sign.
Hope to see you there!
Robert
07905 901 834 (prefer text)On the day, if you can’t make the trip, just change your RSVP to No or text me to say you can’t make it.
Please don’t post any messages in the comments that you can’t make it, as this generates spam for everyone else.Please make sure you are aware of the group rules here before RSVPing - https://www.meetup.com/london_cultureseekers/messages/boards/thread/53768478
![[ONLINE] Cultureseekers Midweek Coffee Evening cover photo](https://secure.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/1/f/a/event_509100506.webp "[ONLINE] Cultureseekers Midweek Coffee Evening")
