Gallery Day Trip to Saltaire, 13th September 2025
We spent a wonderful day in Saltaire, mostly under a sunny sky, starting with a visit to Salts Mill to see the two David Hockney exhibitions—“David Hockney: A Permanent Collection”, and its more recent offering “20 Flowers for 2025 and Some Bigger Pictures”. The gallery offers a broad selection of art materials to purchase which proved an irresistible temptation to some of us! Afterwards, we wandered through Robert’s Park, enjoying stalls, music, and the Aire Valley Arts exhibition featuring lovely works by Jane Fielder and Caroline Hardaker. Some of us had fish and chips at the Salts Diner, browsed the shops in Saltaire, and then sketched by the river before rejoining Andy on the coach. Congratulations to Wilf, Tina, and Anne C. for winning ChatGPT’s quizzes on Hockney’s life and work, and identifying twenty of his paintings! Thank you to our Organiser Kirstie who looked after us brilliantly. We are already looking forward to our next great day out!
Patterdale Paintaway, 9th June – 13th June 2025
What a lovely week the Shropshire Art Society enjoyed during their Patterdale Paintaway! Thank you to Kirstie Edwards, our brilliant organiser, and to everyone who joined the group this year.
Set against the stunning backdrop of the Lake District, the group made the most of every moment. Highlights included taking the steamer across Ullswater to the spectacular Aira Force waterfalls, or journeying the lake’s full length to Pooley Bridge and Howtown, where members found inspiration in the ever-changing light and sweeping landscapes. Days were filled with sketching, painting, walking, birdwatching, church visits, and even wild swimming for the brave!
Two intrepid souls climbed Helvellyn, rewarded with breathtaking views and a shared sense of achievement. Afternoons often ended with relaxing moments on the front lawn of the Patterdale Hotel, soaking up the sunshine with a well-earned glass of wine in hand—perfect for reflecting on the day’s artistic adventures.
The week concluded with a Baroque, Romantic & Impressionist Masters Quiz, a real brainteaser created by ChatGPT. Congratulations to Gillian Mortimer, who emerged victorious—well done, Gillian! It was a fitting close to a week of creativity, camaraderie, and inspiration in one of the country’s most beautiful settings. Here’s to many more Paintaways!
Some past gallery day trips, weekends and Paintaways…
Gallery Day Trip to Manchester, March 2025
We enjoyed our day trip to Manchester on Saturday 29th March 2025, visiting three exhibitions: ‘Turner: In Light and Shade,’ and ‘Women in Revolt: Art and Activism in the UK 1970-1990’ at the Whitworth Gallery, and the Lowry Collection at the Lowry Gallery. Thank you to all who joined us!
Ross-on-Wye Paintaway 2024
We were “blessed” with cooler and wetter weather for our stay at the Royal Hotel in Ross On Wye. But, undeterred, our intrepid sketchers and painters were treated to the urban and rural landscapes of Herefordshire, Gloucestershire and across the border into Wales on their forays far and wide from base camp. Gardens, castles, river views and cathedrals were on the menu. Glimpse our glorious 2024 Paintaway location above.
Skelwith Bridge Paintaway 2023
Thank you to all who made our May 2023 Paintaway to Skelwith Bridge so enjoyable. Click HERE to read our blog post and see more photos!
Gallery Weekend Newcastle-Upon-Tyne 2023
Click HERE to read our blog post and see more photos!
Oxford Gallery Day Trip 2022
We enjoyed a fabulous trip to the exhibition PISSARRO: Father of Impressionism in March 2022. Click HERE to read our blog post and see more photos!
Liverpool Gallery Day Trip 2021
Our Gallery Day Trip to Liverpool’s Walker Art Gallery, to see Sickert: A Life in Art, in October 2021, was a great success. Click HERE to read our blog post and see more photos from the day.
Some information about our normal programme
When possible, we organise day trips to galleries as well as residential city breaks and Paintaway holidays, for our members and their guests. In recent years we’ve visited cities as far apart as Leeds, London, Bristol, Aberystwyth, Edinburgh and Wolverhampton on our gallery day and weekend excursions. And, we’ve taken our popular Paintaways to beautiful places like the Lake District, Wales and Norfolk. We design our trips to combine visits to one-off exhibitions with the established and permanent gallery collections, while offering the non-artists in our party the opportunity to explore great British cities and scenery. We always do our best to keep costs to a minimum to make these activities accessible.
Please apply promptly for all Shropshire Art Society excursions as they are extremely popular and usually sell out fast. We hope you will join us!
To give you an idea, here’s a flavour of some other places we’ve visited…
