The AGTO Showcase

Jo recently headed up to Nottingham to join the members of AGTO for their annual Showcase. It was a great chance for Jo to meet up with many of the AGTO members and also to join in with the local familiarisation trips that had been arranged for the guests.

Based at the Eastwood Hall Hotel, just outside of Nottingham, the weekend included an excellent presentation by the region's tourist board, Visit Nottinghamshire. Following this, Jo stated, “I'm amazed there is so much of interest in the area.” Now added to her list of 'must visit' attractions are The Nottingham Caves, the National Justice Museum and market town of Newark, all of which sounded really interesting. On the Saturday there was a choice of attractions to visit and Jo chose Newstead Abbey (the ancestral home of Lord Byron) and the D.H. Lawrence Birthplace Museum.

She was given a tour of Newstead Abbey by the young Lord Bryon himself! The stories he told about his life and times at Newstead were sometimes enough to turn her hair grey – what a character, and what a fun tour. The estate is absolutely beautiful, with extensive grounds and gardens, and she was lucky enough to be there on that wonderfully warm and sunny spring weekend we had in February.

The D.H. Lawrence Birthplace is a very interesting museum, with enthusiastic, kind and dedicated staff who have an unbelievable wealth of knowledge about this famous author – it's definitely worth a visit for anyone with a keen literary interest.

The evenings were spent socialising and dining with the members. Jo enjoyed meeting up with many group leaders she already works with, and hopefully inspired a few new contacts to give Success Tours a call next time they are looking for a quote!