We are delighted to bring you our 2025/2026 season programme. You can read it here, and it will be launched in Grange Now and by Royal Mail later this summer. You can download and print a copy of the programme too; just scroll to the bottom of this page (coming soon).
The start time as usual is 7.15pm prompt for all talks. Please note the standard seating plan will not be used for the Free Taster Talk and Bonus Talk on 19 August and 23 September respectively, but you will have allocated seating for all other talks.
We hope many of you will subscribe to this excellent value series of talks, but for visitors and others unable to commit to them all, you are welcome to attend talks as a one-off at a price of £10.00. And please bring a friend!
Free Taster Session: Tuesday 19 August 2025 – Professor Philip Helliwell – All you ever wanted to know about Arthritis. This subject matter is important to all of us, for those already with arthritis and those will undoubtedly get it at some point and what can we do to prevent it. THis is also a chance to pop along and enjoy light refreshments and a short talk to promote our society. You can sign up and buy your season tickets today too.
Bonus Talk: Tuesday 23 September 2025 -Stephen Trotter – Grange Natural History Society We are pleased to announce an extra Lecture to help launch our ten talks series.
Tuesday 14 October 2025 – Dr Stuart McLanaghan – All sounds a bit fishy! Seafood feeds a rising global population and tackles food insecurity. How can we ensure it for generations to come? Fish and chips is an undisputed national dish, with over one hundred fish species found in our waters, yet we import the majority of fish we eat. These and other topics, along with fishy tales, will be addressed.
Tuesday 28 October 2025 – Stuart Bowie – A History of Magic Stuart traces the magician’s art through the centuries showing how magic has adapted to a changing world and new technologies, moving from the streets to the parlours of the rich before becoming established in theatres, on television and now the internet. The talk is illustrated with contemporary pictures, records and live magic!
Tuesday 11 November 2025 – Paul Hindle – Roads Around the Sands The talk describes the changing routes across and around the sands of Morecambe Bay from Lancaster to the Furness Peninsula. The first turnpike via Kendal was opened in 1763 followed by the 1818 turnpike which is now largely followed by the A590.
Tuesday 25 November 2025 – Christopher Donaldson – The Influence of the Ordnance Survey on the Lake District’s ‘Name-scape’ Christopher explores the Ordnance Survey’s Original Object Name Books. These books played a critical role in the OS’s first major Lake District survey and offer extraordinary insights into the social life and landscapes of Cumbria some 160 years ago.
Tuesday 09 December 2025 – Richard Kay – Christmas Carols, Crooners and Customs A whistlestop tour of Christmas. Richard will perform carols and songs interspersed with poems, stories and information about the traditions we take for granted. From Silent Night to White Christmas, crackers to mince pies and everything in between, plus the chance for us all to get into the festive spirit. Back by popular demand.
Tuesday 20 January 2026 – Richard Wrigley – Cumbria, Grange over Sands: a Journey Through Time Cumbria is England’s most geologically diverse county, famous for the spectacular scenery of the Lake District National Park and surrounding areas. We will travel back 480 million years and examine geological events and processes that have shaped Cumbria, including Grange over Sands, over time.
Tuesday 3 February 2026 – Emma Baylin – The Inspiration of Choirs Singing in the community has many documented positive impacts. Emma will share her experiences of using creativity and singing to form communities, bring people together behind a shared cause, support each other through adversity, improve health and wellbeing, challenge stigma and most importanly to find joy.
Tuesday 17 February 2026 – Susan Major – Women Railway Workers in World War II This talk draws upon interviews with wartime women railway workers, using the National Archive of Railway Oral History. Women talk about working with men for the first time, doing men’s work, problems of workplaces not designed for women, the dangers of bombing raids and how they dealt with tricky situations.
Tuesday 3 March 2026 – Marie Conte-Helm – Japanese Gardens Historical developments and religious and philosophical influences have informed the Japanese approach to the visual arts. This talk will also draw upon wider examples to illustrate the distinctive qualities that the Japanese have brought to garden design, an approach that has been successfully adapted to modern domestic settings and to Japanese gardens abroad.
Tuesday 17 March 2026 – Andrew Green – A History of Walking The simple act of walking touches many aspects of human lives. Andrew Green, author of Voices on the Path: a history of walking in Wales (2024), explores its rich history, including pilgrimage, droving, tramping, social protest, rambling, environmentalism, walking to and within work, and walking as artistic inspiration.
If you would like a paper copy, you can download and print the programme by clicking on the download button below. To be amended soonYou can also use this form for your membership application.