We are Explore

We are Explore Charity number 1174080 EXPLORE is a lively, ambitious programme of talks, workshops and visits. We are open to all and run on a not-for-profit basis.

Explore Lifelong Learning provides a stimulating, entertaining and varied programme of expert led learning created to challenge your mind and deliver unique experiences.

We are honoured to welcome Baroness Hale of Richmond, first female head of the UK Supreme Court and esteemed speaker, to...
31/07/2026

We are honoured to welcome Baroness Hale of Richmond, first female head of the UK Supreme Court and esteemed speaker, to present our annual public Joseph Cowen Legacy Lecture ahead of our new Season One.

Lady Hale will speak about her new book ‘With the Law on Our Side: How the Law Works For Everyone and How We Can Make It Work Better’.

You can read more and book tickets via our online programme and on our events page (Face-to-Face or online tickets available) or join our mailing list for more details directly.

Our Season One programme is out now!Sessions start in October (plus we’ve got a very special public event before then to...
24/07/2026

Our Season One programme is out now!

Sessions start in October (plus we’ve got a very special public event before then too) so have a look at what we've got lined up, join our mailing list or get in touch with any questions (see links in the comments)

Enjoy the read and we'll see you soon!

Our regular sessions are taking a break until Autumn, but in the meantime we’re enjoying our complimentary member-led Su...
10/07/2026

Our regular sessions are taking a break until Autumn, but in the meantime we’re enjoying our complimentary member-led Summer Season Four!

There’s treasure tours and whisky pours, pots of tea and chinoiserie, history walks, theatre talks and some Suffragettes to honour. We’ll see behind the books, maybe feed some ducks and enjoy a brilliant few weeks out and about with our fellow Explorers.

Starting things off, we’ve been making curious figures to join a ‘Secret Parade’ around medieval Newcastle; there’ll be a fun trail to find them all later this summer as part of the Novum Festival, so look out for maps, brass rubbing clues and lots more medieval characters hiding around the town. With special thanks to Chris Folwell, artist Alex Sickling, Novum festival and everyone who took part in the workshops.

Get in touch to find out more about Explore, stay cool and see you soon!

Here comes the summer! We’re at the end of a brilliant week, closing our final season of the Explore year, and looking f...
03/07/2026

Here comes the summer! We’re at the end of a brilliant week, closing our final season of the Explore year, and looking forward to the summer break.

We’ve got lots of activities lined up for our complimentary Member-led Season Four too, so whatever you’ve got planned for the next few weeks keep exploring and have fun!

With special thanks to our guest speakers below, and to everyone who has made this such an incredibly fulfilling year at Explore. Thank you!

Special thanks to....
- David Faulkner with ‘A House Through Time: 200 year history of Fawdon House, now The Northumbrian Piper’
- Anthea Lang with ‘Lewis Carroll in the North East’
- Theo Albano with ‘The Scottish Colourists‘
- Annette Pantall with ‘Turning a Genetic ‘Flaw’ into a LifeSaving Edge’
- Mike Fraser with ‘Bob Dylan & 'that thin, wild, mercury sound'
- Wallace Arthur with ‘Evolution of Animal Intelligence’

Strewth!! It’s been a scorcher but we’ve been more excited by brainwaves than heatwaves this week, as we warmly welcomed...
26/06/2026

Strewth!! It’s been a scorcher but we’ve been more excited by brainwaves than heatwaves this week, as we warmly welcomed a range of guest speakers and regular tutors to Explore. Thanks to everyone who took part this week; speakers, volunteers and audience members. Keep cool and carry on learning.

To find out more about joining Explore see links in the comments.

Special thanks to our visiting speakers:

-Howard Wilson ‘Tynemouth Photographic Society Archives’
-Brian Rankin ‘Charlie Rogers: Pursued By Bulldozers – The Life & Times of a Gateshead Artist’
-Dr Priscila Melo ‘Exploring the Link between Irritable Bowel Disease & Joint Disease Using Advanced 3D In Vitro Modelling’
-Dr Amélie Addison 'Fiddles, Flutes & Flower Shows, from Paxton House to Blaydon Burn:The Musical Lives of Colonel Cowen's Gardener’

Thanks to all our brilliant speakers (and singers) at Explore this week! It’s been a marvellous mixture of ideas with so...
20/06/2026

Thanks to all our brilliant speakers (and singers) at Explore this week! It’s been a marvellous mixture of ideas with so much to learn and think about. Whether you’re up early for the solstice or up late for a match, stay cool and enjoy the weekend!

With special thanks to our guest speakers this week:

Anne Sutherland - Tom McGuiness Exhibition (The Auckland Project)

Kasia Pirog - ‘Deciphering the Molecular Mechanisms of Osteoarthritis’

Paul Dryburgh - ‘Plus ça change: Commemorating the Norman Conquest in the 21st Century’

Mat Hunsley - ‘Tales from the Stage & The Things We Need’

Dr Frank Wilson - ‘Exploring the Elegy in English: Renaissance to Present Day’

Karen Dobson - ‘Wellbeing & the Environment at ‘Scotswood Garden’

‘All the world's a stage’ they say, and this week's speakers have shown it can be filled with music, fashion, storytelli...
12/06/2026

‘All the world's a stage’ they say, and this week's speakers have shown it can be filled with music, fashion, storytelling and life. With special thanks to Peter Brewis of Field Music and SunOrbitUs project, who never miss a beat from the Sunderland streets, and to David Rosier for his years of expertise on Chinese Imperial textiles and silk. Thanks to Michael Ayton for his insight into Monteverdi's libretta of bravery & loss and to John Griffiths who walked the talk around one literary star's locale. And to Professor David Young for his brilliant research into genetic responses to the world around us. Read more details below and join our mailing list to stay in touch about public events coming up.

David Rosier - The Origins & Evolution of Chinese Silk
Peter Brewis - ‘SunOrbitUs Project: Using Data from a City & its People to Create Music’
John Griffiths - Evening Walk ‘Jack Common's Heaton’
David Young - Epigenetics: One Way in which Genetic Changes Cause Disease
Michael Ayton - ‘Monteverdi's Lamento d'Arianna & Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda’

Is there a doctor in the house? We've welcomed a few to speak at Explore this week, all trusted experts in their fields ...
05/06/2026

Is there a doctor in the house? We've welcomed a few to speak at Explore this week, all trusted experts in their fields (they don't all need a stethoscope) sharing their knowledge from GPs to AI, philosophy to British history and Global politics. With special thanks to all our regular & guest speakers this week for sharing their work and expanding our minds.

Our guest speakers this week included:
-Alison Diamond ‘Time Well Spent: The Work & Inspiration of the Artist’
-Olive Hogg ‘Ancient Egypt Painting’
-Keith Jewitt ‘Joseph Cowen & European Revolution’
-Prof Jordi Diaz Manera ‘Using AI in Diagnosis & Follow-up of People Living with Neuromuscular Diseases’
-Peter Quinn ‘F2F Film Special: My Dinner with Andre’
-Dr CK Foo ‘The Work of a GP – Past & Present’
-John Griffiths Evening Walk ‘The Forth & Stephenson Quarter'

Time flies when you’re having fun and it feels like this year is whizzing by here at Explore. It’s not too late for new ...
29/05/2026

Time flies when you’re having fun and it feels like this year is whizzing by here at Explore. It’s not too late for new members to join for the second part of the season though, so get in touch to arrange a free Taster session or find more details on our website (see comments below for links).

Mad, bad and dangerous to know... all about? From Lord Byron's poems to 'Lady of Letters' Harriet Martineau, this week's...
22/05/2026

Mad, bad and dangerous to know... all about? From Lord Byron's poems to 'Lady of Letters' Harriet Martineau, this week's speakers have brought plenty of drama, politics, insight and intrigue to our talks.

With special thanks to Malcolm Grady, Clare Jackson, Tim Crocker and Ian Ground, and to everyone who plays a part at Explore this week.

-Tim Crocker ‘How to Approach the Poems of Lord Byron’
-Clare Jackson - George Mackay Brown’s 'Beside the Ocean of Time'
-Ian Ground - Frederick Reece's Forgery in Musical Composition: Aesthetics, History and the Canon
-Malcolm Grady ‘A Lady of Letters: Harriet Martineau in Tynemouth’ & ‘The Cullercoats Collection: The Art of Winslow Homer’

Address

Central Newcastle Upon Tyne
Newcastle Upon Tyne

Opening Hours

Monday 10:30am - 7pm
Tuesday 10:30am - 7pm
Wednesday 10:30am - 7pm
Thursday 10:30am - 7pm
Friday 10:30am - 1pm
Saturday 10am - 1:30pm

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