Alternative Transportation to National Trust Properties
For the first time, the National Trust's Green Transport News will this year be available online. Packed full of handy hints on how to plan a car-free day out, this valuable guide points you in the right direction when looking for travel information about National Trust properties which are served by greener transport from bikes to buses.
Guernsey Spring Floral Week
The islands of Guernsey come alive in the spring with an abundance of wild flowers and beautiful public and private gardens. The Spring Floral Festival Week features a programme of events – including the biggest public ‘hedge veg’ plant and flower market the island has ever seen – to complement the well-established Floral Festival Week in June, which includes the hugely popular Floral Guernsey Show.
Snowshill Manor reopens
Snowshill Manor in Gloucestershire will reopen its doors to visitors on 25 March, following 18 months of major conservation works. Back on display will be the manor's eclectic 22,000-piece collection, lovingly gathered for his home by former owner Charles Wade.
Globe Theatre marks Gunpowder Plot Anniversary
To mark the 400th anniversary next year of Guy Fawkes' attempt to blow up Parliament, Shakespeare's Globe in London is staging a major exhibition, Shakespeare and the Gunpowder Plot, which runs from April 2005 to January 2006.
Joust Medieval Festival 2005
JOUST – the UK’s largest and most spectacular mediaeval festival returns to the stunning setting of Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire for two family fun-packed weekends in 2005 - Saturday 23rd / Sunday 24th & Saturday 30th / Sunday 31st July.
Buckler's Hard celebrates Admiral Nelson Connection
The village where Admiral Lord Nelson’s warships were built is joining in the SeaBritain 2005 celebrations to mark the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar. Bucklers Hard is inviting visitors to follow the Trafalgar Trail (from May 30) to see artefacts and memorabilia linked to Admiral Nelson.
Sherborne Abbey Dorset Anniversary
One of England’s finest surviving abbeys will mark the 1,300th anniversary of its founding with a series of events this summer. Sherborne Abbey, Dorset, is remarkable for its 15th century fan-vaulted ceiling and is one of many unspoilt medieval buildings in the town.
English Gardens - new for 2005
Though banks of floral colour and well-pruned shrubs are a key part of English gardens, this year visitors will find singing waitresses, guinea-pigs and home-made teas are equally important features. Here are some highlights of what to expect at some of England's finest gardens this year:
Wherryman's Way Long-Distance Path
A new long-distance path opening in May allows walkers to get ‘off-the-beaten track’ in a beautiful part of Norfolk. The 35-mile long Wherryman’s Way links the medieval city of Norfolk, 116 miles north of London, with the North Sea resort of Great Yarmouth, following the Yare Valley with its pastoral meadows, villages and windmills.
Roald Dahl Museum
It’s not exactly Charlie’s Chocolate Factory, but it will have ‘chocolatey’ doors. A museum devoted to the late children’s writer Roald Dahl – author of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and many other well-loved books – is to open in his home village in June 2005.
Historic London Waterside Inns Guide
A short distance from the towering glass skyscrapers of London’s futuristic Canary Wharf, visitors are surprised to find historic pubs surviving from a much earlier, more romantic age. A new free booklet from TourEast London is an invitation to explore these delightful inns, with their flagstone floors, timber beams and river views, lying within a mile or two of Tower Bridge.
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