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Press information on holidays, travel and leisure in England

For more information on what’s new, exciting, entertaining, informative and just plain available in England in 2008, visit enjoyEngland, the official website for tourism in England. A listing of events, activities and destinations is available from the press office on 020 8563 3351

Tess Sullivan
England PR Manager
Tel: + 44 (0)20 8563 3351

Out of the Ordinary

Quirky and unusual events around England

6 and 20 Nov:Murder by Music  dinner at Coventry's Coombe Abbey Hotel; 20 Nov:World's Biggest Liar Competition at The Bridge Inn, Holmbrook, Cumbria; 23 Nov: Making Christmas bearable at Cornwall's Christmas Bear Fair in Lostwithiel;  30 Nov-7 Dec:50 Christmas trees in a church competition, Dickleburgh Church, South Norfolk; Santa's little helper Christmas break at Threadneedles Hotel, London; 6 Dec:The Great Christmas Pudding Race in London's Covent Garden; Brilliant bridges, remarkable Roman roads, curious canals and much more in 50 Quirky Bike Rides by Rob Ainsley from eye-books, £9.99

Christmas and New Year

10 Nov-24 Dec:  A taste of Lapland at Bewl Water Estate in Kent; 15 Nov-6 Dec: Festive fun at North East England’s Nordic Festival; 15 Nov-14 Dec:Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire celebrates the Spirit of Christmas, Past, Present and Future; 19 Nov-25 Jan: Tiffany & Co. presents Skate at Somerset House; 22 Nov-4 Jan:Winter Wonderland returns to Hyde Park this Christmas with London’s largest ice rink and a 50-metre observation wheel; 25 Nov-17 Jan: Creation Theatre Company’s Hans Christian Andersen’s Magical Tales in the 100-year-old Mirror Tent at BMW Group Plant, Oxford; 28-30 Nov:Victorian Festival of Christmas at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard; 1-23 Dec: A glimpse of life circa 1885 through servants’ eyes at Muncaster Castle’s Victorian Christmas, Ravenglass Cumbria; 2-23 Dec: Meet the stars – Christmas lunch at Jodrell Bank in Manchester; 3-13 Dec:International Christmas Fayre, York; 4 Dec: St Martin-in-the-Field choir leads the carol singing at the official lighting of the tree in Trafalgar Square; 5 Dec: the festive season begins at Greenwich Market with a switch-on of lights; 6-21 Dec (weekends) and 18 Dec: Santa’s grotto and husky dog rides at Hever Castle; From 9 Dec:Spitalfields Music Winter Festival; 21 Dec: celebrate the winter solstice at Burning the Clocks in Brighton; Christmas in Norwich 2008; from Conkers’ Winter Wonderland Extravaganza to the Ice Train at Staunton Harold Nursery – a magical Christmas in The National Forest; A stylish and traditional Christmas Party at Commissioner’s House, The Historic Dockyard Chatham

Exhibitions and Events

What’s on around the country

Until 5 Jan:Paths to Fame: Turner Watercolours from the Courtauld, Somerset House, London; Until 31 March:The Art of the Poster – a Century of Design, London Transport Museum, Covent Garden; 7-15 Nov:Bath Mozartfest 2008; 12-16 Nov: Animation and artists’ film at Aurora 2008 in Norwich; 13 Nov-15 Mar:Babylon: Myth and Reality, British Museum, Bloomsbury; 15-16 Nov: Shopping early for Christmas at Thoresby’s Winterfest Art 08, Nottinghamshire; 18 Nov:The Garden Museum (formerly the Museum of Garden History) opens in London with a first-ever retrospective of Beth Chatto; 18-23 Nov: Bristol’s Encounters short film festival; 29-30 Nov:Gorgeous contemporary craft and fine food fair at Enginuity, near Ironbridge

Attractions

What's great about England

Which locations and attractions across England are you most proud of? Join the Pride of Place poll; 27 Oct-10 Nov: Dorset's Brownsea Island stars in BBC's Autumnwatch; Until 2 Dec: Two World Costume Exhibition at Dickens World exhibits costumes from Cranford and Little Dorritt; Year-long programme of events and activities from 17 Jan marks 800th anniversary of the University of Cambridge; Bank of England Museum celebrates the centenary of The Wind in the Willows publication with permanent exhibition on its author, Kenneth Grahame; Until 26 April:Bruegel to Rubens: Masters of Flemish Painting, at The Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace; Greenwich TIC is relocating temporarily to 46 Greenwich Church Street from 3 November, returning to the Pepys Building when the new £5.8m Discover Greenwich visitor centre opens in early 2010

Accommodation & New Openings

Where to stay in England

The £3.5m, 20-bedroom Velvet Hotel opens next year in the Gay Village section of Manchester; following a £16.3m refurbishment, the Royal Horseguards Hotel in London will become the fourth Guoman Hotel in spring; the Yang Sing Oriental hotel has opened in Manchester, with 48 bedrooms and suites inspired by eastern cultures; Premier Inn has acquired 21 former Express by Holiday Inn sites; London's luxury Grosvenor House has been refurbished and rebranded as the UK's first JW Marriott hotel; the independent serviced apartment operator Staying Cool has received Birmingham's first Five-Star accommodation rating for its apartments in the city's Rotunda building; the Feversham Arms Hotel in Helmsley, North Yorks, has opened a Verbena Spa accessed from the hotel over a glass link bridge

Short Breaks, Activities and Destinations

Getting out and about in England

Enjoy home cooking on an Aga at Carhullan at Bampton Common, near Ullswater; Great Rail Journeys' first England itinerary, the Devon and Cornish Rivieras features in the 2009 brochure; special offers for November and Christmas from Helpful Holidays; guests staying for two nights between 20 Dec and 11 Jan at Brown's hotel in London will be offered a third night free; don't be over-protective of your kids - encourage them to take risks at Bowood adventure park in Calne, Wiltshire; the Black Swan Hotel in Helmsley, Yorkshire is offering a two-night "do not disturb" package for couples needing a blissful break in each other's company. 

EnjoyEngland destination of the month

Books and websites

Useful reading about England

How the National Gallery's priceless art collection was safeguarded during WWII - The National Gallery in Wartime by Suzanne Bosman, £12.95 and associated microsite; Download rides list, maps, and pictures at the 50 Quirky Cycle Rides in England and Wales website, London Transport posters - a century of art and design, by David Bownes and Oliver Green, £30

Diary Dates

10-13 Nov:World Travel Market, ExCel London 

26-29 Mar 2009:Best of Britain (formerly BTTF), ExCel, London

News from enjoyEngland 

Enjoy England's autumn campaign  features hundreds of fantastic offers on attractions and accommodation in England

Enjoy England's comedy website is packed with video and audio clips of comedy classics and hundreds of comedy-themed activities and places to go

Tickets, trips and special offers from EnjoyEngland Direct

Ever wondered where people from England's tourist board go on holiday or where are the best hidden gems to visit?  Chat with the people in the know at the EnjoyEngland blog

Contact us

How to get in touch

Tess Sullivan

England PR Manager

Tel: + 44 (0)20 8563 3351

ALL OTHER ENQUIRIES

Tel: +44 (0)20 8846 9000

Fax: +44 (0)20 8563 0302

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