VisitEngland’s 15 great events for 2015

2015 is set to be an exceptional and exciting year for England. The nation is hosting major sporting events, marking historic anniversaries, showcasing landmark exhibitions and celebrating fantastic new openings. YourHols brings you VisitEngland’s 15 great events for 2015.

Magic Garden, Hampton Court Palace (spring)
Set to be an innovative and sensory experience, Hampton Court Palace has teamed up with a Chelsea-winning gardener to create the new Magic Garden. The Magic Garden project will engage, inspire, excite and surprise young visitors and their families. It will provide a fun and exciting experience that the whole family can explore together. It will also provide a venue for special evening events, such as plays, concerts and light installations.
http://www.hrp.org.uk/aboutus/whatwedo/magicgarden

Rugby World Cup 2015, countrywide (18 September – 31 October)
The world’s third largest sporting event, Rugby World Cup, is coming to England in 2015, giving fans the perfect excuse to take a road-trip around the country. The tournament lasts six weeks, allowing visitors to discover and explore the best of the ten host cities including: London, Brighton, Gloucester, Leeds, Leicester, Newcastle, Milton Keynes, Birmingham, Exeter and Manchester. Fans can also watch every scrum, kick and try at one of the specially created ‘fanzones’, before celebrating their team’s victory (or commiserating their failure!) with some live entertainment post-matches.
www.visitengland.com/rugby
www.rugbyworldcup.com

40^th Anniversary of the inaugural Cricket World Cup (7 June)
It doesn’t get more English than a genteel game of cricket unfolding on a village lawn. Invented in England, in the 16^thcentury, the game’s first World Cup was hosted in England in 1975. The inaugural tournament started on 7 June and eight teams participated, including Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, and the West Indies (the six Test nations at the time), together with Sri Lanka and a composite team from East Africa. The tournament is a key milestone in the evolution of the sport and was won by the West Indies, who defeated Australia by 17 runs in the final at Lord’s.
Today, get to the heart of the game on a tour of Lords cricket ground in north London where fans can visit the MCC Museum and have tea and cucumber sandwiches in the historic Long Room. The Museum’s collection, which began in 1864, spans the full history of cricket from its emergence as a major sport in the early 18^th century, to the modern age of Twenty20 and the IPL.  Its most famous exhibit is the original Ashes urn, a personal gift to then England captain the Hon. Ivo Bligh.
www.lords.org

Women’s and Men’s Boat Races Combined, Henley-on-Thames and London (11 April)
In a revolutionary move that breaks with 183 years of history, the Women’s Boat Race between Oxford and Cambridge will achieve equal billing with the more famous men’s event in 2015 as the two events are combined. The women’s event, which has previously taken place at Henley-on-Thames, will move to the traditional race location of Tideway in 2015.
www.theboatrace.org

Magna Carta 800^th Anniversary, Countrywide (15 June/year-round)
Next year marks the 800^th anniversary of the sealing of the Magna Carta by King John and his barons. For the first time next year, the four original copies of the Magna Carta will be reunified at the British Library and there will be a host of activity across the country.
From 13 March–1 September, the British Library is hosting the Magna Carta: Law, Liberty, Legacy exhibition, which will explore the history and legacy of this globally-recognised document. Special Magna Carta trails (each two to three days in length) have been created to highlight significant destinations that weave the stories of this important period of medieval history.
Destinations featured include Lincoln Castle (above) where the Lincoln Castle Revealed project will be unveiled in April. The renovation has included a new vault to house its original copy of Magna Carta with state-of-the-art interactive interpretation. In addition, Salisbury Cathedral – home to arguably the finest of the four surviving original Magna Carta – has been awarded support from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to re-present the Cathedral’s Magna Carta in the Chapter.
www.magnacarta800th.com
www.bl.uk/whatson/exhibitions/magna-carta
www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/lincoln-castle-revealed
www.salisburycathedral.org.uk

50^th Anniversary of Sir Winston Churchill’s Death, Countrywide (24 January/year-round)
To recognise the 50^th anniversary of Sir Winston Churchill’s death, a programme of exciting events will be on offer across the country showcasing Churchill’s England. Born on 30 November 1874 at Blenheim Palace, just outside Oxford, Churchill enthusiasts can visit the room in which he was born, the romantic gardens in which he proposed to Clementine and pore over letters and photographs of Sir Winston and family in an exhibit devoted to him. In addition, Chartwell, in south east England, was the Churchill family home and the rooms in the house are much as they were when Churchill lived there in the interwar period.
Finally, in the Churchill War Rooms in London, visitors can explore the Cabinet War Rooms, the bunker that sheltered Churchill and his government during the Blitz and played a key role in the Second World War. The Churchill War Rooms also incorporates the Churchill Museum where visitors can listen to some of his rousing speeches including the famous lines, ‘I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.’
www.blenheimpalace.com
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/chartwell
www.iwm.org.uk/visits/churchill-war-rooms
www.churchillcentral.com

50^th Anniversary of The Landmark Trust, Countrywide (year-round)
To celebrate 50 years of rescuing extraordinary buildings for future generations and allowing people to stay in them for holidays, The Landmark Trust is celebrating with a ground-breaking collaboration with sculptor Antony Gormley. The installation, called LAND, will see Gormley create five sculptures to be installed in May 2015 at five Landmarks – Martello Tower (above) in Suffolk, Clavell Tower in Dorset, Lundy Island and Lengthsman’s Cottage in Warwickshire. LAND is Gormley’s only solo external installation in the UK in 2015 and will be in place for a year.
www.landmarktrust.org.uk
www.antonygormley.com

Bicentenary of the Battle of Waterloo, London and Kent (18 June/year-round)
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday, 18 June 1815, near Waterloo in present-day Belgium. In England, the bicentenary of the Battle of Waterloo will be marked throughout the year, with English Heritage celebrations at Wellington Arch, Apsley House (the home of the Dukes of Wellington) and Walmer Castle. Objects on show in these locations include the famous Wellington boots and the Iron Duke’s campaign bed.
www.english-heritage.org.uk

150 years since publication of Alice in Wonderland, Oxford (26 November/year-round)
Lewis Carroll’s enchanting tale with unforgettable characters such as the White Rabbit and Mad Hatter is celebrating 150 years since its publication in 2015. The University City of Oxford is the birthplace of Alice in Wonderland and The Story Museum is holding a special Alice Day on 4 July to mark the 150^th anniversary of the first telling of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
Oxford is where the author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, better known as Lewis Carroll, first outlined his story to the 10-year-old Alice Liddell, the real Alice in Wonderland. The Alice Day will include a Mad Hatter’s tea party, exhibitions, storytelling, promenade theatre and Alice-themed walks and talks. In addition, Alice’s Shop Oxford runs Alice in Wonderland-themed tours year-round, taking in many places of significance to Alice and Lewis Carroll in Oxford and highlighting the many ways in which Oxford influenced and inspired Carroll’s writings.
www.storymuseum.org.uk
www.aliceinwonderlandshop.co.uk/tours

125^th anniversary of Agatha Christie’s birth, the English Riviera, Devon (15 September)
From the intricately plotted storylines, beautiful settings of a bygone England and her two colourful detective characters – Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot – Christie’s writing has captured the imaginations of readers and TV and film viewers over the years.
The true story of Agatha Christie’s life is every bit as intriguing and fascinating as her books and her legacy is best discovered on the English Riviera, South Devon’s beautiful bay. Christie was born in the Riviera town of Torquay, and spent many of the most important chapters of her life here, as well as using real places in the area as the backdrop for her murder mysteries. From the Agatha Christie Mile to September’s International Agatha Christie Festival and visits to her beloved estate at the National Trust’s Greenway, the English Riviera is the place to discover the real Agatha Christie.
www.englishriviera.co.uk/agathachristie
www.agathachristiefestival.com
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/greenway

Far From The Madding Crowd (film release, 1 May)
On 1 May, 141 years since the publication of Thomas Hardy’s Far from the Madding Crowd, a Hollywood film adaptation of the book will be released with a stellar British cast featuring, Carey Mulligan, Michael Sheen and Tom Sturridge. However, the film’s starring role is played by Dorset with locations including Beaminster, Bridport and Mapperton House which became Everdene for the duration of the shoot.
www.visit-dorset.com
www.mapperton.com

London’s West End Debuts (various dates, TBA)
London’s West End will see a slew of new shows opening in 2015. First up, a full 30 years after the original Back To The Future film debuted; the time-traveling adventure is set to return, this time as a stage musical. Robert Zemeckis, who co-wrote and directed the 1985 Michael J Fox film, will reunite with co-writer Bob Gale to pen the book for the stage adaptation.
On a more magical note, the early years of wizard Harry Potter (above) will be explored in a new stage play, to be co-produced by author, JK Rowling. The play will be staged in the UK and will explore the previously untold story of Harry’s early years as an orphan and outcast.
It will feature favourite characters from the Harry Potter books and offer insight into the heart and mind of the now legendary young wizard.
Finally, Broadway’s high-heeled musical, Kinky Boots, will be staged in the UK next year. With music by Cyndi Lauper, the show tells the story of a struggling British shoe factory’s young, straitlaced owner, Charlie, who forms an unlikely partnership with Lola, a drag queen, to save the business.
www.visitlondon.com

Dreamland, Margate (Phase One opening spring)
Described, time and again, as the heartbeat of Margate, Dreamland was one of the UK’s best-loved amusement parks and in 2015, Dreamland is set to come alive again.
Award-winning, multi-disciplinary designer, Wayne Hemingway OBE, has been appointed to deliver the feel, look, smell and sound of the new Dreamland – the world’s first amusement park of thrilling historic rides and classic side shows, eateries and evocative spaces, set within a landscape capable of hosting national festivals, major events and visiting attractions.
www.dreamlandmargate.com

The Gainsborough Bath Spa (opening spring)
A UNESCO World Heritage City, Bath has been a much-loved leisure and wellness destination for over 2,000 years. Its archaeological and architectural heritage is among the finest in the world and in 2015, the city will be home to a beautiful new hotel and spa.
Set to open in spring, The Gainsborough Bath Spa occupies three listed and historic buildings, The Gainsborough, Bellotts, Hetling House, with distinguished Grade II Georgian facades and the one remaining Elizabethan building in the heart of Bath. The property has the unique privilege of being the only hotel in the United Kingdom to house a natural thermal spa. Created by award-winning Champalimaud Design, the rooms and suites at the hotel will be custom furnished, subtly referencing period details combined with contemporary forms.
www.thegainsboroughbathspa.co.uk
www.visit-dorset.com
www.mapperton.com

 

Bristol’s year as European Green Capital (year-round)
Bristol has long been one of the UK’s leading green cities and now also has the international accolade of European Capital 2015. A lively programme of ‘green’ themed events makes Bristol stand apart as an environmentally-focused and sustainable city, including Bristol’s Big Green Week, Festival of Nature, Bristol’s Biggest Bike Ride, Bristol Green Doors and Bristol Cycle Festival. Those looking for an eco-chic getaway should check out The Greenhouse, a temple to all things eco-friendly.
www.visitbristol.co.uk/european-green-capital
www.thegreenhousebristol.co.uk

For more information, visit www.visitengland.com