Dr Who’s 50th anniversary takes place in two weeks with the special anniversary episode being broadcast simultaneously in more than 70 countries across the globe on November 23, 2013.
Set to be the world’s biggest drama simulcast, The Day of the Doctor, will star the current Doctor, Matt Smith and his predecessor David Tennant.
To mark the occasion, Yours-hols.com and VisitEngland have grabbed our sonic screwdrivers to you the best Whovian experiences on offer across the country…
By Royal Appointment
Buckingham Palace narrowly missed being hit by the Spaceship Titanic in the 2007 Christmas special Voyage of the Damned, and next week the Time Lord’s infamous TARDIS will journey to the royal residence for a special reception to mark the anniversary. Doctors past and present will join the Countess of Wessex at the Queen’s London home for a special celebration of the BBC’s long-running hit science fiction show.
‘Set-Jetting’ Tours & Whovian Hotspots
London is packed with thrills for Doctor Who fans. The Doctor has been fighting foes in the city for years and now you can visit the locations from the series. Brit Movie Tours offers a Doctor Who Walking Tour, taking visitors on a capital adventure looking at Doctor Who locations from the past 50 years, accompanied a Whovian expert guide. Visitors will get to glimpse 15 ‘set-jetting’ locations, including sites featured in The Invasion, Remembrance of the Daleks and more recently, Rose. Tours run over the 50th anniversary weekend, November 23-24. Tours last approximately 2 ½ hours and cost £12 for adults and £10 for children. For more information or to book, visit www.britmovietours.com.
Many of the capital’s iconic landmarks have taken centre stage in recent times. When The Doctor met Shakespeare, they filmed inside Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. Today, the Globe Exhibition & Tour gives visitors an opportunity to channel their inner David Tennant and learn more about this unique building and its most famous playwright. Even the most upmarket addresses in London have featured in Doctor Who. Elsewhere, the Slitheen infiltrated 10 Downing Street in 2005 episode, Aliens of London.
Last month, nine missing episodes of 1960s Doctor Who were found at a TV station in Nigeria, including most of the classic story The Web of Fear. The black and white story sees Patrick Troughton’s second Doctor battle robot yeti in the London Underground. Today, visitors can relive the iconic sci-fi moment and travel across 150 years in just two hours with the London Underground and Tube Tour run by Insider London. Moving from one of London’s first ever Underground stations to its most futuristic, visitors will unearth the remarkable stories behind the Tube’s design and construction and experience it’s fascinating history first-hand. The Tube Tours run Mondays and Fridays and cost £20 per person. For more information or to book, visit www.insider-london.co.uk.
Outside the capital, Stonehenge took a starring role in the final episode of season five. It seemed only natural that the sci-fi smash should finally team up with one of England’s most enigmatic and mysterious sites. In the episode, the historic landmark becomes an underground prison for the universe’s most deadly being, The Doctor himself. These days, visitors to the awe-inspiring World Heritage Site can get up close and personal with the ancient stones. Stone Circle Access visits provide the opportunity to go into the center of the stone circle, not possible during normal opening hours. Tickets cost £16.30 for adults and £9.80 for children. Visit www.english-heritage.org.uk
Also seen in The Time of Angels and its follow-up Flesh And Stone were the Maze of the Dead caves and magical forest of Byzantium – both filmed in The Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire. Explore the stunning woods and find the spot where Amy Pond kept her eyes closed to survive the Weeping Angels. The forest is also home to mining museum Clearwell Caves, which was the Sycorax spaceship in The Christmas Invasion, the beast’s prison in The Satan Pit and Vesuvius in The Fires Of Pompeii. Entrance to the caves costs £6.50 for adults and £4.50 for children. Visit www.clearwellcaves.com.
In Search of The Infamous Blue Box
If, like The Doctor, you love nothing more than a quick jaunt through time and space, you’ll find a blue police phone box parked near Earl’s Court Station in London. Any day of week, large groups of tourists and fans can be seen outside the TARDIS-like landmark, taking advantage of this unique photo opportunity. You can also see a TARDIS at London Film Museum. This TARDIS was piloted by Peter Cushing in the 1965 film Dr Who And The Daleks. Also, Kensington Palace is rumoured to be getting just what the doctor ordered… William and Kate’s new home is set to have a TARDIS-like police box installed in the garden at the east corner of the north boundary wall.
Exterminate! The Return of DaLICKs…
The Doctor’s most famous foe, the Daleks, will return to Doctor Who in the show’s 50the anniversary special. In the meantime, a 35ft Dalek has landed in Cheshire. A magnificent straw sculpture has been created by Snugburys Ice Cream, which is currently putting the finishing touches to this work of art in a field close to the market town of Nantwich. Visiblefrom the Chester A51 road, the feature is made from approximately 6 tons of straw and 5 tons of steel. And that’s not all! The ice cream giant has also created a ‘DaLICK’ cone, which in on sale from their ice cream shop.Visit www.snugburys.co.uk.
Time Travel Events & Exhibitions
‘National Fish Finger and Custard Day’ took place on April 4. Those that missed it, but fancy a taste of this unique combination, can check out The Lass O’Gowrie, a Manchester pub famed for serving this unusual dish during regular screening events and Whovian meetings. To mark the 50th anniversary, the pub will host a ‘WHO @ 50 Fringe Festival’, a two-week-long celebration running until November 25. See www.thelass.co.uk.
Not to be outdone, the National Space Museum in Leicester will hold ‘Science of the Time Lords’ on November 16. This event that will take a closer look at time travel, teleportation and robots, providing children and adults alike with all the information they’ll need to stop the next alien invasion! Three of the Doctor’s former companions, Sophie Aldred, Nicola Bryant and Louise Jameson, will all be on hand during the day to offer budding Time Lords expert advice and insider tips. In addition, voice of the Daleks and Cybermen, Nicholas Briggs will return to the National Space Centre with the Monster Challenge, giving visitors the opportunity to try out the Ring Modulator, the device used on the show to create the perfect alien voice! Tickets cost £13 for adults and £11 for children. Visit www.spacecentre.co.uk.
In Herefordshire, The Time Machine Museum of Science Fiction has a permanent Doctor Who exhibition. This collection of Doctor Who props and costumes is open throughout 2013 and is widely considered to be one of the finest anywhere in the world, with many items on show from both the classic and the new Doctor Who series, including costumes from David Tennant’s last ever episode, The End of Time. This quirky Museum is open October to March, Saturdays and Sundays only 10.30am – 4.30pm. Admission costs £8 for adults and £6 for children. See www.timemachineuk.com.
A new Doctor Who display opened at the Montacute Museum in Somerset last weekend. There’s a TARDIS display with console plus a 7ft 6” giant robot and a selection of villains on show throughout November. Admission costs £6.99 for adults and £4.99 for children. Visit www.montacutemuseum.co.uk.
Finally, from November 22-24, ExCel London will get a whole lot bigger on the inside as the stars and monsters from Doctor Who take over for three out-of-this-world days. A gateway to a whole universe of adventure, the official Doctor Who 50th Celebration will bring together panel sessions with stars from five decades of space and time travel, alongside behind-the-scenes information from the production team and crew who’ve been bringing the magic to our screens for fifty fabulous years. The Doctor Who Experience will be presenting Walk Like a Monster workshops every day, and visitors will even be able to design their own monster with the artists and team from the official Doctor Who magazine, Doctor Who Adventures. Even if you’ve got 13 lives, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Doctor Who fans, young and old. Standard tickets cost £49.04 for adults and £22.12 for children. Visit celebration.doctorwho.tv.
