This month we are delighted to share news of a brand new hotel opening in Devon by top chef Michael Caines; a new theatre space in Bristol devoted to improvised comedy and theatre; ethical Tiny Homes due to open in the Isle of Wight; and the inaugural Eastbourne International Hot Air Balloon Festival opening in Sussex – to name a few exciting developments! See below for more information, plus a roundup of more news just in from around the country.

Just opened

No. 15 Great Pulteney opens, Bath
December 2016
Boutique townhouse hotel No.15 Great Pulteney has opened its doors to guests. Located on one of Bath's grandest streets, the hotel has 22 individually designed bedrooms (with more to come), a cocktail bar, private dining rooms and a café. Don't be fooled by the classical Grade-I façade; the hotel has collaborated with some of the UK's top interior design talents to craft a style of offbeat elegance fuelled by contemporary art and statement lighting.
www.no15greatpulteney.co.uk

Coming soon

Admiralty Arch to become a hotel, London
Throughout 2017
The iconic Admiralty Arch is being transformed into a luxury hotel, private members' club and serviced residences. The Edwardian building marks the boundary between Trafalgar Square and The Mall – two of the capital's most-loved landmarks – and the views from the 100 rooms and suites are guaranteed to be some of the city's best. There will also be a state-of-the-art spa and several bars, while a restaurant spanning the first bridging floor will open the building to the public for the first time. A stay here promises to be both a five-star-plus experience and a brush with some fascinating political and royal heritage: it's where Winston Churchill was based as First Lord of the Admiralty; World War I code-breaking operations were run; Ian Fleming worked during World War II; and some royal processions still pass under the main arch, as they have done for over a century. Restoration and building works are underway and the operator for the hotel is expected to be chosen in 2017.
www.admiraltyarch.co.uk

Bristol Improv Theatre to open, South West
3 March 2017
The BIT will be the UK's first full-time theatre space devoted to improvised comedy and theatre. Work starts in January to transform a former members' club in the Clifton area of Bristol into a dedicated 100-seat theatre with a bar, rehearsal space and offices for creative start-ups. Once opened, there are plans to fundraise further to fully equip the space for performance and teaching, creating a world-class hub for Bristol's – and the UK's – growing improv community.
www.improvtheatre.co.uk

Top chef Michael Caines to open hotel, Devon
Spring 2017
There are plenty of reasons to get excited about Lympstone Manor, a contemporary country house hotel opening in early spring. Firstly, it's a Grade II-listed Georgian manor house with 28 acres of gardens, grounds and parkland overlooking the Exe Estuary on east Devon's World Heritage Jurassic Coast. There's a world-class wine cellar and plans for a vineyard. And the décor of the 21 bedrooms and suites is inspired by the birds of the Exe estuary. But most exciting of all will be the food; Lympstone is the vision of Michael Caines MBE, holder of two Michelin stars for 18 years and chef-patron of the hotel – and Caines has his eye on that elusive third star…
www.lympstonemanor.co.uk

Tiny Homes, Isle of Wight
Spring 2017
The latest venture from the team behind the groundbreaking Vintage Vacations (the UK's original Airstream caravan holidays) is Tiny Homes, a new, ethical way to holiday. Tiny Homes is all about downsizing your space and upsizing your free time. When it opens, there will be three (eventually six) Tiny Homes set in a smallholding environment next to Parkhurst Forest. Each small but perfectly formed building will sleep up to four people, and come complete with kitchen, composting loo, shower, outside deck with BBQ, and a woodburning stove. Also on site will be The Studio, a multi-purpose hub with free wifi and a lively programme of talks, workshops, yoga.
www.tinyhomesholidays.com

Dinosaurs in the Wild, Birmingham and Manchester
June 2017 – January 2018
Dinosaurs in the Wild is a 70-minute-long immersive theatrical production that transports the audience back 65 million years to 'meet' the dinosaurs, using 3D effects, animatronics, cutting-edge CGI, live actors and the latest museum-accurate research. Expect time-travelling scientists who study real dinosaurs instead of fossils and incredible sights such as dinosaurs emerging from eggs, herds of dinosaurs roaming Cretaceous plains, and an angry T-rex. The show will be at Birmingham NEC (24 June – 4 August) before moving to Manchester's Event City (7 October – 7 January 2018).
www.visitbirmingham.com; www.visitmanchester.com

News just in

New foodie attraction with UK's first Cornish pasty heritage centre, Cornwall
Summer 2017
Cornucopia, a new food and drink-themed attraction, will showcase the county's produce and foodie heritage when it opens in the St Austell Bay Retail and Leisure Park. One of Cornucopia's highlights will be the UK's first Cornish pasty heritage centre, where visitors will be able to have a go at pasty-making. There will also be Sam's Cornwall (an American-inspired diner that already has four thriving venues across the county), exhibits, a lively events calendar based around the attraction's demo kitchen and events stage, and 19 foodie outlets selling the best of Cornish food and drink. Cornucopia is set to become one of the area's leading family attractions.
www.visitcornwall.com

Eastbourne International Hot Air Balloon Festival, Sussex
29 – 30 July 2017
The first Eastbourne International Hot Air Balloon Festival will take place in Hampden Park. Sponsored by Gatwick Airport, the free weekend will feature up to 25 balloons, dawn and dusk flights, live bands and a display of helicopters. On Saturday night, a bunch of tethered balloons will light up the sky in a Nightglow performance set to music.
www.friendsofthehampdenpark.co.uk

Row the Literary Thames, Oxford to London    
3 September 2017 (additional dates may be added)
What better way of celebrating VisitEngland's Year of Literary Heroes and illuminating some literary legends than by rowing the river that inspired them? Row England will be running new, fully guided literary-themed rowing trips, starting in Oxford with a picnic on the very spot on the banks of the Thames in Godstow where, in July 1865, the real life Charles Dodgson entertained Alice Liddell with fantastical stores; Charles Dodgson wrote under the pen name Lewis Carroll, and the tales he told were recorded in the book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. You'll also stop at Marlow, where Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein; Cookham Deane, where as a child Kenneth Grahame was inspired to write Wind in the Willows; Mapledurham House, the real life inspiration for Toad Hall – to name a few! A seven day trip costs £1400 and includes accommodation in cosy riverside inns and classic hotels. Row the Thames also offer a new five day trip from Lechlade to Oxford on 26 June for £895.
www.rowthethames.com/our-trips/lower-thames-literary-rowing-trip

For more information on what's new for 2017, go to:

www.visitengland.com/biz/media-centre/media-resources

For a copy of What's New 2017, please email press@visitengland.org

Ends

For further press information and images please contact:
Evelina Andrews/ Louise Ferrall
VisitEngland Press Office
Tel: 020 7578 1447 / 020 7578 1437
Email: Evelina.Andrews@visitengland.org / Louise.Ferrall@visitengland.org/

Notes to Editors:

About VisitEngland

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