01 Feb 2020
This month we bring you news of a new seaweed foraging and wild cooking course in Dorset, the first ever Love Light festival, which will illuminate Norwich city centre as well as new annual celebration of light in Bristol. Durham's Ramside Hall Hotel is also ringing the changes with North East's first luxury Treehouse accommodation in a beautiful woodland environment, while Chawton House launches Man Up! Exhibition celebrating women of past centuries, including lives of writers such as George Elliot and the Brontë sisters.
Please see below for more information, plus a round-up of other news from around the country.
Coming Soon…
20:20 The 20th anniversary of The New Art Gallery, Birmingham
20 February – 14 June
The New Art Gallery in Walsall celebrates its 20th birthday on the 20th February 2020. To celebrate, it will bring together a range of works collected over the last 20 years: Twenty Years of Collecting Contemporary Art. Works will span a wide range of media and include both international artists as well as those closer to home. It will also acknowledge significant gifts and schemes such as the Contemporary Art Society's Special Collection Scheme and Art Fund International as well as the Clive Beardsmore Gift. Participating artists include Mohamed Bourouissa, Andrew Jackson, Dayanita Singh, Barry McGee, Soheila Sokhanvari, Grazia Toderi and Stuart Whipps.
thenewartgallerywalsall.org.uk
Parties, Portraits and Politics: Blenheim in the Roaring 20's, Oxfordshire
15 February – early April
A new temporary exhibition will give visitors a glimpse of what it was like to be entertained in Blenheim Palace during the 1920s, from the menus and wine to the fashion, music, politics and art. The 9th Duke of Marlborough and his second wife 'Gladys Deacon', entertained lavishly throughout the roaring twenties; amongst the guests at the glamourous house parties were Winston Churchill, Cecil Beaton and members of the Bloomsbury set.
Celebration of light with Light Festivals in Norwich and Bristol
February
A mesmerising new light festival will illuminate Norwich city centre for the Valentine's weekend between 13 and 14 February. An illuminating trail of light and fire artworks, installations, performances and interventions will celebrate the city's art and innovation, all set to a love and belonging theme. Between 27 February and 1 March illuminating new annual event will celebrate the creative talents of local, national and international designers and collaborators in a playful outdoor gallery of light installations that will bring vivid colour to Bristol city centre's public spaces at a traditionally quiet and dark time of the year. Following Bristol leadership around green energy and new technologies, there will be an emphasis on exploring sustainable light art and interactive environments.
Garden writer launches Hever's 2020 season, Edenbridge
From 8 February
Galanthophile Val will launch the 2020 snowdrop season with a talk entitled The Wonderful World of Galanthophilia on Saturday 8 February. Visitors will have the chance to see 80,000 snowdrops throughout the grounds from beside the outer moat, meandering along Sunday Walk and drifting into Church Walk. They will be encouraged to put on their wellies, hats and scarves and explore the woodland walks and enjoy the sight of a host of snowdrops in bloom close to the famous Castle and childhood home of Anne Boleyn.
hevercastle.co.uk
British Surrealism at Dulwich Picture Gallery, London
26 February – 17 May
This major exhibition marks 100 years since the birth of surrealism, championing the British artists that contributed to an iconic movement. See over 70 eclectic works from 42 artists including Leonora Carrington, Francis Bacon, Henry Moore and Paul Nash as well as lesser known figures such as Marion Adnams, Conroy Maddox and Reuben Mednikoff. The exhibition also features rare edition books and objects, reaching back to the works of William Blake, Henri Fuseli and Lewis Carroll. Curated by Dr David Boyd Haycock, this will be the first exhibition in London on British Surrealism for over 80 years.
https://www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk/
NEW 'seaweed foraging and wild cooking course', Dorset
Various dates from March
This new experience is specifically tailored to focus on seaweed and to teach participants how it is harvested sustainably, when to pick it, the process and the difference between all of the varieties and their various uses, including fermenting, pickling, making soups and sauces, jellies and puddings and more. There will also be a new 'seaweed pressing day' in 2020 rather like the apple pressing days we all know and love! To celebrate the harvest Dorset will be hosting a seaweed pressing day in early Spring, where locals will gather, dry seaweed and show people how to use it to make beautiful prints, they will get to take home, all followed by a wild feast with seaweed as a focal ingredient.
Chawton House launches Man Up! Exhibition, Chawton
17 February
A celebration of 17th – 19th Century women who defied convention and made their mark in a man's world. Opening on 17 February, this entertaining and illuminating exhibition highlights the lives of individuals who dared to step outside of traditional female roles. Facing musket balls, sailing the high seas or fighting a duel were all in a day's work to these intrepid, and sometimes, reckless, women. The exhibition also considers the lives of writers such as George Elliot, the Brontë sisters and George Sands who attained successful publication while concealing their gender, and the redoubtable Elizabeth Knight, a rare female landowner and mistress of Chawton House. Paintings, artefacts and interactive exhibits bring these unique stories to life. The exhibition is free with general admission.
North East's first luxury TREEHOUSE, Ramside Hall Hotel, Durham
Opened January
The state-of-the-art lodge named Peacock, built on stilts and with views over the hotel's championship golf courses, was the first to opens its doors, with the second, Cuckoo, launched on 17 January. Each treehouse features three bedrooms which can be divided up and booked as a one-bedroom studio or two bedrooms for smaller groups, or as the entire property which can sleep up to 12 by using a range of sofa beds. Named after birds, Peacock has been inspired by lavish French décor, while Cuckoo has drawn inspiration from Alpine lodges. Woodpecker, which opens next month, has a more contemporary design aesthetic.
All the treehouses have been created to blend seamlessly with the woodland environment, with views over the spa and golf course.
Independent London hotel opens a 'country cousin' in the Lake, Lake District
February
The team behind Georgian House Hotel in Pimlico, London is opening a 'country cousin' – Victorian House Hotel in the Lake District. Victorian House Hotel will have 19 individually designed bedrooms, a Shepherd's Hut and several open-plan shared guest spaces designed by Laura Fulmine, as well as a tranquil riverside garden and a range of outdoor facilities. The new venture will see a classic Victorian building injected with modern and romantic design elements and eclectic details to complement the building's original features. The informal yet welcoming environment will be perfect for couples, families and outdoor adventurers looking for a countryside retreat.
https://georgianhousehotel.co.uk/
UK's only Medieval festival of Archery launches at Warwick Castle, Warwick
15 – 23 February
A special company of more than ten of Britain's most talented archers will take part in spectacular shows every day from 15th – 23rd. Bringing history to life, Warwick Castle is the perfect setting for spectacular demonstrations of the skill and accuracy that made England's longbow archers the envy of the world in the Middle Ages. Daily demonstrations around the Castle grounds will also give visitors the chance to get up close to the ancient art of war as well as learn from the Castle archers and 'have-a-go' for themselves.
And beyond…
River Festival flowing through the Wye Valley
2– 17 May
The biannual River Festival will be bigger than ever with two weeks in May packed with activities and events along the Wye. For 2020 the Festival will be exploring the theme of 'time' with naturalists, geologists, historians, walkers, talkers, futurists, artists, makers, performers, musicians, dancers and singers. Visitors get to embrace the outdoors, ignite their imagination and engage their minds as they experience the unexpected, the wonderful and the thought-provoking during two weeks of creativity celebrating the natural Wye Valley landscape.
The provisional program sees the Festival starting at Hereford on 2 May and flowing through Symonds Yat on 2 and 3 May, with woodland adventures at Symonds Yat Rock. It will reach Monmouth on 9 and 10 May with a 'No Time Left to Waste' conference, with expert talks and environmental speakers, as well as artistic interventions and evening procession. During the final week, 8 to 17 May, there will be a major art installation at Tintern Abbey. The Festival Finale will be held on the riverside meadows in Llandogo on 16 May.
Two-day Family Adventure Camp, New Forest
Summer 2020
New Forest Activities is expanding its repertoire of family adventure days to include a two-day family adventure camp in the New Forest National Park. The new package includes two nights camping in a bell tent village and two days of outdoor activities, such as paddling the Beaulieu River waters and swinging from the trees on a woodland ropes course. All the equipment needed for the selection of land and water-based activities, expert instruction, catering and an organiser to help plan the trip are included. The package costs £130 per adult and £110 per child (children must be 8+ years).
1,000th anniversary of Abbey of St Edmund, Suffolk
May – November 2020
The founding of the Abbey of St Edmund by King Canute in 1020 will be celebrated with a number of events from May to St Edmunds Day on 20 November. St Edmund, the first Patron Saint of England and King of East Anglia, was enshrined in this site in 903 – hence the name of the town that was built around it: Bury St Edmunds. The shrine became one of the most famous and wealthy pilgrimage locations in England. The abbey is also known for its links to the Magna Carta.
www.english-heritage.org.uk ; www.visit-burystedmunds.co.uk
BeWILDerwood, Cheshire
Spring 2020
England's second BeWILDerwood will open at a 70-acre site in Cholmondeley Castle's grounds. The £5m attraction is based on the original theme park in Norfolk, which was created by Tom Blofeld, author of A Boggle at BeWILDerwood. Face-painting, arts and crafts and storytelling will take place in the mystical forest setting, designed to encourage traditional and imaginative outdoor play for kids.
–Ends–
For further press information please contact:
Louise Ferrall / Claire Kennan / Patrycja Woda
VisitEngland Press Office
Email: vepr@visitengland.org or visit media.visitengland.com
Notes to Editors:
About VisitEngland
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