Photo: Anneli Marinovich Photography/PR
The Yorkshire coast on two wheels
Exploring the Yorkshire coastline on two wheels just got a whole lot easier. Route YC, the organization that promotes the Yorkshire coast, has teamed up with leading adventure cyclists to launch a range of new cycle routes in January. The routes, ranging from nine to 420 kilometers, are designed to help visitors of all levels get off the beaten track on gravel, touring and racing bikes.
There is a circular route from Scarborough, as well as several shorter day trips from the coastal towns of Whitby, Filey, Bridlington, Hornsea and Withernsea, and the North York Moors village of Grosmont. There's also a bikepacking weekend route starting in Whitby and a touring route that runs along the coast from the ferry terminal in Hull all the way to Staithes, north of Whitby.
Route maps and accommodation details will be live on the Route YC website by January 31st
Blenheim Palace presents icons of British fashion, Oxfordshire
A blockbuster fashion exhibition will open at Blenheim Palace in March. Icons of British Fashion is the largest event in the Palace's 300-year history and will showcase some of Britain's most renowned designers. Clothing, accessories, archive material, drawings, photographs and patterns from leading figures such as Vivienne Westwood, Stella McCartney, Lulu Guinness, Bruce Oldfield and Temperley London will be on display in the State Apartments, alongside Blenheim's priceless art collection.
March 23 - June 30. Entrance tickets to Blenheim are valid for one year and cost £38 for adults, £22 for under 16s.
Launching in the spring, southern Scotland's first official canoe route will cover a tranquil 30-mile stretch of the River Tweed. The route starts close to the Dawyck Botanic Garden in the picturesque village of Stobo and ends on the riverbank overlooking Sir Walter Scott's former home, Abbotsford. The route promises beautiful views of the southern highlands and plenty of opportunities to spot wildlife such as otters, kingfishers and herons. It is designed for paddling over two or three days and is suitable for all levels.
Route maps, suggested routes and camping/accommodation information will be available online in late January
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Distillery opens in Belfast's Crumlin Road Gaol
A whiskey distillery is set to open in the 19th century Crumlin Road Gaol in early March following a £22 million investment. Whiskey tours, cocktail masterclasses and a tasting bar and shop will be opened in the former A-wing of the maximum security prison. Known locally as the Crum, it first opened in 1846 and played a leading role in the detention of republican and loyalist prisoners during the Troubles. Visitors can learn about the prison's checkered history and some of the prisoners who were held here, from suffragettes to hunger strikers, on a self-guided tour.
Entry from £14 adults, £7.50 children; distillery tour prices to be determined
Black Country Living Museum, Dudley
The latest addition to the Black Country Living Museum's collection of historic buildings is a high street that recreates life in a Midlands town in the post-war era. Listen to vinyl records in a listening booth at Stanton's Music Shop, view paper passbooks at the West Bromwich Building Society, see 1950s fashion on display at E. Minett's Ladieswear and learn about the founding of the NHS. From spring, visitors can explore a new industrial district and learn about the working lives of Black Country people in a recreated aluminum foundry, tool shop and brick factory. And a post office, an Army & Navy Store and a replica of the Halesowen and Hasbury Co-op will open on the new high street in the summer.
Adults €22.95, children under 16 years €11.45
The long-awaited King Charles III England Coast Path is scheduled to be fully passable by the end of 2024. It will be the world's longest managed coastal walking route, covering 2,700 miles and connecting communities as far as Bamburgh and Boscastle. More than 1,000 miles of coastline have been made accessible to date, including new sections in Cumbria, Kent and Sussex, which were completed late last year. The next section to open will run from Hunstanton to Sutton Bridge in Norfolk, passing the tidal marshes, beaches and nature reserves of the Wash estuary. It is expected to be ready in March. New routes on the Isle of Sheppey and improvements to the existing path on the Exmoor coast will also follow in the spring.
The UK government website will provide updates on new sections when they open
Toulouse-Lautrec in Bath
A major new exhibition, Toulouse-Lautrec and the Masters of Montmartre, opens at the Victoria Art Gallery in Bath in April. More than 30 pieces from the artist's colorful career, including his first poster of the Moulin Rouge and the can-can dancers of La Troupe de Mademoiselle Eglantine, will be displayed alongside works by other artists of the day. Steinlein's iconic Tournée du Chat Noir, an advertisement for Ruinart champagne by Alphonse Mucha and theater posters by Jules Chéret will be on display alongside works by other masters from Belle Époque Paris. This is the only chance to see Lautrec's entire collection of posters in Britain before it moves to a permanent home at the Musée d'Ixelles in Belgium.
April 26-September 29adults €10, children €3.50
Aerial adventure in the home of Welsh rugby, Cardiff
A new aerial adventure will open this spring at the home of Welsh Rugby. Thrill seekers can climb to the top of Cardiff's Principality Stadium for panoramic views of the pitch and Cardiff skyline before descending via a zipwire and a heart-pounding "drop". The attraction, called Scale, is being created by urban aerial adventure experts Wire & Sky, who have worked on similar projects at Wembley, Tottenham Hotspur, the Cutty Sark and Liverpool's Anfield.
At the time of writing, tickets had not yet gone on sale, but fans can register on the website
National Gallery goes on tour
The National Gallery celebrates its 200th anniversary on May 10. To mark the occasion, the gallery is lending twelve of its most iconic paintings to twelve locations across the UK. Paintings such as Constable's The Hay Wain and Monet's The Water-Lily Pond will travel to centers from Brighton to Edinburgh, making a painting from the National Gallery accessible to more than half the British population within an hour's travel. At the Ulster Museum in Northern Ireland, visitors can admire Caravaggio's The Supper at Emmaus, while Velázquez's The Rokeby Venus heads northwest to the Walker Gallery in Liverpool. It will be the first time that a number of works, such as The Wilton Diptych and Botticelli's Venus and Mars, have left the gallery since they were acquired. The paintings will all be exhibited on May 10 and each of the twelve locations will host additional events, exhibitions and digital interventions to showcase the specific painting.
Back in time in Beamish, County Durham
An authentic recreated 1950s picture house in Beamish is offering visitors the chance to relive the golden age of filmmaking. The cinema will be the latest addition to a '1950s town' that opened last summer at the Living History Museum as part of the biggest development in its history. The 1950s town heralds a new era for Beamish, with its carefully recreated hairdressers, fish and chip shop and café, where visitors can listen to jukebox music in a vintage stall. Beamish will also expand its Georgian exhibitions this year with an 1820s tavern serving Georgian-inspired food and drink, and a working pottery workshop. For the first time, guests can also stay in original farm buildings and cottages which are being converted into self-catering accommodation.
Beamish Unlimited Passes £24.95 adults, £15.45 children, £63.50 for a family of four, valid for one year
Barbie: The Exhibition, London
If you thought Barbie had her moment in the spotlight in 2023, think again. London's Design Museum is celebrating the 65th anniversary of the doll with a new exhibition that tells the story of the brand's evolution. The museum has been given special access to Mattel Inc's extensive Barbie archives in California and will display dozens of rare items that explore the doll's influence on everything from fashion and furniture to architecture and vehicle design.
July 5 to February 23, 2025ticket prices to be determined
Surfing is the order of the day in Edinburgh
This autumn, Europe's largest inland surfing destination will open near Edinburgh. Scheduled to launch in September, Lost Shore Surf Resort will be able to generate up to 1,000 waves per hour, suitable for beginners to professional surfers. The 160-metre long surf lake will be set in a 60-hectare park, with 22 pods and lodges sleeping two to eight people, a seasonal food market with chefs and street food vendors, a surf shop and a spa. The emphasis will be on accessibility, with beginner lessons, heated changing rooms and wetsuits and surfboards included in the price. Visitors can also try surf skating, an increasingly popular variation on skateboarding. Lost Shore is located in Ratho, fifteen kilometers west of Edinburgh.
