Travel News England's North Country. In 2010 hosts Mt. Bike Worldcup, Evolution Music Festival If you wish to know more about England's North Country, please contact Liz Macfarlane, liz.macfarlane@visitenc.com, Tel: +44 (0)7971 497070. Mystery Plays to Murder MysteryDurham is reviving its lost tradition of biblical Mystery Plays, one of the earliest forms of live theatre, and 10 new stories will be performed in May 2010. They include Cain & Abel and Noah & the Flood which will be given a contemporary twist by writers including David Almond (Skellig) and Ian McMillan (BBC Radio 3). Still performed in UK cities such as York and Chester, Mystery Plays are one of the earliest forms of live theatre. Their resurrection in Durham, while celebrating the city's faith-based history, will see a contemporary 'retelling' of traditional Mysteries stories over three nights at venues across the city involving anything from dance, opera and musical theatre, to film and new media. The York Mystery Plays (11 - 18 July 2010) were originally performed from dawn to dusk by various troops in decorated wagons called pageants on and around the site that is now York railway station. The Mystery Plays were revived in 1951and are now watched by visitors from around the world who come to enjoy this historic city and all it has to offer. The Huddersfield Literature Festival (10 - 14 March 2010) showcases established and emerging writers, side by side. The festival is passionate about the reading experience, offering new events for adults, children and, readers' groups. Fans of the written word will be able to discover new work and enjoy a wide range of creative workshops. The festival is organised in association with the English department of the University of Huddersfield. The HotHouse Festival in Doncaster (6 - 27 March 2010) is one of South Yorkshire's most exciting and popular arts programmes. Since its inception, over 30,000 people have enjoyed a rich mix of events and performances, including Tango Siempre and the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain. The Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, Harrogate (22 - 25 July 2010) is a not to be missed event. Some of the best and biggest names in the business, including Ian Rankin, Karin Slaughter and Christopher Brookmyre gather for Europe's most gripping crime writing festival. Unlike other literary festivals, the Festival Programming Committee is made up of authors, agents and publishers and presiding over this year's murderous mayhem will be bearded Aberdonian and esteemed crime writer, Stuart MacBride. The event is sure to be packed with passion, pace and pump-action prose and is set to kick up some delicious and evil twists and turns.
Music for 2010Evolution (May 2010), the largest music festival in the North East and a key date in the national music calendar, will see outdoor live music take place in the iconic settings of Spillers Quay on Newcastle Quayside and Baltic Stage on Gateshead Quays. It offers a mix of both contemporary artists and those whose influences have been significant on the world of popular music. Last years headliners included Dizzee Rascal and The Wombats. The Swaledale Festival in the Yorkshire Dales celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2010 and is a fantastic chance to hear great live music in a very beautiful corner of the world. Taking place 29 May - 13 June, the Festival has a longstanding reputation for programming a distinctive balance of musical styles - you can hear classical, choral, jazz, folk and world music all in intimate Dales venues. Vasily Petrenko has extended his stay at the Liverpool Philharmonic for another 3 years marking an exceptional 9 year commitment by the young Russian maestro. Patrenko's title will change to Chief Conductor and he will maintain the same commitment to the number of concerts in Liverpool through next 6 years. Music fans have been given their first glimpse of the treats in store at the new concert arena planned for Leeds. City council bosses have released computer-generated images of the so-called 'super theatre' design proposed for the arena. The groundbreaking layout means none of the venue's 12,500 seats would be more than 68 metres away from centre stage.
Pedal Power pays offIn an exciting coup for Dalby Forest, the 2010 Mountain Bike World Cup comes to Yorkshire! This dynamic competition, taking place 24 - 25 April, will include six rounds for each of the three disciplines (cross country, downhill and four-cross) and in total will take place at nine venues in eight countries. World rock climbing prodigy and Lake District lad, Leo Houlding, unveiled the new £6 million visitor facilities on the Forestry Commission estate at Grizedale Forest, near Ambleside in Cumbria on Friday 18 September. After six years in development, outdoor lovers can now look forward to a new 21st century visitor experience at Grizedale, complete with modern information centre, improved educational facilities, café, shop, North Face Mountain Bike Trail, bike hire centre and the popular high-wire assault course - Go Ape! Lancashire's new purpose-built mountain bike trail has been officially opened on the Forestry Commission estate at Gisburn Forest, near Clitheroe. The facilities will include an easy eight kilometre 'blue' route for families and beginners and a 22 kilometre 'red' course for more experienced and expert cyclists. The Lake District's new 'Quercus' mountain bike trail has been opened to the public on the Forestry Commission estate at Whinlatter Forest Park, near Keswick. The annual Fred Whitton Challenge in the Lake District each May is so popular that numbers have to be limited. As the route is on public roads and is available to ride at any time, Cumbria Tourism has teamed up with the Fred Whitton Challenge and the Lake District National Park to launch a timed challenge ride.
Ongoing investment boosts visitor numbersThe Metrolink tram system in Manchester is benefiting from a £700 million investment programme that will almost double the size of the network and deliver a brand new fleet of trams and ticketing machines. New lines are being built to connect South Manchester, East Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale and MediaCity:UK, Salford. For more information go to www.metrolink.co.uk Proposals for a £69 billion high speed rail network including a 200mph link between Leeds and London have been unveiled. The K Village Factory Outlet Centre, Kendal is set to open in 2010 after a £100 m regeneration and redevelopment programme to create a unique state of the art destination shopping and leisure complex in the heart of the pretty Cumbrian market town. The new K Village will comprise a premium factory outlet centre, 5 restaurants and cafes, over 500 underground car-parking spaces, tourist facilities, including coach-parking and coach facilities for over 25 coaches, a 5,000 sq ft Heritage Centre, offices and 90 apartments. Spinningfields, Manchester, will soon have its own boulevard of international fashion and luxury goods brands. Due to open in 2010, exclusive retailers including Armani, Paul Smith, Mulberry and DKNY will make up this cluster of world-class shopping, complemented by an array of stylish eateries. For more information go to www.theavenuemanchester.com The independently-owned Rothay Garden hotel in Grasmere has finished its first trading year since its redevelopment took it to 4-star, having achieved a staggering 55% increase in turnover in the middle of the worst recession in living memory. A Feast of FestivalsThe famous Festival of Food, Drink and Rhubarb (26 - 27 February) is Wakefield's culinary contribution to Yorkshire's growing reputation for producing the best locally grown and produced food, drink and, of course, rhubarb. Visitors will be delighted by two days of mouth watering local produce as well as a wonderful programme of delicious treats. The Wear Valley Food Festival (April 2010) is the North East's largest food festival and a must-see for food lovers. Last year's event attracted over 20,000 people who came to sample the delights of the region. EAT! NewcastleGateshead (May 2010) returns with a tempting menu of events, which offer some of the most unique and creative dining adventures in the UK. The annual festival celebrates the best regional produce, food retailers and restaurants and promotes the pleasures of creating and sharing good food and drink. AV Festival (March 2010) is an international biennial festival of electronic arts, and features visual art, music and moving image. One of the North East England's flagship events and the UK's largest international festival of electronic arts, AV Festival spans three main cities - NewcastleGateshead, Sunderland and Middlesbrough. From mass battles to have-a-go kids' sword combat, from ancient tales to ancient crafts, the 25th JORVIK Viking Centre Annual Viking Festival, offers a bumper programme of events in York, in celebration of its 25th anniversary.
Inspired to perspire!Durham's Outdoor and Active Week boasts 7 days of thrilling outdoor activity events, including mountain biking, cricket, rowing, hiking, orienteering, tennis, croquet, forest walks, encouraging visitors to get Outdoor and Active in Durham's great outdoor gym. www.thisisdurham.com/active The thriving town of Hartlepool on the North East coast of England is gearing up for the town's biggest ever party when it hosts The Tall Ships' Races in 2010. Up to 100 Tall Ships are expected to arrive on Saturday 7 August after sailing from Kristiansand in Norway on the second and final race. They will stay in the town until Tuesday 10 August when the Parade of Sail takes place. For further information visit www.hartlepooltallships2010.com The world-class international athletics meeting, the Aviva British Grand Prix, returns to Gateshead with a star-studded line-up of British and overseas world-class athletes on 11 July 2010. Cliffhanger Festival is one of the UK's largest outdoor outdoor-pursuits festivals, based in one of Sheffield's biggest green spaces and will be taking place on 3 and 4 July 2010. The aim of the event is to inspire & involve. Museums motor on!Visitors to the Beatles Story in Liverpool will really feel part of the Fab Four's music - thanks to the installation of a state-of-the-art four dimensional experience in the attraction's second home at Liverpool's Pier Head. 'Fab4D' takes people on an exciting multi-sensory 4D journey through the music of the Beatles. Audiences experience a stunning 3D computer generated animation combined with a dramatic 4th dimension which will stimulate and tease their senses. Preston Hall Museum and Park, Stockton-on-Tees, Tees Valley is due to be completed in 2010. This Georgian country house set in glorious parkland is a museum of social history. Restoration and development of the Hall and Park will create a tourist attraction of great regional significance. The theme for the National Railway Museum, York in 2010 is Europe. They will be running free fun family activities throughout all school holidays including new daily science shows in the Learning Platform featuring the chance to launch an elephant into space and launch a doll from a steam rocket. The fascinating early history of York - the Capital of the North of England - is to be told through groundbreaking research and internationally important collections at the newly refurbished Yorkshire Museum. At Easter in 2010, the Lakeland Motor Museum will leave Holker Hall and relocate to its brand new home. The new purpose built, state of the art facility will be based at Backbarrow, near Newby Bridge and will house the museum's exceptional collection of over 30,000 exhibits. Over the next two years a series of projects at the Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, County Durham, will see a complete transformation of visitor amenities, the creation of new galleries and the much needed roof restoration work. Happy Anniversary!Celebrating its 30th year in 2010, the BUPA Great North Run is the world's largest half marathon. It has become an iconic feature of NewcastleGateshead's cultural and sporting programme and welcomes 52,000 runners to the North East from all over the world. In 2010 Middlesborough Transporter Bridge celebrates the 100th anniversary of the laying of its foundation stones. This iconic bridge, made famous by the TV series Auf Wiedersehn Pet, remains fully operational today. St Georges Day - The 23rd of April 2010, marks the 160th anniversary of William Wordsworth's death. The romantic poet was born in Cumbria and much of his well loved poetry, including the famous 'Daffodils', was inspired by his life here. June 2010 will see the 80th anniversary of Wainwright's first walk in Cumbria, at Orrest Head, which starts just yards from Windermere Railway station. Wainwright was so impressed, he went on to explore pretty much every summit of the Lake District, writing seven pictorial guides to walking the Lakes. The path up to Orrest Head has changed since Wainwright's first steps back in 1930, having been asphalted in places so that those in wheelchairs or buggies can reach certain vantage points peering down on Lake Windermere. What haven't changed are the views. It's a meandering 783ft all the way to the top with plenty of seats to rest and signposts pointing the way round every corner. The sign at the start of the walk proclaims it's 20 minutes to the top, but even Wainwright disagreed with that. World-class Exhibitions in 2010The organisers of Liverpool's presence at the World Expo 2010 have unveiled the Pavilion which will showcase the city during the six-month event in Shanghai. The World Expo 2010 in Shanghai will be the largest Expo ever held (four times bigger than the previous World Expo in Japan) and it is expected to attract some 70 million visitors when it opens on 1st May 2010. It will run until the 31st October 2010, during which period more than 200 nations and international organisations will present interpretations of the official Expo theme: Better City, Better Life. For more information, visit www.liverpoolshanghai2010.com The Imperial War Museum North, Manchester, recently crowned Northwest Visitor Centre of the Year, will be hosting the largest ever UK exhibition of work by photojournalist Don McCullin. Running from 6 February - 13 June 2010, 'Shaped by War' celebrates 51 years of work and includes many images, together with personal items of one of our foremost photographers, on display for the very first time. Artist Rob Ryan will be transforming the Visitor Centre at Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield this winter as his imaginative paper cuts and screen prints go on display from 14 November - 21 February 2010. Famed for his detailed hand-cutting of delicate papers into intricate patterns, often revealing whimsical stories or poetic phrases, Ryan will be decorating the four metre-long shop window at YSP with a huge paper cut panel. Framed one-off paper cuts and limited edition screen prints, exclusive to YSP, will be on display throughout the Centre.
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Marybeth Bond in the Media
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