I’m privileged to be James Shillinglaw’s Britain Insider columnist for the Insider Travel Report and at the recent Ensemble conference, we chatted about how popular TV series and films like Doc Martin, Poldark, Father Brown, Inspector Morse, Young Victoria and Mrs. Brown can be the star attractions in customised UK tours.  Have a look, listen and let’s start a conversation about your own Masterpiece tour.

Europe’s first pop up Shakespearian theatre returns to York next year and Peter Pan will be taking flight at Scotland’s National Centre for Children’s Literature and Storytelling.  Staying with the literary theme, it is also the 200^th anniversary of Charles Kingsley, author of ‘The Water Babies’ and the swashbuckling ‘Westward Ho!’.

The North Wales Festival of Gardens has confirmed its 2019 dates and we should talk about a 3-country tour that starts with Bloom in Dublin, finishes with the RHS Flower Show at Chatsworth with some stunning North Wales gardens in between.  A London extension must include the RHS Garden at Wisley and my final story.

Wishing you all a very happy Christmas.

York's Elizabethan Pop Up Theatre Returns

Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre, Europe’s first ever pop up Shakespearean Theatre, will return next summer to the historic city of York.  Inspired by the famous London Rose Playhouse built in 1587, the 13-sided scaffolding structure, complete with an Elizabethan village will seat audiences of 900 on 3-tiered balconies for dramatic performances of Hamlet, Henry V, The Tempest and Twelfth Night.

Peter Pan Takes Flight

Moat Brae House and birth place of J M Barrie’s Peter Pan will open next spring as Scotland’s National Centre for Children’s Literature and Storytelling.  The “enchanted land”, interpreted by costumed guides is in the town of Dumfries, just 25 miles west of Gretna Green making it a magical detour for clients travelling between the Lake District and Glasgow or Edinburgh.

Charles Kingsley's 200th Anniversary

Next year, the picturesque North Devon village of Clovelly will be marking the 200^th anniversary of the birth of the great social reformer and novelist Charles Kingsley.  He wrote the historical novel ‘Westward Ho!’ in Clovelly which led to the creation of the nearby town of the same name.  The celebrations will include plays, story-telling, book readings and processions linking the two places.

The Emerald Isle, Welsh Castle and Chatsworth

It concludes with a visit to the RHS Flower Show at treasure-filled Chatsworth.  Spread over 8 nights, it starts with Bloom in Dublin before pausing to see some of North Wales great gardens.  June, you can now offer your green-fingered clients a 3-country tour they’ve not seen before.^th-16^stWith the annual North Wales Festival of Gardens taking place between 1

Springtime in England

Spring is a wonderful time to visit the renowned RHS Garden Wisley when more than 200 magnolias bring life and colour to the garden. Battleston Hill is best known for its flamboyant burst of colour that reaches a peak in April and May, with hundreds of rhododendrons to discover. Don’t miss the wide variety of wisterias as they come into bloom too.

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