An earlier cathedral was destroyed by fire in 1067, shortly after the Norman Conquest and rebuilding began under the first Norman archbishop, Lanfranc, whose elaborate plans goaded the archbishop of York into a frenzy of building. Lanfranc had claimed primacy for his cathedral over York. York wasn’t having it and built its own cathedral, York Minster, on a scale to rival Canterbury. Read more about York Minster here.
Treasures to see on your visit
For such a big story, it’s surprising that today only a small altar marks the site of Thomas Becket’s murder in the cathedral. It was erected after the visit of Pope John Paul II to the cathedral. He commented that he had visited memorials to St Thomas Becket all over the world, but here in his own cathedral there was nothing to remember him by.
Becket’s body was taken to the crypt after his murder, today in that crypt you’ll find an evocative sculpture by the artist Antony Gormley, most famous for his Angel of the North artwork. Made from old iron nails taken from the repaired roof of the cathedral, it outlines the shape of a floating body and is suspended above the site of the first tomb of the archbishop.
Check out the medieval wall art in St Gabriel’s chapel – left intact throughout the Reformation as the chapel was walled up; the Great South Window, featuring some of the oldest stained glass in the world, dating from 1175, and considered to be one of the most famous works of English medieval painting; and the ship’s bell from HMS Canterbury, which is rang every day at 11am.
The Canterbury monks’ medieval priory is now the cathedral chapter house, with its own separate entrance through the cloisters outside. Monks often worked on transcribing manuscripts in the cloisters, where the light was better for doing such delicately detailed work. The priory dates from the Norman period with later Gothic additions. The timber ceiling is a rare example of a surviving 600-year-old design – most were destroyed by fire. The glass in the windows is Victorian, though the masonry surrounding them is medieval.
Important tombs include the grave of King Henry IV and the tomb of the Black Prince, Edward of Woodstock, the oldest son of Edward III, who died before he could inherit the throne.
Canterbury: cathedral city
Canterbury is surely one of the most atmospheric and attractive cities in England, with its medieval winding streets, river location and ancient city walls. It has been one of the country’s biggest attractions for centuries, from the pilgrims who came to pay homage to the shrine of Thomas Becket in the cathedral to the countless numbers of tourists who flock there every year.
Where to stay: Take up residence in the cathedral grounds – Canterbury Cathedral Lodge is a comfortable modern hotel and conference centre that offers you the chance to wake up to stunning cathedral views. Not only that, you get free admission to the cathedral and can go in and out as many times as you like.
What to do: The Canterbury Heritage Museum showcases everything from the city’s Roman history to the assassination of Thomas Becket, and the museum also houses the Rupert Bear Museum. Mary Tourtel, who created Rupert, was a Canterbury local.
For more history and a deeper look into Canterbury’s Roman past, there’s the Roman Museum or you can get cultural at the Beaney House of Art & Knowledge, with its museum and art gallery. The Eastbridge Hospital, set up for pilgrims, soldiers and the elderly in 1180, is also well worth a visit for its Romanesque undercroft, chapel and 16th century almshouses, all sitting across Britain’s most ancient road bridge, which is over 800 years old.
Nearby, St Martin’s Church is the oldest parish church in England in continuous use and you can also visit the ruins of Augustine’s Abbey, which is part of Canterbury’s World Heritage Site and dates from 597. A small museum on the site tells the story of the re-establishment of Christianity in all of England from here.
Cathedrals of Britain: London and the South East by Bernadette Fallon is published by Pen and Sword and on sale for £12.99
]]>Known as the ‘Ship of the Fens’, Ely Cathedral rises majestically from the surrounding landscape. Once it stood on an island, surrounded on all sides by water, but the draining of the Fens marshland several centuries ago reunited the land around the cathedral with the rest of the countryside. It still retains some of that other-worldly allure however and today rises magically from the early morning mists. The first church on this site was founded by a woman, Ethelreda, a 7th century Anglo-Saxon princess, although buiding on the present cathedral didn’t start until 1081.
Lincoln
On top of one of the steepest hills in Britain, Lincoln cathedral can be seen from most parts of the county and was described by the Victorian critic John Ruskin as ‘the most precious piece of architecture in the British Isles’. For a time in the Middle Ages, it was the tallest building in the world and is one of the few English cathedrals standing on the rock it is built from. Founded in 1072 by William the Conqueror’s travelling companion and supporter, the Benedictine monk Remigius, today its great west front is all that remains of the original Norman building.
Norwich
Built by the Normans soon after their victory at Hastings in 1066, Norwich Cathedral and nearby Norwich Castle were clear demonstrations of the invaders’ power and influence in what was then England’s second biggest city. As much a political statement as a religious one, the cathedral’s narrow nave with its soaring height and dramatic vaulting was deliberately sized to create the impression of power and grandeur. Its foundation stone was laid at the east end of the building in 1096.
Lichfield
Founded in the 8th century and filled with delicate angels, Lichfield Cathedral has come close to destruction several times over the centuries. The three spires of the cathedral are known locally as ‘the ladies of the vale’ and can be seen from all directions – but by the time they were completed there had already been a cathedral on the site for 600 years. The first church was built in 700, then demolished and rebuilt by the Normans in the 11 century, while today’s cathedral dates mainly from the 1400s.
Peterborough
While considerably less revered than its famous neighbours in Ely, Norwich and Lincoln, Peterborough cathedral has great historical significance and holds many treasures. It is one of the finest Norman buildings in the country and one of the few medieval cathedrals whose core structure remains essentially the same as it was on completion. Its 13th century wooden ceiling is the only one of its type in the UK and one of only four from this period surviving in all of Europe. It’s the final resting place for one of the nation’s most famous queens and maybe just have inspired part of Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
St Edmundsbury
A modestly sized and recently conferred cathedral, St Edmundsbury received its status in 1914 when the former parish church of St James became the cathedral for the newly created diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich. But it has a huge and unique heritage, sharing its site with a spectacular ruined abbey laid out over several acres that marks it as a place of religious worship for over 1,000 years. And its other unique aspect is a more contemporary one. It boasts the country’s newest cathedral tower, a mere infant in the grand scheme of cathedral histories, completed in 2005.
Oxford
England’s smallest cathedral, Christ Church Oxford survives today due to a series of fortunate coincidences. One of the oldest buildings in Oxford, it dates from the 12th century and as well as a cathedral, it’s the chapel for Christ Church College, one of the largest and wealthiest colleges in the university. It has strong links with several monarchs and famous literary figures and, unusually, its patron saint, Frideswide, is a woman. But it hasn’t been without controversy, particularly in more recent times.
Cathedrals of Britain: East and Central by Bernadette Fallon is published by Pen and Sword books, £12.99, buy online here
Read more
Around the UK in 30 cathedrals
Cathedrals of Britain: London and the South East – Canterbury, St Paul’s, Westminster Abbey, Southwark, Westminster Cathedral, Rochester, Chichester
Cathedrals of Britain: West, South West and Wales – Winchester, Salisbury, Wells, Gloucester, Exeter, St Davids, St Asaph’s
Cathedrals of Britain: North of England and Scotland – York, Durham, Ripon, Wakefield, Sheffield, Bradfield, Edinburgh, Aberdeen
Image credit: Lichfield Cathedral, Bernadette Fallon
]]>The Old Deanery, Ripon
Located across the road from Ripon Cathedral, with fine views of its soaring façade, this beautiful stone building is the former home of the cathedral deans. Dating back to 1625 and blessed with character and period detail, it still has its impressive original oak staircase and is full of individual quirks, like the gently sloping floorboards and thick-walled window seats. There are just eleven rooms altogether, each one totally individual. Live the life of a cathedral dean for a day. (Theolddeanery.co.uk; from £100)
Grays Court, York
Just a short cobbled-street’s walk from York Minister, this wonderful hotel was the first official residence for the treasurers of the minster, commissioned by the first Norman Archbishop of York, Ealdred. With part of it dating back to 1080, it’s possibly the oldest continuously occupied house in the UK and has the only private access to York’s city walls, which surround the edge of its lovely gardens. Inside it’s all luxury boutique hotel and beautiful design, just what you’d expect from a building that was owned by royalty when the treasurers moved out in the 16th century. It was given as a gift by King Edward VI to the Duke of Somerset and has been voted Visit York Hotel of the Year for the last three years. (Grayscourtyork.com; from £200)
Littlecote House, Berkshire
Famously associated with royalty and political intrigue, it was here that Henry VIII wooed Jane Seymour, in the house that her grandmother lived in. A 16th century Tudor manor, it has also hosted the likes of Elizabeth I, James I, Charles II and William of Orange. The D-Day landings were planned within these very walls, which also hide a secret passage behind the library bookcases. There’s a Roman villa in the grounds, which also offer a putting green, tennis and bowling courts. And, like any self-respecting 16th century building, several rooms are said to be haunted with the ghosts of former residents. You can even bring some history home with you; nearby Hungerford is famous for its antique shops. (Warnerleisurehotels.co.uk)
Tulloch Castle, Dingwall Ross-Shire
Wake up in a four-poster bed in a 12th century highland castle. Overlooking Cromarty Firth and the Black Isle, close to the ancient town of Dingwall, the former home of the Bains and Davidsons has been beautifully restored as a 22-bedroom hotel. Wander through the 250-year-old panelled Great Hall, admire original period fireplaces and ceilings, eat in The Turrets Restaurant and after you’ve finished being Laird of the Castle, explore the nearby Cairngorms National Park. There’s easy access to Inverness and the coast is just a six-minute drive away. (Part of the Bespoke Hotel Group, Bespokehotels.com/tullochcastlehotel; from £127)
Billesley Manor, Stratford upon Avon
The manor house of Billesley can be traced back to 705AD and was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086. It’s said that William Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway in the 8th century church in the grounds in 1582, and that his granddaughter also was married here. The charming hotel is a warren of twisting corridors and winding staircases, there’s a priest hole, grand stone fireplaces and an imposing Great Hall which hosts the morning breakfast buffet, a drawing room to take morning coffee and a library that Shakespeare purportedly visited. After its 17th-century heyday, the manor fell into disrepair, was refurbished in the early 20th century and has been a hotel for the last 50 years. (Billesleymanor.com)
Stonefield Castle, Mull of Kintyre
The 19th-century baronial home of the Campbell family (pictured top of the page) is set in 60 acres of woodland gardens and boasts a famous collection of Himalayan rhododendrons. From the wall-mounted stag’s head in the entrance hallway, enjoy one finely proportioned room after another, from drawing room to library and bar, into a long lounge with crackling open fire. Deep window seats look out to front and back gardens leading down to the broad expanse of Loch Fyne. It’s just two miles from the idyllic fishing village of Tarbert, one of the most attractive villages on the Mull of Kintyre peninsula. (Part of the Bespoke Hotel Group, Bespokehotels.com/stonefieldcastle; from £130)
The Midland Hotel, Bradford
Love the glamour of the old railways, with their puffing steam trains and waving white hankies on the platform? You’ll love The Midland Hotel in Bradford, a throw-back to the heyday of railway hotels and dating from 1885. It still has many of its attractive Victorian features, including grand foyer, glittering chandeliers and old-world appeal – and obviously it’s conveniently placed for transport, right beside the train station. It’s hosted the great and the good over the years, among them Laurel and Hardy, The Beatles and George Formby. It also attracted quite a lot of publicity when the Shakespearean actor Sir Henry Irving died on the main staircase, following a performance at the nearby Theatre Royal. He was attended to by his manager, no less famous a personage, Bram Stoker, the author of Dracula. (Peelhotels.co.uk/Midland-Hotel; from £70)
Oatlands Park, Surrey
Overlooking Weybridge’s Broadwater Lake, this was once the site of Henry VIII’s grand Tudor palace which he had redesigned for Anne of Cleeves – Elizabeth I, James I and Charles I also spent time here. Rebuilt as a Gothic mansion in the 18th century, it has been a hotel since 1856, and has welcomed several notable guests over the years including the poet Edward Lear and writer Emile Zola. On 10 acres of gardens and wooded parkland, the hotel has 144 rooms and still sits close to royalty – Windsor Castle is just down the road. (Oatlands-Park-Hotel; from £72)
Buxton Crescent, Peak District
The 5th Duke of Devonshire’s fashionable 18th century Georgian crescent is home to the newest ‘old’ hotel on our list, opening later this year for the first time. The 81-room, five-star hotel, with renovated Assembly Rooms and rooftop pool, has a thermal spa built on the site of the original Roman Baths, situated over the main mineral water spring. A medieval place of pilgrimage and fashionable spa town in the 1700s, Buxton has one of only two sets of warm springs developed by the Romans in the UK – the other is at Bath. (Buxtoncrescent.com; from £155)
Mandarin Oriental, London
Once the 19th century Hyde Park Court and Club, these days the 138 former bachelor flats, (along with the bachelors’ drawing, dining, billiard and smoking rooms) have been transformed into a very swish five-star hotel. Bette Davis, Cary Grant, Elizabeth Taylor and Gandhi have all stayed here, royalty has its own entrance opposite Hyde Park and Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret had dance lessons here as young girls. The Sultan of Zanzibar brought 12 goats to stay with him on his visit in 1929 and Rudolph Valentino stopped traffic when he stepped out on to the balcony to wave to several thousand screaming women on the footpath outside. Winston Churchill took refuge here during the Second World War and soldiers on leave from the trenches in World War 1 were given beds in ballroom if they had nowhere else to go. (MandarinOriental.com/London; from £740)
A version of this article was published in The Scotsman in summer 2020
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]]>So nobody’s going anywhere for the foreseeable future – except now, perhaps into somebody’s back garden – but luckily, lots of kind people have taken it on themselves to make sure that we can still get a (24-hour-a-day-if-required) fix of art, culture, music and books. Here’s a round-up of some of the best.
THEATRE, OPERA, BALLET
The Royal Opera House in Covent Garden is beaming opera and ballet around the world, with a schedule of free broadcasts and live content. Check out the Royal Ballet’s Peter and the Wolf and The Metamorphosis, as well as the Royal Opera’s Così fan tutte and much more on the ROH Facebook and YouTube channels.
Ditto for the New York’s Met Opera – catch their productions here – string of pearls optional.
The Bolshoi Ballet is streaming previous productions including The Nutcracker and Spartacus on its YouTube channel with more to come – pull the curtains and pretend it’s Christmas. Staying with Christmas, you can watch the English National Ballet’s Swan Lake here.
The Irish National Opera has also put several of its productions online, including Puccini’s Madame Butterfly and Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice – full listing here. And catch Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro from Glyndebourne here.
Slava’s Snowshow is one of the most beautiful pieces of theatre I’ve ever seen (twice). You can’t recreate the magic of turning a theatre into a giant snowstorm/playground for giant floating balloons in an online screening, but you can enjoy the gentle humour and magic of the show. Try this as a taster and when we’re all released from house arrest again, check out a live performance somewhere in the world.
The Guardian has put together a great list of ‘Quarantine soirées’ – classical music and opera to stream at home from around the world, updated regularly.
Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre has over 130 filmed productions on its Globe Player video-on-demand service, including Twelfth Night with Mark Rylance (love Mark Rylance), Jonathan Pryce in the Merchant of Venice and A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Michelle Terry.
The Globe is showing past productions for free on its YouTube channel, releasing a new show every week at 7pm. Each will be available from the date of release for 14 days. The productions are:
Hamlet (2018), Romeo and Juliet (2009), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2013), The Two Noble Kinsmen (2018), The Winter’s Tale (2018) and The Merry Wives of Windsor (2019) – plus, in a late addition, Macbeth (2020) has just gone live now.
You can also watch all of the Complete Walk series on its video-on-demand service. These are 37 short 10-minute films recorded with an all-star cast and shot on location, commissioned for the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death.
Latest shows just announced for the National Theatre’s YouTube channel in May and June include A Streetcar Named Desire, Coriolanus and This House. Get full details here.
Here’s a list of free musicals and plays from FilmedOnStage that you can currently stream – updated daily.
And What’s On Stage has also done a very useful round-up of stage shows, musicals and opera you can watch online for free.
Ireland’s Rough Magic Theatre has just put How to Keep an Alien, by Sonya Kelly, online, filmed at the Dublin Fringe Festival. And you can watch Druid Theatre’s award-winning production of The Playboy of the Western World here.
The Abbey Theatre and Royal Court Theatre’s co-production of Cyprus Avenue by David Ireland, starring Stephen Rea, is now available to watch online here.
Staying in the country, Dear Ireland is a series of 50 monologues created in self-isolation by 50 writers and 50 actors, exploring life during the Covid-19 crisis, commissioned by the Abbey Theatre. Streamed on YouTube over four nights and online for the next six months, it features actors and writers including Brendan Gleeson, Edna O’Brien, Cathy Belton and Joseph O’Connor and asks the question, what should Ireland write on a postcard to itself?
MUSEUMS
Why not pop over into an Irish museum while you’re at it. A whole load of them have just put themselves online for virtual tours here – top tip, the Chester Beatty Museum is a beaut.
Have a browse around behind closed doors in the BBC series Museums in Quarantine, featuring Tate Britain, the British Museum, Warhol at Tate Modern and Young Rembrant at The Ashmolean in Oxford.
Somerset House has released a brand-new virtual tour of its exhibition Mushrooms: The Art, Design and Future of Fungi. It’s the first time that the public will be able to see inside this original show from home, exploring the colourful cultural legacy of mushrooms and their powerful potential in the planet’s survival, featuring works from the likes of Beatrix Potter, Carsten Höller and Tom Dixon.
FILM
This could be a good time to consider a subscription to the British Film Institute – free 14-day trial and then £4.99 a month for lots of free films, plus others to rent for just £2.50. New films are being added all the time, plus there’s a substantial archive list. They have the Buena Vista Social Club – what more do you want?
The Regent Stree Cinema is also offering free membership for three months and the chance to enjoy FILM ESSENTIALS, a selection of specially curated titles powered by online streaming service MUBI. Join to receive details on how to start watching films for free over the next three months.
MUSIC
NEW: Watch the London Mozart Players in action with regular recitals broadcast every week on the LMP website, YouTube and Facebook, as well as interviews with leading musical lights including pianist Howard Shelley and jazz singer Claire Martin.
NEW: There’s more classical music on demand here, courtesy of Bachtrack – and catch the Royal College of Music concerts here.
NEW: The Sligo County Fleadh has been cancelled of course but they’re streaming some live music sessions instead this coming weekend, from May 29.
Billy Bragg live streamed a concert from New York at the start of May, featuring Rosanne Cash, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Steve Earle, The Indigo Girls, KT Tunstall, Loudon Wainwrigh and many more. It was a paid-for event – but here he is playing New York’s Bowery Ballroom last September.
A treat for trad lovers. Irish language TV station TG4 is running a 6-week musical tour of the west coast of Ireland every Sunday at 9.30pm, with legendary traditional musicians, father and son, Breanndán and Cormac Ó Beaglaoich – Slí na mBeaglaoich (Journey of the Begleys). Travelling up the west coast from Kerry to Donegal in their 40-year-old camper van, they’ll team up with friends for tunes and explore the landscape, musical and physical. I’m so enjoying this every week and – of course – Sligo was the highlight.
NEW: For more great Irish music, catch Mary Coughlan gigging in her garden – wrapped in a blanket! – with her band, raising money for Bray Women’s Refuge. And Glen Hansard was recorded live in the National Library of Ireland – not sure if I enjoyed looking at Glen or the books more.
In April, Jack Lukeman launched what would have been the start of his tour with a live show from his sitting room – love this and great to see the comments pouring in from all over the world. (The start of this is particularly hilarious – you have to watch it!) The good news is that it went so well he’s now doing live shows (from his sitting room) every Saturday night at 8pm. He’s already done Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash tributes, an ’80s night, folk night and songs from the 27 club. He’s on a break now for a few weeks, back on June 20 with a Bowie night.
Back in the real world – if it still exists, anyone looked recently? – Jack and Mary Coughlan are doing a show in London on Saturday 26 September in Shoreditch Town Hall. I’ll be first in as soon as the door opens.
Jack did it, so Andrew Lloyd Webber thought he would too. He’s releasing a new musical every Friday on this YouTube channel, each one will be available for 48 hours and first up is Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat.
Catch Andrea Bocelli singing from Duomo di Milano, Milan Cathedral, here. This solo performance was been created as a message of hope and healing to Italy and the world.
Over 200 musicians have come together to share their music, with concerts broadcast at 8pm on YouTube (brainchild of the artists’ agency Weltenklang, donate to the project here). With performers from Ireland, Scotland, Austria, Portugal, Canada, Louisiana, Makedonia, Iceland, Mali, Sweden, California, Romania and other exotic places taking part, you’ll join them in their homes for the session – because, these days, there’s nowhere like home.
Catch some singing – here’s a virtual performance of Cyndi Lauper’s True Colours, recorded by the Camden Voices choir from their individual homes. More videos on the way they say.
ART
NEW: Take a virtual art tour, courtesy of Art Fund; options include tours of the British Museum, the Courtauld, Oxford’s Pitt Rivers Museum and the National Galleries of Scotland.
NEW: Delve into the minds of the Impressionists at the Royal Academy of Arts, with its Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse exhibition, guided by expert curators, artists and garden enthusiasts.
NEW: You can also explore two of the Royal Academy’s recent Hockney exhibitons – A Bigger Picture in 2012 and 82 Portraits and One Still-Life in 2016. I ended up seeing A Bigger Picture shortly before midnight one Saturday as the gallery opened up all hours to meet the demand for tickets. One of the best late-night Saturdays I’ve had in London.
NEW: Speaking of late nights, Uniqlo Tate Lates have gone online now, starting from this weekend – a chance to listen to talks, poetry and music, create your own artworks and even do a bit of meditation.
NEW: Or just go to the Barbican.
You can browse beautiful paintings at the National Gallery – stare at Caravaggio to your heart’s content, I know I do. The gallery has also put together several curated collections to watch on video – take a look at paintings of people working from home, enjoy a tour of art history’s female protagonists or spend a day in the countryside.
Take a tour of the new Andy Warhol exhibition at Tate Modern with curators Gregor Muir and Fiontán Moran – the launch of this show was one of my last trips out to the real world. You can also tour the Aubrey Beardsley exhibition at Tate Britain – also excellent.
The Tate’s collection is here – both contemporary and historic. There are loads of great art projects for kids here – and everything from quizzes to crafts here.
While the BMW Tate Live Exhibition has been cancelled in real time, one of the artists programmed for this year’s event has created an online work instead, performed and filmed in the empty Tanks at Tate Modern after the gallery closed. Watch My Body, My Archive, a performance re-invented for this unquie situation, by Congolese choreographer and dance artist Faustin Linyekula.
And you don’t need to stay in the UK obvs; the Uffizi gallery in Florence holds nearly a third of the world’s art treasures and the biggest collection of Renaissance art on the planet – and you can look at it here.
Browse the works of Frida Kahlo here.
Or re-create your own art at home – this one is my favourite!
BOOKS & KID’S ACTIVITIES
A fantastic piece of news – The Hay Literary Festival has gone digital this year, with a programme that is running from now until May 31. There will be talks, readings, author Q&As and special events, including a reading of the works of Wordsworth by a celebrity line-up including Hilary Mantel, Stephen Fry, Benedict Cumberbatch, Margaret Atwoood and more. All of the events are free but you do have to register – and while there are thousands of places available, some of the more popular events – such as Hilary Mantel talking about her latest novel The Mirror and The Light – are filling up fast. All are available to view afterwards for a limited amount of time. See the full programme and catch up with previous events here.
Galway’s Cuirt International Festival of Literature also went online for the first time in its history this year, with some excellent readings and talks from, among others, Anne Enright, Sara Baume, Sinead Gleeson and Lisa McInerney – catch them all here.
You won’t be able to go to your local library any more for books, but you can borrow ebooks and audiobooks from thousands of libraries online using your library card with the Libby app or at Borrowbox. If you don’t have a library card you can still join online while they are closed – just sign up here.
More places for free books – try Project Gutenberg, a library of over 60,000 ebooks which you can download or read online. And for another 16 free book options, Lifewire has put together a list of the best websites here, with pros and cons for each.
Internet Archive has just put 1.4m new books online for free browsing, from study support and educational texts to the latest novels.
If you’re looking for kids’ books, David Walliams is releasing 30 free audio books for children. And here’s a list of children’s authors doing read-alouds and activities.
Also for kids, some very enterprising person on FB has just published a timed list of daily activities – quite fancy a few of them myself:
9am PE with Joe Wicks
10am Maths with Carol Vorderman
11am English with David Walliams
12pm Cooking with Jamie Oliver
1pm Music with Myleene Klass
1.30pm Dance with Darcey Bussell
2.00pm History with Dan Snow (free for 30-days)
4.00pm Home Economics with Theo Michaels (Mon/Wed/Fri)
Non-daily events include: Science with Professor Brian Cox and Geography with Steve Backshall
Of course, if you want to support independent booksellers during this incredibly difficult time, lots of them are now doing deliveries – some by skateboard – and they need your money more than Amazon.
GET CREATIVE OR ‘GO’ PLACES
NEW: Pop along to Ireland’s Bloom festival this weekend, Sunday May 31, with workshops on cooking and gardening as well as a craft beer and farmhouse cheese tasting, not quite sure how that’s going to work out…
NEW: If you’re living in Croydon, you might want to contribute to the Museum of Croydon’s Lockdown Stories, reflecting the lives of Croydon residents during the COVID-19 pandemic and providing a record for future generations. If you’re not living in Croydon, you might want to seriously re-consider your life choices.
Get creative yourself – there are literally thousands of courses being released for free at the moment, everything from cookery to cricket (well, I’m not sure really about cricket – but there’s bound to be one eventually). My favourite last week was a masterclass of guitar lessons with Carlos Santana, this week I like the look of these free online art courses, thoughtfully rounded up by this kind man on YouTube.
Once you’ve progressed from learning guitar with Carlos, you can find out how to compose a film score with Hans Zimmer (did music for Inception, The Lion King, The Dark Knight) – this one is a paid-for course.
Gresham College in London has put a whole archive of lectures online – everything from mysteries of the dark cosmos to equations that have changed the world. They’ve also put a fantastic collection of lectures specifically about London up – am most looking forward to ‘The City of London in Literature’. Went to a few of their lectures in the days I could roam freely – they are really excellent (I’d like to take this chance to recommend their Christmas series).
If you really have to ‘get out’ – you can virtually wander across 825 miles of Florida’s beaches, go to Austria or – just for fun – tour the Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, once the world’s most famous and expensive prison, which housed Al Capone.
NEW: Visit the pandas at Edinburgh Zoo, wander around Buckingham Palace and Kew Gardens or make the most of this quiet time in the world’s busiest tourist spots and check out everywhere from the Spanish Steps and Colosseum to St Mark’s Square and Prague’s Old Town. Here’s what New York looks like empty. And here are some eerie photos of London before and after lockdown.
Visit Highclere Castle for a tour with the lady of the house every Friday evening at 7pm, courtesy of Viking TV. The home of Lord and Lady Carnarvon, it’s better known today as the ‘real Downton Abbey’.
If you want to go even further back in history, look at prehistoric cave paintings in the Dordogne, view medieval buildings and travel through beautiful countryside here.
Why would we ever want to leave the house again?
Day 1
It’s the day after the hottest day of the year. Two Uber drivers have just cancelled my booking, so I take my walking stick and my suitcase and haul myself and it onto the bus. I arrive at East Croydon train station, knowing already I’ve missed the train I wanted to catch.
It doesn’t matter. The heat is still melting overhead lines and the train schedules are up the walls. Eventually I get on one, arrive at Horsham exactly one hour later than planned and jump in a taxi for the 20-minute drive to the Simply Healing Retreat, where I’m about to have nothing except juice for 3 days.
A call on my mobile from the engineer who’s arrived to fix my internet, claiming he’s outside my house getting no response to the bell – I know my flatmate is in there – means I arrive in a cloud of expletives, trying to reassure the man he will get in, calling my flatmate to see where the hell he is, phoning my upstairs neighbour to see if she’s around and scaring the taxi driver, who drives off quickly after leaving me at the door.
I stand outside a rather lovely red-bricked country house surrounded by gardens and rolling fields, shouting into my phone as somebody tiptoes out of the house, picks up my suitcase and takes it inside, smiling and nodding at me, telling me to take my time.
I hang up and take a deep breath. Here the heat isn’t as oppressive as in London, there’s a gentle breeze and rustling leaves. There are sunloungers and sculptures in the gardens and a hanging swing under some trees. I step inside to a quiet peaceful space with couches, take another breath and think, wow, I’m glad I didn’t come shouting in here.
Later, after I’ve checked into my room – a gorgeous light-filled space with views of the garden – changed into my robe and padded back down in my slippers to the treatment room for my body scrub, I feel totally relaxed.I’ve left bad Uber drivers, messed up trains, mixed up internet appointments and my grumpy self behind. And because I had a big hunk of bread and blue cheese before I left the house, I don’t yet feel hungry.
At 4.30 there’s ‘afternoon (herbal) tea’ at reception (just tea, no sandwiches, cake or scones sadly) and I meet some of my fellow ‘inmates’ who’ve been here a few days. Two of them say they’ve done nothing but sleep for their first full day and I think, good on you, sleep is hugely underrated in this life. There are 8 of us here for the weekend, everybody has their own story, all of us wanting to detox and relax for one reason or another.
It’s a great place to swap stories and information and most people here have come on personal recommendations so I hear many positive Simply Healing success stories. The guests who’ve been here for a few days are already looking refreshed and glowing – ‘honestly, you wouldn’t believe the difference in her since she arrived’, one man tells me about a fellow guest, and I wonder if I’ll be radiant too when I leave. Then I go out to the garden and spend half an hour swinging on the lounger under the trees.
At 5.30pm I have my first juice – something green with celery – and then meditation at 7 – a guided journey led by Vivien, the shamanic healer who runs the retreat. And I’m delighted to find that at 7.30 we have soup! Detox soup albeit – pea, lettuce and mint – but soup nonetheless. My teeth fall excitedly on shreds of lettuce and two whole peas, chewing enthusiastically.
I don’t start to feel hungry until around about 9pm, back in my room, tucked up for the night. There are TVs and DVD players in our rooms – with lots of DVDs to borrow from the big book-filled sitting room downstairs – but we’re encouraged to keep the volume low to allow others to rest, with everything turned off by 10.30pm. Mobiles are not allowed in the public areas and we’re reminded to speak softly when using them in our rooms.
My stomach is rumbling uncomfortably but – prepared for hunger – I’ve brought the latest Jo Nesbo thriller with me, Knife. If the antics of his depressed alcoholic detective Harry Hole can’t keep my mind off food, nothing can.
Day 2
I’ve gone to sleep starving, fantasising about juicy burgers smothered in fried onions and blue cheese. I rarely eat burgers, much less blue cheese, my detox seems to have uncovered my inner burger fan. But I wake up at 7am feeling okay. Not hungry. Not full. Just normal.
There’s hot water with lemon at reception where we detoxers discuss our night’s sleep (up every hour to pee, recounts one – toxins clearly coming out). There should have been a walk around the deer farm and through the fields this morning but, unlike yesterday’s searing temperatures, today is grey and wet.
Then it’s time for juice at 8.30am, which is served communal style in the large dining room. I spotted a biscuit barrel in the corner as soon as I walked in here yesterday – sadly empty (natch).
There’s a nice social aspect to the retreat, as we all gather together to drink juice, but it’s easy to have as much time as you want to yourself also – everybody has their own schedule of timed treatments.
There’s an exercise room with power plates and a chi machine, which is an interesting piece of equipment. Big with the Japanese, it works by moving the legs gently from side to side to circulate blood efficiently around the body, helping cells to absorb oxygen and remove toxins. Chi is the Chinese word for ‘life force energy’ and our life force energies can do with a helping hand from time to time.
I have reflexology at 9am, a lovely treatment that establishes I have no major issues with my body parts – replaced hip aside. I find reflexology fascinating. A sort of foot massage for the soles of the feet, it claims that every part of the body is connected to the bottom of the foot and by working on each section of the foot, therapists can help to heal the related body part. Sound crazy? I’ve had very accurate diagnoses from it, so don’t rule it out even though Wikipedia will tell you there “is no convincing evidence that reflexology is effective for any medical condition”. And I’m told I look “blissful” by one of the other guests after my treatment – so don’t tell me there is no benefit to this!
Then it’s juice at 11, 1 and 2.30, afternoon tea at 4.30, more juice at 5.30, meditation at 7 and carrot and sweet potato soup at 7.30. I also have a manual lymphatic drainage massage at 1.30 so it’s a packed schedule here – no lazing around detoxing for us! It does help to keep hunger at bay for a while – all that wandering down to the dining room, going for treatments, strolling out to the garden to sit on a sun-lounger. And all that drinking of juice – all freshly prepared, a different recipe each time. And I probably should point out that nobody else on the retreat feels hungry as they are all taking supplements with their juices to help with their cleansing. Just me then…
I’ve practically been put into a coma by my lunchtime massage, so deeply relaxing is the experience, so have to indulge in a half-hour nap back in my room. Where they’ve thoughtfully replaced yesterday’s velvet throw with a snuggly fur one in deference to the weather.
But despite it all, I’m still hungry by early evening, with the beginnings of a slight headache. I’ve had to stop reading the second book I’ve brought with me, Is Butter A Carb? Unpicking Fact from Fiction in the World of Nutrition. All that talk of proteins and fats is making me salivate.
I go for a walk with a few of my companions around the next-door deer farm to keep my mind off it. No deer in sight. Probably just as well. I can’t stop thinking about venison. There’s a slight uphill incline on the way home which has us all puffing slightly and for some God unknown reason, we’ve talked about nothing but food on the entire journey.
Still, that night I turn on the lamps in my bedroom, cosy up with my fur blanket on the couch, and let Harry Hole take my mind off everything again.
Day 3: the final day
I’m definitely hungry when I wake up on day 3 but also happy, looking forward to the salad I will be having for lunch. Yes, it’s my last day today and I get to have a salad before I go, introducing my body back to solids gradually. Vivien, who runs Simply Healing, recommends that we introduce light food gradually once we leave, stick to the juicing and carry on drinking the four bottles of water we’re encouraged to take every day. We’re all issued with water bottles with our names on them on arrival and I’ve been carrying mine with me everywhere.
Vivien is an interesting person. A trainer healer and shaman, she has run the Simply Healing Retreat in Sussex for the past 20 years and counts celebrities and Royal Families among her guests. She has worked all over the world, starting in California where she introduced her juice retreats 30 years ago, after using the technique to manage her own health issues. She’s run healing clinics all over the UK and Ireland, led pilgrimages to sacred sites in Peru, Egypt and Mexico and still leads tours to meet the shamans of Manu Picchu every year.
The Sussex retreat has a massive 68% visitor return rate and there’s no doubt from leafing through the visitors’ book at reception that guests have experienced amazing benefits from their time here. With people returning for the second, third and fourth times, comments describe the programmes as “life-changing”, “heart-warming”, “mind-opening” and “amazing – didn’t want to leave”. “I lost my weight and found myself” says one poignant entry.
Guests also pay tribute to the support they receive from staff – all of the therapists are highly qualified and experienced and have worked with Vivien for many years, because “they like it here”, she explains. Running the retreat with her daughter, she bought the house to open it to others and carry on her healing work. In addition to the prescribed detox and weight-loss programmes, additional treatments, including one-to-one sessions with Vivien herself, are available as add-ons. Groups are kept small, 12 guests is the maximum number the house can hold but 10 is the average – the weekend I visit, there are just 8 of us.
And while our bodies have sophisticated mechanism for detoxing themselves – namely our liver, kidneys, gut, skin and lungs (as my nutrition book Is Butter A Carb? reminded me before hunger drove me to put it down) – it really does help to step out of our busy lives occasionally to take a good look at how we’re eating and how we’re living. It’s easy to get into bad habits when life is too rushed, too fast, too stressed – and it’s of no help at all to our guts, liver, kidneys and the rest to live like this.
Having a routine is a good way to make a change and I enjoy the regular juice times during the retreat, vowing to stick to something similar back at home. Most of my days kick off to an erratic start, with lots of rushing around. Making time in the morning to take some juice, eat a mindful breakfast and fill up a water bottle is a much better option – it will just take a bit of organising.
And now it’s time for me to leave. I’ve had my detox massage after my morning juice, taken a stroll around the grounds, drank more juice, rocked in the swing, eaten my lunch-time salad and had a quick chat with Vivien – she gives each guest a personalised one-to-one consultation before they leave, offering advice on incorporating elements of the detox diet into everyday life.
Okay, I admit it, I had a bar of chocolate as soon as I got to the train station for the journey home. And it tasted glorious. But since I’ve been back I’ve continued to juice every morning, keep a water bottle beside me to sip from throughout the day and am eating lots of fresh vegetables and fruit.
My skin looks clearer and my eyes are brighter. I feel a bit lighter, less bloated. But more importantly, I have a healthy routine now which fits in easily with my everyday lifestyle. While our bodies don’t constantly need to go through the extremes of detoxing, it’s certainly useful to take a step back and re-adjust bad habits. It has certainly helped me.
Read my Simply Healing review in The Scotsman
The Simply Healing Detox Retreat, West Sussex, offers 5, 7 or 10 day detox and weight-loss programmes, as well as weekend retreats; for more information visit www.simplyhealingcentre.com, call 01403 822117 or email info@simplyhealingcentre.com
From ice skating, light trails and spending the night in the home of the Christmas card, see our round-up for festive inspiration in 2018
Go ice skating
Some of the London ice rinks are open already – you can get your skates on at the National History Museum, on its wonderful rink in front of the historical building, surround by light-bedecked trees. There’s a café bar overlooking the rink if you’re not a skater – treat yourself to a hot chocolate and mulled wine.
Until 6 January, tickets from £12 adults, £8.80 children, £39.60 families; Nhm.ac.uk
Once the outdoor fun is over, pop inside to check out the stunning images in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition (tickets £15/£9)
One of the most beautiful rinks in London, Skate at Somerset House (pictured above) takes place in the iconic building’s courtyard, under a 40ft Christmas tree. Hosted in association with Fortnum & Mason, after the skating visit alpine inspired restaurant Fortnum’s Lodge or shop at Fortnum’s Christmas Arcade.
There’s a skate school where you can learn to skate or brush up your skills; alternatively book a Skate Mate to provide assistance for novice skaters – available for 3 to 15 people, (cost £35 in addition to the price of your skating ticket). Special Skate Lates will feature leading DJs and artists on rink-side decks.
The rink is also open to wheelchair users and there are special dedicated wheelchair sessions.
From November 14 to January 13; £11 adults, £8.50 children; Somersethouse.org.uk
The ice rink at the Tower of London gives visitors a chance to skate in the moat surrounding one of London’s most famous landmarks, with stunning views of the Tower and the river Thames.
From November 23 to January 6; £14.50; Toweroflondonicerink.co.uk
Visit Hyde Park’s Winter Wonderland for a chance to skate on the biggest outdoor rink in the UK, surrounding the park’s Victorian bandstand, and illuminated with over 100,000 lights. Afterwards, check out the park’s Christmas markets, Magical Ice Kingdom, Enchanted Forest, Santa Land and fairground rides.Read more about the Winter Wonderland Christmas market here.
From November 22 to January 6; £9.50 adults, £7.50 children, £30 family: Hydeparkwinterwonderland.com
Skate around Henry VIII’s sixteenth-century pad at the Hampton Court Palace ice rink, a very picturesque backdrop, especially when lit up after dark.
From November 23 to Jan 6, £14.50; Hamptoncourtpalaceicerink.co.uk
Christmas days and nights out
London Zoo is celebrating Christmas with a fabulous magical light trail and is also giving visitors a chance to upgrade to a VIP sleepover experience and spend the night in the zoo as well! From 4.45pm, the zoo will be transformed into a magical wonderland of twinkling decorations, illuminated animal sculptures, singing trees, light tunnels, festive food treats and surprises. Meanwhile, overnight guests will be staying in one of the zoo’s cosy lodges – nestled in the heart of the Land of the Lions! Are you brave enough…
Select dates from 22 November to 1 January; £16.50 adults, £10.50 children, £52 family, under-3’s and carers free
Overnight stay includes lodge accommodation, tour of Land of the Lions guided by ZSL’s experienced hosts, access to Christmas light trail, 2-course buffet dinner, behind-the-scenes tour, early morning zoo tours, full English breakfast, 2-day access to the zoo and exclusive discounts; from £378
Zsl.org
Winter at Southbank Centre is a packed programme of festive fun and entertainment. It includes two new family shows: Circus 1903 (from the award-winning War Horse puppeteers), running from 19 December to 5 January at the Royal Festival Hall, and Rumpelstiltskin at the Queen Elizabeth Hall from 13 December to 6 January.
The roofs of the Hayward Gallery, Royal Festival Hall and Queen Elizabeth Hall will be illuminated by David Batchelor’s Sixty Minute Spectrum project, featuring a variety of coloured flashing lights in every colour of the rainbow.
Handel’s Messiah will be performed by Philharmonia Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall on 16 December, with an afternoon of timeless classics earlier that day in the Hall, with Christmas at the Movies.
Free events include a traditional festive Caribbean music concert, Argentinian tango performances and lessons, Strictly Winter Ballroom and swing classes, and 30-minute performances by a variety of choirs in the foyer of the Queen Elizabeth Hall from December 11 to 23.
And if all of that wasn’t enough, the traditional Southbank winter market will be taking place outside, with a range of alpine lodge stalls, pop-up bars and festive food and drink. Read more about London’s Christmas markets here.
From 9 November to 6 January (Christmas market until 27 December); Southbankcentre.co.uk
In Greenwich, the Royal Observatory’s festive programme includes Christmas Stars, an investigation of what the night sky has to offer in December as we head toward Christmas in this festive-themed show. Presented live by a Royal Observatory astronomer, the show will look at the moon, constellations and planets.
Runs throughout December; £8 adults, £5.35 children; Rmg.co.uk
A Christmas concert under the hull of Greenwich’s Cutty Sark features Merry Opera performing Mozart, Verdi, Puccini, Gilbert and Sullivan, as well as sea shanties and a reading of Robert Louis Stevenson’s poem, Christmas at Sea, which is 150 years old this year.
16 December; £25, includes a mulled cider and mince pie slice; Rmg.co.uk
Take a tour of the Queen’s House in Greenwich to discover the fascinating royal history and iconic architecture of this ‘house of delight.
Throughout December 2018 and January 2019; £10 adults
On 6 December Christmas in the Queen’s House offers candlelit tours of the house, carol singers, a lecture on pageantry, wreath workshop, mulled wine and mince pies (£8). Rmg.co.uk
Festive Family Fun at London Transport Museum features a magical forest, with twinkling lights and trees, Santa’s Secret Christmas Cabin, storytelling sessions, craft workshops and a musical Christmas vintage bus tour around the lights and sights of London.
From 1 December to 6 January; £16 adults, free for children; Ltmuseum.co.uk
Escape the capital
Spend the night in the home of the creator of the first Christmas card, Sir John Calcott Horsley, who established Orestone Manor in south Devon. The 19th century Georgian Manor is now a family-run, luxurious country house hotel, set in landscaped gardens overlooking Lyme bay. It’s run by husband and wife chefs, Neil and Catherine D’Allen, who have scooped double AA Rosettes for their restaurant and double gold-wins in the Taste of the West hotel and restaurant awards.
Pictured above, the very first Christmas card was commissioned by Sir Henry Cole and drawn by John Horsley at Orestone in 1843. 1,000 cards were printed and sold, but today just under 20 are in existence – you can see one at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum. But you can send your own ‘original’ card (in reproduction) from Orestone in the run up to Christmas this year, with special packages available for stays at the Manor until 23 December.
Orestone Manor was also the scene of Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s National Portrait Gallery painting, created by Sir Horsley (his brother-in-law) on the Manor’s lawn.
Overnight stays from £110; Orestonemanor.com
More festive frolics
Our favourite Christmas markets in the UK and Europe for 2018
Visit a cathedral: see our top picks in London and South East England
Twinkling lights, carol singers, mulled wine – and lots of beautiful Christmas goodies. Christmas markets at home and abroad are about so much more than the shopping. Whether you’re keeping it local or treating yourself to trip abroad, we’ve got the low-down on the very best markets across the UK and Europe. And, once you’ve packed your bags with handmade decorations and festive foods, check out our list of top British shopping destinations to bag even more Christmas bargains.
Frankfurt
26 November to 22 December
The Frankfurt Christmas Market is one of the largest and oldest in Germany and has been running since the 14th century in the scenic surrounds of the Römerberg. Fill your bags with its traditional wooden toys, giant sugar-coated biscuits, German sausages and the miniature candy figures called Brenten, Bethmaennchen and Quetschemaennchen. And don’t forget to take time to admire the huge Christmas tree outside the town hall, one of the largest in the country.
Cologne
26 November to 23 December
Cologne has no less than seven Christmas markets – but not only that. One of its biggest takes place beside the city’s magnificent cathedral, where the bodies of the three wise men are said to be buried, pictured above. You’ll find arts and crafts and lots of delicious food across the city and, down in front of the medieval gate, a whole village dedicated to St Nicholas. There’s a maritime themed Harbour market, a romantic Christmas village, an LGBT celebration market and, at the oldest market of all in Neumarkt, a flock of wandering angels.
Nuremberg
30 November to 24 December
Christkindlemarkt in this medieval Bavarian city has a long tradition, running in the central square since the 17th century. No mass-produced tat here, only fine handicrafts and designs. Pick up a traditional ‘prune man’ to take home – but don’t eat him, he is purely for decoration and believed to bring good fortune to the home that displays him. There’s a ‘Kinderweihnacht’ children’s market with merry-go-round and steam railway and the ‘Christkind’, the young child that takes the place of Santa to bestow gifts in this region.
Salzburg
22 November to 26 December
One of the oldest Christmas markets in the world, the Salzburg Christkindlmarkt is held in the heart of Salzburg’s World Heritage-listed Old City, with its backdrop of snow-covered mountains. After you’ve shopped for traditional Christmas decorations and gifts, check out the carol concerts, readings and parades taking place around the squares. Sample a spicy Bosna sandwich and wash down with some gluhwein – pay a few euros extra to keep the mug it is served in for a festive memento of your visit.
Paris
November to January
Enjoy three Christmas markets in this atmospheric city this year. Over 70 chalets make up the Christmas Village in Les Halles, selling traditional gifts, decorations and food, as well as an Enchanted Forest and Santa’s House for the kids (27 November to 31 December). Over at Champ de Mars you’ll find festive stalls and a skating rink underneath the Eiffel Tower from December until January, while the traditional Christmas market at Notre Dame Cathedral runs from December 15 until Christmas Eve.
Lille
17 November to 27 December
An easy trip from London – just an hour and a half on Eurostar – Lille’s Christmas market is located in the centre of town, just 10 minutes’ walk from the station. There are 80 stalls on the Place Rihour and a huge Christmas tree and Ferris wheel on nearby Grand Place.
Dubrovnik
2 December to 6 January
Unlike the centuries-old festive celebrations in Germany and Austria, the Winter Festival in this atmospheric medieval walled city is just four years old, but none the less beautiful for it. The main street, Stradun, is transformed into a twinkling marketplace selling gifts and festive foods, there’s snow at the bell tower and regular carol concerts in front of the magnificent St Blaise’s Church.
Our favourite Christmas markets in the UK
London
November to January
From festive chalets at the Southbank to Winter Wonderland at Hyde and Christmas By the River close to Tower Bridge, the capital city will be fully festived up this Christmas. And if that wasn’t enough, Leicester Square is also joining the fun – decking itself out in full seasonal marketplace splendour from November 9 to January 5. See more magical things to do in London for Christmas.
Winter Wonderland Hyde Park
November 22 to January 6
The Hyde Park extravaganza returns for its 12th year and its huge Christmas market features over 200 Bavarian style wooden chalets, packed with festive gifts, designer arts and crafts and traditional Christmas food and drink. Afterwards you could go skating on the UK’s biggest ice rink, visit the Magical Ice Kingdom, the Enchanted Forest and Santa Land, sample not one but two circuses or hang out in one of the themed bars, including a fabulously freezing Ice Bar.
Southbank Centre’s Winter Market
November 9 to December 27
With Alpine-style huts by the river, brightly lit up with fairy lights and showcasing the wares of 29 traders from around the world, the Southbank Winter Market is one of the most popular in the capital. This year it’s featuring two new pop-up bars, Bar Under the Bridge and The Circus Bar, offering tastebud-tingling cocktails and festive food in cosy hideaways by the river.
Christmas by the River
November 29 to January 2
With stunning views of the Tower of London, Tower Bridge and the iconic City of London skyline, this is one of most scenic Christmas market under the stars. Browse fabulously festive finds, as well as traditional food and drink and try one of the free workshops running in December.
Bath
22 November 22 to 9 December
A magical market in one of the UK’s most beautiful cities, it’s not hard to see why Bath remains one of the best loved Christmas destinations in the country. Over 200 twinkling chalets line the atmospheric Georgian streets around the picturesque Roman Baths and the Abbey. Snap up handmade and locally-produced buys, including festive food, gifts and decorations.
York
15 November to 23 December
Equally atmospheric, the medieval laneways and cobbled streets of York make a wonderful backdrop to the city’s annual Christmas market. You’ll find chalet market stalls at St Nicholas Fair and local food and drink finds at Yorkshire Barn.
Birmingham
15 November to 23 December
If you can’t make it to Frankfurt, head for Birmingham instead. The city’s Frankfurt Christmas Market is the UK’s largest German market, featuring over 200 stalls. It’s also the largest German market held outside Germany and Austria and attracts over 3 million visitors to the city every year. From German food and drink to traditional decorations and gifts in Victoria Square, local craftspeople and artists sell their festive wares in the Christmas Craft Fair next door.
Edinburgh
16 November to 5 January
The Scottish capital is sporting two festive markets this year, with the traditional East Princes Street Gardens market offering Christmas shopping in the heart of the city, as well as a big wheel and fairground rides. It runs until January 5. Meanwhile the George St Christmas market runs until Christmas Eve, with festive stalls, Santa’s grotto and ice skating.
Winchester
17 November to 20 December
One of the largest Christmas markets in the south of England, Winchester also enjoys one of the most spectacular backdrops, with its 100 wooden chalets ranged around its stunning medieval cathedral. As well as arts, crafts, decorations and food, visitors to the festive celebration can also enjoy an open-air ice rink in Cathedral Close.
Other cathedral city Christmas markets this year include Salisbury, from November 29 to December 23 in Guildhall Square, Canterbury market at Whitefriars Square and the wonderfully original Dickens Christmas Festival in Rochester on December 1 and 2, featuring festive street entertainment, famous literary characters and a 2-day Christmas market.
Leeds
9 November to 22 December
Promising a continental-style festive shopping experience and offering German festive delicacies, Millennium Square in Leeds will play host to over 40 traditional wooden chalets as it transforms into a winter village for Christmas this year. Other attractions include the popular Christmas carousel, the indoor Frankfurter Scheune meeting hall and Alp Chalet Bavarian eatery.
Cardiff
15 November to 23 December
Taking place across the pedestrianised shopping area in the city centre, the Cardiff Christmas market this year promises an eclectic mix of new stalls and old favourites offering original and handmade buys and festive food and drink.
Getting there: travel to Europe
Interrail One Country Passes let you start your journey from your local station and get in to the heart of the country you’re travelling to from just £47; visit MyInterrail.co.uk for more information.
Getting there: fly from UK
Flybmi is offering special deal ‘Christmas market flights’ from Bristol, East Midlands, Aberdeen and Newcastle to 10 European cities including Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg and Paris, with prices starting from £75 and including 23kg checked baggage (to bring all your goodies home!), complimentary in-flight drinks and snacks and allocated leather seating. For more information visit Flybmi
Getting there: travelling in the UK
Invest in a railcard to help you save one third off most rail fares and 60% off kids’ fares when using a Family & Friends railcard. Railcards can save you an average of £152 per year and cost just £30 – a cost which you can make back in just one trip! Visit Railcard.co.uk to find out more.
Christmas packages
For travel and accommodation in the UK and abroad, SuperBreak has a variety of packages to choose from for destinations including Edinburgh, York, Liverpool, Paris, Bruges and more, from £110 per person. Visit the website for more information.
Christmas shopping: bag a bargain
Where the savvy shoppers go for great Christmas bargains right across the UK
Bicester Village, Oxfordshire
Over 160 outlets offering savings up to 60% on standard retail prices, from brands including Prada, Gucci, Armani and Versace, Superdry, The White Company and the Cosmetics Company Store. Just one hour away from London with regular bus and train services.
Cheshire Oaks, Chester
Close to both Manchester and Liverpool, over 145 designer outlets include Burberry, Michael Kors, Ralph Lauren, Cath Kidston, All Saints and Hobbs to name just a few, with play areas for kids, a leisure park and regular entertainment.
Birmingham
The Bullring is the city’s biggest shopping centre and there’s also the canalside Mailbox with its mix of designer shops, restaurants and bars.
Bluewater, Kent
The third largest shopping centre in the UK has over 330 stores and over 167,000 square metres of retail space centrally located close to London.
Looking for more festive fun? See our round-up of magical things to do in London for Christmas
More great shopping ideas
York
York Minster is one of the biggest Medieval Gothic cathedrals in northern Europe and holds half of all the Medieval stained-glass in England. As the Mother Church of the Northern Province, it’s one of Britain’s most important spiritual centres and the seat not only of a bishop but an archbishop. It costs £20,000 a day to run and employs a full-time staff of 200, including thirty permanent glaziers and stonemasons, as well as 500 volunteers. Read more
Durham
Durham Cathedral was founded in 1093 when the Byzantine empire was in its heyday, the Nubian kingdom was at the peak of its power and Vikings were still roaming Europe. Today the Byzantines are gone and Vikings confined to fancy dress parties, but Durham Cathedral still stands and its soaring architecture remains, in the words of Sir Walter Scott, ‘Half church of God, half castle ‘gainst the Scot’. Read more
Ripon
Ripon cathedral may hold the body of one of the greatest early saints of England and might just have provided the inspiration for one of the best-known books in the English language. But we do know this for sure. While this is not the oldest church building in the UK, the 7th-century crypt at Ripon dates from 672 and predates every existing cathedral in the country. Read more
Wakefield
The spire of Wakefield Cathedral is the tallest in Yorkshire. At 75 metres, it dominates the skyline for miles around. But the honour of marking the area as a place of Christian worship for 1,000 years goes to a much smaller and humbler monument. So humble, in fact, it was discovered being used as a lowly doorstep in a barber’s shop in Westgate back in the 1800s. Read more
Sheffield
Political intrigue and power struggles. Royal prisoners. England’s most famous cardinal on the run. A queen in bondage. Sheffield has seen it all and the cathedral has been central to much of the action. But if you view cathedrals as remote lofty spaces, standing apart from modern times and outside contemporary culture, a visit to Sheffield may cure you. Read more
Bradford
The entry for Bradford in the Domesday Book, 1086 merely records ‘Ilbert hath it. It is waste’. But from those inauspicious beginnings, Bradford has grown from a crossing place that became a market to an important industrial town and multi-cultural city. And the city’s cathedral, which received its status in 1919, reflects this history throughout the building with its memorials, shrines and stories. Read on
St Giles, Edinburgh
A place of worship for nearly 900 years, St Giles Cathedral has played a tumultuous part in Scottish history and has been a legendary scene of revolts and reconciliations. Today, as well as being Edinburgh’s chief seat of worship and a spiritual centre for the community, it holds a special place within its walls for royalty. And dogs. Read on
St Machar’s, Aberdeen
It had an auspicious beginning but has also been the site of much destruction and dispute, attacked by wars, the Reformation and the weather. It’s thought to be the final resting place for Scotland’s famous hero William Wallace. Well, part of him at least. It’s said that in 1305 the left quarter of his body was brought to Aberdeen after his grisly execution in London by Edward I and interred within the wall of the new cathedral. Read on
Cathedrals of Britain: North of England and Scotland by Bernadette Fallon is published by Pen and Sword books, £12.99, buy online here
Read more
Around the UK in 30 cathedrals
Cathedrals of Britain: London and the South East – Canterbury, St Paul’s, Westminster Abbey, Southwark, Westminster Cathedral, Rochester, Chichester
Cathedrals of Britain: West, South West and Wales – Winchester, Salisbury, Wells, Gloucester, Exeter, St Davids, St Asaph’s
Cathedrals of Britain: East and Central – Ely, Lichfield, Norwich, Lincoln, Peterborough, St Edmundsbury, Oxford
Image credit: York Cathedral
Winchester Cathedral
Winchester Cathedral is vast. It is the longest cathedral in Britain, stretching 169m from the west entrance to the east end, and one of the biggest medieval churches in the world. Its stone floor is cracked and uneven, worn by centuries of pilgrims, and part of it even slopes But whatever its physical state, its spiritual place is among the elite. The cathedral is in the one-time capital city of England and is one of the country’s most important. Winchester was established as England’s capital by the Saxon King Alfred, centuries before London laid claim to the title.
Salisbury Cathedral
It’s one of the most quintessentially English cathedrals and its spire is the tallest in the country. Set in lush meadows by a river, Constable painted about 300 different versions of it over his lifetime. It is unusual among its medieval counterparts in not evolving piecemeal, section by section, but was built as a single creation in the 13th century. And it’s actually the third establishment to hold the name of Salisbury Cathedral, but the first one to occupy this site.
Wells Cathedral
It was a Roman mausoleum in the 5th century and the Church of Aldhelm in the 8th. It was a cathedral in 909, though subsequently lost its status for nearly 200 years. The present building was started in the 12th century, and the magnificent west front, the first part of the cathedral that most people see, is decorated with one of the largest collections of medieval statues in Europe. Though the days when it was a beacon of colour, covered in bright reds, blues and greens and alive with song as the voices of choristers and the sounds of trumpets rang out between the statues, are long gone.
Gloucester Cathedral
It has crowned a king and buried a king and is one of only six former abbeys refounded as cathedrals after Henry VIII closed all the others during the Reformation. And it’s considered one of the finest examples of the Perpendicular Gothic style in all of Britain. But if Westminster Abbey claims to have crowned every monarch since William the Conqueror, who’s telling lies? All shall be revealed…
Exeter Cathedral
The site of Exeter Cathedral has been a Christian place of worship since the Roman period. In its time it has been an Anglo-Saxon monastery that educated the county’s most famous saint, a home for part of the true cross, and the site of a grisly murder. The cathedral that exists today was started by a nephew of William the Conqueror. Though not much of it has lasted. The most obvious remains of that mighty Norman building from the 1100s are the solid twin towers, best appreciated from the green lawns that surround the cathedral. By the 1270s the Romanesque cathedral was being demolished to make way for a bigger, grander and much brighter Gothic building with magnificent architectural features. Today the Gothic stone vaulted ceiling at Exeter is the longest in the world.
St Davids Cathedral
Walking down the gentle slope from the city of St Davids, the cathedral unfolds itself dramatically against the sky, stretched across a lush green valley and enjoying one of the most stunning settings of any cathedral in the country. It is built on the site of St Davids Monastery, the former priory that became a place of pilgrimage after David’s death in 589, eight years before St Augustine arrived in Kent to spread Christianity.
St Asaph’s Cathedral
In a tiny city, the second-smallest in Britain, you’ll find the nation’s smallest cathedral. St Asaph’s measures just 182 feet from the west door to the east end and is 68 feet wide. And this city close to the north coast of Wales has an interesting connection with Scotland, which is the reason the cathedral exists here today.
Cathedrals of Britain: West, South West and Wales by Bernadette Fallon is published by Pen and Sword books, £12.99, buy online here
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Around the UK in 30 cathedrals
Cathedrals of Britain: London and the South East – Canterbury, St Paul’s, Westminster Abbey, Southwark, Westminster Cathedral, Rochester, Chichester
Cathedrals of Britain: East and Central – Ely, Lichfield, Norwich, Lincoln, Peterborough, St Edmundsbury, Oxford
Cathedrals of Britain: North of England and Scotland – York, Durham, Ripon, Wakefield, Sheffield, Bradfield, Edinburgh, Aberdeen
Image credit: Salisbury Cathedral by Ash Mills
Canterbury Cathedral
Murder in the cathedral. Pilgrims on procession. A saint’s shrine lost forever. The Mother Church, not only of all England but of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the seat of the most powerful archbishop in the country. Canterbury Cathedral has seen it all in 1,400 years of history and today is one of the most famous church buildings in Europe.
St Paul’s Cathedral
St Paul’s is one of the oldest religious sites in Britain, established at the foundation of English Christianity itself. With a few caveats.The Benedictine monk Augustine is usually credited with bringing Christianity to Britain, under the instruction of Pope Gregory in 597. He landed on the coast of Kent and founded Canterbury Cathedral, which accordingly became the Mother Church of all England. Seven years later, Augustine sent a party of monks to London where they founded the first St Paul’s.
But while St Paul’s is the oldest site of religious worship in the capital, the current building, completed in 1708, is one of its newest cathedrals. It also holds the rare distinction of being built solely for the Protestant faith. Unlike most of its English cathedral counterparts that were originally Catholic buildings converted for Protestant worship following the 16th-century Reformation, the current St Paul’s was built as a Protestant cathedral.
Westminster Abbey
When you walk through Westminster Abbey you are walking through 1,000 years of history, and on 3,500 bodies. That’s how many rest in the graves beneath your feet. Kings and queens. Prime ministers and statesmen. Writers and musicians. Scientists and inventors. Built for the glory of God and a place for royalty to worship, the abbey today is a fascinating record of the history of British rule and government, power, discovery and achievement.
It’s not in fact a cathedral, but a Royal Peculiar, granted this important and rather unusual status in 1534, when King Henry VIII relieved the pope of his duties as head of the church. And together with the Palace of Westminster and St Margaret’s Church, known as the parish church of the House of Commons, it forms a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Abbey has also been the site of every English coronation since the 11th century.
Southwark Cathedral
Southwark Cathedral is often overshadowed by its famous neighbour St Paul’s on the other side of the River Thames. Located on London’s south side, Southwark was historically associated with low-life and revelry, with theatres, bear-baiting and ladies of the night. While St Paul’s in the City of London was at the centre of trade, commerce and wealth. In the city, the bankers clinked their gold, across the river the bawdy clinked their ale mugs.
But don’t fall victim to the hype. Southwark Cathedral or, to give it its proper name, the Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie, is a gem on the south bank of the river. A walk around this beautiful building will reveal rich links with literature and theatre, with commerce and royalty, and with the fascinating colourful history of this part of London. And Southwark has one particularly precious possession that is the envy of St Paul’s. A resident cat called Doorkins Magnificat.
Westminster Cathedral
Before you explore the grand Westminster Cathedral, the largest and most important Catholic church in England and Wales, take some time to climb to the top of its mighty Byzantine tower that dominates the landscape around London Victoria. Looking over these streets that were once swampland, it’s a good place to reflect on the difficulties this church has overcome to exist. It’s still only half- finished in fact, 122 years after the first foundation stone was laid, as you will see when you go back downstairs.
Rochester Cathedral
Sharing a close birth date with its nearby neighbour Canterbury, Rochester Cathedral was founded by Augustine’s monks in 604, just seven years after they landed on the coast of Kent from Rome. Today, nothing exists above ground of this original building but the cathedral’s fascinating history, stunning architecture and beautiful Romanesque facade puts it firmly on the list of must-sees. It also has one of the oldest doors in England, which can be viewed by special appointment as befits an entrance of its extreme seniority.
Chichester Cathedral
Chichester is the only English cathedral that can be seen from the sea, making it an important site for sailors as well as Christians. It houses a notable collection of modern artworks – including a bespoke Chagall – has hosted the likes of Gustav Holst and Leonard Bernstein, and inspired one of the most famous love poems in the English language. By a rather unlikely ‘love poet’ – the former Poet Laureate Philip Larkin.
Cathedrals of Britain: London and the South East by Bernadette Fallon is published by Pen and Sword books, £12.99, buy online here
Read more
Around the UK in 30 cathedrals
Cathedrals of Britain: East and Central – Ely, Lichfield, Norwich, Lincoln, Peterborough, St Edmundsbury, Oxford
Cathedrals of Britain: North of England and Scotland – York, Durham, Ripon, Wakefield, Sheffield, Bradfield, Edinburgh, Aberdeen
Cathedrals of Britain: West, South West and Wales – Winchester, Salisbury, Wells, Gloucester, Exeter, St Davids, St Asaph’s
Image credit: Southwark Cathedral by Rob Wilson Jnr, Fluid4Sight