Discover Britain February/March 2024 - Sample Issue

B RINGIN G B RITAIN TO YOU

TRAVEL SPECIAL

Heart of England Where Shakespeare Country meets The Potteries

Flipping fun QUIRKY PANCAKE DAY TRADITIONS

Tudor love stories

From Henry VIII to Elizabeth I

WIN a luxury spa break

Wild West

Discover Pembrokeshire this spring

Heir & The Spare A king who never was

FEB/MAR 2024 £5.50

www.discoverbritainmag.com

THEATRE

Shakespearean legend is back One of Britain’s most revered Shakespearean actors is to take to the stage in a Bard play once more.

Ian McKellen, possibly best known today for playing Gandolf in The Lord of the Rings film franchise, has appeared in many Shakespeare stage productions, and even delivered one of the best on-screen Shakespeare performances in 1995’s Richard III. Now he will take on the role of John Falstaff in Player Kings, Robert Icke’s adaptation of Henry IV Part I & Part II, which will run at the Noël Coward Theatre in London’s West End from 1 April to 22 June 2024.

Discussing his reasons for accepting the role, McKellen said: “I decided to become a professional actor at Cambridge in 1959, when I was in John Barton’s undergraduate production of Henry IV. Derek Jacobi played Prince Hal and I was the ancient Justice Shallow. Ever since, the plays have been among my favourite Shakespeares, although through the years I’ve resisted offers to play John Falstaff. Robert Icke’s ingenious adaptation was irresistible.” playerkingstheplay.co.uk

6 discoverbritainmag.com

PHOTOS: © OLLIE DIXON

BRIT EDIT

BRIT EDIT

Brit Edit Your curated guide to Britain this season

HISTORIC HOUSE

Follow in Boleyn footsteps From 25 March 2024, guests to Hever Castle, the beautiful, moated castle where Anne Boleyn grew up, will be transported back to the Tudor era with the opening of the Boleyn Apartment.

This apartment, the only surviving suite of rooms in the world where Anne Boleyn, her siblings Mary and George, and parents Thomas and Elizabeth, are known to have lived, has been reinterpreted with traditional smells and tapestries, alongside coats of arms, to create an atmosphere that suggests the family could return at any moment.

Kate McCaffrey, castle historian, said: “We are thrilled to announce our plans for the Boleyn Apartment. We wanted to create an immersive series of rooms that lets the visitor step back in time to the world of Anne Boleyn and her family – Hever’s most famous inhabitants. We have an incredibly rare, unique opportunity to use these rooms as they would have been used and sell them as the only place in the world that you can go to enjoy a real, authentic Boleyn experience. hevercastle.co.uk

discoverbritainmag.com 7

Shakespeare COUNTRY Caroline Butterwick brings us some of her favourite places to stay in and around the Bard’s hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon

B

irthplace and final resting place of William Shakespeare, Stratford-upon-Avon, in Warwickshire, is home to many Shakespearean attractions.

The timber-framed home in the town centre, where the great playwright was born in 1564 (shakespeare.org.uk/visit /shakespeares-birthplace) offers visitors a glimpse into life in 16th-century England, while on the outskirts of town, Anne Hathaway’s Cottage, with its calm gardens and orchard (shakespeare.org.uk/visit/anne-hathaways-cottage), where Shakespeare’s wife-to-be was raised, is the perfect place to sit with a picnic as you leaf through a collection of Shakespeare’s sonnets.

Naturally, Stratford is a brilliant place to catch a show, and The Royal Shakespeare Theatre (rsc.org.uk) hosts plays year-round.

The theatre sits beside the River Avon, with swans and canal boats bobbing on the water, and if the pleasant scene tempts you, you can take a river cruise or hire a boat for a leisurely row.

There are also plenty of places in Stratford-upon-Avon to enjoy dinner or a drink – a pint at the iconic Dirty Duck, a pub that’s been trading since 1738 and is a regular haunt of thespians, is a must.

Venture outside Stratford-upon-Avon and Warwickshire is home to lots more heritage sites, from Compton Verney Art Gallery and Park (comptonverney.org.uk), with its art gallery swaddled in 120 acres of parkland and gardens designed by Capability Brown, to the British Motor Museum, Gaydon – home to the world’s largest collection of historic British cars (britishmotormuseum.co.uk).

Meanwhile Hidcote Manor and Gardens (nationaltrust.org.uk/ visit/gloucestershire-cotswolds/hidcote) is a beautiful Arts and Crafts-inspired garden in the nearby rolling Cotswold hills.

After a busy day’s sightseeing, here are some of the best places to ➤ lay your head.

22 discoverbritainmag.com

Clockwise, from top left: Shakespeare’s Birthplace; Anne Hathaway’s Cottage; Compton Verney House; the Old Garden at Hidcote Manor; the British Motor Museum, Gaydon; The Royal Shakespeare Theatre and The Swan Theatre on the River Avon, Stratford

PHOTOS: © ESSENTIALS COLLECTION/ISTOCK/ROBERTHARDING/JIM MONK/PETER D NOYCE/EYE35.PIX/ALAMY/VISITBRITAIN/LEEBEEL/NATIONAL TRUST IMAGES/JONATHAN BUCKLEY

DISCOVER THE HEART OF ENGLAND – CLASSIC STAYS

DISCOVER THE HEART OF ENGLAND – CLASSIC STAYS

➤

discoverbritainmag.com 23

DISCOVER THE HEART OF ENGLAND – CRAFTS

Opposite: Duchess China produces around 25,000 pieces of pottery every week

City of Ceramics

PHOTOS: © DUCHESS CHINA. ILLUSTRATION: © ELLY JAHNZ

A

Caroline Butterwick meets some of the people who are continuing the tradition of pottery making in the Midlands

ffectionately known as ‘The Potteries’, the city of Stoke-on-Trent and the surrounding area is shaped by its proud history as the British home of ceramics.

Pottery has been made in and around Stoke since the mid 17th century. The industry grew dramatically, helped by the plentiful supply of clay and coal naturally found nearby. In the 18th century potter Josiah Wedgwood was a leading figure in the ceramics industry, and is a key reason Staffordshire gained a reputation as the home of pottery.

Wedgwood was born in the Stoke town of Burslem in 1730 and set up his factory there. He was given the title ‘Potter to Her Majesty’ after the cream-coloured earthenware he sent to Queen Charlotte was met with a royal seal of approval, furthering his standing as a ceramics producer.

Today, there is a friendly joke that you can tell someone is from Stoke if, when they see a plate, they lift it up and look at the base to check whether it has a stamp saying it was made in the city (followed by a shake of the head if it isn’t). The city and surrounding area is still home to pottery factories, from longstanding brands like Wedgwood to newer ceramics companies such as Emma Bridgewater, which started up in the late 20th century.

Keeping the spirit of Stoke alive is important to many who work in the industry today. “We’re known as the creative county,” says Jason Simms, joint managing director at Duchess China. Duchess has been producing fine bone china from its Victorian factory in the Stoke town of Longton since 1888, and makes up to 25,000 pieces of pottery each week.

In the modelling room of the factory, Gordon, who has worked ➤

discoverbritainmag.com 31

Ludlow Castle

With beautiful views over the Shropshire countryside, this castle is considered one of the finest medieval ruins in England

B

uilt by the De Lacy family as a way of exhibiting their power over their lordship, magnificent Ludlow Castle’s origins go back to the 11th century.

William de Lacy was made a lord and granted the manor of Stanton by William FitzOsbern, one of Norman England’s most powerful men, who he had joined in supporting William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings in 1066.

FitzOsbern was one of William the Conqueror’s most

46 discoverbritainmag.com

trusted men, and he granted Lord de Lacy ‘Marcher’ powers, which gave him certain freedoms that other lords didn’t have.

De Lacy was allowed to rule over his land according to his own laws, as long as he kept the Welsh, across the border, at bay. Among his special privileges was the right to build his own castle, though the earliest surviving parts of Ludlow Castle today can be traced back to Sir Walter’s sons, Roger, and then Hugh. Nevertheless, the family retained the lordship until the 13th century.

PHOTOS: © ALAN NOVELLI/ALAMY

DISCOVER DISCOVERTHE THEHEART HEARTOF OFENGLAND ENGLAND–- HERITAGE

By the 15th century, Ludlow Castle had been granted to Prince Edward, son of King Edward IV. Indeed, the uncrowned King Edward V, was at the castle when he learned of his father’s death.

Sadly, Edward didn’t get a chance to do much as king, as he was deposed by his uncle and Lord Protector, the Duke of Gloucester, who took power as King Richard III. Together with his brother, Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, Edward was taken to the Tower of London and never seen again. Mystery (and debate) still surrounds his whereabouts thereafter, with the brothers dubbed the ‘Princes in the Tower’.

Much later, another would-be king spent time at the castle. Prince Arthur, heir to the Tudor throne spent a few months here with his wife Catherine of Aragon before sadly passing away here aged just 15. Catherine, of course, went on to marry Arthur’s brother, who became King Henry VIII, and their daughter, Mary, spent three winters at the castle.

During the English Civil War, the castle was a

Royal stronghold but after it was besieged by the Parliamentarians and looted by locals it fell into ruin.

Rescued from demolition in the 18th century by the Earl of Powys, today it is looked after by the Trustees of the Powys Castle Estate, and several buildings have been restored over the years, including the Round Chapel, which is really a rare round nave and an impressive sight.

Though visitors will have to wrap up, as most of the castle is roofless, you can warm up afterwards in the site’s Chapter 66 café.

Meanwhile, the Victorian Castle House has been built around the old Tudor tennis courts and provides three selfcatering apartments with lots of period features, all in the shadow of the castle. ■ To find out more visit ludlowcastle.com

discoverbritainmag.com 47