TAKE FIVE Spirit Of Summer By Judith Schrut
Elmer the Elephant and friends at the Underbelly Festival, image courtesy Borkowski Arts & Ents
The fabulously family friendly Port Eliot Festival
The sun has got its hat on and the clouds are right as rain! Welcome to the great British summer, bringing you traditions like strawberries and cream, village fêtes and country fairs, green parks, fragrant gardens and daily chit-chat about the weather. You’ll also find an amazing choice of music, arts, festivals and other cracking cultural treats. We invite you to enjoy those fabulous long days and late, light nights with our pick of this summer’s savouries.
1. Midsummer Night’s Steam
With many of us thinking long and hard about global warming, climate change and ways to reduce our carbon footprint, environmentally friendly holidays have become attractive options. Hiking, biking, boats, trains and the joy of slow travel are definitely in this summer, while UK ‘Staycations’ are more popular than ever. If you enjoy slow travel, breath-taking scenery, the sight, sound and smell of steam and a bygone era, why not make the journey the destination - aboard a magnificent, old fashioned steam train? Steam Dreams is the first rail company to be completely carbon neutral. They’ve just launched two sparkling summer steam train services running from London’s Waterloo Station. The Royal Windsor Steam Express carries travellers to the historic city of Windsor by beautifully restored steam trains three times daily on Tuesdays, while the Sunset Steam Express offers fabulous evening trips from London to the scenic hills, villages and downs of rural Surrey, designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. 18
AMERICAN IN BRITAIN
This is the first time a regular steam service has run from Waterloo to Windsor in many years. Adventurous, hungry travellers on both services can choose to dine in elegant 1950s Pullman carriages or comfy 1960s style restaurant cars. Windsor trips offer a fabulous Champagne brunch, while sunset journeys offer a threecourse chef-prepared dinner. Alternatively, bring your own picnic on-board or take a trip down memory lane by purchasing traditional British Rail bacon rolls and freshly brewed tea. For serious steam train fans, Steam Dreams has loads of thrilling day and multi-day rail trips throughout the year. Anyone for hopping aboard the Highlands and Islands Flying Scotsman, the Emerald Isle Craic Express or the Bluebell Railway to Oxford and Cheltenham? What about a steamy frolic to the Isle of Wight to visit Queen Victoria’s country house in her bicentenary year? (More on that to follow). Further information: www.steamdreams.co.uk
The Journey is the Destination with Steam Dreams, photo by Ben Collier
2. Family Fun
Families with school-agers will want to make the most of Britain’s notably shorter-than-US summer vacations, and we’ve got lots of ideas on how to do just that. Summertime is festival time in the UK, with more festivals than ever turning full-on family friendly. With free entry for under 14s, a Children’s Parade, dedicated Kids Zone with hundreds of activities from dawn to dusk and a relaxed vibe, WOMAD is always a top choice for families. We’re also huge fans of Cornwall’s Port Eliot Festival, magical for families in so many ways, including the enchanting Wildlings Wood, canoeing, kayaking and wild (but safe) river swimming, a forest school, bedtime stories read by celebrated children’s authors and much more. We’ve also heard good things about the family-oriented Deer Shed Festival in North Yorkshire, the Great Wonderfest in the Isle of Wight and the Boomtown Festival in Hampshire. For the best in ferociously family friendly music, magic, circus and comedy, head to London’s Southbank for the annual Underbelly Festival. Underbelly proudly presents affordable live entertainment for all ages, with many shows priced at £10 or less, along with plenty of street food, refreshment bars and River Thames-side views. This year ’s Underbelly has stage adaptations of children’s story favourites, Shark in the Park, Elmer the Patchwork Elephant and CBeebies Twirlywoos Live! There’s a heart stopping new show from Flip FabriQue, the Canadian circus sensation renowned for world class acrobatics, thrilling theatrics and daring aerial routines. Look
