Ah, the sweet smell of spring is finally here. Flowers are beginning to bloom, the sun has started to shine and there is hope on the horizon for a great British summer!
I’m sure you’ll agree that spending so many months at home has only made our adventurous, curious hearts grow fonder with a passion for travel and exploration.
I will appreciate my upcoming travel trips so much more, and it has only made my job as travel Editor, and the content in our latest issue, seem even more special than usual!
Lockdown might have put a stop to many things, but it certainly hasn’t stopped the travel industry preparing to ensure a super fun and warm welcome once it is safe for visitors to return. From new hotels and luxury spas, exciting holiday resorts full of adventure and off-grid activities, luxury boutique stays in acres of unspoilt countryside and coastline, brand new attractions to immersive one-of-a-kind experiences – it seems there has perhaps never been a better time to explore the British Isles!
With so much ‘British staycation’ wanderlust flying about we couldn’t resist compiling our Ultimate British Bucket List. Deep in the West Dorset countryside we Meet the Makers behind the world’s only vodka made from cows’ milk. We uncover 10 of the most wonderful places to visit in Yorkshire and discover that there’s much more than just Cheddar Cheese and ancient apple orchards to Somerset’s epicurean offering in The Rise of Food and Drink. In search of beautiful destinations where social distancing is made easy, you won’t find better than a remote Sea Garden Cottage on the white sandy shores of Tresco island, a luxury family stay in the heart of Suffolk’s rolling countryside at The Ickworth or a whisky tour around the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, Islay - the Lord of the Isles.
Wherever, and whenever, you next plan to take a holiday in the British Isles, we hope British Travel Journal continues to deliver as your indispensable travel magazine, and wish you a safe and seamless journey full of wonderful memories.
LONDON Alice: Curiouser
LONDON Alice: Curiouser and Curiouser The iconic novels of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll are brought to life at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London until 31 December 2021. With over 300 objects, the high concept exhibition, Alice: Curiouser and Curiouser, takes visitors through a rabbit hole from the 1865 manuscript to the novels’ various adaptations into film, ballet, art, fashion and more. Disney’s cartoon is an example. Highlights include early illustrations, showing how the White Rabbit and other characters were developed and a virtual reality game of croquet against the Queen of Hearts. ◆ vam.ac.uk SCOTLAND Night Fever: Designing Club Culture Ever since Bianca Jagger rode a white horse inside New York nightclub, Studio 54, in 1977, clubs have captured the cultural zeitgeist. They have also shaped people’s identity, says Kirsty Hassard, curator of Night Fever: Designing Club Culture at the V&A Dundee, which explores clubbing experience from Berlin to Glasgow since the Sixties, to 5 September 2021. Among photographs, films, clothes and more that evoke the vibe, like a disco gold lamé Halston dress worn at Studio 54, there are also objects from the clubs themselves including the Hacienda’s mirror ball and the papier-mâché submarine from above the bar at Glasgow’s Sub Club. ◆ vam.ac.uk/dundee 40 BritishTravelJournal.com
