ATTRACTIONS & MUSEUMS


New £11.5m attractions tell untold stories of Royal Navy


A new £11.5m trio of exhibitions have opened in Hampshire telling the “untold stories” of the Royal Navy. The attractions – based at the National


Museum of the Royal Navy in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard and in Gosport – aim to give the public an insight into life at sea pro- tecting British interests around the globe. Te £4.5m HMS Hear My Story perma-


nent exhibition tells the tales of 1,000 men and women who have worked in the Senior Service in the past century. Te museum is also opening its tempo-


rary exhibition Racing To War: Te Royal Navy And 1914, which charts the Anglo- German naval arms race. The third exhibition has seen the £7m


restoration of HMS Alliance, with the rust- ing submarine transformed into a gleaming example of 20th century engineering. Details: http://lei.sr?a=N4j8W


Puy du Fou-style park coming to UK


French theme park Puy du Fou has announced it will partner with Auckland Castle in the UK to create its first international location. The historical re-enact-


ment park has signed a deal with the Eleven Arches Trust to create a visitor attraction in County Durham. Te new concept will be


based on the Puy du Fou, which has both a theme park – The Grand Parc – and a spectacular night show – the Cinéscénie. It will aim to bring regional and national history to life. Te project will be rolled out in two phases.


Puy du Fou is bringing its unique style of entertainment to the UK Te second phase of the development – a


Te first features the launch of an 80-minute night show in 2016 in the style of the Cinéscénie. Te show will run as a not-for-profit venture, with Puy du Fou assisting in the creation and staging of the show as an official partner.


theme park – will open in 2020. Construction will cost £80m ($134m, €97m) and although smaller in size and scale than Puy du Fou at 115 acres, the new park will aim to attract 800,000 visitors a year. It will be a commercial venture. Details: http://lei.sr?a=U2h3Z


British heritage gets £30m funding injection People will have to pay to visit the Meridian Line


British Museum is world’s second-most visited


London’s British Museum is now one of three in the UK capital to be among the 10 most visited museums in the world, alongside the National Gallery and the Tate Modern. 6.7 million people came through the


British Museum’s doors in 2013 – a 20 per cent increase on the previous year – which has now overtaken New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, only beaten by Paris’ Louvre that saw 9.3 million peo- ple visit the attraction. It should also be noted that several of


the attractions – particularly those listed in London – offer free entry, while others listed are able to draw in huge crowds despite charging notable entrance fees. For example, a visit to the Louvre can range from between €12-16 ($16-22, £10-13) per person. London and Paris are on equal foot-


ing in terms of attractions in the top ten – both having three – with the French land- marks being the aforementioned Louvre, Centre Pompidou and Musée d’Orsay. Details: http://lei.sr?a=G7G8F


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The Heritage Lottery Fund has announced £30m of funding towards 10 diverse projects across the length and breadth of the UK. The former North British


Rubber Company HQ in Edinburgh, birthplace of the Wellington boot, was the big winner during this round of funding, gaining initial support of £4.9m, including a develop- ment grant of £500,000. Te site at Castle Mills will


be regenerated as a creative hub for Edinburgh, turn- ing the listed building into a modern visual arts centre incorporating a print- makers, art centre, cafe and a learning centre. St Albans Cathedral in Hertfordshire was


handed the second-highest amount of fund- ing, receiving initial support of £4.2m, including


Te North British Rubber Company was the birthplace of Wellington boots


a development grant of £391,800. Te funding will allow the cathedral, which has been a site of continuous worship and pilgrimage for over 1,700 years, to undergo much-needed conserva- tion work. Details: http://lei.sr?a=g3M9A


MA says London biased funding system is ‘broken’


Te Museums Association (MA) has said the current system for museum and arts funding is “broken”, condemning Arts Council England for “ignoring” a recent report. A report has been submitted by the MA to the parliamentary committee, outlining problems


Read Leisure Opportunities online: www.leisureopportunities.co.uk/digital


faced by regional museums in reference to Rebalancing Our Cultural Capital, which said that funding is skewed towards London. Te MA say the report presents the opportunity


to talk about the imbalance in funding and how it can be addressed. Details: http://lei.sr?a=f4X3T


Twitter: @leisureopps © CYBERTREK 2014


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