� IN FOCUS l CHRISTMAS


Travel back to the 1940s with Kent Life


Heritage farm attraction Kent Life will be recreating a 1940s wartime Christmas with its ‘Christmas On The Home Front – WWII Experience’ (November 24-25). There will be drill displays by the Home Guard, shops from the era, ‘make do and mend’ lessons and a rehabilitation centre for injured RAF pilots. Selected dates in December will see ‘Meet Santa’ events, with the chance to meet the elves and decorate gingerbread Christmas trees. The Farm Nativity takes place on December 9, with the attraction’s own farmyard animals and carol singers. kentlife.org.uk


Brodsworth Hall and Gardens, South Yorkshire


Wales in waiting for winter wonderlands


Welsh cities will showcase the principality’s arts, crafts and cuisine over the coming festive season. The Cardiff Christmas Markets


(November 15-December 23) will feature original, handmade products from more than 200 individual businesses – with stallholders offering seasonal food and drink. Swansea Waterfront Winterland


will feature a Ferris wheel and Christmas Parade, along with ice- skating, Santa’s Grotto, a fun fair and Alpine dining cabins. Llandudno Christmas Fayre


(November 15-18) is the largest Christmas market in north Wales, offering more than 130 stalls and a Victorian-style theme. There will also be the World Bara Brith Championships to find Wales’


favourite tea time cake baker. In the agricultural heartland of


mid-Wales, there is the Royal Welsh Winter Fair (November 26-27) in Builth Wells.


Dublin is double the fun at Christmas time Dublin Christmas tree


English Heritage’s enchanted evenings


English Heritage will be lighting up December nights for groups with an outdoor ‘Enchanted’ adventure at five of its sites. Key areas will be transformed into “magical wintry worlds in a kaleidoscope of light, colour and sound”. The sites taking part are Belsay


Hall, Castle and Gardens, Belsay, Northumberland; Brodsworth Hall and Gardens, Brodsworth, South Yorkshire; Audley End House and Gardens, near Saffron Waldon, Essex; Eltham Palace and Gardens, Greenwich; and Witley Court and Gardens, Worcestershire. A 15% discount applies for


groups of 11 or more on pre-booked timed ticket slots on selected dates in December. Coaches must drop off and pick up as no coach parking will be available on site. ticketmaster.co.uk/tmgroups


26 TravelGBI | July-August 2018


Visitors to Dublin should watch out for buskers on Grafton Street during the festive season, as famous musicians often drop by. Stars such as Bono, Hozier and Glen Hansard have been known to busk in support of charities. Another Dublin staple is The Living Crib – a traditional nativity scene with real animals including sheep, goats and a donkey. Look out for the Christmas Morning Swim with hundreds of swimmers braving a bracing dip in the Irish Sea. Dublin is also famed for its three-day New Year Festival, with carnivals and international and Irish music acts.


Other cities on the island of


Ireland celebrate the season with festive events, such as Cork’s Glow Festival. Cork’s Remembrance Tree is draped in gold ribbons, each inscribed with memories that people don’t want to forget. It also hosts Wren’s Day on December 26, with groups of men dressed in paint and straw singing and dancing from door to door – these are wrenboys upholding an ancient custom. In Belfast, there are festive


stalls at St George’s Market and City Hall, while Titanic Belfast recreates the ship’s famous ballroom in Christmassy decorations. Children can take a special


Santa sailing from Belfast with Stena Line’s Superfast ferry, with face-painting, balloon animals, party games and a disco. The trip leaves at 11.30am and arrives back at 5.45pm. ireland.com


Lincoln’s Cathedral Christmas market


The city of Lincoln will host its Christmas market on the medieval square between its Norman castle and gothic cathedral (December 6-9). More than 280 stalls and


numerous performers will take over Lincoln’s Cathedral Quarter for four days of festive entertainment. Shops will stay open late and the Artists’ Christmas Village will offer goods from local artists and crafters. Lincoln Visitor Information Centre


will have a stall in Lincoln Castle. Visitors can also see the market


from above by riding on the Big Wheel on Westgate or from the castle’s Medieval Wall Walks. Lincoln brought the first German Christmas market to the UK as part of its twinning with the town of Neustadt, Germany. lincoln-christmasmarket.co.uk


travelgbi.com Visitors can browse more than


300 stalls, and watch live auctions, farming competitions and a fireworks display. traveltrade.visitwales.com


Cardiff


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