� IN FOCUS l LONDON & THE HOME COUNTIES


Historic Dockyard Chatham marks 400th anniversary


The Historic Dockyard Chatham has a new Call the Midwife tour in 2018 – a year that will see exhibitions and events marking the site’s 400th


anniversary.


Historian Starkey curates Hever Castle exhibition


A new permanent exhibition about the Tudors will open in autumn at Hever Castle – the childhood home of Anne Boleyn. Guest curated by historian and TV presenter David Starkey, the art exhibition in the Kent castle’s Long Gallery will depict the Tudor dynasty saga from the War of the Roses to the Reformation.


The Long Gallery, created in


1506 by Thomas Boleyn, will be redecorated and paintings will be displayed in the style of the 16th century. hevercastle.co.uk


The attraction is working with


Neal Street Productions – the creators of popular TV show Call the Midwife – to launch the official Call the Midwife tour in April. Call the Midwife is watched by 10 million TV viewers and many scenes are filmed at the Kent dockyard. The


new tour will feature material from the latest series, as well as props and a costumed midwife. Events at the attraction include an exhibition called Powerful Tides: 400 Years of Chatham and the Sea, featuring objects from major national institutions including Tate Britain and Turner Contemporary. thedockyard.co.uk


Triple triumph for Greenwich at UKinbound Awards for Excellence


NEWS IN BRIEF


w Special Forces at National Army Museum


The National Army Museum’s first major exhibition since


reopening in March 2017 is Special Forces: In the Shadows


(March 17-November 18). The London museum will explore these elite regiments, the training and skills required and examples from operations


over the past 70 years. nam.ac.uk


w Geffrye Museum shuts for £18m refurb


The Geffrye Museum in Shoreditch, London, has closed for a two-year, £18 million re-development project. Dedicated to the history of the home, the museum will reopen with 50% more space and and a new entrance


opposite Hoxton Station. geffrye-museum.org.uk


w Michael Jackson: On the Wall exhibition


Tourism partners Visit Greenwich, City Cruises and Cutty Sark won honours at UKinbound’s annual Awards for Excellence, held at the National Museum of Wales. Visit Greenwich won Destination


Borde Hill Garden celebrates 125 years


Magnolia and camellia tours at Borde Hill Garden in West Sussex will be available for groups to mark the attraction’s 125th


anniversary (March 15-


April 15). The 17-acre garden was bought in 1893 by Colonel Stephenson Robert Clarke, a horticultural pioneer who planted magnolias from China, the US and Japan. bordehill.co.uk


26 TravelGBI | March 2018


Marketing Company of the Year, while the destination marketing company’s partners, City Cruises and Cutty Sark, were also winners. City Cruises won Transport and Sightseeing Service Provider of the Year, and Cutty Sark was named


Individual Attraction of the Year. Barrie Kelly, Visit Greenwich


chief executive, said: “We are one of the newer destination marketing companies in the country and we have come a long way in just four years. Tourism has grown by 19% since 2014 ,and this is partly down to the work of the Visit Greenwich partnership with the firm support of the Royal Borough of Greenwich.” visitgreenwich.org.uk


Super Break bundles up London packages


Short break specialist Super Break has unveiled new London Bundles, designed for agents to sell to customers seeking London excursions and experiences. Six bundles are available that


offer savings of up to 25% against booking attractions separately. The bundles are only bookable as part of a hotel package, and are fully commissionable to agents.


There are two family bundles, with one offering entry to Merlin Entertainments attractions and a meal at Planet Hollywood. The other has entry to Kidzania plus a river cruise and meal at Pizza Express. Other bundles are the Discovery Bundle, designed for adults; the Royal Bundle; and the Romantic Bundle, for couples. superbreak.com/agents


The National Portrait Gallery will host Michael Jackson: On the Wall (June 28-October


21), exploring how the singer inspired some of the leading names in contemporary art. The exhibition will bring together the works of more than 40 artists, drawn from


public and private collections. npg.org.uk


DID YOU KNOW


The last remaining parts of the Whitechapel fatberg are now on display at the Museum of


London. The fatberg is a sewer blockage that became a media sensation in 2017. It is one of the largest fatbergs ever found at 250 metres long and


weighing 130 tonnes. museumoflondon.org.uk


travelgbi.com


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