Hot Tickets – New Attractions & Experiences
- Music lovers have never had it so good with world-class venues opening across the country and some big names gracing UK shores. Come April, Britain’s largest new music venue Co-op Live will add another string to Manchester’s entertainment bow with capacity for 23,500 fans, 32 bars, restaurants and VIP lounges and backing from a certain Harry Styles. In Bradford, ahead of its stint as UK City of Culture in 2025, the opening of Bradford Live in autumn will bring a vibrant cultural centre to the city, set to attract 300,000 visitors a year. Taylor Swift fans should expect an overwhelming Liverpudlian welcome when she brings her much-anticipated Eras show to the UNESCO City of Music from 14-15 June, hot on the heels of the city’s one-year anniversary celebrations as Eurovision hosts and in the 60th anniversary year of the Beatles Hard Day’s Night album release
- Many of our heritage sites are getting a spruce up for 2024. In Durham, Raby Castle’s ‘The Rising’ project is due to complete this spring – enjoy fine dining at the Vinery Café Restaurant, stock up at farmers’ markets in the Dutch Barn, shop for fashion and homewares at the Coach House and Stables and explore The Rising’s magnificent Walled Garden – replete with English blooms, yew hedges and the iconic Raby fig trees. From summer, the East of England will welcome the much-anticipated reopening of the mighty Norwich Castle. For the first time in its history, visitors will be able to access the Keep for impressive vistas of the city and its other medieval buildings. There will also be a new gallery, showcasing national medieval treasures alongside objects from Norfolk’s own significant collection – the first of its kind in the UK
- Culture lovers can look forward to new launches and renovations in England’s museums this year. Showtown – an all-singing all-dancing celebration of fun and entertainment – will open its doors in Blackpool in March. In Durham, there’s a new range of immersive experiences in an entire 1950s styled town at the Beamish Museum. In summer, Bradford’s National Science & Media Museum will reopen following a £6 million transformation and in Hull, the journey to become Yorkshire’s Maritime City will see the opening of the Spurn Lightship in its new-look berth in Hull Marina
- In the Midlands, the reopening of the Jewry Wall Museum in autumn will use cutting-edge technology to bring Roman Leicester to life
Must-Visit Events, Festivals & Exhibitions
- Blenheim Place will host the biggest exhibition in its 300-year history when it launches Icons of British Fashion (23 March-30 June). And there’s a global fashion icon coming to the Design Museum with Barbie heading to the capital to celebrate her 65th birthday in a brand-new exhibition (5 July 2024-23 February 2025)
- For green-fingered city dwellers, the first-ever RHS Urban Show in Manchester (18-21 April) will offer up top tips on making the most of every balcony, backyard and bathroom shelf
- World-class art goes on tour in 2024 as The National Gallery celebrates its 200th anniversary on 10 May 2024. To mark the occasion, the gallery is teaming up with 12 venues across the UK – including museums in Newcastle, Liverpool, Cambridge and Brighton – to open free exhibitions featuring key pieces from their collection, meaning more than half the UK population will be within an hour’s journey of a National Gallery painting. Bath will host a brand new arts festival – Curious Minds (7-28 March) – that will champion the importance of curiosity for all with over 30 book talks, live performances, film screenings, writing workshops and walking tours
- Expect more landmark festivities at both the Bradford Literature Festival (28 June-7 July) and Cheltenham Literature Festival (October), which celebrate their 10th and 75th anniversaries respectively this year. And it’s a double whammy for the Gloucestershire town, with centenary celebrations for the iconic Gold Cup at Cheltenham Festival on Gold Cup Day on 15 March and throughout the year
- In Lancashire, music lovers shouldn’t miss the 50th anniversary fanfare of the Preston Caribbean Carnival in May, expected to be the biggest yet featuring bombastic parades, sizzling street food and irrepressible rhythms. And in Cheshire, BritFest (5-7 July) will bring the best of the nation’s music, food and entertainment to Ashley Hall Showground for the first time. Meanwhile in Manchester, the four-day Worldwide Music Expo – WOMEX (23-27 October) – will come to the city for the first time. The world’s biggest music conference will feature a range of music genres, attracting over 2,600 music professionals and artists to the city. The festivities don’t stop there as DIASPORA! (3-6 May) is set to hit the Bristol music scene as the city’s latest festival which will celebrate BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of colour) artists with dance, theatre, visual arts, film, poetry, music and ceremonies
- Speaking of landmark anniversaries, 2024 marks 30 years of the Spice Girls, one of Britain’s most iconic girl bands who achieved global success, topping the charts in 31 countries in 1996. Expect Spice Girls-themed anniversary celebrations across England, including in Liverpool where the British Music Experience is hosting Girl Power! Spice Girls at 30 (7 February-8 September), an exhibition unveiling how they became one of the most successful girl groups of all time
Gourmet Travels – Booming Wine Scenes & Fresh Food Halls
- 2024 heralds the 200th anniversary of the first Cadbury Shop in Birmingham. Mark the occasion with a visit to Cadbury World, situated in the historic Bournville Village where the first factory stood, for chocolatey events, exhibitions and tastings. New for this spring, the theme park will launch an immersive ride called Cadbury Chocolate Quest, where riders will join well-known Chocolatey characters to help collect all the ingredients needed to produce a bar of Cadbury Dairy Milk
- The English Wine scene continues to gain prestige with the first fizz expected from Domaine & Evremond in Kent in September together with the launch of a visitor centre and winery in late 2024. This ambitious project from celebrated French winemaker Champagne Taittinger is the first time a Champagne House has planted their own vines in the UK. There’s new private wine themed Somerset itineraries on the cards from Galahad Tours, new Twilight Tours from Wine Tours of Kent and even a Highland Cow Safari and Vineyard tour combined from Herd it on the GrapeVine in East Yorkshire. In the capital, the brand new London Wine Festival is set to take place in December offering wine tastings and workshops accompanied by eats and beats. Plus, following a successful debut in 2023, Norwich Wine Week (14-22 June) is back, bigger and better, to showcase the region’s award-winning vineyards, growers and wineries across the city. This coincides with the 2024 edition of English Wine Week (15-23 June) which serves as an annual national celebration of the country’s fantastic vineyards and wine producers with special events, tastings and offers across the country
- There’s a host of new street food and markets on the horizon for 2024. From summer, Bradford’s Darley Street Market will become a state-of-the art sustainable shopping, food and cultural destination. Cambridge Street Collective in Sheffield brings a brand-new trailblazing food hall and cookery class space to the heart of the city from Easter and there’s a new-look coming to Oxford Covered Market. Plus BOXPARK makes its debut outside London when it opens in Liverpool’s Cains Brewery Village in spring with further plans to open a BOXHALL in Bristol in 2024
Embrace England’s Great Outdoors
- You’ll have until March 2024 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Northumberland Dark Skies Park with the ‘Dark Skies Matter’ anniversary exhibition exploring the past, present and future of astronomy alongside stargazing events, workshops and talks at key locations in the region
- There’s a new way to experience Cumbria coming in summer as new outdoor adventure hub, The Edge, opens its doors to walkers, cyclists and water sports lovers alike. Situated in the pretty coastal town of Whitehaven – the start of the CTC (Coast to Coast) cycle route – it will offer changing facilities for water sports participants, an art studio and café for the wider community and overnight accommodation
- For more coastal adventures, the first Made in Looe Regatta (14-16 June) will be open to every single vessel that has been made in the Cornish town over the decades and promises to be a lively weekend both on land and at sea. 2024 also marks 25 years of the Isle of Wight Walking Festival with its seasonal Spring (11-19 May) and Autumn (5-13 October) editions offering over 60 guided walks, allowing participants to follow in the footsteps of everyone from Alfred Lord Tennyson to Jimi Hendrix
- Due to be fully walkable by the end of the year, expect more sections of the King Charles III Coast Path to open throughout 2024 in its quest to become the longest continuous coastal path in the world. Inland, head to Wiltshire to celebrate 10 years of the Corsham Walking Festival in June or to Lancashire for Garstang Walking Festival’s 20th anniversary celebration in May. For an urban adventure – enjoy a summer city-centre walking trail courtesy of OxTrail, Oxford’s first ever sculpture trail made up of 30 life-sized artist designed ox sculptures
- Set against the backdrop of Swanage Bay in Devon, the new Wild Swimming Festival is set to offer a blend of live music, swim races, expert-led water safety sessions, local culinary delights and guided swims led by coaches and lifeguards. And taking adventures into the night, Reveal Nature’s new Biofluorescent Night Walks will be expanding to locations across England this year including Cornwall and the Lake District. Led by knowledgeable guides equipped with specialised torches, participants will delve into the captivating world of biofluorescence, witnessing nature’s transformation under UV light
Accommodation – New Places to Rest your Head
- New waterside getaways look plentiful for 2024. From December 2023, four new Lakeside Lodges at Kent’s Leeds Castle now offer glorious views of its Great Water, whilst the extensive refurbishment of Langdale Chase on the shores of the Lake District’s Windemere breathes new life into the historic 2 AA Rosette hotel. From the summer, eight new detached lodges at South Lodge in West Sussex will overlook the glorious gardens and lake with some offering outdoor whirlpools and guided wild swimming available to all. And the sea-front locations of the new No 124 King’s Road Brighton, Lancashire’s refurbished Offshore Lytham St Annes and the relaunch of Freshwater Bay’s iconic The Albion hotel on the Isle of Wight will mean guests can be in the sea for a dip in moments when they open their doors in 2024
- For a stay with a heritage twist, The Bailiffgate, due to open in September, will be Northumberland’s newest luxury getaway set within a beautiful Georgian house overlooking Alnwick Castle. In Oxford, the former Boswells Department Store will be reimagined as The Store, a 101-room boutique hotel and spa complete with rooftop bar overlooking the famous ‘dreaming Spires’ and a restaurant championing sustainable and locally sourced produce
- Manchester’s hotel expansion continues apace with a host of new openings on the cards including the Treehouse Hotel in the summer bringing a sustainable ethos, panoramic rooftop views and even pet-friendly rooms. Spring will also see the first Soho House open in the North of England at the Old Granada Studios followed by the third outpost for their Mollies motel brand launching in summer. Later in the year, visitors will be able to bed down in one of Manchester’s treasured Georgian buildings for the first time with the opening of the Station Agent’s House, an accessible holiday property adjoined to 1830 Station – the oldest surviving passenger railway station in the world
- London’s luxe launch boom continues into 2024 with hotly anticipated openings including the five-star Mandarin Oriental Mayfair on Hanover Square; the new Six Senses London bringing its globally-renowned wellness programmes to the capital; literary themed stays at Ruby Stella in Clerkenwell complete with bar-turned-library from April; the chance to immerse yourself in eye-catching design from iconic London street artist D*Face (as well as a possible Banksy or two) at art’otel Hoxton from spring; and the Park Hyatt London River Thames and The Newman in Fitzrovia pegged for winter 2024
All England’s a Stage – Set-Jetting Away
- England’s iconic backdrops will grace the small and big screen in 2024 to once again inspire set-jetting escapes. Kicking off the year, Stephen Spielberg, Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman shone their light on the east of England as the real-life setting (filming took place in Oxford) for Apple TV+’s Masters of the Air, a nine-part drama which was released in January, bringing to life the bravery, valour and cultural influence of the US Eighth Air Force during their time stationed in the region in the Second World War. Visitors today can experience a host of museums, exhibitions and sites to bring it further to life
- The streets and sites of Bath, Greenwich and the like will be back in the spotlight as Bridgerton Season 3 will make its much-anticipated return to Netflix on 16th May. Channel Penelope Featherington and seek out some insider gossip on a locations tour…
- The dramatic coastlines of Somerset, Devon, Cornwall and Dorset are sure to shine in the film adaption of best-selling novel The Salt Path, following the inspiring true story of a couple who embark on a year-long coastal pilgrimage after losing their home and receiving a terminal illness diagnosis. Starring Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs, the film, like the book, is sure to bring the breath-taking 630-mile South West Coast Path and its landscapes to life
- Further North, Hull will launch a new movie trail, tracing the footsteps of Hollywood stars who have graced the city’s streets. The city has been a hotspot for film productions, including scenes for the October 2023 release of the Netflix drama Bodies, as well as prominent series like The Crown and the sequel to Enola Holmes. Adding to Hull’s set-jetting reputation, director Steve McQueen recently selected the city as the backdrop for his upcoming film, Blitz, set for release in 2024
