£55 million ‘Richard III dividend’ for Leicester

LEICESTER CITY COUNCIL has reported that the ‘Richard III effect’ has generated a £55 million boost to the city’s economy over the past year.

The council says the £55 million estimate represents the amount of cash spent in the city which has been directly influenced by interest in Richard III, who was reinterred at Leicester Cathedral a year ago.

Sarah Harrison, at Leicester city council, said: ‘The total figure is calculated using visitor figures from the Richard III visitor centre and the cathedral. We estimate that 10 percent of those people would have come from overseas, and so would need accommodation, and 38 percent came from other parts of the UK, so some of those would need hotel rooms, too.’

Hotels are said to be benefiting from the increase in tourist numbers since the discovery of Richard III’s body, with 80 percent of rooms being occupied regularly. The rise in overnight stays and visitors is estimated to have been worth an additional £5 million in revenue for businesses such as hotels, cafes, pubs, and B&Bs over the past year.


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Picture Credit: Service of Compline for the Reception of the Remains of King Richard III</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin

UK's largest cheese fair returns in 2016

THE UK'S largest cheese fair will return for its sixth year in 2016 when the Artisan Cheese Fair takes place in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire (April 30-May 1).

Last year, more than 8,000 cheese-lovers visited the fair, at which more than 50 cheesemakers showcased in excess of 250 products.

There will be talks, demonstrations, and tastings.

Matthew O'Callaghan, the fair’s organizer, says: ‘The Artisan Cheese Fair is now into its sixth year and continues to grow in size and quality of experience for local, regional, and national visitors. With plans for more exhibitors, offering more types of cheese than ever, this year's event will be the largest cheese fair of its type in the UK.’

www.artisancheesefair.co.uk

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They’re winners!

GOLD #awards were won by 13 tourism businesses at the annual Leicester and Leicestershire Excellence in Tourism Awards 2015. 

The will be re-judged for the national #VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2016.

The winners included:

Accommodation Provider: Mercure Leicester, The Grand Hotel – Gold 

Tourism Event: Melton Mowbray Victorian Fayre 

Small Visitor Attraction: Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre 

Taste of England Award: The White Peacock 

Large Visitor Attraction: King Richard III Visitor Centre

Access for All Tourism Award: Attenborough Arts Centre

Sustainable Tourism Award: Horseshoe Cottage Farm

Tourism Pub of the Year: The Belper Arms 

Tourism Experience: King Richard III Re-interment

Holiday Park of the Year/Self Catering Provider: Eye Kettleby Lakes/The Dandelion Hideaway

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Picture Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/48520501@N02/20689207709">The Battle of Bosworth Anniversary Weekend 2015</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/">(license)

Festival must for foodies

THE MELTON MOWBRAY FOOD FESTIVAL is one of the largest regional food festivals in the country, held in the heart of the traditional market town known as the UK's Rural Capital of Food.

On October 3-4, the 12th annual festival will offer a large selection of food from some of the country's finest producers, many from the East Midlands.

Visitors can sample not only the local, traditional Melton Mowbray Pork Pies and Stilton Cheese, but also a range of foods such as alcoholic ice creams, artisan cheeses, steamed puddings, chocolate kebabs, gourmet British game … plus locally-brewed ales.

www.meltonmowbrayfoodfestival.co.uk



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Picture Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/79653482@N00/2327632856">Melton Mowbray on Holborn street</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">(license), http://www.flickr.com/photos/10390868@N07/1859876426">pork pie ...</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">(license)

Circle the wagons!

EXPECT riveting tales about the wagon trains of the Wild West when wheelwright Phill Gregson gives a masterclass at the National Forest Wood Fair (Beacon Hill Country Park, Leicestershire) on Bank Holiday Monday, August 31. 

Phill was absent from last year’s fair, because he was on a six-week study tour of the US where he was looking at materials and production methods used by wheelwrights.

His 6,000-mile journey began in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia and ended 16 states later at the North West Carriage Museum, Washington State. He saw wagons from the early settlers in the 1700s, part of a wheel from one of General Custer's wagons and visited the childhood home of Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of Little House on the Prairie.

‘My trip was funded by the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust and the Worshipful Company of Wheelwrights, so that I could look at the history and techniques of how people have developed the wooden wheel in the US. I also wanted to investigate potential alternative timbers to those I use here in the UK. Many of our trees are threatened by diseases and I want to make sure the work of the wheelwright will continue.

‘The trip was totally inspirational for my work as a wheelwright, and it's made me even keener to work to promote what we have in the UK, all our history and heritage, and to pass on all that I learned to others.’

The fair is an annual celebration of timber, trees and woodcrafts … an action-packed day with lumberjacks, chainsaw carvers, and horseloggers. Visitors can have a go at eco-art, cheer on the log to leg race, and hitch a ride on a tree lift.

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Picture Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/36776053@N00/131484488">wagontrain</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">(license), Noe wainwright by Flominator - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons 

Study the stars under canvas

THE NATIONAL SPACE CENTRE has worked with glamourous camping specialist The Dandelion Hideaway to offer a Space Race experience. Camp out under the stars for an evening of astronomy, workshops, and craft sessions.

Book into one of the canvas cottages at The Dandelion Hideaway on the southern fringe of the National Forest for the weekend of June 5-6 and launch off into the Space Race Challenge. With expert help and guidance from National Space Centre staff, guests will be able to build and launch rockets, design a team mission, handle real space artefacts, and try space food. They will also be given a tour of the night sky, spotting satellites and looking at the planets Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn. 

The Dandelion Hideaway is a working farm, with luxury canvas cottages in the Leicestershire countryside and has just won the Bronze award in the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence for Self catering Holiday Provider of the Year - Well Done!

www.thedandelionhideaway.co.uk
www.spacecentre.co.uk
www.nationalforest.org

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Picture Credit: National Space Centre, Leicester geograph.org.uk - by Kate Jewell. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons, Night Sky Stars Trees by Michael J. Bennett - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Forest guide

THE NATIONAL FOREST and Beyond Tourism partnership has launched its 2015 Visitor Guide at the National Trust's newly-opened Arts and Crafts cottage, Stoneywell, Leicestershire.

Stoneywell and its unique history – it was built as a summer residence in Charnwood, part of The National Forest, by locally born architect-designer Ernest Gimson – is one of the attractions highlighted in the guide. 

John Everitt, chief executive, National Forest Company - www.nationalforest.org, said: ‘The guide captures the essence of the National Forest, with plenty of ideas and inspiration for day trips and short breaks, and the voices of Forest residents and national travel writers make for great reading.’


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Picture Credit: By Ernest Gimson (died 1919) via Wikimedia Commons; courtesy nationalforest.org

A king re-buried

FOLLOWING the discovery of his remains in Leicester in 2013, Richard III will be laid to rest at a reinterment ceremony at Leicester Cathedral in March. 

The reinterment will involve a series of events over several days starting on March 22 with the re-burial itself on March 26. Visitors can learn more about his dynasty, death and discovery at the King Richard III Visitor Centre in the city, or by visiting the Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre.

www.kingrichardinleicester.com and www.bosworthbattlefield.com

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Picture Credit: "King Richard III" by Unknown - Scanned from the book The National Portrait Gallery History of the Kings and Queens of England by David Williamson, ISBN 1855142287 via Wikimedia Commons

National Trust unveils unique arts & crafts property

A RARE surviving example of a traditional arts and crafts house, with many pieces of original furniture, will give visitors the chance to explore a much-loved family home and garden. 

In the Charnwood Forest, Leicestershire, Stoneywell was built in 1899 by Ernest Gimson, a leading light of the Arts and Crafts movement. It was built as a holiday home for his elder brother, and remained in the Gimson family until 2012, when it was acquired by the National Trust.

The house, built with local stone, is surrounded by gardens and woodland.

Stoneywell opens to the public on February 2 for seven days a week until November 30, when it closes for two months for conservation work. 

Due to its small size, visits must be booked in advance, which can be done either online at www.nationaltrust.org.uk/stoneywell or by calling 01530 248048.

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Picture Credit:'Stoneywell'' courtesy nationaltrust.org.uk/stoneywell

Savings for early birds

LIMITED early bird tickets for the 2015 National Forest Wood Fair have gone on sale in time for Christmas. 

Visitors who buy them now will get one third off the normal entry price in August next year.

The event takes place in the Beacon Hill Country Park in Leicestershire

Richard Drakeley, Tourism Development Officer for the National Forest Company, said: ‘The National Forest Wood Fair attracts more than 100 exhibitors and demonstrators, and people return year after year to this very special event. There's always loads to see and do, but also time to talk to the exhibitors, ask them about their craft, and find out more about the things you can see and do in The National Forest. Early bird tickets will save you money and you'll have a great day out to look forward to next summer!’

Tickets are on sale online at www.nationalforestwoodfair.co.uk  

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Take a break …

LEISURE visitors booking Stay Play Explore short breaks in Leicestershire more than doubled this summer.

The breaks offer visitors a choice of three from five high quality attractions at a value-for-money fixed price. The breaks include Family Fun, Family Adventure, Theme Parks, Richard III, Gourmet Taste of Leicestershire, and Glorious Heritage.

Co-ordinated by Leicester Shire Promotions, they can be booked online at www.stayplayexplore.co.uk or by calling 0116 225 4000.

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Wood Fair tickets on sale – save 20% when you buy online

TICKETS for this year's National Forest Wood Fair in Leicestershire are now on sale: buying in advance will give visitors a saving of 20 percent of the admission charge on the day (August 25).

This year sees the tenth anniversary fair. There will be more than 100 demonstrators and exhibitors, and a packed programme of have-a-go activities, demonstrations of woodland crafts and timber machinery.

Held in the Beacon Hill Country Park, visitors will enjoy views over the growing National Forest.

Tickets on the day will cost £9 (adult), £6 (concession), family £25.00 (two adults and up to three concessions). www.nationalforestwoodfair.co.uk

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Melton Mowbray gets ready for food fest

THOUSANDS of visitors expected at this year’s Melton Mowbray Food Festival (October 4-5). It is one of the largest regional food festivals in the country, set in the heart of the town known as the UK’s rural capital of food.

 More than 150 exhibitors will be showcasing their produce, and celebrity chefs, regional cooks and bakers will be demonstrating a range of recipes. Marking anniversary of the start of 1914-18 war, the Women’s Institute will be running displays on a WW1 theme.

Tickets are priced at £6 on the day or £5 in advance from www.goleicestershire.com/foodfestival online or in person from Ye Olde Pork Pie Shoppe in Melton Mowbray - www.meltonmowbrayfoodfestival.co.uk

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Take a walk in the forest …

THE new long distance walking trail, the National Forest Way, will be launched on 17th May. 

The trail, which has been five years in the making, uses public rights of way and permissive paths to take walkers on a journey of discovery through the length and breadth of The National Forest.

The 75-mile trail extends from the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire to Beacon Hill Country Park in Leicestershire, and can be walked west to east or east to west. The trail is divided into 12 stages with directional leaflets available for each stage. Walkers can dip in for a day, walk for the weekend or take on the whole 75 miles in one go.

Says Sophie Churchill, Chief Executive, National Forest Company: ‘It's suitable for experienced and new walkers alike, and is full of surprises. I “test walked” it and loved getting a sense of the whole of the forest – the varied and unexpected aspects of this transformed landscape, all framed by woodland. The trail leads through young and ancient woodlands, market towns and the industrial heritage of this changing landscape at the heart of the Midlands.’

www.nationalforestway.co.uk

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