Kendal

Friday 30th July – Sunday 1th August 2010
Lowther Deer Park, Hackthorpe, The Lake District
www.kendalcalling.com

Nominated for Best Grass Roots festival and Best Small festival at 2009 UK Festival Awards
8,000 capacity – 8 stages – 3 days and nights of fun in the fields

The Kendal Calling hive is buzzing with the news that dance promoters APE and Wax:On will take over the Dance Tent; an announcement that will ignite the passions of dance lovers everywhere. Club curators Ape and Wax:On both respectively throw some of the biggest Drum n bass & dubstep events in the UK and book a repertoire of the world’s best DJ’s. We can’t reveal the DJ line up just yet but one thing is certain; it’s going to be BIG with these heavyweights on board! Wax:On will take the reins on Saturday and Ape will host the arena on Sunday.

For festival-goers bringing little ones, Kendal Calling crew have a plan for families to experience the best of both world’s with the all-new Emperors field! This year’s Emperor Family Camping area will be located in a quiet field away from the main campsite, a stone’s throw from the main arena and offer a special pass to camp next to your car (available for £10).

Set near the campervan field, the quiet family camping will have its own toilet facilities including showers & even a baby changing unit. Gone are the days of summoning superhuman strength at festivals to carry big bags & babies, this family camping experience couldn’t be easier.

ABOUT APE:

Since its conception in 2005 Ape has gone from strength to strength to become a major force in the world of drum n bass, dubstep & other bass driven genres. With innovative line ups, a real emphasis on good time vibes and a loyal and up-for-it crowd, Ape strives to combine the leading names in clubland with breaking talent and the freshest underground artists from around the world.

With their residency at The Warehouse Project firmly established since 2006 and massive Manchester Apollo shows under their belt; some of the best North West dance events of recent times have taken place under the Ape monikor and now they are raring to host the dance arena on Sunday at Kendal Calling!

ABOUT WAX:ON:

For the last 5 years Wax:On have hosted some of the most sought after electronic dance events in the country and played host to over 200 amazing DJ’s and live artists.

They’ve recently taken a leap into releasing music; pioneering the promotion for some of the sterling artists that have set their Wax:On dancefloors alight! Now they are soon to release tracks by Matt Walsh, Doorly & Eskimo Twins.

Dan Blackledge from Wax:On said: ‘’Over the last few years Kendal Calling has grown to become one of the most innovative and exciting festivals in the country and we are extremely pleased to be involved this year. We’ll be bringing in some massive headline talent alongside some amazing upcoming DJs and Live artists from the world of electronic music’’

Director of Kendal Calling Ben Robinson says: “We can assure people that with Ape & Wax : On building our line ups we are going to have an energetic and electric feel that will be a literally mind-blowing experience for all our dance music lovers.”

In travel news Big Green Coaches are on board this year, for as little as £15 they are offering travel to our beautiful Lowther Deer Park from 19 locations across the UK. For those arriving by train Big Green coach will also be running a shuttle between the site & Penrith train station for a discounted rate of £8 (advance bookings).

Kendal Calling revealed the first details of the 3 days extravaganza a few weeks ago and sold out of 500 early bird tickets in 1 minute! With the first line up announcement coming soon, there will be 12 stages and areas mixing up everything from world famous bands on the main stage to Europe’s biggest solar powered tent Croissant Neuf and our booty shaking Dance Arena. This year KC also hosts a kid’s area, Garden of Eden and Peaceful Progress; a creative crew of graffiti artists, breakdancers & sculptors and much more.

TICKET DETAILS:

Date: 30th July – 1st August 2010
Location: Lowther Deer Park, Hackthorpe, CA10 2HN
Ticket Price: Weekend Camping Tickets: £85

Family Camping tickets offers: https://secure.ticketline.co.uk/tickets/13244128/kendal-calling-emperors-fields-family-camping/cumbria-lowther-deer-park/2010-07-30

Big Green Coach travel & festival ticket: £93 available at http://www.biggreencoach.co.uk/index.php/product/affview/kendalcalling/

Direct Tickets: www.kendalcalling.com

The South Lakes is enticing groups to visit its beautiful area in 2010 with a variety of offers, new things-to-do and suggestions that will not only get the party started, but make it wish the experience or trip would never end.

New facets have been added to the area’s already superb scenic, cultural, food, family-focused and outdoor activities offer, making a visit in 2010 a real must-do for many groups.

The new things that the area can boast include:

• New K Village, The Lakes Outlet opening on June 25 2010, comprising over 30 premium factory outlets, a new K Heritage Centre and five restaurants/cafés to create a unique, state-of-the-art destination shopping and leisure complex.
• New Garden Café at Beetham Nurseries which features home cooked ‘real’ food, produced to high standards with locally sourced ingredients.
• New ‘Full Steam Ahead: Quakers and Railways’ feature at the award-winning attraction, The Quaker Tapestry, Kendal, exploring the relationship between engineer, George Stephenson, and Edward Pease – a Quaker coal owner and merchant, who shared the dream to build a public railway line from Stockton to Darlington. The new Quaker Tapestry display features a working model railway.
• New ‘Keeping House With Mrs Tittlemouse’ exhibition at the Beatrix Potter Gallery, Hawkshead – celebrating 100 years of Mrs Tittlemouse and with a children’s activity sheet to bring the exhibition to life.
• New children’s garden trail during school holidays at Hill Top, Near Sawrey.
• Spectacular new bulb displays for Spring 2010 at Sizergh Castle and Garden thanks to the planting of 7000 bulbs in November, these being 3000 red, cream and yellow tulips in the herbaceous border, 1500 white tulips in the Hot Border and 200 mixed, coloured tulips and Dutch iris in the Kitchen Garden.
• New booking arrangement for groups and school parties visiting Grasmere Gingerbread, plus refreshments and sampling for pre-booked groups.
• New Lakeland Motor Museum opening soon.

Within a relatively compact geographical area, The South Lakes continues to have a concentration of top quality attractions that are the envy of other destinations. Major attractions include:

• The World of Beatrix Potter, Bowness
• Lakes Aquarium, Lakeside
• Windermere Lake Cruises
• The Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway, Lakeside
• Lakeland Wildlife Oasis, Milnthorpe
• The Lakeland Maize Maze, Sedgwick near Milnthorpe
• The Quaker Tapestry, Kendal
• Kendal Museum, Kendal
• The Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal
• Abbot Hall Art Gallery, Kendal
• The Museum of Lakeland Life, Kendal
• Dove Cottage and the Wordsworth Museum & Art Gallery, Grasmere
• Rydal Mount, Rydal
• Sizergh Castle and Gardens, Sizergh, near Kendal
• Hill Top, Near Sawrey, Hawkshead
• Townend, Troutbeck
• The Beatrix Pottery Gallery, Hawkshead
• Blackwell – The Arts and Crafts House
• Go Ape, Grizedale
• Levens Hall & Gardens, Levens

Just a short drive away are the attractions of Coniston, including Brantwood, Steam Yacht Gondola, The Ruskin Museum, the Coniston Launch and the Coniston Boating Centre.

Also close at hand are Holker Hall & Gardens and the coastal area of Grange-over-Sands, Arnside and Silverdale.

Outdoor activities can be arranged with a wide variety of providers, or easily booked, even last-minute, through Destination Cumbria. Activities for families wishing to engage in some woodland exploration can be booked through Playdays in the Woods.

Those wishing to enjoy a brew with a view have a plethora of cafés, restaurants, hotels and other stop-offs to head to, the journey made all the easier by the special ‘Brew With A View’ booklet from South Lakeland District Council.

This publication highlights coach and mini-bus friendly stop-offs and the ‘view’ that can be enjoyed whilst drinking in the landscape or eating the wonderful local produce.

Real foodies can tuck in to the special culinary courses provided by LucyCooks in Staveley, try a regional speciality at Grasmere Gingerbread, or visit the Country Fest show, which includes the former Westmorland Food Lovers Festival.

With a highly attractive and packed events calendar, there are frequent opportunities to build a group itinerary around a specific festival or day out, whether this is Damson Day, Country Fest, The Westmorland County Show, Mintfest, Lakes Alive events, Lake District Summer Music, the Great North Swim, Kendal Torchlight Carnival, the English Stone Skimming Championships, or country events such as Grasmere and Ambleside Sports, or the Rydal or Ings Sheepdog Trials.

The South Lakes has everything to get the party started, thoroughly entertained, thrilled and delighted, and back on the coach or mini-bus with a mass of memories to last a lifetime.

For more information on the South Lakes visit www.southlakeland.gov.uk/tourism.

One of Britain’s biggest and most innovative seasons of outdoor arts events will take place across Cumbria again this spring and summer, set against the county’s beautiful and varied landscape and heritage.

This year’s Lakes Alive programme of events will run from 29 April to 5 September. It is Cumbria’s unique contribution to the Legacy Trust UK programme, which was set up to help build a lasting cultural and sporting legacy from the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.

The mainly free shows will include modern circus, dramatic outdoor theatre, contemporary dance and exciting, fiery processions.

Lakes Alive is created and directed by Kendal Arts International with Manchester International Arts. Julie Tait, the director of Kendal Arts International, says: “Lakes Alive is an ambitious four–year Cumbria–wide programme. Last year we set ourselves the objective of making the county a centre of excellence for street arts and we are already well on the way to making that a reality.

“Over 75,000 attended the events in our first year and by 2012 we will have brought at least £4 million of new arts spending into the county. We’re very excited by this year’s programme. As well as the top UK acts, Lakes Alive in 2010 will feature work by outdoor arts companies from across the world including Spain, France, Holland, Germany, Austria, India and Australia.”

There will be a chance to get a taste of Lakes Alive ahead of the full season at the Welcoming the Light event in Carlisle on Saturday 13 March, as part of Illuminating Hadrian’s Wall. A fiery parade will be accompanied by street artists and musicians and led by the incredible Heliosphere balloon with a performer suspended beneath it performing aerial acrobatics.

The Lakes Alive season will formally open in the atmospheric ruins of Furness Abbey near Barrow from 29 April to 2 May, with evening performances of a new show created by critically-acclaimed South Asian Dance Company, Akademi. The show has been specially commissioned by Lakes Alive.

A series of events across the May half term holidays will start with a thrilling outdoor animation festival in Whitehaven showcasing the town’s historic harbour on 29 and 30 May, including a dramatic procession with fire, light and giant illuminated fish by Spanish artists Sarruga.

From 3 to 5 June We Built This City will give people a chance to take part in a public construction extravaganza in the centre of Carlisle. Using thousands of big cardboard boxes and the energy and ingenuity of kids and families, Polyglot Theatre from Australia will help build a magnificent city.

Accompanied by live music buildings will go up, be pulled down, be redesigned, extended, walked through and jumped on, and reconstructed. At the end of the day, everybody can have fun knocking down and squashing the whole city into a recyclable heap of cardboard rubble.

In the south of the county Barrow will welcome some of the best and most exciting modern circus acts from Britain and overseas from 4 to 6 June. Zircus Plus, a unique International Circus Festival, will put on an amazing show at several locations across the town.

On 23 and 24 July German group Theater Titanick, one of Europe’s leading outdoor performance companies, will stage a stunning, large-scale show involving illusion, fire, water, music and dance at Carlisle Castle.

From 28-30 July a number of Cumbrian woodlands will play host to an afternoon of shows that have been specially created for woods or with a woodland theme. Into the Woods at Grizedale, Whinlatter and Talkin Tarn will provide an afternoon of outdoor family adventure with a difference.

Also during the summer holidays (dates TBC), The Cabaret of Dr Caligari, a show created especially for Lakes Alive in 2009, will tour towns in West Cumbria providing an afternoon of cabaret with music, dancing, comedy and spectacle for a family audience. The chaotic Dr Caligari conjures oddities, eccentrics and acrobats out of thin air to entertain the audience, but once out of the box they refuse to disappear!

On Sunday 1 August in Penrith there will be a new international street festival featuring puppetry, strolling characters, comic creations and more from across the globe.

On 30 August highly respected French artists Commandos Percu will stage a dazzling extravaganza of sound, fire, light and colour at Maryport.

The season of events will culminate in Mintfest, one of the country’s largest street arts festivals, which takes place in Kendal at the gateway to the Lakes. Running from 2 to 5 September the festival will include a host of the very best street artists from across the world, including new work commissioned by the UK street arts consortium Without Walls.

Further details about all the shows will be available at www.lakesalive.org.

Lakes Alive is one of three annual programmes commissioned for WE PLAY, the Northwest cultural legacy programme for the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. WE PLAY is funded by Legacy Trust UK, an independent charity set up to help build a lasting cultural and sporting legacy from the 2012 Olympic Games. The project is led by the Arts Council England Northwest on behalf of a new regional partnership. Lakes Alive is sponsored by the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) and has also received funding from Arts Council England and the Northern Rock Foundation.

Moira Swinbank, the Chief Executive of Legacy Trust UK, says: “Legacy Trust UK is delighted to be funding Lakes Alive, which has already made a considerable impact on Cumbria’s cultural landscape and will continue to build a lasting cultural legacy for the area with the fantastic line-up for the 2010 programme.

Peter Mearns, Executive Director of Marketing and Communications at the NWDA said: “Lakes Alive has fast become a much anticipated programme of world-class events, attracting visitors to Cumbria from far and wide. It’s a fantastic opportunity to showcase the region to a wide audience and adds a whole new dimension to the visitor experience. 2010 promises to deliver another unique collection of events which will no doubt provide a great boost to the region’s visitor economy.”

The Lakes Alive season is also supported by a wide range of other organisations including every council in Cumbria, the Lake District National Park, Cumbria Tourism, Carlisle Renaissance, Carlisle Tourism Partnership, Barrow Regeneration, the Forestry Commission and companies including K Village.

A continental market will be held in Kendal, November 18 to 22.

It will feature professional market traders from France, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Holland and Poland, wearing traditional costumes, selling a wide range of foods and other products.

The market will be held in and around the Elephant Yard shopping centre. It will be open from 9 am to 6 pm Wednesday to Saturday, and from 10 am to 4 pm on Sunday.

The North West’s top tourism businesses and professionals were honoured in Blackpool last night.

The 2009 Northwest Tourism Awards ceremony was held at Blackpool Tower and organised by the Northwest Regional Development Agency.

18 winners received awards fro BBC presenter Ranvir Singh:

• Bed and Breakfast of the Year – The Ashton, Lancaster
• Large Hotel of the Year – The Lowry Hotel, Manchester
• Small Hotel of the Year – Gilpin Lodge Country House Hotel, Windermere
• Self Catering Holiday of the Year – Hall Hills, Dalston, near Carlisle
• Holiday Park of the Year – Castlerigg Hall Caravan and Camping Park, Keswick, Cumbria
• Large Visitor Attraction of the Year – Imperial War Museum North, Manchester
• Small Visitor Attraction of the Year – Arley Hall & Gardens, Northwich, Cheshire
• Taste of England’s Northwest – Low Sizergh Barn Farm Shop, Kendal, Cumbria
• Tourism Experience of the Year – Farmaggedon, near Ormskirk, Lancashire
• Tourism for All – Kerridge End Holiday Cottages, Macclesfield, Cheshire
• Tourism Event of the Year – Blackpool Illuminations
• Public Space Award – Pier Head Public Realm and Canal Link, Liverpool
• Tourist Information Centre of the Year – Wigan TIC
• Travel Journalist of the Year – Stephen McClarence, The Observer
• Outstanding Contribution to Tourism Award – Nigel Haworth, Northcote, near Blackburn
• Excellence in Business Tourism – Arena and Convention Centre, Liverpool
• Excellence in Customer Service – Christina Dixon, Jurys Inn, Liverpool
• Sustainable Tourism Award – Arena and Convention Centre, Liverpool

Each will represent the North West in next year’s national tourism awards.

Police are appealing for information from the public after the theft of £205,000 worth of antiques from Levens Hall, near Kendal.

At around 5 am on Saturday 19th September, at least two offenders broke into Levens Hall and stole a Thomas Tompion antique table clock worth £200,000 and a statue of Napoleon on horseback worth £5,000.

To gain access, the offenders scaled the perimeter wall of Levens Hall with a ladder they had stolen from a shed on the opposite side of the A6. The ladders were then used to gain access to a first floor room where they stole a table clock and statue of Napoleon on horseback. The offenders made off on foot back onto the A6.

Police have released an image of the stolen Thomas Tompion ebony quarter repeating table timepiece which has an estimated value of £200,000. During the burglary the clock was damaged and one of its four feet is now missing. Officers have also released an image of the bronze figure of Napoleon on horseback by E B Masson which was also stolen in the burglary. The piece is signed, and the figure has an ivory face and hands and is set on a grey marble base.

DC Damian West, of South Cumbria CID at Kendal, who is leading the investigation, said: ‘High value thefts such as this are very unusual for the area and we are working hard to trace these important historical artefacts and catch the offenders. As part of this we are appealing directly to the public for help. I would ask any witnesses or anyone who saw any suspicious vehicles or people in vicinity of the Hall, to contact us on 0845 33 00 247 or through Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. Also I would urge anyone who sees these items for sale, or is offered them under suspicious circumstances to let us know immediately.’

The 2009 Northwest Tourism Awards will be held at Blackpool Tower on September 28.

The event will be hosted by BBC presenter Ranvir Singh and is being organised by the Northwest Regional Development Agency.

The finalists are:

Large Hotel of the Year

Carden Park Hotel, Golf Resort and Spa, near Chester
Castle Green Hotel, Kendal, Cumbria
Preston Marriott Hotel, Preston, Lancashire
The Lowry Hotel, Manchester
Malmaison Liverpool, Liverpool

Small Hotel of the Year

Peckforton Castle, Tarporley, Cheshire
Gilpin Lodge Country House Hotel, Windermere, Cumbria
Mytton Fold Hotel and Golf Complex, Ribble Valley

Bed and Breakfast of the Year

Harrop Fold Farm, Macclesfield, Cheshire
Storrs Gate House, Bowness-on-Windermere, Cumbria
The Ashton, Lancaster, Lancashire
Brooklands Lodge, Sale, Greater Manchester
The Ambassador Townhouse, Southport, Merseyside

Large Visitor Attraction of the Year

Tatton Park, Knutsford, Cheshire
Walby Farm Park, near Carlisle, Cumbria
Blackpool Tower and Circus, Blackpool
Imperial War Museum North, Manchester
Liverpool Anglican Cathedral, Liverpool

Small Visitor Attraction of the Year

Arley Hall & Gardens, Northwich, Cheshire
Wordsworth House and Garden, Cockermouth, Cumbria
Helmshore Mills Textile Museum, Helmshore, Lancashire
Museum of the Manchester Regiment, Manchester
Acorn Farm, Liverpool

Self Catering Holiday of the Year

Kerridge End Holiday Cottages, Macclesfield, Cheshire
Hall Hills, Dalston, near Carlisle, Cumbria
Clough Bottom Farm Cottages, near Clitheroe, Lancashire
Blue Rainbow Apartments, Manchester
Premier Apartments Liverpool, Liverpool

Holiday Park of the Year

Castlerigg Hall Caravan and Camping Park, Keswick, Cumbria
Sunset Park, Hambleton, near Blackpool

Business Tourism Award

Carden Park Hotel, Golf Resort and Spa, near Chester
Warwick Mill Business Village, near Carlisle, Cumbria
Ribby Hall Village, Wrea Green, near Blackpool
The Lowry Hotel, Manchester
BT Convention Centre, Liverpool

Taste of England’s Northwest

Walk Mill, Chester
Low Sizergh Barn Farm Shop, Kendal, Cumbria
La Locanda Ristorante Italiano, Gisburn, Lancashire
The Modern, Urbis, Manchester
Delifonseca, Liverpool

Tourism Experience of the Year

Roman Tours, Chester
Silverband Falconry, Penrith, Cumbria
Farmaggedon, near Ormskirk, Lancashire
Costumed Performers, Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester
Art in the Age of Steam, National Museums Liverpool, Liverpool

Customer Service Award

Janet Bradshaw, Tatton Park, Knutsford, Cheshire
Jennifer Taylor, The Archway Guest House, Windermere, Cumbria
Hannah Lee, The New Holly, near Preston
Mahendran Mayan, Renaissance Hotel, Manchester
Christina Dixon, Jurys Inn Hotel, Liverpool

Sustainable Tourism Award

Carden Park Hotel, Golf Resort and Spa, near Chester
Langdale Leisure Ltd, Ambleside, Cumbria
Malkin Tower Farm Holiday Cottages, Blacko, Lancashire
Radisson SAS Hotel Manchester Airport, Greater Manchester
Arena and Convention Centre Liverpool, Liverpool

Tourism for All Award

Kerridge End Holiday Cottages, Macclesfield, Cheshire
Ullswater Steamers, Glenridding, Cumbria
Sandcastle Waterpark, Blackpool
The Trafford Centre, Greater Manchester

Tourism Event

Nantwich Food and Drink Festival, Cheshire
Westmorland County Agricultural Show, Milnthorpe, Cumbria
Blackpool Illuminations, Blackpool
Manchester Pride, Manchester
Creamfields, Merseyside

Public Space Award

Cockermouth Market Place Regeneration Scheme, Cumbria
County Square Environmental Enhancement Scheme, Ulverston, Cumbria
Pier Head Public Realm and Canal Link, Liverpool

Tourist Information Centre of the Year

Congleton TIC, Cheshire
Coniston TIC, Cumbria
Cleveleys TIC, Lancashire
Wigan TIC, Greater Manchester
St Helens TIC, Merseyside

Travel Journalist of the Year

Chris Moss, Time Out
Craig Fleming, Blackpool Gazette
David Atkinson, Freelance
Paul Croughton, The Sunday Times
Stephen McClarence, The Observer

Heritage Open Days allow visitors free access to properties that normally charge an entrance fee or are not usually open to the public.

The event starts tomorrow and runs until Sunday September 13.

Hundreds of attractions and properties in the North West are taking part. For more details visit the official Heritage Open Days website.

Highlights include:

Barrow

Furness Abbey (more…)

Visitors looking for a cheap place to stay in North West England next year (or indeed the rest of the UK, Ireland or Spain) should take note that Travelodge today launched an amazing offer on budget rooms.

The budget hotel chain is offering 50,000 rooms at only £12. The rate applies for stays between January 1 and April 1 2010. Rooms are also available from £19 (book 21 days ahead) and from £29 (book 7 days ahead).

To take advantage of this amazing offer, visit this page on their website.

A remote farmhouse in Cumbria, immortalised in the cult film Withnail & I, has been purchased by an architect from Canterbury.

Tim Ellis, aged 41, has bought Sleddale Hall (Uncle Monty’s cottage) from United Utilities for an undisclosed sum. He plans to convert the building into a house.

Earlier this year the farmhouse was purchased at auction by publican Sebastian Hindley, but the deal subsequently collapsed.