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LEF COLLECTION
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PRINCES GATE COLLECTION
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FRY COLLECTION
The Royal Academy of Arts’ John Madejski Fine Rooms opened to the public this spring. Hidden behind closed doors for more than two centuries, the magnificently restored Neo-Palladian rooms on the first floor of Burlington House in London’s Piccadilly now display many of the Royal Academy’s art treasures, including works by Reynolds, Gainsborough, Constable, Spencer, and Michelangelo. The Fine Rooms are open Tuesday-Friday 1-4.30 pm; Saturday and Sunday 10 am-6 pm. Closed on Mondays. Free admission. Tel: 020 7300 8000. Web: www.royalacademy.org.uk.
A new art gallery recently opened in a historic 18th-century mansion not far from Warwick Castle and Shakespeare’s birthplace at Stratford-Upon-Avon in Warwickshire. Campton Verney, an architectural masterpiece in the Vanbrugh style, was remodeled in the 1760s by Robert Adam. It stands on 40 acres of classical parkland landscaped by Lancelot “Capability” Brown. Inside, Chinese bronzes, Neapolitan paintings, German gothic sculpture, and British portraits and folk art fill gallery space on three floors. There is also a restaurant and a shop. Open daily, mid-March through October. Admission charge. Tel: 01926 645500. Web: www.comptonverney.org.uk.
London’s Courtauld Institute Art Gallery at Somerset House on the Strand has completely reorganized the installation of its art treasures, arranging them by collector instead of chronologically. Some of the leading collectors of the 19th and 20th centuries made gifts and bequests to the gallery. The new installation offers insights into the history of the individual collections, of the Gallery collection as a whole, and of collecting in Great Britain since the late 19th century. Open daily, 10 am-6 pm. Tel: 020 7848 2526. Web: www.courtauld.ac.uk.
CARDIFF COMING ON STRONG
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The Welsh capital has seen major changes in the past few years. Its revamped waterfront is now a lively social scene, and major hotels are springing up, beginning a few years ago with the St. David’s overlooking Cardiff Bay. In addition to a huge new sports arena, the old Brain’s Brewery in city centre, built in 1880, now teems with restaurants, bars, and cafés around a central piazza and has a new moniker, the Old Brewery Quarter. The Wales Millennium Centre (www.wmc.org.uk), a major venue for performance arts, will join the St. David’s on Cardiff Bay in November. The 165-room Holland House Hotel opened in spring 2004, and the luxury Park Plaza Cardiff, next to the Millennium Centre, is slated for opening in 2005. Web: www.visitcardiff.info.
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bargain bus
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now there’s one more way to get around in Britain, and it’s cheap! Megabus provides the first low-cost bus service, offering fares between many major cities for as little as r£I. Like the no-frills airlines, Megabus charges slightly higher fares for last-minute bookings or especially popular routes. Patrons ride on double-deck buses that link London, Birmingham, Bristol, Exeter, Plymouth, Cardiff, Brighton, and other cities. Find more information and make reservations on line at www.megabus.com for ticket-less travel. There is a SOp booking fee.
new: BritRail’s england pass
BritRail Passes have long been a favourite of savvy travellers, offering unlimited travel throughout England, Scotland, and Wales for a set fee. Now BritRail offers an England pass for travelers who want to confine their journeys to England and save 20 per cent in the bargain. As with the pass that offers all of the Island of Great Britain, the England pass is available for consecutive days or in a FlexiPass version. With the FlexiPass, you pick your travel days at whim. The BritRail England FlexiPass starts at $189, standard class, for four days of travel anytime within two months (first class costs $279). The four-day consecutive pass is $149, standard class.
BritRail Passes must be purchased before departure from North America. For tickets or a brochure, call BritRail toll-free at 866-274-8724 or see www.britrail.net.
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BUXTON’S RESTORED PAVILION GARDENS
IN THE HEART OF THE PEAK DISTRICT, the spa town of Buxton has restored its Pavilion Gardens in time for Britain’s “Year of the Garden.” Twenty-three acres of lawns and formal flower beds spread out along the River Wye and its waterfalls. Beautiful old glass and iron buildings along one side include the Pavilion, the Concert Hall now known as the Octagon, and the Opera House. The Gardens have two lakes, a miniature railroad, a woodland, and a children’s play park. The Gardens first opened in 1871 to draw visitors to Buxton following completion of rail service to the spa in 1863. The Seventh Duke of Devonshire donated funds for the first nine acres of “excellent garden ground,” and other townsmen followed his lead. Eminent landscape gardener Edward Milner was appointed to design the Gardens, and Victorian England’s upper classes flocked to Buxton to take the waters and socialize. Tel: 01298 23114. Web: www.highpeak.gov.uk/tourism/parks/index.htm. Email: [email protected].
WALES
dining guide
Independent experts have eaten their way across Wales so the rest of us can enjoy dining on the best that country has to offer. The result of their gastronomic labours, Dining Out in Wales 2004, includes the top 150 places to enjoy an excellent meal. The menus of many of the establishments emphasize local produce, meat, fish, seafood, and cheese. Among those singled out are elegant country house hotels such as Bodysgallen Hall near Llandudno and Stone Hall, a 600-year-old Pembrokeshire manor house, and the more modest Foxhunter, a Nant-y-Derry pub that was once a station master’s house. In between you’ll find modem restaurants, bistros, and ancient inns. The book is available at bookshops throughout Wales for £6.95 and can be purchased on the web at www.diningoutinwales.com.
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