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News
ABOVE: Kenilworth Castle in Warwickshire. VisitBritain announces new things to see in 2009NEW YORK -- In 2009, Britain will be a center for cultural inspiration across the country. Visitors will be enchanted by the year-long festivities for Homecoming Scotland '09, a new aquarium and interactive bird conservation center, as well as several newly refurbished museums. To help travelers uncover these new treasures, VisitBritain, the national tourist office for England, Scotland and Wales, has just unveiled the new tourism developments in Britain for 2009: England Located in London's East End, the Whitechapel Gallery is currently undergoing a £13 million (or approximately $26 million) development to increase the gallery space by 78 percent. Upon completion, the expanded gallery will have an archive and research center, education studio, a site-specific commission's gallery (highlight an artist's for one year), a project-based gallery (focusing on community-based, school-based and public art), a new bistro-style and members only restaurant. The gallery will re-open in spring 2009. The Museum of London also is undergoing a £19 million (or approximately $38 million) redevelopment of its lower galleries to re-tell the story of London and its people from 1666 to the present. The modern galleries will re-open in 2009 featuring a new Clore Learning Center, a theater, and the Sackler Hall containing an information zone. Kenilworth Castles' Elizabeth Gardens re-creation will officially open to the public in 2009. The re-created gardens will be as close to the original garden as possible, based on the archeological excavation, historical research and contemporary description from Robert Laneham and an eye-witness account of the Elizabethan garden dating from July 1575. This garden is located in Swindon, England. Nestled on a little orchard farm in Eardisland in Herefordshire, the International Centre for Birds of Prey will be a world-class facility housing 170 bird species. The center, which will be open to the public, will offer courses on all aspects of bird handling, training and conservation for the birds of prey in their natural habitat. The center is scheduled to open in fall 2009. Saltholme will also be another world-class nature reserve nestled on 1,000 acres in the Tees Valley in the north of England. Visitors can meander along new lakes, pools, grasslands and reedbeds to see exciting, rare and exclusive species. The environment will also encourage rare wildlife such as kingfishers, mute swans, grey herons, butterflies, dragon flies and wild flowers. This attraction will open to the public in the winter / spring 2009. The Newcastle-based Great North Museum is a new £26 million (or approximately $52 million) museum showcasing major displays exploring the wonder and diversity of the natural world, a planetarium, a large-scale, an interactive model of Hadrian's Wall, as well as a spectacular Greek and Etruscan archaeological finds and a life-size T-Rex dinosaur skeleton. The museum, which is scheduled to open in spring 2009, will feature exhibitions from the Hancock Museum, The Museum of Antiquities and Shefton Museum. Blue Reef is a new, world-class £4 million (or approximately $8 million) aquarium in the former Wildwalk and IMAX® building in Bristol, England. The aquarium will feature native and tropical marine and freshwater creatures in naturally themed habitats designed to inspire deeper understanding of the natural world when it opens to the public in summer 2009. Otter Nurseries will be a new restaurant and coffee shop serving lite, home made meal options to patrons in Devon, England. The new venue can accommodate 400 people. Scotland Homecoming Scotland '09 will be a year-long celebration to showcase all the great things Scotland has given the world, unlimited potential for golf and endless opportunities to trace one's ancestry. The special events will commemorate the 250th birthday for Robert Burns, the world-renowned national poet and cultural icon. Scots around the world, as well as those with an affinity for Scotland, will come home so to speak during next year's festivities. Celtic Connections (January 24 to February 1, 2009) honors Burns influence on Scottish music. The festival will feature the largest tribute to Burns featuring an array of renowned artists singing Auld Lang Syne at the Clyde Auditorium. The Homecoming Suite is a brand new commission of five of Scotland's exceptional young performers who have created a new musical piece to be performed by RSNO and special guests. Finally, the Bringing It All Back Home event will raise awareness for all the Scottish music and songs that have traveled with emigrants, become a staple item in the American music scene. Burns Light will be an amazing lantern (large and small inspired by the poet's works) procession through the old town on January 25, 2009. The lanterns will wind through the historic heart of Dumfries, past Burns' house and onto his final resting place. The procession ends at River Nith for live music, a traditional ceilidh and a spectacular fire show, featuring huge Burns-inspired withy sculptures and fireworks. The Loch Lomond Quilt Show (May 20 to 23, 2009) will be an inspiring showcase of Homecoming quilts to celebrate Scotland's unique textile heritage. Avid fans of contemporary, historical and traditional textiles will come together on the banks of the Loch Lomond for this international quilting event. The Glasgow-based Mitchell Library will present “Inspired,” (April to September 2009) an exhibition of contemporary art inspired by the life, poetry and songs of Robert Burns, featuring work by a distinguished group of domestic and international artists. The contemporary work will be presented alongside a small collection of previously unseen relics. The exhibition presents a fascinating and unprecedented way to convey the influence and relevance of Robert Burns' work in the present day. Trongate 103 will be a £7 million (or approximately $14 million) major visual arts facility nestled in the heart of Glasgow's Merchant City. The venue will have two floors of exhibition space, as well as four additional floors of artists production facilities, galleries, workshops, artists studios and product spaces supporting the creation of art in a wide variety of media including printmaking, photography, digital media, film, video, kinetic sculpture, painting and ceramics. Trongate 103 is a partnership with Glasgow City Council, Glasgow Print Studio, Project Ability, Street Level Photoworks, Transmission Gallery, Sharmanka Kinetic Theatre, Glasgow Media Access Centre, Glasgow Independent Studios and The Russian Cultural Centre. Wales Cardiff Castle is engaged in a multi-million pound restoration of existing meeting and event venues – the banqueting hall, the library and drawing room – as well as expanding space to include gallery spaces and a rooftop terrace. The restoration will be completed in DATE 2009. SWALEC Stadium at Sophia Gardens has just undergone a £9.5 million (or approximately $18.9 million) redevelopment to expand the facility in Cardiff, Wales. The stadium has expanded its seating capacity to include 15,643 seats, five large suites, a panoramic theater and a large indoor school. The state-of-the-art stadium can also accommodate 10 to 600 people for dinner, as well as 10 to 1,000 for conferences. In addition, the stadium will now feature two additional conference suites with capacities of 300 and 100, as well as five additional boxes. For more information about Britain's new tourism developments, please call (800) 462-2748, e-mail travelinfo@visitbritain.org or visit the website www.visitbritain.com/us.
Photo: www.britainonview.com
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