Great Outdoors
Where to head for a history lesson or two
I t was at Kew Gardens in 1910 that Shotaro Kaga, an investment banker from Osaka, "rst saw tropical orchids. Enchanted, he returned home to become a pioneer of orchid horticulture in Japan, commissioning an exquisite watercolour artist, Zuigetsu Ikeda, to capture their likeness. Rankafu: Masterpieces of Japanese Woodblock Prints sees history turn full circle, as a sumptuous 1946 collection based on Ikeda’s paintings is on show at Kew until 17th March ( kew.org). ‘ These amazing prints represent the most advanced form of Japanese woodblock carving and printing, developed in the 1920s and 1930s,’ says collection owner Stephen Kirby. ‘ Woodblock printing is adept at capturing the natural state of a plant because the inks were translucent and could be used by multiple printings to deepen colour shading and mixing.’
Dominated as it is by the longest- occupied castle in Europe, Windsor could scarce be be!ered as the locale for a
Military History Walk, held twice a day on weekdays from April to October ( royalwindsor
tours.com). Former guardsmen tell the tales of Bad King John, Oliver Cromwell, Victoria
Cross recipients and much else besides.
To celebrate its 200th anniversary, Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds is holding a 200 for 200 Sponsored
Walk from 13th-22nd April ( theatreroyal.org). Following in the 19th- century footsteps of the Norwich circuit of players, who would annually tour six theatres in East Anglia, fundraisers are rambling for 200 miles, starting in Cambridge, to help further the theatre’s community work, with all comers welcome to join in anywhere along the route.
More beauty in abundance at RHS Chelsea Flower Show from 21st-25th May ( rhs.org.uk), including gold medallist Sarah Eberle examining how forests are facing climate change in The Resilience Garden. When it began in 2011, Chalke
Valley History Festival ( cvhf.org. uk) near Salisbury was but a small-scale fundraiser for the local cricket club. Today, it boasts a full week of talks and debates with high-pro le historians, as well as extensive and immersive living history and air displays. This year it runs from 24th-30th June. ‘ We live in turbulent times,’ says festival spokesperson Alex Hippisley- Cox, when asked why the interest in history seems to grow by the year. ‘ There is therefore renewed enthusiasm from people of all ages to learn about the past to understand how it shaped our world, and to look to the future with a knowledge of lessons learned by past generations.’
Finally, you’ll surely nd something intriguing to explore at one of over 5,000 events held as part of Heritage Open Days festival of history and culture from 13th-22nd Sept ( heritageopendays.org.uk), aided by 40,000 volunteers.
‘These amazing prints represent the most advanced form of Japanese woodblock carving and printing, developed in the 1920s and 1930s.’