Hold on tight for summer fun!
ENGLAND will be buzzing with fun events next month as summer reaches its peak. Pick from a historic alternative to Wimbledon, an ale-fuelled race, top-class athletics, an air show or offbeat festivities to keep everyone amused…
ALICE’S DAY, OXFORD
EVERY year on July 1, venues across Oxford celebrate the book that helped change the face of children’s literature, with a host of events inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland. This year, watch Circus Raj’s colourful cast of dancers, illusionists and acrobats tumbling through the streets, join a protest against croquet-related cruelty to hedgehogs, and then – if your conscience allows – play croquet with the Queen of Hearts.
REAL TENNIS CHAMPIONS TROPHY, SURREY
AS TENNIS fans turn their attention to Wimbledon, take yourself to the sport’s ancestral home instead. Hampton Court Palace – where the earlier form of the game, real tennis, has been played since 1529 – will host the first annual Real Tennis Champions Trophy from July 11 to 16. Ten of the sport’s greatest players will follow in the footsteps of Charles II, William III and Prince Albert, who all mastered the sport there.
ALEATHLON 2017, YORKSHIRE
HERE’S one for the less athletically inclined! This ‘race’ through the Holme Valley has regular ale stations, stocking samples of Yorkshire’s best beers for athletes running – or walking – the eight-mile route on July 15. If that sounds too energetic, join the after-party, with food and more beer from local breweries.
WORLD PARA ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS, LONDON
BRITISH Paralympians Richard Whitehead, Kadeena Cox, Toby Gold and Stef Reid will be among the world-class competitors at the World Para Athletics Championships, from July 14 to 23.
The event takes place at Queen Elizabeth Park, which hosted the London Olympics in 2012, and will be followed in August by the IAAF World Championships, making 2017 the first time that the two championships have been held in the same city in the same year.
SUNDERLAND INTERNATIONAL AIRSHOW
FROM July 21 to 23, the skies above Sunderland will be awash with aeroplanes flown by some of the world’s best aerobatic pilots.
There will be Spitfires, Hurricanes and a Lancaster bomber, amazing aerial formations from the Tigers Parachute Display Team, and seafront spectacles from the Red Arrows. If you can tear your eyes away from the skies, you’ll find land-based entertainment and activities too, with 1990s-themed tribute acts kicking off the weekend.
PORT ELIOT FESTIVAL, CORNWALL
THIS eccentric festival takes place from July 27 to 30 in the woodland gardens of the Eliot family’s ancient stately home and medieval monastery, Port Eliot, in St Germans. This year’s programme covers everything from poetry by the brilliant Hollie McNish to yoga, stargazing, and night walks led by the Museum of Witchcraft. There will also be music from a diverse array of artists in beautiful spots around the riverside estate. Find more July events in England at visitengland.com.