Six of England’s sporting best...
FROM the birthplace rugby to the Cotswolds Olympicks, VisitEngland is on a quest to find the country’s ultimate home of sport. After receiving more than 2,000 submissions, we’ve managed to whittle it down to a shortlist of six.
NOTTINGHAM
HISTORIC cricket ground Trent Bridge was recently the site of a glorious England win during the Ashes, while in tennis the Aegon Open returned to the city during the summer for the first time since 2008. Robin Hood fans can get to grips with Nottingham’s heritage with archery at Sherwood Forest, or why not take the ultimate fitness test in the Outlaw Triathlon?
MANCHESTER
HOME to the National Cycling Centre, where riders train on the world’s busiest velodrome and BMX track. The city is also a mecca for football fans who can live out their fantasies on a tour of Old Trafford or Etihad Stadium – two of the most iconic venues for our national sport. There’s also the National Football Museum, and now Hotel Football – two more reasons to take a footie-themed break in Manchester.
LONDON
THE 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games created splendid structures such as Lee Valley VeloPark, Lee Valley White Water Centre and the Aquatics Centre. Twickenham Stadium and Wimbledon are recognised all over the world, while seeing a match at Chelsea, Arsenal or West Ham is a must for many football fans.
RUGBY
IT WAS on the playing fields at Rugby School that, nearly 200 years ago, the sport was born. In 1823, William Webb Ellis picked up the ball during a football match and ran with it. Rugby School is also credited with many of the words associated with the sport – from ‘try’ to ‘goal line’ – as well as inventing ‘caps’, which were given to those boys deemed good enough to play for its main teams.
YORKSHIRE
THE rolling hills, vibrant cities and big skies of Yorkshire make it a veritable sporting playground. Last year’s Tour de France paved the way for this year’s inaugural Tour de Yorkshire, and the vast county is now globally recognised for cycling. Yorkshire’s unofficial capital, Leeds, will host 2015 Rugby World Cup matches at Elland Road, but it is rugby league that is really woven into the culture here.
GLOUCESTERSHIRE
GLOUCESTERSHIRE earned its place in the shortlist with such nominations as river football, an annual match played in the River Windrush at Bourton-on-the-Water, and the Cotswolds Olympicks, an eccentric spectacular that’s more than 400 years old. Elsewhere, visitors to the River Severn can try their hand at riversurfing during the spring and autumn.
AND THE RUNNER-UP IS...
WE COULDN’T do a sporting round-up without mentioning Cornwall’s surfing credentials. Newquay boasts some of the best surfing conditions in Europe and has plenty of surf schools catering for every level, from veteran to beginner.
Prefer something more sedate? The South West Coastal Path is England’s longest waymarked long-distance footpath. Stretching for 630 miles, it starts in Somerset, travels along the coasts of Devon and Cornwall and carries on to Poole Harbour in Dorset. How much you tackle and the route you choose is entirely up to you.