Shakespeare Country

Menzies Welcombe Hotel Completes Second Phase of Major Refurbishment Programme

The Menzies Welcombe Hotel Spa & Golf Club has now completed the second phase of its £2.2 million major refurbishment programme. All public rooms including the Trevelyan Restaurant, Bar, Lounge and Function rooms have all been restored giving the hotel a more traditional and luxurious feel. The rooms have been re-styled and re-decorated with stylish soft furnishings, carpets, curtains and enhanced lighting. In addition the Welcombe Suite, which is used for weddings, conferences and events, has been re-styled and fitted with state of the art Audio Visual equipment. The Oak Room, which is used for Board meetings and private dining for up to 20 guests, has also been refurbished with luxurious new furnishings.

Explore the Magic of Shakespeare Country in 2012

With a wealth of heritage, theatre, arts, festivals and glorious gardens plus it being the year of the London Olympics and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, there is so much happening in Shakespeare Country in 2012.

Experience the World Shakespeare Festival, watch the Olympic Torch Relay pass through, enjoy a more immersive experience at the Shakespeare Houses and experience witchcraft at Warwick Castle.

Whatever you do, make 2012 the year you experience the magic of Shakespeare Country.

Royal Shakespeare Theatre
One Year On...

The first year of the reopened Royal Shakespeare Theatre and Swan Theatre has been a great success with over 500,000 day visitors to the RSC campus in Stratford-upon-Avon.

The critically acclaimed 50th Birthday Season is only half way through and already over 400,000 people have seen a performance in either the Royal Shakespeare Theatre or Swan Theatre. Box Office expectations have been exceeded with audience capacity at over 90% and many performances selling out.

Over 24,000 people have taken the Theatre Tour and over 57,000 have enjoyed the views of Stratford upon Avon from the top of the 32m high Theatre Tower. The new Rooftop Restaurant has also proved a great success with over 50,000 people enjoying lunch, pre-theatre meals, dinner or Sunday Lunch. Diners have included Her Majesty The Queen and HRH Price Charles.

This bodes well for the rest of this season and for the World Shakespeare Festival which begins on 23rd April 2012.

The Olympic Torch Route Goes Through the Heart of Shakespeare Country on Sunday 1st July 2012

The Olympic torch relay will go right through the heart of Shakespeare Country and the northern edge of The Cotswolds. On Sunday 1st July on its way from Birmingham to Coventry it will visit all four of our main towns on a route through:

Alcester, Evesham, Wickhamford, Broadway, Chipping Campden, Newbold on Stour, Alderminster, Stratford-Upon-Avon, Warwick, Royal Leamington Spa, Kenilworth before stopping overnight in Coventry.

The team will stay overnight in Coventry before heading on towards London on Monday 2nd July via Rugby.

Mysterious Portrait of Elizabeth I on Display at Kenilworth Castle

On the surface, the newest exhibit that went on display at Kenilworth Castle, on 4 October, is a painting of Elizabeth I holding a small bunch of roses, but the top layer of paint hides the image of a serpent, and the whole work of art sits on top of another portrait of a mystery female. The painting of Elizabeth I joins the exhibition in Leicester's Gatehouse at Kenilworth Castle on a three year loan from the National Portrait Gallery.

The portrait and accompanying interpretation presents visitors with the fascinating story of the painting, which has only come to light thanks to the latest xray and infra-red scanning technologies as part of the research project Making Art in Tudor Britain at the National Portrait Gallery.