26 November 2015 marks the 150th anniversary of the publication of one of the most enchanting works of literature: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
LONDON, 2015-3-18 — /Travel PR News/ — Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, better known as Lewis Carroll, famously first outlined his story to the ten-year-old Alice Liddell – the inspiration for the tale – as he and the Reverend Robinson Duckworth punted her and her sisters Lorina and Edith up the Isis River, which runs through the city of Oxford (‘punting’ involves a leisurely ride in a boat, more on that below!)
Thanks to the book, and its sequel Through The Looking Glass, characters like the Mad Hatter, the Cheshire Cat and The Queen of Hearts have captured the imaginations of children and adults alike, and been incarnated on screen and stage to bring the quirky tale to life. This year, special celebrations will be taking place to mark the 150th year of the book’s publication.
One of the most intriguing events taking place to mark Alice in Wonderland’s century-and-a-half will be the production by renowned immersive theatre company Les Enfants Terribles in April.Alice’s Adventures Underground (in fact the original title of the novel) will invite you to ‘A land full of Wonder, Mystery and Danger’, as written about by Carroll in his masterpiece. The Vaults, deep underneath London’s Waterloo station, will house a Wonderland, that blends storytelling, live music, puppetry, circus and spectacle. Groups of 52 will be led down the Rabbit Hole and invited to choose between EAT ME or DRINK ME. Their choice will affect the way their show will unfold… Curiouser and curiouser? Tickets cost £35-£47.50, and are available at www.alice-underground.com.
As the birthplace of Alice in Wonderland (as the book is most commonly known), Oxford is a must-visit for Alice fans, and such is the city’s close tie with the novel that an annual Alice Day is held by its Story Museum; in 2015, Alice Day will be extra special, held on 4 July, with events including a Mad Hatter’s tea party, exhibitions, storytelling, promenade theatre and Alice-themed walks and talks. In addition, Alice’s Shop Oxford runs Alice in Wonderland-themed tours year-round, taking in many places of significance to Alice and Lewis Carroll in Oxford and highlighting the many ways in which Oxford influenced and inspired Carroll’s writings.
www.storymuseum.org.uk, www.aliceinwonderlandshop.co.uk/tours
Fancy trying your hand at punting, and seeing whether you can come up with a work of literature along the way like Carroll did? Punting is easy once you get the hang of it – just propel your boat along using a large stick that pushes off the riverbed. The risk of falling in is small – but there is one! If you’d rather not take your chances, and would prefer to stay seated to eat strawberries and drink champagne, you can opt to have an expert steer you around. Both self-drive and chauffeured punts are available from Magdalen Bridge Boathouse. The beautiful Trout Inn, a pub on the outskirts of Oxford (said to have inspired Lewis Carroll) will be offering an electronic punt from next year, the likes of which Oxford has never seen!
http://oxfordpunting.co.uk, www.thetroutoxford.co.uk
Oxford River Cruises has launched an Alice-themed cruise: the floating Mad Hatter’s Tea Partywill be accompanied by a live commentary from local waterways historian, author, and Lewis Carroll authority, Mark J Davies. Guests will enjoy a sumptuous tea of sandwiches, cakes, and other edibles fashioned on a Wonderland theme, while following the same route as on the famous rowing outing and picnic of 4 July 1862, when Lewis Carroll first created the story for Alice Liddell and her sisters. The cruise will include passage through a Thames lock and the extraordinary expanse of Port Meadow, close to the Oxford location most directly associated with the Mad Tea-Party. The first cruise will take place on 4 May, coinciding with the very day that Alice entered Wonderland, with subsequent cruises planned for 7 and 21 July.
If you’d like to try another leisurely pursuit, but prefer two wheels to a boat-and-stick combination, book The Carter Company’s Alice in Wonderland cycling break. The company specialises in classic and luxury cycling holidays (with walking tours also on offer. To mark the 150th they’re offering two night breaks in Oxford that entail a ride along the picturesque Isis riverbanks to Iffley Lock, where Carroll improvised his story, a visit to Christ Church college, where Carroll taught and Alice Liddell’s father was College Dean, and a trip to the hamlet of Binsey, which inspired the treacle well in Alice’s adventures. You can even arrange a Mad Hatter’s Afternoon Tea on arrival! (From £250 per person.)
www.the-carter-company.com/trip/cycling-holiday/in-oxford/alice-in-wonderland-adventures
A lesser-known Alice location is Llandudno in Wales, where Alice Liddell used to spend her holidays with her family, and where the town recently marked their link to the story with a series of beautiful wooden statues. Explore the seaside town and spot the Mad Hatter, Queen of Hearts and White Rabbit – there’s even an app offering an ‘augmented reality tour’ to find them all!
www.visitwales.com/explore/north-wales/llandudno-colwyn-bay/a-girl-called-alice, www.alicetowntrail.co.uk
The Alice in Wonderland movie directed by Tim Burton, and starring Helena Bonham Carter as a memorable Red Queen, partly recreated the magic of Wonderland through the magic of technology, however real-life 18th-century stately home Antony House featured in the opening scenes just before Alice dove down the rabbit hole, and is somewhere you can definitely imagine extraordinary events taking place! It’s managed by National Trust, and makes a fantastic family visit. Charlestown Harbour, a tiny Grade II-listed harbour was where Alice sailed away from at the end of the film. Cornwall is on the south-western tip of England, and reached by train from London in just over four hours.
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/antony
If you always wanted to have tea with the Mad Hatter, head to London’s Sanderson Hotel, which puts on a splendid Mad Hatter’s Afternoon Tea. Served on bespoke crockery that echoes the story’s surreal mood, you’ll eat homemade marshmallow mushrooms, a carrot meringue served on a bed of pea shoots and a ‘Tick Tock’ Victoria sponge clock among other delights. www.morganshotelgroup.com/originals/originals-sanderson-london/eat-drink/mad-hatters-afternoon-tea
For more information contact:
VisitBritain Media Team
pressandpr@visitbritain.com
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Alice in Wonderland Afternoon Tea at The Sanderson London