Don’t miss:  BBC2 Thursday 17 June The Great Northern Garden Build

During lockdown (and well before that), the RHS have been very busy indeeed.   A team of designers, engineers and gardeners have come together to work on the UK's most amazing garden project.  Landscape architect Tom Stuart-Smith created the master plan and the results are incredible!   And RHS Bridgewater is now open - advanced booking a must). 

On BBC2 on Thursday 17 June 2021, you can get behind the scenes to find all about it in a programme called The Great Northern Garden Build. 

The four part series tells us how the RHS’s fifth garden has been created.  It is one of the most ambitious and challenging gardening projects the UK has ever seen.

The programme goes behind the scenes and gives us the chance to meet the designers, engineers and gardeners who took on this enormous project.  Volunteers have played an important role, too. 

The garden was created on the site of a former grand Victorian estate in Greater Manchester.

Needless to say, there were plenty of challenges along the way, including the lovely British climate and the coronavirus which hit six months before the garden’s grand opening.

There's lots to see and do at RHS Bridgewater - you'll have to go back!  

There's the Weston Walled Garden with multiple garden rooms and colourful borders.   There are wider woodland meadows and lakes and a Woodland Play area for the kids.  

Be inspired by the Kitchen Garden, the Chinese Streamside Garden and Paradise Garden. Visit Community Grow, which encourages members of the community to develop their skills.   There are the Orchard Gardens, and the Victoria Meadow - the latter being 21 acres which are being transformed from being described as species poor to a rich, varied tapestry of native flora, perfect for wildlife. 

And if you can't get to Bridgwater itself (which is in the Greater Manchester area), take a look at Virtual Bridgewater on the RHS website.

Why not give a gift membership to the RHS today?   The membership benefits are listed here. 

Have you been watching The Secrets of the Transport Museum on Yesterday UKTV?

The programme is from Brooklands Museum in Surrey, the birthplace of motor-racing.  The Museum celebrates our incredible history of innovation in aviation and motor sport.  You can read about the history of the museum here.

It’s home to an incredible collections of historic vehicles.  And maintaining the cars, aircraft, buses and motorbikes means an army of volunteers working like mad to keep them all in tip-top condition.

The programme follows the engineers and everyone who looks after these wonderful machines.  It’s a ten part series.

Now, if you know of someone who has always wanted to visit the Brooklands Museum, you may be interested to know that Red Letter Days has a number of experiences at the Brooklands Museum you could treat them to.

Some of these enable you to see Concorde as well, others involve lunch or afternoon tea.

Not only that, as a visitor from this website you can enjoy 15% off with the code AHW2021RED.  The code is valid until 31 December 2021 – it doesn’t apply to non-discountable products.

There’s also Entry for Two Adults at The Silverstone Experience (Northamptonshire) available from Red Letter Days. 

Roar off to Red Letter Days' website! 

Calling all lovers of Jane Austen!

Don't miss In Jane Austen's Footsteps on Channel 5, Wednesday 31 March 2021 at 9pm!

Jane Austen is a very famous novelist.  She wrote Pride and Prejudice (Mr Darcy and Miss Elizabeth Bennett et al), Emma, Mansfield Park, Persuasion, Sense and Sensibility, Northanger Abbey and Sanditon (which she didn't finish). 

Gyles Brandreth looks and the life of Jane Austen and explores the locations which inspired her - he also uncovers the events behind some of her wonderful stories.

Head off to Channel 5 here.

You can visit Jane Austen's house in Hampshire here and even take a virtual tour!

For someone who is stuck at home in lockdown and who enjoys being creative, why not give them a Three Month Brush Party Painting Club Subscription?

Activate your voucher, and you'll enjoy unlimited access to a growing collection of recordings from live step-by-step online painting tutorials!  Whether you're a beginner or you have more expereince, you can stay at home and get creative!

 
Get creative with a 3 month Brush Party Painting Club Subscription

You'll receive a painting kit worth £15 to get you started. 

New paintings are added each week, and a live Zoom class every month, so this is a great way to learn new art tricks and have some fun!

You can connect with like-minded painters on the Brush Party Club Facebook page, too.

Once you've bought your voucher, Virgin Experience Days will send you an e-voucher with the details you need to contact the supplier directly to receive your order.