Keswick Tourism Association Newsletter

A Merry Christmas from Keswick Tourism Association

We'd like to wish you a Merry Christmas, and present you with some stunning pictures to brighten up your desktop.

And with the quarterly e-newsletters that we'll send you throughout 2010, we'll let you have details on downloading further sets of pictures to enjoy.   Here's how to enjoy January, February and March:  http://www.keswick.org/desktops.asp

Look out for your e-newsletters; they'll keep you in touch with what is happening here in Keswick, and also let you know about up and coming events and special offers. 

 

Keswick Guide 2010 now available!

Keswick Tourism is delighted to announce that the new Keswick Guide for 2010 is now available.  Packed with stunning photography this year's guide is an invaluable aid to planning your holiday whether you're visiting the area for a short break or a longer stay.  It provides a wealth of information on Keswick and the surrounding area including what to do whilst you are here, where to stay and much more besides.

Win a Three Day Break in Keswick by entering our Free Prize Draw, staying at the Hazel Bank Country House Hotel in the Borrowdale Valley, with a trip around Derwentwater on the Keswick Launch and a visit to the Cumberland Pencil Museum where you can see the World's Largest Coloured Pencil, learn some new skills in the artis'ts studio and relax with a complementary lunch in Sketchers Coffee Shop. To enter the Free Prize Draw, complete and return the questionnaire contained in the guide.

Click here to order your free copy of the 2010 Guide to be sent out to you by post .

Alternatively you can view a virtual version of the guide online.

Please note that we are unfortunately unable to post guides overseas.
 

THEATRE BY THE LAKE REVEALS PLANS FOR 2010

THEATRE BY THE LAKE REVEALS PLANS FOR 2010


Keswick’s highly acclaimed Theatre by the Lake announced its programme for 2010 on Monday 7 December at 10.30am. Following on from the record-breaking 10th anniversary year in 2009, 2010 has a lot to live up to but with yet another entertaining and challenging programme, audiences are in for a treat!

Executive Director Patric Gilchrist looked forward to a bumper Spring Season of visiting companies, including many free events for under 26 year olds, and the Jennings Keswick Jazz Festival (13-16 May), which this year will spill over into the streets and pubs of the town.

Kay Dunbar, joint director of the Words by the Water literature festival (5-14 March), outlined ''10 inspiring days'' of talks and readings at one of the most popular events of its kind in the country. The line-up includes some of Britain's finest novelists including Penelope Lively, Sarah Hall, Jane Gardam, Fay Weldon and Margaret Drabble (talking less about fiction and more about jigsaws), plus broadcasters Michael Buerk and Ken Bruce, politician and national treasure Shirley Williams and a host of other writers and speakers.

Associate Director Stefan Escreet promised that Stones In His Pockets by Marie Jones (27 March-17 April) would be the perfect spring production for the Main House: two actors play a host of characters when Hollywood comes to County Kerry

Booking for all the above events (except Stones in his Pockets) opens on Monday 4 January 2010 at 9.30am. Stones in his Pockets is open for booking now either online at www.theatrebythelake.com or by calling the Box Office on 017687 74411.

The main event of the morning was of course the announcement of the Summer Season and Christmas line-up for 2010. Artistic Director, Ian Forrest took to the stage in the Main House to announce the programme:

Summer Season 2010

Main House
Northanger Abbey
by Jane Austen, adapted by Tim Luscombe
Balls and bonnets in Bath with a shiver of Gothic horror in this fresh and lively adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic.

What the Butler Saw
by Joe Orton
An outrageous sexual farce set in a psychiatric clinic; dressing, undressing and cross-dressing, fast, funny and frantic fare from the writer of Loot.

Bus Stop
by William Inge
Snowbound overnight in a small Kansas truck-stop diner, a young testosterone-fuelled cowboy woos a nightclub chanteuse – an American mid-west romance.

Studio
Shining City
by Conor McPherson
A gripping, contemporary ghost story set in Dublin – an absorbing psychological drama, chilling and atmospheric.

Silence
by Moira Buffini
A Dark Ages “road movie”, a journey through a savage England from Kent to Cumbria; intense, poetic, funny and bracingly theatrical.

The Glass Menagerie
by Tennessee Williams
The classic American drama from the writer of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and A Streetcar Named Desire – a ‘memory’ play based on Williams’ own relationship with his family.

Christmas 2010
Tom’s Midnight Garden
Adapted by David Wood from the book by Philippa Pearce
It is 1950 – quarantined and bored, Tom magically ‘time-slips’ on a nightly voyage to a beautiful 1880s Victorian garden where he meets the lonely orphan, Hatty. A brilliant adaptation of this modern children’s classic.

Public booking for Summer Season and Christmas 2010 opens on Thursday 1 April 2010 at 9.30am.

And finally, Patric Gilchrist took the opportunity to highlight the perfect Christmas present. Why not celebrate 10 years of Theatre by the Lake with 2 books to mark 10 years now on sale from the theatre Box Office?
• encore! by David Ward - the official 10th birthday book
• The Blue Box by Alan Hankinson - a reprint of this much-loved book
Just £6 each OR 2 for £10.

Theatre by the Lake is located adjacent to The Keswick Launch Company, a five minute walk from the town centre. For further information or to book please call the Box Office on 017687 74411 or visit www.theatrebythelake.com
 

Words by the Water 5 - 14 March 2010


FESTIVAL INFORMATION:

Date: 5-14th March 2010
Venue: Theatre by the Lake, Keswick

Programme highlights include:

Martin Bell on MPs expenses and the future of politics
Brian Keenan on his Belfast boyhood
Fay Weldon on a lifetime in books
Shirley Williams on the influences that shaped her

Cumbrian writers appearing at the festival include: Jenn Ashworth, Michelle Guinness, Sarah Hall, Matt Hilton, John Murray, Jacob Polley, Keith Richardson and Chris Wadsworth

Festival programmes available now: phone 01803 867373 or email admin@wayswithwords.co.uk

Tickets priced from £7 can be purchased in person or by phone from Theatre by the Lake (017687 74411) or online at www.theatrebythelake.com from Wednesday 16th December.

 

11th Keswick Film Festival 25th-28th February 2010



Look out for the brochure for the 11th Keswick Film Festival which should be available early in 2010.  Details can be found at www.keswick.org/estdetails.asp

Keswick Mountain Festival 19th-23rd May 2010


We are very excited to announce that Sir Ranulph Fiennes is coming to speak at the 2010 Keswick Mountain Festival. Tickets are on sale through the Theatre by The Lake on December 16th. They will go like hot cakes - make sure you don’t miss out! Book your tickets now purchase.tickets.com/buy/TicketPurchase
 

 

The Oldest Gibbon in Europe opens his present

Here's a great picture of Brian the Lar Gibbon opening his Christmas present. Brian is at Trotters World of Animals and is now the oldest Gibbon in Europe. Trotters is still open, but visitors need to come down the back of the lake as Ouse Bridge is still shut.

Keswick most definitely open for business

Having triumphed over the effects of the November flooding in the region, Keswick's spirits were far from drenched when on 27th November a weekend of entertainment and fine food demonstrated to tourists that Keswick was most definitely open for business.

The Keswick Food Fayre showcased an array of the highest quality locally produced foods, HRH Prince of Wales joined with BBC personality Julia Bradbury in switching on our Christmas lights in a special ceremony to get the message out that Cumbria is 'open for business'.  The royal visit was wonderful for the town; the support it gave us was just amazing.

BBC presenter Julia Bradbury of Countryfile and Wainwright Walkers fame, greeted visitors and residents and said that" turning on the lights was a real honour as Keswick and I have had a love affair ever since the Wainwright Walk programmes".

Visit Keswick with confidence, our fells, valleys, shops and attractions are here ready to welcome you.  With so much to enjoy in the Keswick area, you may need to plan your holiday in advance in order to fit everything in!  Visit The National Park Information Centre  of phone them on 017687 72645 for comprehensive advice on walking and getting around, local guide books and maps, attractions and outdoor activities, tickets for tours, and an Accommodation Booking Service.

Have a great Christmas, and we look forward to seeing you in 2010.