Ashridge House has announced it will be offering a bespoke dining festive experience and magical illuminated woodland walk in the heart of Hertfordshire next month.
After what has been a relentless year for many due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, this newly-announced event – The Enchanted Garden Globes – will be the perfect festive antidote to round-up a turbulent 2020, and will give you the chance to escape reality for an evening.
Now I know what you’re thinking… “Hertfordshire is f****** three away!”
We hear you. But if things go to plan, this could be the perfect post-lockdown weekend getaway right slap bang in the middle of the Christmas period that we didn’t even think we’d get.
And for the first time ever, the private gardens of this magnificent former palace will be transformed into a magical festive dining experience to “surprise and delight the senses”.
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The Enchanted Garden Globes have been specifically created to accommodate the ‘rule of six’.
The globes have been built bespoke for extraordinary views across the park at Ashridge House and will be heated and dressed for a truly unique festive experience.
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As part of the experience, guests will also be invited into the winter mist to enjoy a bespoke illuminated woodland walk with beautiful light installations, secret hideaways, tunnels of falling stars, hot toddies, glittering grottos and surprise encounters along the way.
Ashridge House Presents: The Enchanted Garden Globes, a festive private dining experience Opening a little later than planned, we are delighted to announce our Enchanted Garden Globes and illuminated woodland walk are now available from 3rd December! https://t.co/JJ0am0iJ3Upic.twitter.com/8mNL5hAwpS
From the magnificent vaulted entrance of twinkling Christmas trees, to the spectacular Harry Potter staircase and the spellbinding yuletide outdoor wonderland, The Enchanted Garden Globes is described as a “magical dining experience like no other”.
What makes Ashridge House the perfect place for a festive staycation getaway then?
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Once a royal residence to King Henry VIII and home to his daughter – Princess Elizabeth I – Ashridge House is a hidden gem in leafy Hertfordshire, only 30 miles from London and surrounded by 190 acres of “quintessentially English gardens”.
With grand, turreted façades and historic grounds, Ashridge House is a truly enchanting festive backdrop.
The Enchanted Garden Globes at Ashridge House
After a challenging 2020, the The Enchanted Garden Globes – which are taking place at a range of dates between 3rd – 31st December and with new dates in January 2021 set to be announced – will offer guests the perfect woodland escape and bring some much-needed Christmas magic to the year.
There are two bespoke dining packages to choose from:
The Lunch Experience
12pm – 4pm
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£90per person – Private Dome (x6 guests per globe)
Arrival glass of fizz.
Spiced mulled wine.
Four-course festive feast dining experience, paired with glass of wine.
Tea & coffee post lunch.
Private dining Garden Globe accommodating up to six guests for four hours (with private sound system, heating and cosy lighting).
Full access to the Enchanted Woodland Walk and Ashridge Gardens.
Festive entertainment and fun.
The Enchanted Garden Globes at Ashridge House
The Dinner Experience
6pm – 10pm
£155 per person – Private Dome (x6 guests per globe)
Arrival glass of fizz.
Spiced mulled wine.
Five-course festive feast dining experience, paired with half a bottle of wine.
Tea & coffee post dinner.
Private dining Garden Globe accommodating up to six guests for four hours (with private sound system, heating and cosy lighting).
Full access to the Enchanted Woodland Walk and Ashridge Gardens – illuminated light trail.
Festive entertainment and fun, including ‘Santa’s Secret Grotto’.
You can book your tickets to The Enchanted Garden Globes and find more information – including menus and the property’s COVID-19 response – via the Ashridge House website here.
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Drinks prices revealed as Manchester Airport’s first-ever Wetherspoons pub opens inside T2
Emily Sergeant
It’s official… Manchester Airport’s first-ever JD Wetherspoon pub has officially opened its doors inside Terminal 2.
The 300-seater pub – which welcomed its first customers earlier this week – is named The Belle Vue after Manchester’s historic showground.
Throughout the pub, you’ll spot design features that nod to the city’s sporting heritage – including vintage event posters and memorabilia, a ‘locker wall’ hosting trophies and other sporting exhibits, and a cricket-themed design in the carpets and bar panels.
Creating around 150 jobs in the process, The Belle Vue is the final planned new eatery to open in the airport’s redeveloped Terminal 2, marking one of the final steps in the super-terminal’s decade-long, £1.5bn transformation.
Manchester Airport’s first-ever Wetherspoons pub has opened inside Terminal 2 / Credit: Supplied
According to the MEN, pints are priced from £6.20 for Carling and Coors lager, £6.45 for Budweiser, £6.60 for Guinness, and £6.70 for Poretti and 1664 Biere.
Prosecco is £9.20 for 175ml glass and £37.10 for the full bottle, while spirts and mixers are £6.80 for singles and £10.20 for doubles.
There’s also the classic Wetherspoons tea and coffee machines, where you can refill as many times as you like for just £3.60.
“It’s a proud moment to see the final new retail unit opening in our new-look Terminal 2,” commented Richard Jackson, who is the Retail Director at Manchester Airport.
“To be rounding off this 10-year programme by adding such an iconic name as Wetherspoon to the terminal is particularly special and we know that it will prove extremely popular with passengers. We think they’ll love the nods to Manchester’s heritage in the décor and design – and of course the name.”
The Belle Vue will be open from the first flight to the final flight each day, and food will be served from opening until 10pm.
Featured Image – Supplied
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Iconic Manc movie 24 Hour Party People is set to return to cinemas for its anniversary
Emily Sergeant
One of Manchester’s most iconic movies is set to return to the big screen next month.
Remastered in 4K and returning to UK cinemas to mark 24 years since its original release, Michael Winterbottom’s 2002 biographical comedy drama film, 24 Hour Party People, tells the story of Manchester‘s popular music community from 1976 to 1992 – specifically about Factory Records‘ founder Tony Wilson.
The film begins with the punk rock era of the late 1970s, before moving through the 1980s into the rave and DJ culture, and of course, the ‘Madchester‘ scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The narrative largely follows the career of Tony Wilson, played by Middleton-born actor Steve Coogan, while also covering the careers of the major Factory Records artists – especially Joy Division and New Order, as well as A Certain Ratio, The Durutti Column, and Happy Mondays.
If you haven’t seen 24 Hour Party People before, it’s a dramatisation based on a combination of real events, rumours, and urban legends, as the film is sure to make clear.
Coogan is joined by a cast by a mixture of big names and, at the time, rising stars like Paddy Considine, Shirley Henderson, Lennie James, John Simm, Ralf Little, Andy Serkis, Sean Harris, John Thomson, and even Peter Kay, alongside cameos from other figures connected to the Manchester music scene.
Before it returns to cinemas, the film will first open music and media festival/conference, Beyond The Music, at MediaCity in Salford on 6 October.
The screening at the festival will also be followed by a Q&A with Coogan, Winterbottom, and producer Andrew Eaton.
24 Hour Party People will then be re-released in UK cinemas from 9 October, and you can check your local cinema for screening times and book tickets online now.
Emily Sergeant -
13th November 2020 
