Top Events taking place in England for 2009

• By: Editor
• On: 30/Mar/2009
• In: UK Travel Tips

Flora London Marathon

The Flora London Marathon takes place on the 26th April 2009. A major event in London’s calendar, it draws elite runners from all over the world, wheelchair athletes and amateur runners doing their bit for charity.

Quite a spectacle to watch and cheer on all those brave athletes, some even take part in costume to add more colour to the event. Whilst the majority of the elite runners will be home and hosed inside 2 and a half hours, you will still have the opportunity to see the amateur runners battle it out to complete the gruelling 26 mile course.

RHS Chelsea Flower Show

Keen gardeners will no doubt be looking forward to this years Chelsea Flower Show.
The venue for the event is the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, London and this years dates are from the 19th to the 23rd of May.

International landscape architects and garden designers have produced some fabulous show gardens. Other show highlights include Urban Gardens, and Courtyard Gardens.
The Great Pavilion hosts displays from Nurseries and Growers. New plants are also featured and there is a Continuous Learning Section, which looks at the future of gardening due to climate change.

Need some new ideas for flower arranging? Then you must not miss the Floral Design Marquee. Indeed this year is the launch of a new competition in professional floristry. Competitors will design a floral exhibit with a view to winning the Chelsea Florist of the Year or the Young Chelsea Florist of the Year (under 25’s).

If you would like to know more about the event, please take a look at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show website.


Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships

This prestigious Grand Slam Event takes place this year from the 22nd June to the 5th of July 2009. Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships have certainly come a long way since its humble beginnings in 1877, when the 1st Mens singles event was held. The ladies got in on the act in 1884 with the 1st Ladies singles event. The original site of the tennis courts was off Worple Road, Wimbledon, but this changed in 1922, when the club moved to Church Road.

Thousands of spectators flock to Wimbledon for Wimbledon fortnight each year. The atmosphere in and around Wimbledon is nothing short of electric. Tickets for the event are by Public Ballot or if you have stamina and nerves of steel you could queue outside the grounds to try and get a ticket.

The highlights of Wimbledon Fortnight has to be the Mens Singles Final and Womens Singles final, and of course a chance to see your favourite stars on their way to the courts.

If you would like to know more details, please take a look at the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships website.
 

Cambridge Folk Festival

This year’s Cambridge Folk Festival takes place from the 30th of July to the 2nd of August. Approximately 10,000 people attend this festival annually. The cream of the crop in folk music from Ireland and England join a host of international artists specializing in their own specific music genre, which could range from Bluegrass, Gospel, Cajun, Zydeco, Jazz, and Klezmer.

Artists performing this year include: The Zutons, The Saw Doctors, Paul Brady, Eddi Reader, Adrian Edmonson and the Bad Shepards, to name but a few.

Tickets for this year’s event go on sale on Sunday 17th May. The official Festival t-shirt design has also been chosen and I’m afraid you will have to wait until July to see the winning entry by Les Welch.

Got Kiddies, but love to attend the Festival – no need to worry as children are catered for as well. A crèche is available for children between the ages of 2 and 8 (limited number of places available). Then for the 9 to 13 year olds there are activities (parents need to be present) and workshops.
Please note: Full Festival Children’s tickets are only available when an adult ticket is purchased.

For more information on this event, please access the Cambridge Folk Festival website.


Notting Hill Carnival

This year’s Notting Hill Carnival dates are from Sunday the 30th to Monday the 31st of August (Bank Holiday weekend). Thousands of spectators are due to descend on the streets of Notting Hill to watch this Caribbean themed event.

Although Carnival dates are Sunday and Monday, festivities usually get under way on Saturday with the Steel Band Competition.

Sunday is children’s day, and it also sees the start of the Carnival parades. With traditional Caribbean music belting out from all corners, it is very difficult not to get caught up in the Calypso, Soca and Samba beats. Add to this a myriad of brightly coloured costumes and floats and of course a steel band here and there and its party time.

Food lovers will love this Carnival as it will give them a chance to indulge in Caribbean favourites, for example, jerk chicken, curried goat, patties, fried plantain and of course rice and peas.

If you would like to know some more about this famous Carnival, please access the Notting Hill Carnival website.


That’s just a brief run down on some of England’s Top Events for 2009! Obviously the best way of getting around to the various events is by car hire. Take a look at our Car Hire England page for more details.

Have you previously been to England and hired a car. Why not drop us a line in the comments box below about your experience – we would love to hear from you.