Summer of Exploration arrives for Witly Court and Gardens

Time Traveller Tuesdays, 2 - 23 August 2011

Whether you want to know about the bugs living around the gardens, or are more interested in the bugs planted by secret agents, this summer’s visits to Witley Court by the Time Travellers will stimulate the minds and interests of visitors young and old!

On Tuesday 2 and 16 August, the Time Travellers land at Witley Court with a plethora of inventions and discoveries that have shaped the world we live in today, particularly focusing on the Victorian fascination with defying gravity! Looking at early gliders and hot air balloons, and the slightly later first flights of an aeroplane in 1903, the event celebrates ingenuity through the ages, and gives visitors the chance to explore aerodynamics, making paper planes to fly around a set course.

Meanwhile, on 9 and 23 August, it is the smaller inhabitants of Witley’s gardens that will, quite literally, be under the magnifying glass, as a duo of Victorian explorers reveals the hidden world around us, and the minibeasts that make their own little worlds under leaves and twigs around the grounds, in the Ugly Bug Safari! The many different habitats at Witley Court, from the manicured lawns and plantings of the formal gardens, to the waterside by the new lakeside walk, open up many different environments in which bugs and insects thrive.

Whilst the Time Travellers are in residence, the education room will feature a range of hands-on activities linked to the Time Traveller events, with children encouraged to design their own mad-cap inventions, take inspiration from the great Victorian naturalists and draw some of the creatures they have seen, and take home souvenirs of their day made by their own fair hands.

“The Victorians were responsible for huge leaps in our understanding of the natural world, from their magnificent works of engineering and technology that saw the dawn of the industrial revolution, to the studies by inquisitive scientists like Darwin that started to piece together the jigsaw of history to unravel evolution,” says English Heritage’s visitor operations site supervisor, Spencer Trickett. “With the backdrop of the ruins of a once great Victorian house, where better place is there to get a taste of the intrepid and fearless approach to the unknown in the very capable hands of our Time Travellers?”

Also this summer visitors are given a chance to go behind the scenes in this once-great historic house with special tours taking place on 13 & 14 August, 10 & 11 September and 8 & 9 October. The tours take in areas not normally seen by the public, including the stable yard, wine cellars and butler’s pantry, to give a unique view of life below stairs in this once-great Victorian house. Pre-booking is essential; please call Customer Services for details on 0870 333 1181.

Time Travellers Go… Discoveries & Inventions and Ugly Bug Safari run on alternate Tuesdays from 2 – 23 August from 11.00am to 5.00pm, with the site itself open from 10.00am to 6.00pm. Admission prices are £6.30 for adults, £5.70 for concessions, £3.80 for children or £16.40 for a family ticket (two adults and up to three children). English Heritage members get in free. An additional £1 will be charged on standard admission of every child (member and non-member) to help fund the Time Travellers activity.

Witley Court is located in Great Witley, near Worcester. For more information or directions, please call 01299 896636 or visit www.english-heritage.org.uk/witleycourt

ENDS

For further media information, please contact:
Jay Commins PRO – English Heritage (West Midlands)
Tel: 0113 251 5698
Mob: 07810 546567
Email: jay@fim.org.uk