Learn while on holiday in Britain: from circus skills to chocolate making, tea tasting to zookeeping!

Published on : Sunday, February 3, 2013

Add an extra dimension to your trip in Britain by exploring a rich variety of learning experiences. Whether you’re sporty or cerebral, adventurous or creative, there’s ample opportunity to embrace something new or deepen existing knowledge, all with a unique British twist.

Sport

You’re never far away from the coast in Britain and, where there’s coastline, there’s watersports. Surfing is particularly popular off both England’s south-west coast of Cornwall and the south coast of Wales. Qualified surfing schools offer full and half-day courses that will take you to some of the most stunning natural areas of Britain. Gower Activity Centres, for example – around a 90-minute drive from Wales’ capital Cardiff – base lessons on Rhossili Beach, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty on the beautifully unspoilt Gower Peninsula.

Britain’s diverse natural scenery is also the perfect backdrop to learn horseback riding. The Stonetrail Trekking and Riding Centre offers an exceptional riding holiday – a week-long, 100-mile ride to the sea crossing the whole of Cumbria in the north of England, home to the awe-inspiring Lake District. You can reach the Lake District’s town of Windermere in just over three hours by train from London Euston.

Young, international football fans are in for a treat at Manchester United Football Club – it offers boys aged 8-18 years a two-week residential camp that incorporates coaching from the Manchester United Soccer Schools in the morning, while the afternoons are dedicated to English lessons. As one of Britain’s leading cities, Manchester offers an exhilarating mix of arts, shopping, culture, sport and nightlife.

Performing Arts

Train where British acting stars Ralph Fiennes, Anthony Hopkins and Alan Rickman, among others, began their craft, at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA). The London-based drama school runs acting workshops designed for people of all ages, abilities and experiences, offering full-day and half-day taught by RADA or RADA-affiliated teachers.

Thrill-seekers may be interested in turning their hand to studying circus skills. Bristol (in the west of England, a two-hour train journey from London) is home to Circomedia, where you can learn to juggle, walk the tight-wire or fly through the air on a trapeze. The school is just a leap away from some of the city’s main attractions too, including the world-famous, iconic Clifton Suspension Bridge designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel plus ss Great Britain, which he also designed. London’s Circus Space is another good choice for those wanting to try something different; the school runs Experience Days that will unlock your inner trapeze-artist.

Calling all singing enthusiasts! Even without any singing experience or ability to read music you can head to the Rose Theatre in Kingston, Surrey – regular train services operate from central London to the Thames-side town – where the theatre offers the chance for all abilities to rehearse and perform a public concert in one day.

Brought your dancing shoes? Whether it’s ballroom or Latin American, jazz to Bollywood, the world-famous Pineapple Dance Studios in London offers a class to meet every taste and, as all of the classes are open, you can just drop in and take a class, whatever your experience. Or for something a little more traditional the English Folk Dance and Song Society runs London-based classes in Morris dancing – an English folk dance where performers wear bells and may wield sticks or handkerchiefs.

Food and Drink

While wine and cheese are often happy culinary partners, the School of Artisan Food in Nottinghamshire (in the East Midlands area of England, about 3 hours by train from London) has launched a course on the more unusual collaboration of beer and cheese. Participants learn about British artisan cheeses paired with traditional ales from the Welbeck Abbey Brewery. And if you feel like working up your appetite first, the cooking school is situated in the heart of Sherwood Forest, famed for its association with Robin Hood and a great place to explore nature walks.

Master bread-baking or chocolate-making, four-course lavish meals or one-pot wonders at the cookery courses run by Betty’s famous Yorkshire tea rooms in the north of England. Courses such as “Baking with Chocolate”, “Effortless Entertaining”, or the “Chocolate Box” – where you can learn the delicate art of hand tempering, creating indulgent fillings, hand dipping and different finishes – are on offer.

No trip to Scotland is complete without a whisky tasting. Glengoyne Distillery – one of the few distilleries producing whisky in the southern Highlands of Scotland – goes a step further and offers a whisky Master Class. As well as a visit to the Glengoyne warehouses not open to the public, there are tastings of Glengoyne 12- and 18-year old Highland Single Malt, plus the chance to create your own blend. And as 2013 is the Year of Natural Scotland, there’s no better time to explore the natural landscapes, historic locations and wildlife that the Highlands afford.

Source:- Visit BritainThe waning days of summer are anybody could discover more a great time to begin to get geared up for school and the important tests students will face throughout the year

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