A c t i v e MAY/JUNE 2012 activeadultmag.com

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In this most exciting of years, the country has comealive with royal history and Olympic splendour BY WENDY AND ROB LINDSAY

EnglandIN THE SPOTLIGHT

A c t i v e MAY/JUNE 2012

emember the old songEngland Swings (Like aPendulum Do)? It seemsparticularly apropos thisyear as both the Queen’s

Diamond Jubilee and the Summer Olym -pic Games take centre stage.

First up is the Diamond Jubilee, whichwill be officially celebrated in Londonfrom June 2 to 5, during a four-day bankholiday weekend, the highlight of year-long festivities in which members of theRoyal Family will visit every Common -wealth realm.

Next, the world will be watching asthe Games come to London and vicinityfrom July 27 to August 12, followed bythe Paral ympic Games from August 29to September 9.

If you’re lucky enough to be headingover for the celebrations, here’s what youneed to know.

Royal RevelriesNot since Queen Victoria has a monarchspent 60 years on the British throne. Toget a sense of the current Queen’s longe -vity, consider that during her reign therehave been 12 British prime ministers, 12U.S. presidents and six popes.

One of the most spectacular events ofthe Diamond Jubilee will be a pageantalong the Thames River through Londonon the Sunday of the bank holiday week-end. Plans are underway for the Queenand Prince Philip to ride in an ornate royalbarge specially designed for the occasion.It’s expected that more than 1,000 othercraft festooned with streamers and UnionJack flags will be part of the largest flotillaever assembled on the river and willinclude wooden launches; steam vessels;music barges; boats spouting geysers ofwater; pyrotechnic barges with daytimefireworks and smoke; armed forces ves-sels; and even a floating belfry. Like mostof the Jubilee events, it will be free, withcrowds lining the route from BatterseaRail Bridge down to Tower Bridge. Therewill also be huge outdoor screens set up inparks along the river providing additionalglimpses of the proceedings.

The following day, the Queen will

light the National Beacon following theDiamond Jubilee BBC Concert atBuckingham Palace. Britain has a his-tory of beacon lighting in commemora-tion of important historic events thatspans hundreds of years. In addition tothe National Beacon, thousands of oth-ers will be lit throughout the U.K. andthe Commonwealth that day.

Olympic OfferingsOn the day that the Queen lights herJubilee beacon, the Olympic Torch willbe travelling between Portrush and Derryin Northern Ireland on the 17th day ofits 70-day journey. The torch is expectedto be handed off 8,000 times on its wayto the opening ceremonies — passingthrough 1,000 cities, towns and villages,ensuring that at some point 95 per centof the U.K. population will be within 15kilometres of it.

Preparations for the Games have beentruly Olympian. Although London is a citycovering over 1,500 square kilometreswith a population of close to 7.8 million,room was ingeniously made to shoehornin the 200-hectare-plus Olympic Park,housing the new Olympic Stadium, theAquatics Centre, the London Velopark,the athletes’ village and 100 hectares ofnew parkland. The most distant venue isHampden Park Stadium just outsideGlasgow, Scotland — some 670 kilome-tres north of London. In addition, nineother sites are spread around the U.K.,along with 13 other London venues.

Both Buckingham Palace and No. 10Downing Street will be in the thick ofthings. A beach is planned for HorseGuards Parade when it hosts the BeachVolleyball competition; Hyde Park willhave Marathon Swimming and Triathlonevents; and The Mall itself will featurethe Marathon, the Race Walk and RoadCycling.

Even if you don’t have tickets to any ofthe Olympic events, you can still be partof the excitement. Once the Games rollinto town, there will be 22 huge LondonLive screens scattered around the U.K.featuring the latest Olympic informationand live coverage. Some of the largestPh

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The Gloriana; Queen’s barge ThamesRiver Pageant, Diamond Jubileecelebrations.

Top British rider Mark Cavendishcompleted a successful summer bywinning the London-Surrey Cycle Classic,the biggest test event yet to be stagedby the London 2012 OrganisingCommittee.

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A c t i v e MAY/JUNE 2012 activeadultmag.com

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The Long Walk leading tothe majestic Windsor Castle.An official residence of The Queen, it’s the largestoccupied castle in the world.

sites will be in Hyde Park, Victoria Parkand Trafalgar Square. And if you hap-pen to find yourself in Trafalgar Square,consider popping across to CanadaHouse to sign the guest book.

Other OptionsAnd finally, here are a few other optionsto make any trip to England splendid.First of all, in honour of the royal festiv-ities, may we suggest a traditional Britishafternoon tea in the elegant Londonsurroundings of Grosvenor House orFortnum & Mason’s Diamond JubileeTea Salon. Fortnum & Mason has beenthe purveyor of fine teas and coffee,scones, cream cakes and biscuits for roy-alty since Queen Victoria, and one wouldexpect the Downton Abbey kitchenwould likely order from there, too.

Other than Big Ben and the Housesof Parliament, the Tower of London isperhaps the most iconic symbol of thecity. A UNESCO World Heritage Site,it traces nearly 1,000 years of royal his-tory. The Yeoman Warders, nicknamed“Beefeaters,” in their 14th-century scar-let uniforms have become a symbol ofBritain and lead humorous yet factualtours of the tower. The armoury is trulyamazing and gives a good indication ofthe physical size of some British mon-archs. It feels rather spooky to cross thecourtyard where so many famous headsrolled, but the vault holding the price-less Crown Jewels is one of a kind and

not to be missed. In honour of the Jubilee, more jew-

els — all diamonds — worn by theQueen and other monarchs over thepast 200 years will be on display atBuckingham Palace. Pieces rarely seenwill include the small crown encrustedwith 1,187 diamonds that was QueenVictoria’s favourite, plus the massivecoronation necklace and earring setworn by five queens.

The Buckingham Palace tour alsoincludes lavishly furnished rooms con-taining some of the finest English andFrench furniture, paintings by Rem -brandt, Rubens and Vermeer, sculp-tures by Canova and Chantrey, andexquisite porcelain collections.

While at Buckingham Palace, squeezein a tour of the Royal Mews, one of thefinest working stables in existence anda must for any horse and carriage enthu-siast. The grooms take a personal pridein the mint condition of the vintagecoaches and carriages in their charge.You may even get to see the spectacularGold State Coach up close before it’s usedin a formal carriage procession on thefinal day of the bank holiday weekend.

For a historical perspective on theRoyal Family, and a break from thecrowds of London, take the train southto Hampton Court Palace, the oldestTudor palace in England. As you walkthe halls, you will be passing through500 years of royal history. A guide once

confided to us that the ghost of the ill-fated Catherine Howard is sometimesseen by night watchmen in the samespot where she pleaded for her life withHenry VIII in 1541. And the medievalGreat Hall is where William Shakes -peare’s company, the King’s Men, per-formed in 1603 for King James I. Thebeautiful castle architecture covers manycenturies, and the gardens are bothextensive and magnificent. Dependingon your timing, you may even catchsome Olympic action, as the CyclingTime Trials will be held on the roadsaround the palace.

Another castle reachable by trainand well worth a visit is Windsor Castle,approximately 40 kilometres west ofLondon. It takes most of a day to tourthe opulent rooms filled with gilded fur-niture, priceless paintings and one-of-a-kind royal memorabilia. And it, too,will be in the thick of Olympic activitywhen Rowing, Paralympic Rowing andCanoe Sprint events are held on nearbyDorney Lake.

As you can see, whether you’re head-ing to England for the first time or the10th, there’s no time like the present totake in all that the country has to offer. �

SOURCEScosport.com (Canadian supplier of Olympic tickets)london2012.comthediamondjubilee.orgvisitbritainshop.com Ph

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