TUMBLE DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE
With its endlessly quotable prose and beloved characters, from the Mad Hatter to the Cheshire Cat, Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland truly captured the nation's imagination. Here, the national tourist board looks at some of the English locations that so influenced Carroll's life and works, from his Cheshire childhood to holidays on the Isle of Wight.
London
'Yes, that's it!' said the Hatter with a sigh, 'it's always tea time.'
Celebrating the 150th anniversary of Lewis Carroll's much loved tale, the V&A Museum of Childhood will host a special exhibition, The Alice Look, from 2 May until 1 November. The enchanting exhibition will bring together photographs, rare editions, garments and illustrations that show how Alice became a cultural icon. Another London institution, The British Library, will be hosting its own Alice in Wonderland exhibition opening this autumn when the iconic manuscript and one of the library's best-loved treasures, 'Alice's Adventures Under Ground', goes on display in its Entrance Hall following a US tour. It will explore how Alice has been adapted and appropriated by successive generations, and the story's enduring influence.
After your fill of culture, head to the Sanderson Hotel for a Mad Hatter's Tea Party. The hotel's Alice in Wonderland themed afternoon tea includes menus hidden inside vintage books and napkins wrapped with riddles, while teapots adorned with kings and queens and sandwich plates featuring birdcages, carousels and ticking clocks contain delicious tea-time treats.
Oxford
'Well, I guess you would call me... genus, humanus... Alice'
Nowhere in England is more synonymous with Lewis Carroll than the city of Oxford. The famed author of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland spent much of his life teaching Maths at Christ Church College, where he built a great friendship with the Dean and his daughters. It was Alice Liddell, the younger daughter, who is said to be the inspiration behind Carroll's central character. Besides touring Christ Church College, visitors can see Alice's Shop, where Alice Liddell used to buy sweets, and where expert-guided Alice tours now take place. The Museum of Oxford has some of Alice's personal items on display alongside first edition books and the original illustrations. Each year, Oxford turns into Wonderland for a day to mark the anniversary of the first telling of Alice's Adventures of Wonderland in 1862. This year's Alice Day will include a Mad Hatter's tea party, exhibitions, storytelling, promenade theatre and Alice-themed walks and talks. Additionally, the Bodleian Library will be running a small exhibition from July to September dedicated to Lewis Carroll's most famous work.
Isle of Wight
'The first thing in a visit is to say "How d'ye do?" and shake hands!'
It is thought that Lewis Carroll found the inspiration for some of his characters during frequent visits to The Isle of Wight. The author regularly visited pioneer photographer Julia Margaret Cameron on the island, close to Lord Alfred Tennyson's residence of Farringford. Here, Dodgson photographed Tennyson and his family, including his sons, Hallam and Lionel. They dressed identically and ran wild - in a scene not too removed from Tweedledum and Tweedledee. Visitors can now stay at Farringford, at one of the self-catered cottages, and walk the famous Tennyson trail. Carroll was a frequent visitor to Julia Margaret Cameron's home, Dimbola Lodge, and comparisons are drawn between her eccentric looks and breaking of social etiquette with those of the White Queen in Through The Looking Glass.
Cheshire
'Oh you can't help that', said the cat. 'We're all mad here'.
Lewis Carroll was born as Charles Dodgson in 1837 in the village of Daresbury in Cheshire. In the nearby church of All Saints, where his father was a vicar, there is now a visitor centre and a stained glass window in tribute to the author. In the neighbouring village of Grappenhall, visitors can see a carving of a grinning feline at St Wilfred's Church, believed to be the inspiration for the famous Cheshire Cat. Meanwhile, Chester's Oddfellows Bar and Hotel, has its own Alice in Wonderland themed private dining room, complete with upside-down furnishings hanging from the ceiling. From October, visitors will also be able to travel in on the "curiouser and curiouser" Alice in Wonderland themed train journey from Chester aboard the Belmond Northern Belle. The carriages will be decorated with a Mad Hatter's tea party theme, with quirky, liveried staff on board to entertain during a tour of the beautiful countryside. Prices start from £195 per person.
Eastbourne
Why is a raven like a writing desk?
Carroll frequently holidayed in Eastbourne – first of all spending three weeks at 44 Grand Parade, before spending 18 successive summer holidays at 7 Lushington Road, where a plaque now records his visits. A brand new exhibition at Eastbourne's Redoubt Fortress, Treasure, displays a number of the seaside town's most treasured artefacts, including Lewis Carroll's bed desk. The desk was made to his specifications while he stayed in Lushington Road and was used for breakfast, reading the papers and writing. Treasure runs from 16 March – 15 November.
Other Lewis Carroll destinations
Curiouser and curiouser
The North Yorkshire town of Whitby was a favourite of Carroll's, after he travelled there to be tutored in maths. Some of his earliest works were published in the Whitby Gazette, and visitors to the town today can discover more about the author on 'The White Rabbit Trail' tour. The tour visits some of Carroll's haunts, including The Walrus and the Carpenter Café, which sits on the beachfront where Caroll entertained children with his stories, and the Whitby Museum. Stay at La Rosa Hotel, where Caroll stayed several times between 1854 and 1871.
Up the coast in Sunderland, visitors can see the life-size bronze walrus statue in Mowbray Park. The Walrus and the Carpenter poem was allegedly inspired by the stuffed walrus in the town's museum. Take a tour of Rugby School in Warwickshire, where Carroll was schooled between 1846 and 1849, and see the chapel that includes a memorial to the author. Meanwhile, in Devon, visitors to Glazebrook House Hotel can have an Alice in Wonderland experience in one of the themed rooms, which include The White Rabbit room, The Jabberwocky and The Cheshire Cat.
Carroll spent his final years in Guildford, where today visitors can see his burial place in Mount Cemetery.
For more information, visit www.visitengland.com/things-to-do/literature-film-and-tv
London
'Yes, that's it!' said the Hatter with a sigh, 'it's always tea time.'
Celebrating the 150th anniversary of Lewis Carroll's much loved tale, the V&A Museum of Childhood will host a special exhibition, The Alice Look, from 2 May until 1 November. The enchanting exhibition will bring together photographs, rare editions, garments and illustrations that show how Alice became a cultural icon. Another London institution, The British Library, will be hosting its own Alice in Wonderland exhibition opening this autumn when the iconic manuscript and one of the library's best-loved treasures, 'Alice's Adventures Under Ground', goes on display in its Entrance Hall following a US tour. It will explore how Alice has been adapted and appropriated by successive generations, and the story's enduring influence.
After your fill of culture, head to the Sanderson Hotel for a Mad Hatter's Tea Party. The hotel's Alice in Wonderland themed afternoon tea includes menus hidden inside vintage books and napkins wrapped with riddles, while teapots adorned with kings and queens and sandwich plates featuring birdcages, carousels and ticking clocks contain delicious tea-time treats.
Oxford
'Well, I guess you would call me... genus, humanus... Alice'
Nowhere in England is more synonymous with Lewis Carroll than the city of Oxford. The famed author of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland spent much of his life teaching Maths at Christ Church College, where he built a great friendship with the Dean and his daughters. It was Alice Liddell, the younger daughter, who is said to be the inspiration behind Carroll's central character. Besides touring Christ Church College, visitors can see Alice's Shop, where Alice Liddell used to buy sweets, and where expert-guided Alice tours now take place. The Museum of Oxford has some of Alice's personal items on display alongside first edition books and the original illustrations. Each year, Oxford turns into Wonderland for a day to mark the anniversary of the first telling of Alice's Adventures of Wonderland in 1862. This year's Alice Day will include a Mad Hatter's tea party, exhibitions, storytelling, promenade theatre and Alice-themed walks and talks. Additionally, the Bodleian Library will be running a small exhibition from July to September dedicated to Lewis Carroll's most famous work.
Isle of Wight
'The first thing in a visit is to say "How d'ye do?" and shake hands!'
It is thought that Lewis Carroll found the inspiration for some of his characters during frequent visits to The Isle of Wight. The author regularly visited pioneer photographer Julia Margaret Cameron on the island, close to Lord Alfred Tennyson's residence of Farringford. Here, Dodgson photographed Tennyson and his family, including his sons, Hallam and Lionel. They dressed identically and ran wild - in a scene not too removed from Tweedledum and Tweedledee. Visitors can now stay at Farringford, at one of the self-catered cottages, and walk the famous Tennyson trail. Carroll was a frequent visitor to Julia Margaret Cameron's home, Dimbola Lodge, and comparisons are drawn between her eccentric looks and breaking of social etiquette with those of the White Queen in Through The Looking Glass.
Cheshire
'Oh you can't help that', said the cat. 'We're all mad here'.
Lewis Carroll was born as Charles Dodgson in 1837 in the village of Daresbury in Cheshire. In the nearby church of All Saints, where his father was a vicar, there is now a visitor centre and a stained glass window in tribute to the author. In the neighbouring village of Grappenhall, visitors can see a carving of a grinning feline at St Wilfred's Church, believed to be the inspiration for the famous Cheshire Cat. Meanwhile, Chester's Oddfellows Bar and Hotel, has its own Alice in Wonderland themed private dining room, complete with upside-down furnishings hanging from the ceiling. From October, visitors will also be able to travel in on the "curiouser and curiouser" Alice in Wonderland themed train journey from Chester aboard the Belmond Northern Belle. The carriages will be decorated with a Mad Hatter's tea party theme, with quirky, liveried staff on board to entertain during a tour of the beautiful countryside. Prices start from £195 per person.
Eastbourne
Why is a raven like a writing desk?
Carroll frequently holidayed in Eastbourne – first of all spending three weeks at 44 Grand Parade, before spending 18 successive summer holidays at 7 Lushington Road, where a plaque now records his visits. A brand new exhibition at Eastbourne's Redoubt Fortress, Treasure, displays a number of the seaside town's most treasured artefacts, including Lewis Carroll's bed desk. The desk was made to his specifications while he stayed in Lushington Road and was used for breakfast, reading the papers and writing. Treasure runs from 16 March – 15 November.
Other Lewis Carroll destinations
Curiouser and curiouser
The North Yorkshire town of Whitby was a favourite of Carroll's, after he travelled there to be tutored in maths. Some of his earliest works were published in the Whitby Gazette, and visitors to the town today can discover more about the author on 'The White Rabbit Trail' tour. The tour visits some of Carroll's haunts, including The Walrus and the Carpenter Café, which sits on the beachfront where Caroll entertained children with his stories, and the Whitby Museum. Stay at La Rosa Hotel, where Caroll stayed several times between 1854 and 1871.
Up the coast in Sunderland, visitors can see the life-size bronze walrus statue in Mowbray Park. The Walrus and the Carpenter poem was allegedly inspired by the stuffed walrus in the town's museum. Take a tour of Rugby School in Warwickshire, where Carroll was schooled between 1846 and 1849, and see the chapel that includes a memorial to the author. Meanwhile, in Devon, visitors to Glazebrook House Hotel can have an Alice in Wonderland experience in one of the themed rooms, which include The White Rabbit room, The Jabberwocky and The Cheshire Cat.
Carroll spent his final years in Guildford, where today visitors can see his burial place in Mount Cemetery.
For more information, visit www.visitengland.com/things-to-do/literature-film-and-tv