Incentive ideas: Shakespeare Country & The Midlands


Entry airport: Birmingham

Birmingham Airport is one of England’s leading airports with direct flights from many destinations across Europe, the Middle East, New York and Toronto.*

*Birmingham is just over 1 hour by train from London so flying into London and traveling there is also an accessible and economical option

Birmingham

Birmingham lies at the heart of England with excellent connections to all parts of the country.

This cosmopolitan city is a renowned centre for arts, music and dance. The Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery has the largest collection of pre-Raphaelite paintings anywhere in the world. The Hippodrome and Symphony Hall are homes to the highly respected Birmingham Royal Ballet and The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra respectively.

Great shopping, restaurants and nightlife, coupled with a host of leading sporting events make Birmingham an excellent base for incentives.

The Belfry, 6 miles from Birmingham airport, is the UK Headquarters of the Professional Golf Association and spiritual home of the Ryder Cup. Their three golf courses are complemented by a 324 room hotel, spa and leisure club.



Other “bases” easily accessible from Birmingham airport include the heritage city of Stratford-upon-Avon, at the heart of Shakespeare Country, or the beautiful Staffordshire town of Lichfield.

Deluxe accommodation options here include Ettington Park, in Stratford, or Swinfen Hall in Lichfield.

Shakespeare Country

The area south of Birmingham, around Stratford-upon-Avon and Warwick, is known as Shakespeare Country, the birthplace and home of the world’s most famous playwright, William Shakespeare.

There is no better place on earth to experience an authentic Shakespeare performance than Stratford-upon-Avon. A Royal Shakespeare Company performance at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre is an experience your delegates will never forget. The new 1,000 seat theatre (due to open in 2010) will contain the largest thrust stage with a tiered auditorium in the world!

Two superb unique venues for events are the nearby castles of Warwick and Kenilworth . Both castles offer themed medieval dining, castle tours (including ghost tours!) and recreations of historic events. Your group can learn combat skills at Knight School, take part in a live Falconry display and learn to entertain like a court jester.

The Potteries (Staffordshire)

The small but perfectly formed county of Staffordshire offers a number of unique incentive opportunities.

Famous producing the world’s most beautiful pottery, the area around Stoke-on-Trent is home to household names such as Wedgwood, Royal Doulton and Portmeirion. Enjoy a tour, try your hand at the wheel or with a paintbrush at the superb Wedgwood Visitor Centre.

For something more adventurous, nearby Alton Towers is one of Europe’s premier theme parks. Corporate packages are available as well as meeting room hire and on-site hotel.

The £100m parkland and garden restoration project at Trentham contains an Aerial Extreme Adventure Ropes course, a spectacular monkey forest and the magnificent Italian garden.

Contact

These are just some of the great ideas for a unique and rewarding incentive in England. There are, of course, other superb activities and venues in the area. For more information please contact Simon Gidman (simon.gidman@visitengland.org).