5 things to do in the UK this March

This month we are celebrating Saint’s, women and our national parks. It’s Saint David’s Day and Saint Patrick’s Day so enjoy a walking tour of Snowdonia National park in Wales, or take a trip to the city of Armagh in Northern Ireland where you’ll find two historical Cathedrals, both called Saint Patrick’s.

Visit another of our National Parks – the Lake District – and join in the festivities of the Wordsworth Words Festival, taking place on the edge of Lake Derwentwater. To mark the history of women for International Women’s Day and Mother’s Day, you could take our Suffragette Tour and learn about how women fought for the right to vote. Or how about a visit to the Queen’s Jubilee Galleries at Westminster Abbey.

Take a trip to Wales for St David’s Day – 1 March

Saint David’s Day on 1 March marks the date of the death in 589 AD of Saint David, the patron saint of Wales. Take a trip to Wales and watch the St David’s Day parades in Cardiff and other towns in Wales.

On a trip to Wales, we recommend a visit to Snowdonia National Park in North Wales. It covers 827 square miles with 37 miles of coastline and nine mountain ranges including the highest mountain in England and Wales. Our Blue Badge Guide Amanda Whitehead takes a look at this extraordinary National Park.

Our Welsh guides have put together a Guide to Wales to make sure you don’t miss out on anything.

Get to the roots of St Patrick’s Day – 17 March

If you’re taking a trip to Northern Ireland this month then visit the ancient City of Armagh and celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day. You’ll find two historical Cathedrals, both called Saint Patrick’s. This is the very place Patrick ordained in the 5th century as the “centre for his church in Ireland”.  Local Blue Badge Guide Barbara Ferguson shares the history, culture, folklore and ‘must see’ things to do on a tour of Northern Ireland .

View from theCat Bells over the lake of Derwentwater to Keswick and Skiddaw. (c) Visit Britain

Wordsworth Words Festival – the Lake District 8-17 March

Celebrate literature, words and ideas in a beautiful setting, by the edge of Lake Derwentwater in the Lake District. This is an exciting ten-day literary event that takes place at the Theatre by the Lake. Writers, readers and visitors can attend talks. discussions, workshops, lectures, book launches from notable authors, comedy events and much more.

The Lake District is an area of outstanding natural beauty. To make sure you see the best of this magical landscape, rich in wildlife and waterlife, book a Blue Badge Guide to show you around.

One of Britain’s most well-loved children’s authors had a strong connection with Cumbria and the Lake District. Many of the characters created by Beatrix Potter were inspired from her childhood visits to The Lake District. Read about her connection with the area in our blog.

Suffragettes interactive walking tour, London

Celebrate International Women’s Day – 8 March

There are plenty of historical women to celebrate but we’d like to pay tribute on this day to the suffragettes. Last year, to mark the centenary of women winning the right to vote, a statue was unveiled in Parliament Square of the suffragette Millicent Fawcett. Not only the first monument to celebrate a woman but also the first sculpture here by a woman. 

Our Blue Badge Guide Mary Carroll runs a suffragette tour in London. She tells the story of how women won the vote, the tactics they used and the personalities involved. “As a history guide, I was keen to tell the story of women’s struggle for emancipation. I wanted to bring the campaigners to life so I teamed up with two other Blue Badge Guides to develop an ‘interactive walk’ combining guiding with scenes and characters – a cross between street theatre and history.” Read all about her suffragette tour.

Westminster Abbey Rose Window

Visit the Queen’s Jubilee Galleries at Westminster Abbey

If you’re looking for something to do for Mother’s Day on 31 March, then visit the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries in the eastern 13th-century triforium of Westminster Abbey. The galleries which opened last year, are hidden high up, in the vaults, 16 metres above the Abbey floor, with an amazing view.  The new Weston Tower, a seven-storey lead and stone clad structure, provides access to the galleries.

Listen to a podcast by Blue Badge Guide, Catherine Cartwright, who takes us around the Galleries. She learns about skeletons they uncovered, old tickets for past coronations and a huge cast of carved animals.

You can listen to a full podcast of her visit here. You can also take our private guided tour of Westminster Abbey.