Here’s one (or 24) for the diary – Time Out has ranked the best new things to do in the UK in 2024.
The 24-strong ranking was crafted by the guide’s UK-based editors and is ‘filled with a simply huge amount of exciting things’.
The guide added: ‘Things which opened at the end of 2023 and you’ve probably not got round to checking out just yet, as well as a whole host of other fantastic stuff opening throughout the year.’
Scroll down to see the top 10 recommendations in reverse order – from a brand new music venue backed by Harry Styles to a University Challenge-based musical – and for the list in full.
10. Guzzle your way through the first-ever National Stottie Week
The UK’s first National Stottie Cake Week, hosted by Newcastle’s Big River Bakery, is 10th on the list
Don’t know what a stottie cake is?
Time Out explains that ‘it’s a Geordie delicacy’ made from ‘leftover scraps of dough’.
The guide continues: ‘[It] got its name from the phrase “to stott” (meaning “to bounce”) as it was traditionally tested for quality by whether or not it bounced off the kitchen floor.’
Fancy trying one? The UK’s first-ever National Stottie Cake Week is being launched by Newcastle’s Big River Bakery in February. The agenda will be filled, we’re told, by ‘all sorts of stottie-based events and activities’.
9. Visit a ‘glowed-up’ Black Country Living Museum
In ninth place is a visit to the Black Country Living Museum in Dudley, an immersive museum with ’50 impeccably preserved buildings’
‘What better way to learn some history than having it played out right in front of your eyes?’ asks Time Out.
The Black Country Living Museum in Dudley boasts ’50 impeccably preserved buildings, including a working 1920s cinema and a 1930s chippy’ and employs ‘an army of dedicated actors’.
Recent additions include ‘a 1960s high street, and a replica of Wolverhampton’s Lea Road Infant Welfare Centre, which takes visitors through stories of the NHS’s foundation, the impact of migration and the support given to new mothers in the Black Country’.
8. Catch an all-new musical at the Bristol Old Vic
Seeing a musical adaptation of the 2006 film ‘Starter for Ten’ at Bristol’s Old Vic theatre ranks eighth on the list
Time Out says: ‘Imagine how (even more) iconic “University Challenge” would be if Jeremy Paxman and co threw a few show tunes and love triangles into the mix.’
Well, according to the guide: ‘A brand new musical adaptation of the 2006 film “Starter for Ten” is probably as close as we’re going to get.’
Like the film, Time Out says, ‘the show follows a student who wins a place on his university quiz team’, and according to Bristol Old Vic, it’s ‘all about love, belonging and the all-important difference between knowledge and wisdom’.
7. Trek the entire King Charles III Coast Path
Walking along the King Charles III Coast Path ranks seventh on the list. By the end of 2024, Time Out says it will ‘loop all the way around England’s coast’. Above is The Rumps promontory in Cornwall
‘We’ve all known for a long time that Charlie loves his nature – so what could be more fitting than to celebrate his coronation with the longest managed coastal path in the world?’ asks Time Out.
The guide notes: ‘More of the King Charles III Coast Path is set to open across 2024, with the entire trail set to be walkable by the end of the year. Covering 2,700 miles, it’ll eventually loop all the way around England’s coast.’
The trail will open in sections, its website says, and will ‘take people through some of the finest landscapes in England’.
6. Feast your eyes upon London Coliseum’s ‘Spirited Away’
In sixth place is seeing the stage production of Spirited Away at the London Coliseum
Coming to the London Coliseum from April 30 to August 24 is the ‘Studio Ghibli stage spectacular’ of Hayao Miyazaki’s 2001 animated film Spirited Away.
What can you expect? Time Out says: ‘There will be puppets, there will be a live orchestra – and of course, there’ll be some very strange spirits.’
The guide says the production ‘will be presented in Japanese with English surtitles – and it’s only a limited run, so best get organised’.
5. Knock back some drams at the first-ever Wales Whisky Festival
In fifth place is Wales’s first-ever whisky festival. Pictured is St George’s Hotel in Llandudno, where the festival will be held
‘When the dark nights roll in and the November chill hits, warm the cockles at Wales’s first-ever whisky festival,’ says Time Out.
According to the Wales Whisky Fest website, it will take place at St George’s Hotel, Llandudno, from November 1 to 3 next year.
And the itinerary? The guide says there will be a ‘swanky launch dinner, pairing four courses with the syrupy spirit’, plus tastings and masterclasses courtesy of 25 whisky makers from around the globe.
4. Let loose at Skepta’s new music festival
Attending Skepta’s ‘Big Smoke Festival’ takes fourth spot. It will take place in London’s Crystal Palace Park next year
‘Most of us know Skepta as a rapper. But he’s also dipped his foot into DJing and painting, and now, he’s announced that he’s launching his own one-day music festival,’ says Time Out.
Big Smoke Festival will take place in London’s Crystal Palace Park on July 6 next year and ‘will feature a line-up curated by Skepta’.
The guide notes: ‘One stage will be hosted by his record label Más Tiempo, showcasing dance artists, while the other will host live acts – including Skepta himself.’
3. Guzzle down some (actually nice) English wine
The UK’s ‘thriving’ vineyards take bronze medal. The guide says 2024 is ‘packed’ with new wine attractions across the UK. Pictured above is a vineyard in Sussex
Time Out says UK vineyards have been ‘absolutely thriving lately’ and claims ‘2024 is packed with brand new attractions’ for wine lovers.
What’s on the agenda? The guide says: ‘Kentish wine-makers Domaine Evremond are launching a visiting centre and winery in the second half of 2024 while the nearby Tudor Peacock houses a new wine bar with tastings and events in the village of Chilam.
‘That’s not to mention London Wine Festival, Norwich Wine Week and an adorable Highland cow slash vineyard tour in East Yorkshire.’ The latter is a collaboration between Laurel Vines and its neighbour, Dumble Farm, with visitors able to book a package that includes a Highland cow safari, a tour of the vineyard and a picnic for two.
2. Rock out at a sparkling new arena
Co-op Live Arena, set to open in April 2024 in Manchester, ranks second on Time Out’s list
In the runner-up spot is Manchester’s soon-to-open Co-op Arena, which Time Out notes ‘already has some dazzling stars scheduled to grace its stage from April’.
The guide says: ‘Maybe it’s down to its backing from Harry Styles and Bruce Springsteen, maybe it’s thanks to its state-of-the-art design featuring a “smart bowl” and the largest floor space of any indoor venue in the country – but there’s a lot of hype around this place.’
1. See the National Gallery on tour
Taking the top spot is seeing London’s National Gallery on tour
In first place is seeing London’s National Gallery on tour, from May.
To celebrate 200 years of its existence, Time Out explains that the gallery ‘will be sending its mobile art studio to 18 locations over a year-long road trip, serving up activities and events in celebration of each local community’.
What’s more, the guide reveals that ’12 of the most iconic paintings from the gallery’s collection (including Monet’s “The Water Lily Pond” and Botticelli’s “Venus and Mars”) will be brought to 12 UK cities including Newcastle, Aberystwyth, Edinburgh and Ulster’.
Read the full list at www.timeout.com/uk/things-to-do/best-new-things-to-do-uk-2024
