Designed to impress, V&A Dundee
Scotland’s leading design museum, V&A Dundee, reopens its doors today (following its big sister in London, which opened three weeks ago). The striking building on the banks of the Tay is home to a variety of exhibition spaces, including an evolving installation of prototypes, sketches and failed experiments; a hands-on room on care, repair, customisation and waste in the fashion industry; and a collection of objects revealing how designers and others have used their skills during the Covid crisis. There’s also a major retrospective on Mary Quant (from £6), including the iconic British designer’s “wet collection”. Timed entry slots for the museum can be booked online in advance (free, but donations welcomed).
• vam.ac.uk
Make friends with an alpaca, West Yorkshire
Visitors to Thornwood Farm near Keighly can join an unusual group of walkers around the moorland of Bronte country. It offers trekking across the farm in Oxenhope with a herd of alpacas every Saturday and Sunday and occasional midweek days (£25 adult, £10 child over 10). For adults and over-16s there are also 2½-hour treks (£35) around the hilly countryside, covering three miles with a snack and rest stop – carrots and sugar-snap peas welcomed.
• experiencethornwood.co.uk
Human history – with fewer humans, British Museum
After the longest peacetime closure in its 261-year history – since mid-March – the British Museum reopened on 27 August. More than 23 galleries house everything from the Rosetta Stone (pictured) and several Egyptian mummies, to deerskin maps, turquoise serpents, tantra ritual objects and a 19th-century cast of a Mayan hieroglyphic stairway, used recently to recreate the eroded original in Mexico with 3D printing. There’ll be plenty of space to enjoy the exhibits – with just 2,000 tickets a day available initially (free, donations welcome), compared with the 15,000-20,000 daily visitors it receives in a normal summer. Visitors will follow a one-way system around the museum which continues to face calls to return some of its most famous artefacts to their country of origin.
• britishmuseum.org
Carnival time, Bristol
Thought that feather headdress and jewelled bikini wouldn’t see the light of day this year? Think again. Lakota Gardens in Bristol is throwing a party in its new open-air space, in the spirit of carnival. On Sunday, the courtyard area will host NOT-ting Hill Carnival, with a diverse lineup of DJs, dance performance and food stalls – including jerk chicken and goat curry – and two-hour slots bookable online in advance (£10per table, groups of up to six). Also coming up at the venue are day and night disco parties on Saturday, and live jazz on Sunday; Russell Howard and friends performing work-in-progress stand-up next week; plus special nights for reggaeton, afrobeats, funk, soul and cabaret throughout September.
• lakota.co.uk
Asanas on the beach, south Wales
Take a mindful breath while gazing over the Bristol Channel at a yoga class on the sandy shores of Swansea Bay. Taking place close to the Marina Towers Observatory, this community event, open to all, is now in its sixth year. It usually draws large crowds, but organiser Womankind Yoga is now limiting class numbers to 30, and there are two remaining sessions for the bank holiday weekend (Saturday 10am). Places must be booked in advance, sessions are by donation (made when booking) and participants should bring their own mat or towel.
• eventbrite.com
Showtime, Chichester, East Sussex
An all-singing, all-dancing weekend organised by Chichester Festival Theatre brings stories, open-air film screenings and puppetry to the town’s Oaklands Park this weekend. Highlights include an afternoon reading by Hugh Bonneville of two Judith Kerr books, The Tiger Who Came to Tea and Mog the Forgetful Cat; and a drive-in cinema (£35 a car) with screenings of Grease, Singin’ in the Rain, Pixar’s latest film Onwards (pictured) and more. Plots must be booked in advance and cost from £10 (for two) for family fun in the day. There are hampers and refreshments to pre-order for shows, and a wood-fired pizzeria and bar.
• cft.org.uk
Seafood festival, Hampshire
Slurp oysters with a view of the Solent at this weekend’s annual Lymington Seafood Festival. Around 70 food and drink producers will be preparing a range of seafood (plus some vegetarian options and sweet treats), accompanied by musicians from around the south coast playing blues, soul and ska. There’s also a demo kitchen and, new for this year, pop-up dining experience Bream on the Green. Entrance can be booked in advance for one of five sessions across three days (11.30am–3.30pm, 4pm-8pm Sat and Sun, and 11.30am-5pm Mon; all £5), with proceeds going to the Lymington SailAbility charity.
• lymingtonseafoodfestival.co.uk
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