The world’s best cyclists will be gracing the historic grounds of Harewood House as it hosts the Ceremonial Start of the Tour de France this year, and they’ll be receiving a very British welcome as the Red Arrows fly over the Harewood Estate, home of the Dare 2b Yorkshire Festival of Cycling.

The Red Arrows have performed at great occasions such as the London Olympics and the Diamond Jubilee, and are now set to conduct a magnificent Hawk jet flypast over the Festival on Saturday 5th July, as the first stage of the Grand Depart rolls onto Harewood’s grand drive to be greeted by the principal guests.

Entertaining the crowds with their trademark streams of red, white and blue, the Red Arrows’ flight will mark the beginning of a patriotic Festival weekend packed full of entertainment by the British Military. On Sunday the 6th as the tour passes from York on to Sheffield festival-goers will be treated to a Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, with the rare sight of WWII RAF aircraft including a Spitfire, Hurricane, Dakota and a Lancaster taking to the air.

The marching Band of The Corps of Royal Engineers, directed by Captain James Marshall, will also be performing several sets within the grounds over the weekend, while the Army and RAF will be taking over two acres of the Festival site with a range of activities for all ages to take part in, including an assault course, speed-shot football, a bungee run and military vehicle displays.

Taking place throughout the Grand Depart weekend from 4-6 July 2014, the Festival will be hosting high quality camping and glamping facilities, providing groups of all sizes a prime spot to see the Tour de France first hand.

As well as the newly-announced military showcase, there will be plenty more on-site activities to keep festival-goers of all ages entertained. These include a range of sporting participation events such as duathlons, cycling time trials and trail runs (with the challenge to beat times set by Olympic gold and bronze medal-winning triathletes Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee) as well as led rides out into the Yorkshire dales to view the later stages of the race on both days.

Among a host of further entertainment for all the family there will be a cycling cinema, shopping expo, live music and big screens to view the rest of the Grand Depart, as well as the Football World Cup quarter finals, F1 British Grand Prix and Wimbledon in a bumper weekend of British sport.

High profile guests will be there to join in the carnival atmosphere, including Lizzie Armitstead, 2006 Tour winner Oscar Pereiro and another former winner Stephen Roche, providing a truly one-off experience of the best that Yorkshire – and Britain – has to offer.

Harewood hosts the Dare2B Yorkshire Festival of Cycling in July.

We were thrilled to welcome actress Kristin Scott Thomas to Harewood last week as we officially opened In Pursuit of the Exquisite: Royal Sèvres from Versailles to Harewood. Kirstin, alongside Lord Harewood and co-curator Dame Rosalind Savill, were on hand to introduce the exciting exhibition to the press.

Dame Rosalind Savill brought the exhibition to life with her energy and passion for Sevres. Check out this video for a brief synopsis:

http://youtu.be/-KTBil-hu_o

Alongside the Sèvres exhibition, work from three contemporary artists making connections between the past and present. In the Terrace Gallery, Dan Scott explores the poignant life of Queen Marie Antoinette through video and sound, to create intriguing works examining the idea of objects as silent witnesses to history. Below Stairs in the China Cupboards, Michelle Taylor and Livia Marin delicately transform everyday china into unique artworks.

Part of the Yorkshire Festival, this year’s exhibition is not to be missed. Boasting some of Harewood’s rare collection of Sèvres porcelain, the exhibition encapsulates stories from the French Royal Court, the turmoil of the French Revolution and rivalry between Royal English patrons and wealthy Regency dandies.

VW Festival are pleased to announce the charity they will be supporting in 2014 will be the DOGS TRUST.

Along with this they have managed to arrange a number of Doggie related activities including Displays to Music, Dog Show and Agility Displays.  They are hoping to include activities that you can enter your own favourite pooch in too!  More details to follow as arrangements are finalised! Keep an eye on their website, www.vwfestival.co.uk, or their Facebook page, www.facebook.com/vwfestival.

Herbie Hospital in Leeds are busy working their magic on this years giveaway VW Beetle which will be raffled to raise money for this amazing charity!

Raffle tickets will be exclusively available to buy at the show which is on the 16^th and 17^th August 2014.

Olympic medallists Alistair and Jonny Brownlee delighted at Macmillan involvement

Professional Sports Group is delighted to announce Macmillan Cancer Support as the Title Partner of the 2014 Brownlee Tri series. Launched in partnership with Olympic Gold and Bronze medallists Alistair and Jonny Brownlee last year, the Brownlee Tri has expanded to two events in 2014 and will now be known as the Macmillan Brownlee Tri. As part of the agreement, Macmillan will have over 300 competitors raising money to help ensure that no-one has to face cancer alone. Alistair and Jonny Brownlee are set to make an appearance at both events.

The first Macmillan Brownlee Tri will take place at the iconic National Trust property of Petworth House and Park in West Sussex on 15th June, with the second held in the brothers’ home county of Yorkshire at Harewood House on 21st September. Both events will host sprint and super-sprint competitions for individuals, with prizes for youth and adult categories, and also a sprint relay. Whether you are a seasoned triathlete or taking on your first ever race, there really will be something for everyone.

Alistair and Jonny Brownlee said: “We’re delighted that such a fantastic charity has chosen to partner with the Brownlee Tri. Triathlon is a great way to get active and competing for Macmillan Cancer Support provides the perfect motivation. Petworth House and Harewood House are two brilliant locations for a triathlon and we hope as many people as possible will join us.”

Triathlon Team Manager at Macmillan, Hayley Short said: “Macmillan Cancer Support is thrilled to be the new title partner for the Brownlee Tri Series. We are dedicated to providing high quality triathlon events to our supporters and the title of Macmillan Brownlee Tri reflects our commitment to providing iconic events which encourage more people to take up this exciting sport and experience triathlon, whilst helping us ensure no-one faces cancer alone.”

The Macmillan Brownlee Tri promises to deliver a fantastic triathlon experience for competitors of all ages and abilities with two beautiful venues, exciting courses and entertainment villages packed with food stalls and a range of activities for spectators. Competitors will also enjoy free training plans from TriTrainingHarder, fantastic goodie bags and prizes from Boardman, Huub and adidas, and an exclusive triathlon insurance discount with TriathlonGuard.

For more information about getting involved, visit www.macmillanbrownleetri.com and look out for updates through Twitter @Brownleetri or www.facebook.com/brownleetriathlon

It gives us great pleasure to welcome you to our new website. After several years of dedicated service we decided to retire our old site and upgrade to what you see today.

There’s an endless supply of fascinating content here at Harewood. Our ambition for the new harewood.org is to inspire great days out through bright imagery and accessible information. From medieval history to adventure playgrounds there’s something for everyone to enjoy. Our hope is that this new website will appeal to families, art collectors, gardeners, wildlife fans, film makers, foodies and everything in between. We want you to access information about Harewood that interests you, when you want it, how you want it.

The art and collections at Harewood make up a significant part of the educational charitable trust. Our hope is that the new website will allow experts and novices alike to see how incredible the collections here really are. From Thomas Chippendale to Lord Linley, JMW Turner to Sidney Nolan, Harewood has a long history of art patronage that we want to share. We will be updating and managing this information continuously as collections change and develop.

The Bird Garden is a firm favourite with our visitors. Our new-look website aims to give Harewood’s exotic and native species a platform. Conservation is at the heart of that message and we plan to develop this content further as we go through the year.

A special thank you to Piper and Sam from Approach for all their efforts in creating this site. The team has worked hard to build what you see today and we have a great many ideas for future development. We’ve tried to ensure everything is accurate however if you do spot an error please email website@harewood.org.

We hope that you like the progress so far. If you do, recommend the website to a friend and help us shout about all things Harewood!

Tell Us What You Think:

If you have time we’d love to know what you think of the new site. We have five quick questions to ask on a brief survey you can access here.