Train tickets to see Euro 2016
Football fans heading to France for Euro 2016 can sign up to a reminder letting them know when high-speed train tickets are being released to cities hosting the tournament from June 10 to July 10 (voyages-sncf.com). The first tickets will be available on September 22; these will cover journeys to the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final (at the Stade de France in Paris). Tickets for the other matches including those involving home nations will go online on December 10, two days ahead of the final draw determing where each team plays (uefa.com).
Go back to the Fat Duck
Foodie alert: the three-Michelin-star chef Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck restaurant in Bray, Oxfordshire, is due to reopen at the end of next month, or possibly early October, after an eight-month refurbishment during which the chef and his staff ran a restaurant in Melbourne, Australia. As before, there will be a tasting menu with 14 courses; the previous price was £220 a head, but the cost of the new menu has not been set. Reservations will open soon (thefatduck.co.uk). To stay in style near by, try the plush Bray Cottages (braycottages.com) or five-star Cliveden House (clivedenhouse.co.uk).
Conservation talk at the Royal Geographical Society
After Cecil the lion’s death in Zimbabwe last month, the Royal Geographical Society’s forthcoming talk on “The Future of Conservation” is especially timely. It will be held at the RGS’s headquarters in Kensington, London, on September 14 at 7pm, led by Rian Labuschagne, a leading conservationaist. He will discuss successful elephant rehabilitation in Zakouma National Park in Chad. Tickets cost £15, with proceeds going to African Parks, a conservation chartity. They are available from steppestravel.co.uk.
Hobbit cottage opens in the North York Moors
A cottage inspired by J R R Tolkien’s The Hobbit has opened on a six-acre farm at Liverton in the North York Moors National Park. The cottage is built underground with a grass roof and an entrance on one side with a circular doorway. The self-catering cottage, named Potts Corner, sleeps six in two rooms and comes with copies of Tolkien’s works. The price for three nights is £650 or £850 for seven nights (northshire.co.uk).