Tom McKinney to take Radio 3 Breakfast listeners on a road trip across Gloucestershire and Somerset

BBC News

6 days ago

BBC Radio 3 Breakfast is on the road again this August, as Tom McKinney presents a week of live broadcasts, taking listeners on a journey through Gloucestershire and Somerset, culminating in a weekend of BBC Proms performances in Bristol.
Inspired by Tom's passion for nature and birds, Breakfast presents its usual selection of the best music to start the morning, while visiting some of the most famous wetlands, forests and sites of cultural interest across Gloucestershire and Somerset. Live performances by local musicians and contributions from naturalists and historians help bring the journey to life, telling stories of the rich heritage of the area.
The road trip starts at Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust Slimbridge, on the River Severn Estuary, and continues to Westonbirt National Arboretum near Tetbury. The programme then travels to Bath with a broadcast from the city's renowned Grand Pump Room, and then to the Bishop's Palace & Gardens in Wells. One last stop in Tyntesfield – the Victorian revival country house and estate near Wraxall – heralds a weekend of BBC Proms performances at Bristol Beacon on Friday 22, Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 August.
Through the week, listeners join Tom on a canoe ride along the waterways in Slimbridge, a 13-metre-high treetop canopy walkway in Westonbirt, and a wander around the rooms and gardens at Tyntesfield estate. In Bath, Tom visits the Grand Pump Room – the city's cultural and social heart for over 200 years – and composer and astronomer William Hershel's house, where he discovered the planet Uranus. From there, Tom travels to Wells, exploring the 14 acres of gardens of The Bishop's Palace (and encountering its famous bell-ringing swans) and the cathedral to discuss its rich musical history.
The week of live broadcasts from Gloucestershire and Somerset culminates in the BBC Proms weekend from Bristol Beacon, including five concerts, all broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and BBC Sounds: a collaboration between Paraorchestra and award-winning duo The Breath (22/08 – Beacon Hall); a live edition of Late Junction with presenter Verity Sharp (22/08 – Lantern Hall); the Danish National Vocal Ensemble with music by Bach, Ethel Smyth, Nielsen and more (23/08 – St George's Bristol); Britten Sinfonia conducted by Tess Jackson, with violinists Zoë Beyers and Miranda Dale (23/08 – Beacon Hall); and an exploration of Italian composers with the Orchestra of Welsh National Opera (24/08 – Beacon Hall).
Previous Radio 3 Breakfast road trips have seen the programme travel through the North East of England, lough-to-lough across Northern Ireland and coast-to-coast through the Scottish Highlands, follow the Rivers Ure and Ouse to the Humber in Yorkshire, and journey along the River Severn from Wales into England and back. Breakfast has also come live from forests in Co. Down, Hampshire and Snowdonia.
Tom McKinney, BBC Radio 3 Breakfast Presenter, says: 'I am very excited to present my first ever Breakfast road trip. Across the course of what's set to be a very special week on Radio 3, I look forward to sharing gentle sounds of waterways, rustling leaves and morning birdsong with audiences at home, as well as discovering more about some of the area's landmarks and musical traditions. This is shaping up to be a true feast for the ears!'
Sam Jackson, Controller BBC Radio 3 and BBC Proms, says: 'Keeping up with Breakfast's tradition of regular UK road trips celebrating local culture, history and nature, we are delighted to present a week of live broadcasts across Gloucestershire and Somerset, all leading up to a packed weekend of BBC Proms at Bristol Beacon. We invite listeners from across the UK to join us for what promises to be a glorious journey, enjoying the opportunity to experience the atmosphere of wetlands, forests and historical buildings as we begin the morning on BBC Radio 3'.
BBC Radio 3 Breakfast from Gloucestershire and Somerset will be live Monday 18 - Friday 22 August, 6.30-9.30am and available on BBC Sounds.
Listen to BBC Radio 3 Breakfast on BBC Sounds
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