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Seven of the UK's most magical open-air cinemas
Britain's love of outdoor cinema has been cemented by this summer's higher-than-usual temperatures, with screens popping up in the grounds of stately homes and swimming pools as well as in parks and hotels. Some of them encourage you to bring along picnics and blankets while others have deckchairs or beanbags, plus wood-fired pizza and bars. And you'll be able to experience everything from sing-a-long musical classics to arthouse movies, all of which will be partnered by a very British sense of jeopardy when it comes to the weather forecast.
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Each summer, this hotel puts up a 13ft cinema screen in its garden on the banks of the River Tay, showing films from now until mid-August (£10). Deckchairs are provided alongside Bluetooth headphones. The menu offers pizzas cooked to order, including one with local venison, and loaded fries. Upcoming films include Life of Pi, Being John Malkovich, Inside Out and When Harry Met Sally, while the gentle murmur of the river adds its own soundtrack. Films are open to all and, should you wish to stay, there are seven bedrooms, all decorated with a pleasing Scandi-Scottish charm. Details B&B doubles from £210 (
Many National Trust properties have expansive lawns that lend themselves to open-air events. The Vyne, a 16th-century mansion near Basingstoke, complete with a Tudor chapel, classical porticos and a long gallery, is one of them. This summer, there will be film screenings between July 31 and August 4, including Dirty Dancing, Bridget Jones's Diary and Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, and guests are welcome to bring their own picnics and chairs (£17; Very nearly as venerable as the Vyne, the Tylney Hall hotel is a 20-minute drive away and has indoor and outdoor pools, tennis courts and a wood-panelled restaurant serving traditional, seasonal British B&B doubles from £235 (
The 19th-century Grosvenor Park, in the centre of Chester, features an open-air cinema each summer. The roster of films includes Pretty Woman, Mamma Mia!, True Romance and Wicked and tickets include Bluetooth headphones (£13.50; You can bring your own seating or pay extra for a deckchair. Be savvy and pre-order a wood-fired pizza and retire later to the Boathouse and Riverside Rooms, just next to the park and on the River Dee. It's a great base for exploring Chester's Roman remains and medieval B&B doubles from £154 (
As part of Bradford's City of Culture programming this year, the events organisation Rumpus is organising a series of outdoor screenings. On August 22 and 23, the 1930s Ilkley Lido will be the backdrop to Everybody's Talking about Jamie and Sexy Beast, while Thornton Viaduct will show Grand Budapest Hotel on September 13, all with surprise immersive elements that aim to enhance the experience (£10; A ten-minute drive away from the lido in the village of Ben Rhydding, the Wheatley Arms is a pleasant spot to retreat to B&B doubles from £96 (
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Every August, Norwich's Cinema City — part of the Picturehouse group — puts on a series of outdoor screenings in the Plantation Gardens (£18.85; The gardens, with gothic follies and serpentine paths, were created in the 1850s from a disused quarry and are a short walk from the city centre. This year's plein-air offerings include the original pilot of Twin Peaks, and the Talking Heads concert Stop Making Sense as well as the outdoor cinema favourite Dirty Dancing. St Giles House, a family-run hotel only a ten-minute walk away, has recently expanded with a new restaurant and a small spa with five treatment B&B doubles from £155 (
Milford Haven's Torch Theatre runs its popular Sunset Cinema at several different venues each year but Cardigan's setting is particularly special. Next to the River Teifi, Cardigan Castle is a melange of medieval ruins, Georgian architecture and a Victorian garden. This August, Torch's programme includes Toy Story, Top Gun and Elvis (£12; shown on a big screen on a lawn within the castle grounds. Ticket holders can bring their own picnic blankets and food. The 12-bedroom Albion hotel, in a handsome stone former warehouse filled with traditional Welsh furnishings, is the coolest place to stay in B&B doubles from £185 (
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Erudite offerings are matched by the brutalist surroundings of London's most famous post-war housing development at the Barbican's outdoor film festival, running from August 20-31. Surrounded by the city's tower blocks, filmgoers can watch the likes of Palme d'Or-winning Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives from Thailand and Wes Anderson's stop-go animation Fantastic Mr Fox in the Sculpture court (£18; There are food trucks and drinks available from the Conservatory Bar. The newly opened Montcalm Brewery Hotel, in an 18th-century building that once belong to Whitbread, is just around the corner if you want to make a night of B&B doubles from £200 (
Have we missed your favourite? Please share your recommendations in the comments below
