Paddington Bear ™, the children’s character created by Michael Bond, famously travels from Peru to Britain with a stack of marmalade sandwiches under his hat. With a new Paddington movie being released this winter, audiences the world over are about to fall in love with the bear once again as he embarks on a new adventure on the silver screen. Paddington fans will soon realise that their hero’s tastes haven’t changed much in the 56 years since the first Paddington Bear book was published. The young bear is still very fond of marmalade and here in Britain, there are plenty of places to enjoy the fruity breakfast preserve. Robertson’s is the official partner for Paddington marmalade with an image of Paddington on the label - 23 million jars are sold each year!

Dundee in Scotland lays claim to being home to the world’s first marmalade, which apparently began by chance in 1700 when a young grocer came across a Spanish ship, which was taking refuge from a storm in Dundee harbour, carrying a cargo of Seville oranges. The fruit was bitter so instead of wasting the fruit, his wife used the oranges instead of her usual quinces to make pots of preserve. Fast forward a few hundred years and although the recipe has changed slightly, Mackays continue to make the delicious preserve known as Dundee Orange Marmalade. The city is also known for its famous Dundee cake, a traditional Scottish fruit cakes rich in flavour and made with currants, almonds and sultanas. 

Cumbria, in north-west England, is home to Dalemain Estate where they founded The World’s Original Marmalade Awards and Festival. This annual event, of which Paddington himself is a patron, celebrates the best in marmalade from across the globe taking place at the Dalemain Mansions and Garden in Penrith, Cumbria, each spring. More than 2,000 jars of marmalade from around the world are entered into the awards to win the title for the best citrus preserve; Yorkshire Wold Bees the British Double Gold Artisan Winner in 2014 for its Lemon and Honey flavoured marmalade, while Radnor Preserves, based in Powys, mid-Wales, won gold for its unusually flavoured Blood Orange, Chilli & Smoked Sea Salt Marmalade. Next year’s Marmalade Awards & Festival takes place from 28 February – 1 March and will be celebrating their tenth anniversary in 2015. Visitors can look forward to tasting marmalades and attending workshops to learn how to make their own preserve. Penrith is just over three hours from London by train, and less than two from Manchester.

There are awards for the best hotels and Bed & Breakfasts who make their own marmalades too, with Woodford House B&B in Somerset, south-west England, taking the 2014 double gold award for its Seville Orange with Bourbon Whisky. If you’re looking to enjoy marmalade with your toast for a traditional British breakfast, there are plenty more quintessentially English establishments which excel in marmalade making. Tickle your tastebuds with Four Fruit marmalade at Brickwall Farm, a traditional English farmhouse in Essex, south-east England, or enjoy a kick start to your day with Seville Orange & Cointreau marmalade at Lorne House B&B in the heart of Wiltshire countryside, west England. 

Marmalade lovers like Paddington will enjoy eating at the aptly named Café Marmalade, which specialises in serving home cooked food in Brighton on the UK’s south coast. Or Marmalade on the Square in Wakefield, Yorkshire, offers tea and cakes served on mismatched vintage china while diners can browse a selection of gifts and homeware.

For the best places to buy marmalade to take home and impress your friends or for making marmalade sandwiches of your own like Paddington, Fortnum & Mason offers a comprehensive selection of handmade marmalades in its flagship London store. Holder of a Royal Warrant, the store also offers a delightful afternoon tea in its Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon where their world-renowned expert ‘Tearistas’ are available to advise guests on the perfect tea to complement their sandwiches and scones. 

If you’re a whiz in the kitchen and would like to concoct your own marmalade recipe, Vale House Kitchen, just outside of Bath, offers a Marmalade Make & Bake Day with expert marmalade maker Vivien Lloyd. For those that are feeling even more adventurous Vale House Kitchen also offers a foraging course showing you how to identify the best wild foods in the countryside or a two-day fly fishing course on Cameley Lakes. Bath is 1.5 hours by train from London Paddington (!) station, and it’s a 20-minute bus trip to the village of Timsbury, where the cookery school is located. 

PADDINGTON the film, from the producer of Harry Potter, will be releasing in cinemas nationwide on 11th December, 2014. View the official trailer....