Me and my wife can only make the Sat & Sun in Sept, we’re new to LARP, are there any timetabled new player type activitys such as “intro to larp”, “combat rules” etc?
We’re hoping this will help us break the ice, meet other players and get involved in the IC game elements at an easy pace. We’ll be commutting in so we just don’t want to miss something at the start of the day.
We’re looking at Wintermark as our nation 
All of the timetabled new player introductions are on Friday but you can get by with the phrase “I’m new to Anvil” if you’re not sure about something and would like help.
It might be a good idea to monster before fighting as your character (if you plan to fight) since you can chat OC about combat rules while waiting. Alternatively, that could be an area to skip for you first event if you’re not sure you’ll be safe.
As Wake says, all the actual intro stuff is run Friday before time in and “I’m new to Anvil, what’s going on?” Is a very powerful first few times in field question
Saturday/Sunday are all RP
Not knowing where you are in the UK, a lot of major cities have clumps of Empire bods who run firmly out of character events known a froth meets (usually in pubs, a place to chatter about upcoming/just been events as self rather than character and get to know folks out of face and kit) and/or weapons training
I’ve had very good experiences with the Manchester bundle (which sort of covers most of the West and North Yorkshire/Lancashire/Greater Manchester Area player base) for their froth meets…
… especially given some folks play absolute assholes, but are some of the sweetest folks I know
The other trick, tho’ this is a heavy mileage may vary thing, is after E4, look at social style player events run by the community and see about getting a space
Player events offer a much, much, MUCH more intimate experience, rather than the 3k+ players that main events have, and often are themed around one specific aspect of the game.
(Like I know that I’m attending a player event in November which is focused around the diplomacy aspect of the game…which I struggle with accessing in field, as I tend to play characters who get caught up in things linked to magic plot and some of the more heavy player driven social intrigue plots)
It can’t hurt to email new.player@profounddecisions.co.uk and see if you can get a quick briefing from crew on the Saturday.
That wouldn’t give you the ice breaker factor but if you use Facebook or Discord then there are official (fb; search for “Empire LRP” and join the groups that seem right, like Wintermark and New Players) and unofficial (Discord, there’s a thread here on the forums to get a link to the “main” server) places to meet players online and ask for character links.
They’re also good places to ask about IC combat training opportunities within your nation as another way to learn that side of things.
Each nation has one or more Egregore characters in the field. Played by volunteer crew, they are there specifically to help new players/characters find their feet and get them into the various areas of the game. You can track them down in play by asking around, or ask at the GOD tent if they can find you one via the radios they wear.
You’re also welcome to keep asking questions here! Combat rule questions are best put to PD directly but I’m sure you can get plenty of tips and opinions on how to get into/stay in character from us lot.