Posted by Jennifer on January 27, 2009 – 10:48 pm
On the picturesque Sussex coast, Bognor Regis home to the newest hotel in the Butlins chain. With a more stylish and contemporary twist to the wooden huts of the Fifties, the hotel, named Ocean Hotel, is set to attract many families as they choose to cut costs this year by remaining in the UK for their holidays.
The hotel features 200 guest rooms which are modern and comfortable and well equipped with a host of contemporary amenities. Most rooms offer a balcony which enjoys views of the beautiful sandy beach.
The hotel also has a friendly restaurant and bar and a relaxing ultra-luxe spa. There is a variety of live entertainment which Butlins is famous for, along with an amazing selection of exciting activities for all ages.
Posted by Jennifer on January 27, 2009 – 10:46 pm
The votes are in and counted and customers of Hostelworld.com have voted for their favourite hostels worldwide. The main factors taken into consideration during the voting included character, security, location, staff, fun and cleanliness.
Amazingly The Riverside Backpackers in Cardiff, Wales went straight in at number four, beaten to the top three spots by hostels in Lisbon, Portugal. The Riverside lies on the picturesque shores of The Taff and is within easy reach of the Millennium Stadium. It only opened in 2007 and has enjoyed instant success, also receiving an award for employing the best hostel staff in the world!
Posted by Jennifer on January 27, 2009 – 10:42 pm
It is great news for walkers after The Marine Bill was recently passed to allow work to begin on a 2,700 mile coastal trail around England. This is not the only development that will have walking fans jumping for joy, March sees the completion of the path around the entire shoreline of Kielder Water and in Wales Wat’s Dyke Path has recently been completed linking Llanymyench to Basingwerk Abbey – an exhausting 60 mile route!
The National Trust has expanded its walking portfolio which now boasts 130 routes and those people with mobility problems need not miss out! Walkers on Wheels is a scheme that has been launched in the Cotswolds offering 15 short walks with much clearer and less problematic paths for the less mobile.
Posted by Jennifer on January 27, 2009 – 10:39 pm
Taking place between the 31st of January and 22nd of February is Norwich’s first ever Dragon festival. The exciting festival celebrates the iconic symbol of the Dragon which has been linked to Norwich since the middle ages.
Attracting families, schools and tourists, the festival will be coordinated by Norwich Heritage and Regeneration Trust (HEART) and will provide a variety of entertaining activities including craft, exhibitions, seminars and sculpture. It is a fantastic opportunity to enjoy and explore the city’s historic and stunning architecture and promises to be a fun and interesting day for the whole family.
Posted by Jennifer on January 26, 2009 – 9:50 pm
The Journal Newspaper claims that almost 250 wind turbines owned by energy companies could be erected all over the North East according to current plans, ruining the lush, green and picturesque landscape. Alnwick has already been unfortunate in being an approved location for a handful of turbines.
Chairwoman for the North Northumberland Tourism Association, Ruth McNeely stated “Areas of North Northumberland are areas of unspoilt beauty and that is one of the big tourist attractions. Turbines have the potential to spoil that”.
The Save our Unspoilt Landscape (SOUL) and Moorsyde Action Group (MAG) are raising funds to fight the proposals and aim to reach £100,000 by hosting three exciting events and they welcome any donations.
Posted by Jennifer on January 26, 2009 – 9:27 pm
The historic city of Cambridge welcomes over three million tourists each year and as the prestigious Cambridge University celebrates its 800th Anniversary this year, those figures may grow even more. The University has for many years been known as a great centre of intellectual excellence and has educated many Science greats including Sir Isaac Newton and the Physicist Stephen Hawking.
The city of Cambridge itself lies on the River Cam and is surrounded by picturesque farmland and stunning chalk hills to the South, Enjoy relaxing strolls along the river or visit the Botanic Gardens which offer an impressive 40 acres of landscaped gardens and glasshouses.
Posted by Jennifer on January 26, 2009 – 9:20 pm
The mid 19th Century saw the introduction of the UK’s first ever Fish and Chip shop and by 1920 the country had a huge 35,000 outlets. Today it is reported that the Brits consume around 276 million fish and chip take aways each year and experts predict a steady increase as the economic climate takes its toll on our pockets.
The Fish and Chip Shop of the Year Competition had stringent guidelines, factors taken into account included healthiness, sustainability, hygiene, customer opinion and of course taste. Without further ado here are the results;
- Finnegan’s (Porthcawl Wales)
- The Fish and Chicken Inn (Ballymena, Northern Ireland)
- Merchant Fish Bar (Bewdley, Worcestershire)
- Petrou Brothers (Chattens, Cambridgeshire)
- Scooby Snax (Brightling Sea, Colchester)
- The Plaice (Winchester, Hampshire)
- Daniels Fish and Chips (Weymouth, Dorset)
- Thornton Fisheries (Thornton Cleveleys, Lancs)
- Colmans of South Shields (Tyne and Wear)
And the winner is……………Anstruther Fish Bar and Restaurant (Fife)
Posted by Jennifer on January 26, 2009 – 9:08 pm
According to forbestraveler.com Loch Lomond in Scotland is among some of the quietest places in the world. With its large expanse of beautiful, fresh and clam water, surrounded by imposing and breathtaking lush, green mountains, it is no wonder that Loch Lomond is alongside places such as The Gobi Desert and The Grand Canyon on the list.
The Loch is 24 miles long and 5 miles wide and reaches 600 feet deep in parts. It is the ideal holiday location and the perfect base from which to explore The picturesque Scottish Highlands, the West Coast and Islands and Central Scotland.
Posted by Paul on January 26, 2009 – 2:43 pm
I must confess to be being a little slow-off-the-mark when it comes to Twitter. I’ve never quite grasped how it can be useful but am starting to ’see the light’ (well, a few glimmers at least!) with the provision of Twitter feeds such as http://twitter.com/uktrains
This is an unofficial Twitter feed devised by Ben Smith which came about when Tom Watson MP ’tweeted’ that it would be useful to be notified of rail delays, especially for the Euston to Birmingham service which he was regularly using. Ben used the BBC Backstage’s travel feeds to tweet disruption alerts for 25 UK train operators. Interestingly, this information isn’t freely available via Twitter from the operators themselves, presumably because they’d sooner you pay for SMS alerts for their delayed services. Not only do they inconvenience you with a late train, but they try to make money from you in the process!
For those of you that are Twitter converts and regularly travel by train, you might like to give Ben’s offering a try. UKseries also has a Twitter feed at http://twitter.com/ukseries
Posted by Paul on January 26, 2009 – 11:51 am
LandFall, an exhibition of new work exploring the Atlantic Ocean as natural phenomenon, transporter of dreams and peoples, opens at the Museum of London Docklands on 6th February 2009. The work includes painting, collage, sculpture, textiles, music and poetry and disentangles the complex relationships between Europe, Africa and the Americas, through the tides and traumas of the Ocean. Contributing artists are Beth Secor, Faisal Abdu’ Allah, Godfried Donkor, Jamal Cyrus, Ingrid Pollard, Dorothea Smartt and Dominique Le Gendre. The LandFall project reflects the artists’ different approaches to forming new patterns of collaboration with local communities on both sides of the Atlantic.
