Posted by Paul on June 26, 2010 – 8:31 am
North Devon sees the introduction of arguably the UK’s most challenging coastal race staged to date. Supported by the North Devon Coast AONB as part of their 50th anniversary programme, the inaugural North Devon AONB Marathon will be held tomorrow, in aid of North Devon Hospice. Runners taking part in the full and half-marathon courses will race through spectacular but challenging landscapes within the coastal Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, around half of which is owned by the National Trust.
Centred on the idyllic Woolacombe Beach, this gruelling route will test the runners’ resolve with a total ascent of approximately 3,300ft and mixed terrains including the South West Coast Path, surfaced highways and the rural public rights of way network. For less avid runners, the half-marathon is an ideal track, reaching a total ascent of just 1,300ft. It’s hoped that the race will become an annual fixture and a highlight in the long-distance and fell-runners’ calendar.
Posted by Paul on June 25, 2010 – 3:47 pm
The world’s fastest steam locomotive has arrived at Locomotion: The National Railway Museum in Shildon, Durham, the “cradle of the railways.”
The Mallard LNER class A4 4468 locomotive – the current holder of the world speed record for steam traction by rail – left the National Railway Museum in York and headed north to Shildon for arrival this week, where it will remain for between 12 and 18 months. Mallard was hauled to Locomotion by another historic steam locomotive, Tornado, Britain’s newest steam engine.
Durham is known as the “cradle of the railways” because the world’s first steam-hauled passenger rail service, the Stockton to Darlington passenger railway, left from Shildon in 1825. The historic locomotive will be the star attraction at the museum’s Annual Steam Gala event this September.
Visit Mallard at Locomotion and make a stay of it by taking in the area; compare prices on hotels in Durham to get the best rate.
Posted by Paul on June 25, 2010 – 1:42 pm
Beamish: The Living Museum of the North, one of Britain’s best-loved open air museums, has announced plans for a weekend of celebrations to mark its 40th birthday. It’s four decades since the first staff and artefacts arrived and work began on what has become North East England’s flagship visitor attraction. To mark the occasion, the museum is holding a whole weekend of celebrations on Saturday and Sunday, 3rd and 4th July 2010.
At Home Farm, there’s a delicious birthday cup cake for every visitor. Each day at noon there’ll be a parade of Beamish folk and vehicles around the site; a horse drawn carriage will lead a Suffragette march including a Model T Ford and a steam roller. At The Railway Station, there’s a photographic exhibition of forty years of Beamish and a slide show of archive photographs in the Masonic Hall.
A brass band will play in the Town park on Sunday afternoon and there’ll be an anniversary service in the pit village Methodist chapel each day at 1pm, 2pm and 3pm. There are family activities to enjoy too – make a period birthday card and have a go at identifying the mystery objects in the village school.
Why not choose one of these hotels near Beamish and stay for the weekend?
Posted by Paul on June 25, 2010 – 1:38 pm
At a time when government cuts seem to dominate the news, it’s hard to imagine that a non-frontline service such as tourism might feel the brunt of it, despite UK tourism having already seen a reduction in funding in recent years. However, in an interview with The Daily Telegraph, the new tourism minister John Penrose suggests things are set to change:
Tourism contributes more to the economy than the financial and business sector yet it has received little support. Will the Government change this?
Travel and tourism contributes about £100 billion and it has been ignored for too long. As MP for Weston-super-Mare, I recognise how important tourism is – I have seen what it does for a community – and how important holidays are in financially straitened times.
Can we realistically expect the current government to pay more attention to UK tourism given the current state of the economy? Click on the comments to have your say!
Useful links:
UK hotels
UK B&Bs
UK cottages
UK campsites
Posted by Paul on June 24, 2010 – 1:56 pm
A former UN official is selling non-drinking water to kitchens all over the UK. Entrepreneur Andy Inglis launched his bottled Acquamara at the Taste of Edinburgh Festival. Made from purified seawater from the Outer Hebrides, it is priced at £3.95 for a 3-litre container. It is sourced from the waters around the tiny Hebridean island of Berneray, where it is extracted from the sea and passed through a filter to remove dirt and unwanted containing particles. Chefs such as Roy Brett, head chef and proprietor at Edinburgh seafood restaurant Ondine, are said to be using the water to cook things like shellfish in, saying that it enhances the taste.
Posted by Paul on June 24, 2010 – 10:39 am
Visitors to Scotland will be aware that midges can sometimes be a problem. But now – thanks to our ever-changing technology – there’s a solution just around the corner. Edinburgh-based Advanced Pest Solutions have come up with a free iPhone app – the Midge App – that links to Google Maps and indicates five different levels of midge threat, with ‘5′ being the highest. The news is timely since the midge season in Scotland usually starts around the end of June each year.
Posted by Paul on June 23, 2010 – 9:59 pm
It appears a practical joker has been at work on one of England’s most famous landmarks. The Long Man of Wilmington in East Sussex has had a 6m (20ft) penis added. Early indications suggest that the appendage been done with the same contraption that’s used to mark football pitches (ie. paint) and so will just wash away over time. Sussex Archaeological Society claim there’s been a fair amount of sniggering over the incident.
What’s your view on this? A harmless bit of fun or thoughtless vandalism?
Posted by Paul on June 23, 2010 – 1:47 pm
Norman and Fiona Potts spent 18 months clocking up thousands of miles hunting for their dream farmhouse in Mid Wales before dropping on Gwaenynog at Dolanog, near Welshpool quite by chance last June.
They had made an appointment to view a neighbouring farmhouse but fate led them to Gwaenynog, which was up for sale with the same estate agent. The owner invited them in and the Hampshire couple immediately fell in love with it.
Now, seven months later, after moving in October, the attractive stone farmhouse has been sympathetically refurbished and converted into quality bed and breakfast accommodation, which has just won a four star grading from Visit Wales.
Standing in 16 acres of pastureland, wetland and woodland that host a wide variety of birds, Gwaenynog Farmhouse offers visitors a choice of three en suite bedrooms and locally sourced breakfast ingredients.
Click here for details of more B&Bs in mid Wales.
Posted by Paul on June 23, 2010 – 1:28 pm
Only an hour and a half to go now until England take on Slovenia in the World Cup in a game where probably only a win will do. Can Fabio Capello’s men step up to the challenge, do you think, or will it be another dismal performance and an early exit from the competition? Tell us your views ahead of the game!
On a light-hearted note, here’s a nice little snippet we recently heard…
“The England team visited an orphanage in South Africa yesterday. “It was heartbreaking to see their sad little faces filled with no hope,” said Jamal, aged 6.”
Enjoy the game!
Posted by Paul on June 23, 2010 – 1:21 pm
A series of rare vintage train journeys on the world’s second greatest railway journey this summer are selling out fast. Seats on the June and July trains running along England’s most scenic railway line – the Settle to Carlisle – have already sold out. There are just six trains remaining in this summer’s programme with availability left for August and September.
The trip takes passengers on the awesome 72-mile Settle to Carlisle line, which was named second only to South Africa’s Blue Train Journey and ahead of the Transiberian Express by ABC Television in America.
Michael Williams, the author of new book On The Slow Train:12 Great British Railway Journeys, also named the route as Britain’s best slow train journey. He wrote: “Drama abounds on this magnificent ride over the “roof of England.” A masterpiece of Victorian engineering.”
The special trains – a vintage coal-powered steam train called “the Fellsman,” offer a rare chance to relive the nostalgic era of Victorian Rail. Passengers can book first-class Pullman dining in the ornate carriages and enjoy life onboard a Brief Encounter-style locomotive, as it makes it way along the spectacular high-altitude route.
Alternatively, they can bring their own picnics. You can buy tickets for standard class, first class or premier dining. Tickets are £236 for a family of four standard class return, or up to £580 for Premier class. You can find out times and prices by going to http://www.statesmanrail.com/fellsman10.html
The Settle-to-Carlisle route starts in the small North Yorkshire village on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales, and concludes in Carlisle before the return leg. It took 6,000 men seven years to build, starting back in 1869. There are nine country stations between start and finish along with 14 tunnels and over 20 viaducts to cross as well as some of the most jaw-dropping scenery in England.
