UKseries Home       Blog Home       UK Hotels       UK B&Bs       UK Self-Catering       UK Camping       UK Tourist Attractions

Monthly Archives: March 2011

London Olympic Stadium is now complete

0
Posted by trev on March 31, 2011 – 1:45 pm
Filed under Events

In just 1000 days, the London Olympic Stadium has been declared complete with the laying of the final turf on the central area.

The record breaking time for any Olympic Stadium was made possibly by the use of over 5,000 workers and 240 British businesses. The last of the 360 rolls of Scunthorpe grown turf were laid out by officials to finish the stadium off.

“Finished” is a slightly relative term in this case as the running track isn’t currently laid, but that will come later as the tarmac is required to allow crains in to hoist temporary opening ceremony stands closer to the opening date.

You can see the current finished inside of the stadium on one of the Olympic web cams.

General Stadium Stats:

  • Overall cost was £486 million (originally meant to be £240m).
  • 80,000 seats are available for spectators.
  • The stadium is 860 metres around.
  • Over 5,250 people were involved in total (inc. non-construction site)
  • 532 Individual floodlights to assist with HD TV

More London Links:
Things to see around the Olympic Stadium
Hotels around the Olympic Stadium

New venue for Rock Oyster Festival

0
Posted by admin on March 31, 2011 – 1:14 pm
Filed under Eating & Drinking, Events

A boutique food and music festival is to move to a new venue on Cornwall’s north coast this summer.Taking place from 17th to 19th June 2011, the Rock Oyster Festival will bring together the best of Cornish food and produce, quirky music acts and family entertainment – and raise thousands of pounds for charity. Event organiser Charlie Anderson said: “Last year the event was a great success, and we’re thrilled to announce that the 2011 festival will be held at a stunning new venue, Dinham House, right on the banks of the Camel Estuary near Rock. “We’re a not-for-profit festival, and we raised over £4,000 last year for our nominated charities the RNLI and St Minver School. This year we’re delighted to be supporting Cornwall Hospice Care and The Army Benevolent Fund and really want to raise as much money as possible.”

The move to Dinham House affords organisers more space, and for the first time on-site camping will be available within the grounds. The three day family-orientated festival begins on Friday evening with Circus Berzercus and Bentley Rhythm Ace Live. Saturday and Sunday showcase oysters and seafood from top chefs including Nathan Outlaw (chef and owner at Cornwall’s only two-Michelin-starred restaurant) alongside food stalls selling affordable local produce, and a hotly-anticipated oyster shucking competition between the chefs present.The festival features some cult musical acts such as The Destroyers. Described by Q Magazine as a “15-piece polka orchestra led by a short grandad in a fez who talks like a pirate,” the gypsy jazz band will return to play the event on the Saturday night.

Tickets are on sale now from with a limited number of early bird weekend tickets available at £28. On site camping is also available priced £10 with spaces limited to the first 100 tents.

Limited edition Royal Wedding Oyster cards available

0
Posted by trev on March 31, 2011 – 12:48 pm
Filed under Transport

With just under a month to go, TFL have announced commemorative William and Kate Oyster cards are now available.

As Royal commemorative memorabilia goes, at least this one does have a practical purpose unlike the Charles and Diana mugs you might still have sitting in a cupboard or the Royal Stamps in your stamp collection.

Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, unveiled the cards which include one of the official portrait photos of the couple taken by Mario Testino last November.

The cards will be available from the 21st April, but with only 750,000 being made they might soon become a collectors item. You will be able to pick them up from all London Overground stations, some National Rail ticket offices and TfL Travel Information Centres.

TGI Friday’s bartenders attempt record “Tom Cruise” routine

0
Posted by trev on March 30, 2011 – 4:42 pm
Filed under Events

Over 100 of TGI Friday’s professional bartenders attempted a world record in Covent Garden doing a Tom-Cruise-esk Cocktail routine.

The record attempt shown in the video below stipulated that at least 100 of the bartenders had to perform the routine for two minutes without dropping bottles.

In the end, they managed 101 bartenders performing what is quite an impressive routine for the allotted time thus ensuring they now hold the record, although there’s no news yet on whether they’ll be back to try again next year.

They apparently not only perform these kinds of routines regularly but trained Tom Cruise for his famous Cocktail film scenes.

TGI Fridays in the UK.

5 reasons to visit the Yorkshire Dales

2
Posted by trev on March 30, 2011 – 4:25 pm
Filed under Miscellaneous

For those seeking peace and solitude, we recommend visiting Yorkshire soon before ITV’s new 12 part series “The Dales” airs and everyone wants to come.

A decade or more ago, people flocked to the Yorkshire Dales after Siegfried Farnon, Tristan and Mrs Pumphrey showed off this magnificent part of the English countryside in the hit TV series All Creatures Great and Small.

Soon it is expected a similar influx of people will be discovering and re-discovering the dales when Adrian Edmondson takes us back to his roots with a series exploring every aspect of “Gods own country” as it’s often known.

So what have the Yorkshire Dales got to offer the visitors today? There’s a wealth of things, but here are a few of the best:

1) For Wallace and Gromit fans the Wensleydale Creamery in Hawkes is a must visit location. Saved from bankrupcy by the inventor and his faithful dog’s love affair with their cheese, the factory is ready to welcome you with their new £800,000 visitors centre.

2) If walking is your thing and who can resist wandering out into the rugged beauty of the Yorkshire Dales, then why not try the new Six Dales Trail. 38 miles of Dales scenic ramble from Otley to Middleham, which as its name suggests covers a total of six dales.

3) Following on from walking, if you’re in the Yorkshire Dales at the end of May, there’s a new event called Ingleton Overground Underground. This aims to give you both taster sessions and help with safe walking around the hills. The event runs from 27th – 30th May 2011 around Ingleton.

4) The Dales Festival of Food and Drink in Leyburn runs from the 30th April to 2nd May and includes everything from Morris dancing and sheep shearing, to Turkish food created using local produce and a real ale festival. There’s nothing like variety in the dales, including the festivals.

5) In keeping with the festival and alcohol theme, why not pop over to the Hardraw Gathering which includes folk music festivals and an annual brass band contest, all based around the pubs during the day from 29th April to 2nd May.

We did try to find a page about the series on ITV.com, but they seem to be rather lacking in anything. However there is a video introduction from the local news teams.

Yorkshire Dales Links:
Visitor attractions around Yorkshire
Hotels in Yorkshire
Self-catering in Yorkshire

Safer cycling campaign kicks off today in London

0
Posted by trev on March 30, 2011 – 3:11 pm
Filed under Events

According to several tweets, today is “No more lethal lorries” campaign day aiming to cut the numbers injured on London’s streets by trucks.

With the advent of Boris Bikes and especially now that you can hire them without an account just using your credit card, it seems there might need to be a greater awareness for both car & lorry drivers and cyclists to keep the capital’s roads safer.

The campaign according to the No more lethal lorries web site is wanting to initially collect signatures to encourage London’s lorry drivers to take various actions to reduce accidents involving lorries and bikes – whether they be private or Boris Bikes.

The web site gives 5 main points that they’d like to see:

1) Cyclist-awareness training for drivers.
2) Drivers must take more responsibility (around blind spots etc.)
3) Safer design for London lorries inc. more mirrors and cameras.
4) Higher standards from lorry operators with quality-assurance schemes.
5) More responsible procurement (mainly related to those hiring the lorry firms).

Alternative: Making London’s roads safer does sound a good idea, but this does seem very one-sided essentially putting all the blame on the lorry drivers for accidents.

It would seem they missed out quite a few points which would at least help the situation.

1) All cyclists must pass the cycling proficiency test (might make Boris Bikes a little harder).
2) Bikes, starting with Boris Bikes should have a flashing beacon.
3) All cyclists must wear a helmet and other appropriate protection.
4) In car/truck training to show just what the driver really can see.
5) Reminded that as road users anyone cycling is as responsible for observing their surroundings as a car / wagon driver.

Combination: With a combination of better training and reminders for car & wagon drivers, and training for cyclists London could become quite a harmonious place for both.

Of course everyone can hate the BMW drivers! ;-)

The cycling petition is here. There are also several places around the city where you can sign the petitions in person according to their web site.

Camping in the UK – the easy way

0
Posted by admin on March 30, 2011 – 3:04 pm
Filed under Accommodation, Transport

Now that the weather is starting to look up (at times!), more and more people will be starting to think about camping. Of course, camping is also an attractive option for those still wary of the current economic climate.

Are you looking for something that’s a little cheaper or less cumbersome than a caravan or motorhome?  Perhaps something a little cosier than just a tent? Then step forward, Clever Camper. They’ll provide you a teardrop trailer with bedding, cooking equipment, outdoor furniture and shelter for up to four people. No need to pack the kitchen sink – that’s included too!

So long as you have a car with a towbar, you’ll have no problems in pulling this small trailer along, and you won’t need a powerful 4×4. And even if you haven’t got a towbar, they’ll deliver one of these beauties to most Norfolk campsites for you.

Watch the video below to see how easy it is to set up camp with a Teardrop Trailer:

For more details and rates, see their website.

Useful link:
UK campsites

Avenue Q crashes into the Lowry Theatre this May

0
Posted by trev on March 30, 2011 – 12:46 pm
Filed under Events

Described by the Sunday Times as “The best musical of the decade”, Avenue Q has left the West End and arrives in Manchester this May and June.

The Tony Award-winning “Avenue Q” show is possibly best described as The Muppets or Sesame Street but with much more mischief, bad behaviour and political incorrectness thrown in.

The puppets in the show deal with all kinds of modern day topics on a more adult level than you’d ever hear from Big Bird. Rather than counting to 12, which happens to be the minimum age for the show, they deal with love, work, relationships and most crucially “how are you supposed to pay the bills with a BA in English?”.

It also deals with an even bigger question that has taxed the minds of politicians and parents for the past decade – what is the purpose of the Internet. Unfortunately we can’t tell you the answer so you’ll have to watch the show (or search Youtube :)).

The fairly short run of the show runs on various dates from 31 May 2011 to 04 Jun 2011.

This video is from a Children in Need version of the show, so probably a lot more office friendly, but we couldn’t find any genuine preview videos from Avenue Q on Youtube.

Tickets to Avenue Q can be booked here but don’t leave it too late as they are guaranteed to sell out fast!

Manchester Links:
Hotels near the Lowry
More things to see around the Lowry

10 top tips for a British canal holiday

0
Posted by Jamie Hill on March 29, 2011 – 4:22 pm
Filed under Accommodation, Transport

1. Bring supplies

Canal boat holidays are self catering, so while you’ll pass plenty of places to eat en route, it’s always best to bring a small supply of the essentials with you. Kitchen facilities are pretty good on board, so if nothing else, bring bread, milk, tea and cereal for breakfasts. If you like to get an early start, you’ll be glad you did!

2. Bring sunblock

OK, so the British weather is famously temperamental, and not often what you would consider tropical, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get sunburnt. You’re likely to be outside for a large part of the day, every day (unless it’s raining!) and you can get burnt even if it’s cloudy, so you need to protect yourself and your family from those harmful UV rays!

3. Bring warm clothing and waterproofs

Even at the height of summer in the UK, you can’t rely on high temperatures every day, so remember to bring along jumpers, jackets and jeans in case the weather turns cold. You should also remember to bring a waterproof jacket because sometimes it rains quite a lot here! Or so I’ve heard…

4. Bring things to do

See the above tip. If it’s a rainy day and you’re between destinations, it’s always a good idea to have something to do. Most canal boats have TVs and DVD players, and some operators even provide DVD rental, but board games, card games and books are always good to have around too, to provide a bit of variety.

5. Bring your dog

Canal holidays are fun for the whole family, and this includes dogs! Most operators will allow you to bring your dog with you (provided you arrange it with them first) and he or she will have just as much fun as you will exploring new countryside and taking walks. Remember to bring your own blankets to protect bedding and sofas though!

6. Travel a certain distance every day

It’s travelling that powers the boat, so if you don’t travel a certain distance each day, you might find yourself without electricity or hot water! Not much fun, I think you’ll agree…

7. Pack light

Canal boats are not famed for their acres of space, and this includes storage. So you should pack only the essentials. Don’t bother with fancy clothes and shoes, you won’t wear them. And bring rucksacks or holdalls that can be folded away. You might love your bright pink Samsonite roll-along now, but you won’t once you’ve tripped over it for the twentieth time!

8. Follow the rules

Each canal holiday company will have its own rules, but they will be broadly the same. Remember that they are there for your own and others’ safety, so make sure you and your family obey them. They include being considerate to other boaters, not going too fast, cruising in the correct place along the canal, wearing life jackets when on board (especially children) and not sitting on the roof of the boat.

9. Plan your route…

Britain’s canal network stretches up and down the country. That’s one of the best things about it. But it also means that there are some routes which are much more interesting than others. Choose your route carefully and make sure there’s plenty to see and do so you can get out and explore a bit.

10. …but don’t plan too carefully

The beauty of a canal boat holiday is that it allows you a lot of freedom. You can take things at your own pace and take each day as it comes. You can’t always rely on the weather, or being able to travel a certain distance in a day, so just go with the flow. You never know where it may take you.

Jamie Hill is the owner of of Hire a Canal Boat.

If you would like to be a guest blogger on the UKseries.com UK Travel Blog in order to raise your profile, please contact us.

Useful link:
Canals featured on UKattraction.com

Olympic pin collecting – a new London 2012 event?

0
Posted by trev on March 29, 2011 – 2:42 pm
Filed under Miscellaneous

While browsing the official London Olympic Games blog, I came across this rather “curious” article in which one of the finance heads for the games admitted to being an avid Olympic Games pin collector.

Personally this is a new idea to me, but it seems alongside the mugs, t-shirts and other merchandise, Olympic pins are a big part of the Olympic Games for many people around the world with London being no exception.

The pins in question are those little ones you get everywhere from Marmalade jars (send off tokens type) to the seaside etc. but apparently there will be lots of people visiting London to buy and trade the pins featuring Wenlock and Mandeville – the Olympic Games mascots.

This does beg the question – will anyone want pins of the London Olympic Logo?

Tom from the finances department of the London Olympic Games Committee even hints in the comments at an official pin collecting and trading event, although not sure exactly how serious he is. Watch this space for even more unusual side effects of the London Olympics…

One of the pins in question: