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Monthly Archives: April 2011

Boris Bikes bizarre idea to reduce number of bikes

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Posted by trev on April 20, 2011 – 11:45 am
Filed under Transport

Transport for London have announced a slightly odd idea in their Boris Bike’s scheme which involves removing extra bikes from popular locations.

Old scheme: To meet demand in popular locations, employees of Serco who operate the scheme would have extra bikes standing by and would partly re-fill the bike hire stands to ensure that all those who wanted a bike to hire would have one available.

New scheme: However, in what seems a slightly bizarre idea, Transport for London have announced that certain popular locations will now have no extra bikes available as the extra bikes clog pavements and were “unsightly”.

If the bikes were indeed taking up most of the pavements then this would be understandable, but by virtue of the fact that the stands have to be placed in quite spacious areas to operate properly, this really doesn’t appear to make sense.

First station: One of the first to suffer this loss will be the Concert Hall Approach close to the Royal Festival Hall and South Bank, but others are apparently also planned. This site alone serves around 350 people a day, so is not a small location.

This bike station will have it’s daily bike total reduced from 1000 bikes to just 300 for the entire day, plus any which finish their journey at that station of course.

Idea questioned: Transport for London’s argument is that there will still be plenty of other stands within a 400-metre radius. This however assumes three things:

1) People are actually willing to walk around the streets to find which stations actually have bikes left.

2) Tourists and non-London visitors wanting to use the scheme will know where the other bike stations even are and not give up finding one.

3) With such a drop in numbers, it isn’t clear that the surrounding bike stations themselves will have enough bikes to cope. One assumes that the other bike stations also won’t be refilled by TFL and Serco?

It would seem that TFL and the mayor’s office have gotten themselves in a slight muddle over the whole popularity aspect of the bikes which are presumably saving quite a lot of taxi journeys and overcrowding on the Underground?

Extra bikes: We’d also like to know, if they have all these 100s of Boris Bikes which now aren’t being used to refill stations, what are they going to do with them?

No doubt there’ll be more answers forthcoming, but with the tourist season approaching very soon, it would seem Boris Bikes may be a scarce resource afterall for the casual traveller.

More Boris Bike & London Resources:
Boris Bike web site
Boris Bike independent community
Tourist attractions in London to visit on a Boris Bike
Hotels in London

Prince Charles holds new royal record

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Posted by trev on April 20, 2011 – 10:37 am
Filed under Events

Ladies and gentlemen, please raise your glasses to toast the Prince of Wales for breaking the record for the longest time spent waiting to ascend the British throne.

It is nice to have a royal story that isn’t the wedding. This story was just released by Clarence House who have announced that Prince Charles has now become the longest heir apparent in British history and will remain so until he ascends the throne after Queen Elizabeth.

At age 62, he has been waiting since the 6 February 1952, a massive 59 years!

The previous record holder, if that is the right expression, was Edward VII who took over from Queen Victoria on the 22 January 1901 – she herself holding the record for the longest time on the throne.

There’s no word yet as to whether the Guinness Book of Records have been informed or if indeed there will be any celebrations at Clarence House, although one would suspect they may be a little busy with all the preparations for the big event on April 29th.

Rather aptly, the BBC have the prince appearing to toast himself.

Scotland’s “Watershed” walking route finally mapped

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Posted by trev on April 20, 2011 – 9:20 am
Filed under Miscellaneous

One of the oldest natural walking routes in Scotland, the so called Watershed route across the central peaks of Scotland has finally been mapped out.

A “watershed route” is the point where the rain falling either goes to the west of east of the country. In this case it’s where the rain falling in Scotland will either flow west towards the Atlantic or east towards the North Sea depending exactly which side of the imaginary line it falls.

Now a properly mapped out 745-mile (1,200km) route has been mapped out for walkers, although as most walkers aren’t likely to want to walk 700 miles, you can do the walk in various shorter sections.

The walk actually starts on Peel Fell in Cumbria right at the bottom of Scotland and travels right up the country to Duncansby Head overlooking the Pentland Firth.

 

Some stats about the Watershed walk:

- It passes through both the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs & the Cairngorms national park’s.
- Takes in 24 Corbetts (mountains between 2,500ft and 3,000ft).
- Hikes over 44 Munros (mountains over 3,000ft)
- Walks through 89 protected sites or nature reserves.

Anyone taking on the entire watershed route will need to be fairly experienced at hill walking and mountain climbing as some parts are way out in the wilds with no cafe or B&B for a decent meal.

 

This image gives an indication of how the route pans out:

More information on the route can be found on the BBC Scotland Watershed walk page.

More Scotland Links:
Visitor attractions in Scotland
Hotel accommodation in Scotland
Scotland holiday cottages
Camping in Scotland

It’s nickle and dime for ‘igh Rosy Lee on the London Eye

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Posted by trev on April 19, 2011 – 4:25 pm
Filed under Eating & Drinking, Events

This is the story of why the Royal Wedding has created a sudden craze for cucumber sandwiches, scones with jam and battenburg cake, aka afternoon tea.

The afternoon tea craze seems to have been around for the past year or two mostly connected with exclusive hotels such as the Dorchester offering some of the countries most expensive cucumber sarnies and pots of tea money can find.

However, with the royal wedding looming soon, it seems even more venues have decided to get in on the act including the one with possibly the best view of all – the London Eye. For a mere £460 you can enjoy a private capsule in which decked out in something akin to a Miss Marple novel, although there is the little extra £18 per head on top of that for the actual sandwiches & cakes.

One big advantage of this over virtually all other landmarks is that the London Eye can see Westminster Abbey, and if you book quickly, you can even have a booking on the big day itself. Just remember to think of Kate Middleton who has no doubt not been allowed to touch a battenburg since her dress was measured.

Booking details from 0871 781 3000, or on the London Eye web site.

If the London Eye doesn’t take your fancy, there are more traditional places for afternoon tea in Britain.

I also appologise to all Cockney’s for the title, but blame the Whoohoo Translator for any errors.

More London Links:
Visitor attractions in London (minus too much cockney)
Hotels in London
Tips flat cap to the Daily Mail for the lowdown on this event

2000 year old murder mystery in the Peak District

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Posted by trev on April 19, 2011 – 3:45 pm
Filed under Attractions

History often has us thinking of the “ancient times” such as the iron age as a time of peace and discovery, but a gruesome discovery in Derbyshire is set to overturn all this.

Archeologists, local volunteers and more than 400 schoolchildren have joined forces to dig a Derbyshire hill fort’s defensive ditch, but the discovery of nine randomly buried skeletons at the site has led many to believe the Hillfort Nine as they’ve been named, were murdered there over 2000 years ago.

The Fin Cop Hillfort in Derbyshire is believed to date from between 440BC and 350BC, although the ages of the skeletons aren’t yet known. Hillforts were previously seen as places of great power and prestige, often with large well constructed defences partly against invasions but mostly just to show off – akin to castles of later periods. Accepted history has always suggested that generally the invasion defences weren’t really needed.

One thing that has slightly confused archaeologists is why this kindof event hasn’t been found elsewhere in the country at other hillforts. That might be explained by the type of soil with the limestone around Derbyshire being likely to preserve the evidence for a longer period of time.

The digging at the hillfort continues and in time will hopefully yield a few more clues about our ancient ancestors and whether indeed the Iron Age had it’s own Miss Marple, Poirot or Inspector Barnaby from Midsummer Murders?

More Derbyshire Links:
Fin Cop Hillfort dig
Central England visitor attractions

Unique photo tours of London with the Monopoly board

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Posted by trev on April 19, 2011 – 3:11 pm
Filed under Miscellaneous

For some reason I’ve never thought of doing this, but if you want to avoid the usual London tours, why not take a trip around London via the Monopoly board?

Everywhere on the board still exists including the stations, so this is exactly what the folks at 501 Places did recently and to save the rest of us spending 6 hours walking London, they photographed the entire thing too.

Not being a resident of London, I found this rather fascinating as you finally get to put “faces” to the various parts of London which I’d known as a kid, and of course find out whether anyone really landing on a Pall Mall square would be paying less than those landing on the Mayfair square.

Things you find out about London:

1) One thing I did discover is whoever created the board was a fan of north London as there is only one place located south of the river. That one place is also pretty much at the beginning of the board in the rather dull looking Old Kent Road, which turns out to be close to the Elephant & Castle. This area also turned out to be a little run-down, so perhaps does deserve the cheap price tag on the Monopoly board.

2) A second revelation from the board is that the places don’t appear as a nice round-robin style route across London, but then this could perhaps be forgiven as real London isn’t set out that way either with the really exclusive Mayfair and Park Lane being relatively close to the centre and Marylebone being quite a way out.

3) The normal places are of course relatively easy to find and tick off, but what about the “non-places” such as the electric company, water company and “super tax”? Those are of course harder, but it turns out there’s an electric company office on Fleet Street and a water company on Pentonville Road, plus for tax there’s always Whitehall.

4) One thing that has been commented on more than anything since the release of this map is why on earth the makers of Monopoly chose a little street called Vine Street. All other streets are quite large, but Vine Street is tiny and a dead end, so perhaps the creator had some affiliation with the street…?

The entire route if you follow the board is approximately 15 miles, so perhaps a Boris Bike would be a good idea afterall (saves all those tube stations) and took the team around 6 hours, but it could of course be broken up.

Map of all the real world locations found on the Monopoly board:


View Monopoly walk in a larger map

- The full writeup on walking the Monopoly board
- Pictures of every street on Monopoly

More London Links:
Monopoly Board Game
Things to see around London
Hotels in London
Monopoly on Facebook

Westminster Abbey in 3D on your iPhone & Android Phone

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Posted by trev on April 19, 2011 – 12:45 pm
Filed under Attractions

If you don’t have an invite for the Royal Wedding on the 29th April, or perhaps London is a little far to travel, then you can still experience the magnificence of Westminster Abbey on your iPhone, Andoid Phone or iPad.

Westminster Abbey is about to release a phone app for the iPhone / iPad and Android phones which was created using the very latest 3D scanning technology. The app allows you to walk through the abbey in photographic 3D and experience the abbey and walk down the isle just as Kate Middleton and her father will on the 29th.

You can also walk around other parts of the abbey and click on hotspots to find more information and visit this most magnificent of buildings which has seen most of the British monarchs married and later crowned over the past few centuries.

Money raised by the Westminster 3D app will be split between the Prince William and Miss Catherine Middleton Charitable Gift Fund, and Westminster Abbey Foundation which is in charge of running and maintaining the abbey.

The only thing that Westminster Abbey haven’t remembered to tell us in exactly what day the app will be released, but we believe it should be anytime now. There’s more information on their Westminster Abbey 3D app page.

Available from: iPhone apps store — Andoid Apps Marketplace

Video demo of Westminster Abbey 3D app:

London Links:
Visitor attractions in Westminster, London
Hotels around Westminster in London

Exploring the Seven Wonders of Wales

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Posted by trev on April 19, 2011 – 11:40 am
Filed under Attractions

These might not make the list in the Seven Wonders of the World, but according to Welsh folklore, their home grown wonders far exceed the magnificence of anything outside the Welsh borders.

Wales’ seven wonders have been generally accepted as the best Wales has to offer for many years and even made it into national poetry in the form of a poem by “Anon” which goes…

Pistyll Rhaeadr and Wrexham steeple,
Snowdon’s mountain without its people,
Overton yew trees, St Winefride’s well,
Llangollen bridge and Gresford bells.

Whoever wrote this and whether that was indeed the inspiration for the original list, few could claim that they got it wrong. So here we explore the Seven Wonders of Wales to find out what all the fuss is about.

1) Pistyll Rhaeadr Waterfall is located close to the village of Llanrhaedr-ym-Mochnant in the Berwyn Mountains. The waterfall is close to the Wales / England border, and at 240ft (80m) is the tallest waterfall in England and Wales. Many would argue that the falls surrounded by woodlands, and area around them could rival Snowdonia in their beauty, but as that is also on our list we’ll remain on the fence.

Please note however – being in this list makes the waterfall rather popular and the roads to it are fairly narrow, so it may take a little longer to get there than you’d expect. Once there, we’re sure everyone will think the journey very worthwhile. As a sidenote, if you’ve ever seen the film “The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain” with Hugh Grant, the falls are set in the country where that was filmed.

2) St Giles’ Steeple in Wrexham dominates the skyline of the welsh border town of Wrexham, even if many people think it’s in England. For a relatively small town, the church is an impressive building featuring this equally impressive steeple which is actually a tower built onto the side of the church.

Dating from around 1506, the 135 foot high tower is graced by many medieval carvings including those of an arrow and a deer which are the attributes of Saint Giles. The tower has international significance with a smaller replica appearing at Yale University, due to connections with philanthropist Elihu Yale who raised significant funds to start the university and is buried close to the tower.

3) Snowdon Mountain has to be one of the undisputed great landmarks of Britain along with Helvelyn in the Lake District and Ben Nevis in Scotland. At 1085 metres, the mountain attracts 10,000’s walkers and sightseers from all around the world and is possibly even more famous because of the Snowdon Mountain Railway.

The craggy rockface of the mountain doesn’t seem to detract from it’s beauty and the views on a clear day make a trip up the mountain by whatever means well worth the effort….even if the train took the strain. Definitely one of the great wonders of Wales and Britain.

4) The Yew Trees of Overton-on-Dee might seem like an unusual addition, but these yews are believed to be around 1500 to 2000 years old! The trees need a little helping hand to stay upright these days with the weight of all those branches, but overall seem to be in as good a health as when the Romans were wandering around Britain, even if they probably never got as far as these yews.

Keeping up the traditions, the newest tree in the collection is just 19 years old, having been planted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1992. Hopefully this tree too shall be standing there in 1000 years.

5)St Winefride`s Well is one of those sites created around ancient myths surrounding the story of Winefride who had her head chopped off at this spot. According to the legend, where her head hit the ground is where the spring came up from the ground, but luckily for Winefride , her uncle St Bueno replaced her head and his prayers restored her to life.

Today a large font stands where the spring emerges and the waters are believed by many to have healing powers. Those wanting to be healed by the waters will need to pay the £1 entrance fee, but that also gets you into the exhibition about the story and some of the apparent cures which have taken place.

6) Llangollen bridge is possibly not the most spectacular structure in Wales, but this was included in the list originally as the first stone bridge to span the River Dee. We shouldn’t detract from the design too much however, as it still encompasses some rather fine arches in almost a bishop’s mitre style and the location is certainly worthy of inclusion in any list of places to visit. Nice touches have been added at various times including the lights which now run along either side of the bridge.

7) Gresford Bells are some of the oldest bells in the country, with bells dating from 1755 up to the mid 1800s. It may be this ancient craft of bell casting which makes these bells so famous as they are said to have some of the purest tones of any in Wales. If you want to hear the bells ringing, you need to visit Gresford in Wrexham County Borough (North East Wales) on a Sunday or a Tuesday evening.

Hopefully that has given you some inspiration for a visit to Wales. There are of course plenty of other places to visit in Wales which didn’t make this ancient list.

More Wales Links:
Hotels in North Wales
Hotels in Mid-Wales
Seven Wonders of Wales on VisitBritain
Self-catering cottages in Wales

It’s official: camping makes you richer!

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Posted by admin on April 19, 2011 – 11:26 am
Filed under Accommodation, Miscellaneous

Evidence collated by The Camping and Caravanning Club has revealed that camping really does make you richer in mind, body and soul.

Over 60 research studies reviewed by leading academics at Liverpool John Moores University and an online survey proved conclusively that those people who camp are happier, have closer family relationships, are healthier, less stressed and are more socially connected.

‘Real Richness – The List’ – which includes statistics and stories of those who camp and how camping has in many ways transformed their lives – was released by the Club today.

The findings come only months after Prime Minister David Cameron revealed plans to measure the nation’s happiness.

Some of the key findings include:

93% of campers say camping can make you happier
77% of campers are satisfied with their quality of life compared to 59% of non-campers
21% of campers feel stressed on an average day compared to 33% of non-campers
91% of all children say spending time exploring the outdoors with their parents makes them happy
80% of children who camp feel their parents are less stressed when they go camping and three-quarters say their parents shout less!
Seven in 10 people agree that camping is accessible to everyone regardless of income
79% of kids who have never camped say they would like to
One in three campers think that camping is a great way to lose weight
84% of campers think camping can make you healthier and nearly half think the pastime should be prescribed on the NHS
73% of adults suggest camping is something every child should experience and half say it should be on the national curriculum

The likes of adventurer Ben Fogle, television presenters Julia Bradbury and Sarah Beeny and environmentalist David Bellamy have all backed the research.

Useful link:
UK campsites

Golowan Festival mounts Guinness Book of Records pirates challenge

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Posted by admin on April 19, 2011 – 11:13 am
Filed under Events

Records are set to be broken on Sunday 26th June 2011 when Cornwall mounts a challenge for the highest number of pirates in one place at the same time, as recognised by the Guinness Book of Records. The amazing spectacle will take place as part of the annual Golowan Festival (18th – 26th June 2011) which this year takes on a swash-buckling pirate theme to celebrate it’s 21st birthday.

Everyone is invited to come along dressed as a pirate to Penzance Promenade at 1pm to swell the numbers and help steal the title from Hastings, the current holders of the Guinness World Record, where 6,166 pirates put in an appearance.

Malcolm Bell, Head of VisitCornwall, the Cornwall Development Company tourism service for the county, comments: “Penzance is famous for its pirates so where better to challenge for the record for the highest number of scurvy knaves than in their true home? Golowan brings colour, music and a festival of Cornish culture to the streets and harbour of this ancient Cornish town, capturing a real sense of creativity and imagination.”

Andy Hazlehurst of the Golowan Festival Organising Committee adds: “ The world record bid will be a highlight in this years pirate themed Golowan Festival and will add to the fun and entertainment of this fantastic event. Visitors and locals can all join in the fun of Pirates on the Prom, all you have to do is dress as a pirate and be on the prom at 1pm. Pirates Deluxe or No Frills Basic, it doesn’t matter, we just want you! We also want visitors to have a chance to relax and enjoyPenzance’s beautiful promenade.”

When the pirate count takes place at 1pm on Sunday 26th June it will be high tide so spectators and those taking part in the challenge, will be in exactly the right place to get a fantastic view of the Golowan Maritime Festival’s Parade of Sail. Many of the local traditionally built wooden boats will be unfurling their mains’ls as they sail across the bay. There will also be music on the prom to keep pirates’ toes tapping.

To take part there will be a £1 entry fee to raise funds for the Golowan Festival, Golowan Maritime Festival and the Jubilee Pool.

Useful links:
Penzance hotels
Penzance cottages
Penzance attractions