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Monthly Archives: April 2011

5 great places to see bluebells in Britain

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Posted by admin on April 15, 2011 – 3:55 pm
Filed under Accommodation, Events, Miscellaneous

Avon Water and Green Bridge, Chatelherault, near Hamilton, Lanarkshire

With a visit to Chatelherault you get a genuine sense of the beauty of the Scottish countryside as you stroll along banks of bluebells above fast moving water.  One of the best country parks in Scotland, Chatelherault was built in 1732 as the hunting lodge and summer house for the wealthy Duke of Hamilton. Designed by the famous Scottish Architect William Adam, the restored buildings are now a visitor centre with display gallery and exhibitions on the area’s history, wildlife and also the story of Chatelherault itself.

Tamar Valley on the Devon / Cornwall border

Bluebells will be out earlier here than other parts of the UK due to the milder (and damper!) climate – the Tamar Valley sits in a depression between Bodmin and Dartmoor, a beautifully green belt fringed by the Tamar, Walkham and Tavy rivers.  The walk from Lower Grenofen to Horrabridge, along the Walkham is a secret spot favoured by locals.  Award-winning Woodovis Park makes an ideal base for a spring break, set on the brow of the Tamar Valley in a secluded meadow.  Bluebells line the campsite as well as cropping up along the tree lined drive.   As well as all weather camping pitches there are fully heated, luxury holiday homes, an insulated camping pod and cosy cottage.

Cumbria and the Lake District

Perhaps more famed for its hosts of golden daffodils, Cumbria and the Lake District are also littered with so many beautiful places where you can admire a carpet of bluebells. Perhaps one of the loveliest spots to see them is at Rannerdale at the back of Crummock Water in the Butteremere Valley – it is a delightfully hidden place that is well worth the effort to find.  Other places include by Grasmere and Rusland valley. They are at their best around mid May.

Swallowtail Hill, East Sussex

Swallowtail Hill Farm is a small East Sussex farm situated in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.  It has become a beacon for bio-diversity, used as a demonstration site to show exactly what a landscape can become if managed for conservation.    In just a few weeks’ time the farm’s woodland will be awash withbBluebells and only those camping at the farm will have the opportunity to see them.  Swallowtail Hill is an off-grid site offering stylish eco camping in traditional bell tents fully kitted out and family friendly.

Sulham Woods, Berkshire

Sulham Woods (between Pangbourne and Reading) is a stunning spot to view bluebells in Spring and early Summer.The woodland becomes covered in a thick carpet, and also offers far reaching views of the Thames Valley, as far as Didcot on a clear day.  The woods form part of the North Wessex Downs, an area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and are a mixture of deciduous & coniferous woodland and arable fields with footpaths & meadows.  Add a fine mix of woodland birds from skylarks to Red Kits and a healthy population of Roe deer, and it’s a strong bluebell walk contender!  Sanctum On The Green is a chic boutique retreat in Cookham Dean, ideally located for a bluebell viewing mini break in this region.  With just 9 individually designed rooms from a crash pad from just £120 to the Sanctum Suite at a brilliant £220 (six foot bath tub included), the grounds also offer a secluded heated outdoor pool and great al fresco dining in a beautiful courtyard.

5 great UK honeymoon destinations

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Posted by Marc Mackenzie on April 15, 2011 – 3:10 pm
Filed under Attractions, Miscellaneous

Honeymooners looking for somewhere to go can find almost anything they could want right in the United Kingdom. Whether you are looking for a quiet romantic getaway or something a little more exciting, the UK offers it all, along with some rich history to back it up.

1. London

Without a doubt, London has got to be at the top of the list for honeymooners spending their time in the UK. London has everything from restaurants and shops to Buckingham Palace. You and your newlywed spouse can take a cruise on the Thames River, watch the changing of the guard at the palace, or join in the tradition of trying to crack the guards’ stoic demeanors. Spend your time in the hub of the country and get a glimpse of how the trend-setters live. The only thing you might find lacking in London is peaceful relaxation time.

2. The Cotswolds

For the UK honeymooners looking for a more relaxing vacation, head to the Cotswolds and spend your time in the village of Bourton-on-the-Water. Here you will be able to relax and enjoy the English countryside at its finest, in one of the prettiest villages around. In the summer watch a medieval game of soccer played by the River Windrush, or take a walk through the Dragonfly Maze.

3. Edinburgh, Scotland

History buffs and romantics alike will love visiting Edinburgh for their honeymoon vacation. Visit the historic Edinburgh Castle and get a glimpse of history while visiting the green hills of Scotland, and join the ranks of people who fall in love all over again. If you time your getaway to arrive in August you can also attend the Edinburgh Festival and find something new and exciting to do.

4. Staffordshire

For the romantic newlywed who is still a kid at heart, head to the heart of England. Here you will find Alton Towers, which is the United Kingdom’s largest theme park. And nearby is perhaps the most famous town in Shakespearean history – Stratford-upon-Avon. Here you can visit not only Shakespeare’s birthplace, but also the Royal Shakespeare Theatre.

5. Bamburgh, Northumberland

If you want to see romantic castles on your UK honeymoon, Northumberland is the place to go. Here you will find Bamburgh Castle, Dunstanburgh Castle, and Lindisfarne Castle, all within 30 km of each other. Bamburgh Castle has been fully restored, has been featured in several films, and is open to the public. The beach at Bamburgh is breathtaking with its stretch of golden sand, and is listed as one of UK’s top five beaches.

Regardless of which destination you choose, your UK honeymoon is sure to be filled with wonderful memories of your special time together.

Marc Mackenzie is Marketing Director at Honeymoon Destinations.

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 links:
London hotels and London self-catering
Bourton-on-the-Water hotels and Bourton-on-the-Water self-catering
Edinburgh hotels and Edinburgh self-catering
Hotels near Alton Towers and self-catering near Alton Towers
Bamburgh hotels and Bamburgh self-catering

M1 closure causing major delays around London

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Posted by trev on April 15, 2011 – 2:45 pm
Filed under Events

On one of the busiest Fridays of the year for holiday makers, the M1 motorway has been closed between J1 and J4 following a fire and will remain so most of the day.

The fire-brigade were called to a fire in a scrapyard which is situated under a motorway bridge at around 4am, but when gas canisters were found in the yard the motorway had to be closed as a safety precaution.

The Highways Agency are currently assessing any damage to the bridge as a result of the fire which is still believed to be on-going, but the result is that one of the busiest sections of the M1 will likely be shut until this evening at the earliest.

Huge numbers of holiday makers are expected to take advantage of the double bank holidays in the following weeks, meaning taking just 7 working days holiday can result in a 17 day break with the Easter double bank holiday, plus royal wedding and the May day bank holiday.

To compound this, there will also be an expected half a million people going to watch the London Marathon on Sunday and around 200,000 football fans going to watch the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.

You can keep up to date on the problems with the Traffic England web site – South East England.

Blackpool’s Golden Mile renamed after £100m revamp

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Posted by trev on April 15, 2011 – 2:20 pm
Filed under Attractions

Blackpool has decided to rename it’s main seafront in an attempt to rid the kiss-me-quick reputation after a £100 million regeneration.

The Blackpool seafront, which has attracted countless generations of families for the past 100 years, is undergoing a massive revamp to bring it up to date and give the town a more upmarket reputation.

As part of these changes, Blackpool Council have decided that the “Golden Mile” name reflects the tacky past of the resort, thus after the new Blackpool front is revealed it will be known as The Queen Elizabeth Promenade.

Changes to Blackpool include construction of ‘Spanish-style’ steps from the prom to the beach and a new open-air events space called the Tower Festival Headland. Later this year, a new wedding venue, cafe and tourist information centre will also open.

The resort is even bringing in an American theme with the opening of Nickelodeon Land featuring 14 rides based on characters such as Dora The Explorer, The Rugrats and SpongeBob Square Pants, although this won’t open until April 2012.

Certain things of course will not be changing including the famous Blackpool Illuminations and trams which have become an integral part of this classic seaside resort.

One does have to wonder if the addition of a “wedding venue” and making the front seem more upmarket might be a calculated move by Blackpool towards a Las Vegas of Britain style resort, especially as there has been serious talk of a super casino there…?

More Blackpool Links:
All the attractions in Blackpool
Hotels in Blackpool
Self-catering around Blackpool

Beach & BBQ this weekend as good weather returns!

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Posted by trev on April 15, 2011 – 12:50 pm
Filed under Miscellaneous

After the surprisingly sunny weather of last weekend and subsequent rain during this week, forecasters are predicting temps around 18′C for Saturday and Sunday.

The warm sunny weather combined with the schools being off for Easter holidays can only mean one thing (well two) – beaches and BBQ’s will be the order of the day this weekend.

As this weather change has only just been predicted, we also foresee a rush for hotel rooms around the country as people plan very last minute breaks, so if you’re thinking of getting away – better book quick.

Laterooms is probably one of the best options with many hotels discounting their rooms thinking it would be rather wet.

Travelodge and Premier Inn are also our favourites especially for family getaways.

Some self-catering cottages will be doing weekend breaks this time of the year, although for the cottages in Cornwall and Devon Bluechip can be good.

Whatever you’re doing this weekend we hope the weather holds out for you!

The top 10 picnic spots in Britain by the National Trust

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Posted by trev on April 15, 2011 – 12:15 pm
Filed under Attractions, Eating & Drinking

With the continued good weather, it seems the National Trust wants to give us some inspiration as to where we can eat out on a great British picnic.

Naturally many of their selections happen to involve National Trust owned properties, but there are quite a good selection here with a wide variety of location types from fells (hills) to historic houses.

1) Kynance Cove in Cornwall is about the most southerly picnic spot you could chose on the British mainland, being very close to Lands End and Lizard Point. You can chose from clifftop views across the Atlantic, to sitting on what many regard as one of the most beautiful beaches in the world.

One advantage of this over the Lizard Point and Lands End is since most tourists are likely to head there, you might find it a lot less crowded especially during the Summer. There’s a good picture of Kynance Cove here.

2) Stourhead in Wiltshire is a celebrated historic house and huge 18th-century gardens which attract visitors from all over the world. With a combination of chalk downs, ancient woods and farmland, you can meander around the 2,650 acre estate and picnic down by the lake while watching the local wildlife.

3) Box Hill in Surrey has to offer some of the most spectacular views of any National Trust property, with views that stretch for miles almost seemingly to infinity. There’s so much space around Box Hill that you will always find a quiet place to picnic, then just lay back and enjoy looking over the Surrey countryside.

4) Tennyson Downs on the Isle of Wight offers one of the best places to picnic on the island, sitting atop the 482 ft grassy chalk down with only views across the sea.

5) Dunwich Heath in Suffolk provides the perfect place to eat out if you want to become more at one with nature. The conservation area is home to several special species such as the Dartford Warbler, Nightjar and Woodlark darting amongst the heather. Close by are the Dunwich beaches, ideal for digging in the sand after your picnic.

6) Croome in Worcestershire is a public park of historic importance including the first major work created by the famous landscape architect and garden designer Lancelot Brown, aka Capability Brown. Sit on the lush grass or amongst the many monuments of the park looking over to the magnificent Croome Court.

7) The Kymin in Monmouth is a wooded landmark hill with pleasure grounds, a Georgian banqueting house, Naval Temple and stunning views over the surrounding countryside as the National Trust themselves describe it. Situated on the Offa’s Dyke footpath, the park is a good place to picnic both for day visitors and those taking this ancient footpath route.

8) Fountains Abbey in North Yorkshire is a world heritage site, and looking around the estate that comes as no surprise. Containing one of the largest abbey ruins in the country along with spectacular Georgian water gardens and 800 acres of countryside, this is one of the places to visit in the country.

9) Fell Foot in the Lake District is situated at the southern tip of Lake Windermere in what has to be the nicer end of the lake, and certainly less crowded than up by Bowness. The Victorian lawns and garden sweep down to the lakeshore and make this an ideal picnic spot in the Lake District. If you’re feeling a little more adventurous, why not hire a rowing boat or even bring your own and explore the lake too.

10) Florence Court in Northern Ireland is situated around 8 miles from Enniskillen in County Fermanagh, and surrounded by a large area of parkland, garden and woodland. The classically styled house and inviting gardens was formerly home to the Earls of Enniskillen and today invites visitors to wander around and eat their picnics on the lawns while enjoying the views.

More Links:
More details on the Daily Mail National Trust Picnics
Hotels right around the UK
UK Self-catering cottages
Campsites and caravan parks in Britain

Shakespeare’s birthday parade in Stratford-upon-Avon

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Posted by trev on April 15, 2011 – 11:20 am
Filed under Events

Unsurprisingly, Stratford-upon-Avon will be celebrating Shakespeare’s birthday this April and they’re inviting you to take part.

April 23rd is the “official” birthday of the poet and bard William Shakespeare although his actual date of birth is unknown, so folks in Stratford use his christening date instead.

However, for a town which lives and breaths the works of the famous poet, his birthday parade is a surprisingly low-key event without much publicity or hype. It seems for once the people of Stratford want to celebrate his life in a more meaningful way rather than create something for the tourists.

The parade sees quite a number of people dressed in full regalia from the time and of course William himself will be in attendance although considering he’s been officially dead for about 400 years, this might seem a little unusual.

Behind the main parade are the Shakespeare fans – just everyone and anyone from around the world which often includes several dignitaries, ambassadors, members of the RSC and just members of the public.

The parade runs through various streets of Stratford and usually stops briefly in the town square, but then makes it’s way to the church where Shakespeare is buried where people can lay flowers on his last resting place.

Of course what William makes of all this one can only imagine, but by all accounts he seems to enjoy the attention.

This year the parade will be happening on the 30th April not the 23rd to avoid clashing with Easter.

More Stratford-upon-Avon links:
More details from previous parades on the Telegraph
Lots of visitor attractions in Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon hotels

Druridge Bay panorama – A new view of Northumberland

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Posted by trev on April 15, 2011 – 10:44 am
Filed under Miscellaneous

The Northumberland coastline is one of the most under-appreciated in the country, but perhaps this new panorama will help to address this.

Landscape photographer Mike McFarlane has created a spectacular panoramic image of the coast around Druridge Bay on the north east coast of England, in conjunction with The Wildlife Trusts.

You can see the Druridge Bay panoramic here on the Guardian web site and somehow he even managed to get a rainbow in there for good measure.

A little tip – if you click any of the icons on the panoramic and can’t find your way back, just click the little house icon.

Druridge Bay was selected, partly for the wide beaches and sand dunes which stretch up the coast along with the abundance of wildlife that can be seen in the area including some rare birds like the Druridge Bay Curlew.

If you’re looking for somewhere to visit this Easter and want to get away from the crowds, perhaps the Northumberland coastline would be a good option.

More Links around Northumberland:
Attractions around Holy Island
Visitor attractions around Alnwick
Hotels in Alnwick on the Northumberland coast

Running the London Marathon twice in one day!

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Posted by trev on April 14, 2011 – 11:36 am
Filed under Events

For a lot of people, just getting round the London Marathon is a major achievement, but why would anyone do it twice this Sunday?

The London Marathon which will be run by 10,000’s runners this Sunday is one of the great marathons of the world, and possibly one of the biggest charity fund-raising events going.

Most of the runners train and suffer all year just to have a chance to do this, perhaps once in their lives, but one guy is so obsessed that he’ll run the entire course twice this Sunday.

Robin Harvie, nicknamed Marathon Man, is a self-confessed running obsessive who is so obsessed with running that he is indeed planning to set off at 4am to run the entire course, before doing it again with the rest of the field later.

This isn’t all in vein as he’ll be raising money for the mental health charity Mind, but it does seem a little unusual to want to put your body through that kindof punishment for 26 miles, twice in one day, when most of us will either be watching the marathon on TV or still in bed.

You can sponsor Robin on his Just Giving web page and keep an eye out for him in this year’s London Marathon which is on from 0800 BST on BBC Two, before switching to BBC One at 1015 BST.

Good luck to all those taking part!

More London Links:
Evening Standard article about Robin Harvie
Hotels in London
Things to see in London

The five best vegan restaurants in London

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Posted by trev on April 13, 2011 – 2:20 pm
Filed under Eating & Drinking

These days, finding a good vegetarian restaurant is probably not too hard, but what about real vegan or even raw-vegan restaurants?

Surprisingly there are plenty of vegan restaurants covering many of the flavours from traditional English to Japanese and Indian cuisine, so the or city is your oyster…or would be if that wasn’t off the menu.

1) Manna in Primrose Hill is one of the oldest Vegan restaurants in the country, having served vegan cuisine for over 40 years in London. The menu changes daily and is usually worked out based on what ingredients are available that day, so every visit brings new surprises.

2) 222 Veggie Vegan in West Kensington is a good option for both eat-in and takeaway, which is handy for a city always in a rush. They offer a selection from light bites to full meals, and being a vegan restaurant, the chefs understand special dietary requirements so can always cook up something for you.

3) Diwana Bhel Poori House in the West End is ideal for anyone on a diet as the Indian style meals are low fat and cholesterol free. Considering the location of the restaurant close to the theatres, they also offer top quality cuisine at very low prices, so neither your waistline or bank account will complain.

4) Itadaki Zen of Kings Cross offers a Japanese twist to the vegan menu which is rather surprising considering the Japanese love for sushi. The meals are however revered by their customers for potential medical benefits of having no illicit and hidden ingredients found in many other foods.

5) The Spirited Palace in South London provides a menu for both traditional vegan diners and those who prefer raw vegan cuisine. The cuisine is based around Afro-Carribean recipes, both raw and hot. Treats such as the soya milkshakes also make this a hit with both vegan’s and non-vegan’s alike.

These are just a selection of the menu vegan restaurants to be found in London. For a few more, see the I Know London vegan restaurants guide.

More London Links:
Hotels in London
Visitor attractions in London