Header photo – Zurich riverside/ Border photo – street cobblestones, Prague
“Travel teaches toleration.” – Benjamin Disraeli
HOT LINK LIST!!
Suzanne-the-Travel-Magpie
Categories
Category Archives: UK news
A visual feast at Borough Market
After seeing this outdoor food market on TV several times, I just had to pay a visit on this last trip. Borough Market was not as grandiose as it was on TV (the downside of airing old travel shows). There … Continue reading
The Christmas season has come to Edinburgh
Apparently Hogmanay isn’t enough to get folks excited in the Athens of the North, Edinburgh is celebrating all through December with an ice rink, kids’ events, light shows, caroling and all sorts of fun stuff. Wish I could be there. … Continue reading
Deli and pubs with new life near Oxford
From Oxford Mail. Two pubs that have been closed for a while are finally open for business again under new owners. One is near Woodstock, the other near Chipping Norton. Cheers! There’s also a restau in Abingdon who has opened … Continue reading
Virgin Atlantic awarded short haul slots from Heathrow
I got an email from Virgin Atlantic about this. Here is a link to the news as reported in the London Telegraph. Yahoo! (I love Virgin).
Ten UK cooking classes – who woulda thought it?
From the London Independent. Britain is not the first or second place on most lists of European destinations with great cooking classes. These classes sound interesting enough, though, that I’d seriously consider building a future trip to include at least … Continue reading
Sheep at work at Blenheim Palace
From Oxford Mail. Blenheim Palace’s sheep are now producing wool for a green scheme, in addition to their lambs. And here I was thinking all they did was keep the grass down to save on landscaping costs!
A great gastro-pub in Oxford
From Oxford Mail. Oxford Blue, a gastro-pub in East Oxford that’s getting a whole lotta buzz.
New easyJet routes from the UK
For those who don’t know, easyJet is a cheapo carrier that flies from the UK to lots of destinations in continental Europe. The planes are small, the seats don’t recline, the food and drink is not free and there are … Continue reading
Posted in General magpie travel, News from Europe, UK news
Tagged easyjet routes, news from Europe, UK travel
Leave a comment
New Saxon finds at Oxfordshire museum in Woodstock
From Oxford Mail. For the rest of 2012, ancient treasure unearthed by private citizens and their metal detectors will be on display at a free museum in Woodstock, north of Oxford. Cool!
Horse trials at Blenheim this weekend
From Oxford Mail. From now through Sunday, International Horse trials at Blenheim Palace. What, I wonder, did the horses do wrong that they are being tried? Ohhh, THAT kind of horse trial. Never mind.
Plum jam to get next time I’m in London
From Oxford Mail. A small local producer of fruit jams has finally accepted Fortnum & Mason’s invitation. Everything sounds yummy, so I’ll be looking to get some in London, even if the only flavor at F&M is the plum conserve.
Your London Paralympics transport website
The “regular” Olympic Games are over, but the Paralympics start in a few days. If you want to make sure you don’t get caught in a traffic mess, check this website. By 9 September, it’ll be over and done, but … Continue reading
Posted in European festivals, London travel, News from Europe, UK news
Tagged London Paralympics, london travel, London Tube, UK travel
Leave a comment
Catherine the Great in Edinburgh
From the London Independent. An exhibition devoted to Russia’s Catherine the Great is running at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh thru October 21. Hmmm. Another possibility for my fall trip.
A new working attraction in Oxfordshire – a steam powered sawmill
From Oxford Mail. If you’re looking for something that’s a bit out of the ordinary, a steam-powered sawmill is up and running again in Witney. Open for visitors two days a week. Neat!
Beer on the brain – British beer festivals and a tasting list
I found this calendar of beer events in Britain. I’m especially curious about the Bricklayers Arms in Putney. They describe themselves on their website as a year-round beer festival. That could be very dangerous! They are also a good ten minute … Continue reading
Fare hikes on British rail lines in 2013
From the London Independent. Add to your rail budget next year. The hikes are set to exceed inflation – a royal pain in the pocketbook for commuters but even tourists will need to research whether a BritRail pass will save … Continue reading
Posted in England, London travel, UK news
Tagged British rail fare hikes, BritRail, london travel, UK rail fares, UK travel
Leave a comment
A new coffee chain set to open in the UK
Coffee is not the first food group that springs to mind when I visit the UK, but I usually manage to slurp down an espresso at either Costa Coffee or some other chain during my stays. From the London Independent … Continue reading
Some travel ideas for the UK
From London Independent – some grand days out. The only one I’ve been to is Leeds Castle, in 1990 where I stumbled upon a huge display of Bentleys surrounded by several hot air balloons. Also, a look at St Kilda, … Continue reading
Posted in General magpie travel, UK news
Tagged days out in the UK, london travel, UK travel
2 Comments
Heading into the home stretch – Olympic traffic updates for Friday, 10 August
Here is the TfL disruption link for Friday, 10 August. From TfL… 3 days to go: There are only 3 more days before the Olympic Games finish on Sunday evening. Thank you for your support so far; this has helped us get … Continue reading
Let’s try this again – Olympic traffic updates for Wednesday, 8 August
Here is the TfL disruption map for Wednesday, 8 August. There are a few tabs, depending on whether you’re interested in road, rail or Tube info and the maps are very helpful.
Olympics in London – traffic updates for Sunday, 5 August
This is the last blog post regarding traffic updates for the Olympics. I have been posting links to my emails from TfL (Transport for London) but the links don’t work. The link below leads to the generic getaheadofthegames website and, … Continue reading
Olympics in London – traffic updates for Saturday, 4 August
The latest updates on Olympics-related traffic issues for Saturday, 4 August, mostly in and around London. I’m not paying close attention, but it seems as though the same venues are listed every day, as well as the same slow spots … Continue reading
Watch out, Scotland – English whiskey is coming
From London Independent. An English distillery’s product has just beaten out a bunch of its Scottish competitors in the International Wine and Spirits competition. Cooked up in Norfolk, but the article didn’t name the distillery. Hmmm.
Posted in England, Europe food & wine, not really travel, UK news
Tagged English whiskey, food & wine in Europe, Norfolk whiskey, UK travel
Leave a comment
Tea plantation in Cornwall, England!
From the London Independent. After a recent post about Sri Lanka’s problems with keeping control of their teas, this is an interesting twist – Cornwall, in SW England, has a climate that seems ideal for growing tea. Look for Tregothnan … Continue reading
Olympic traffic and travel updates for Tuesday and Wednesday, 31 July and 1 August
Sorry I skipped posting the Tuesday, 31 July bulletin in a timely fashion. Here’s the one for Wednesday, 1 August.
Abingdon’s new name – town and firehouse
From the Oxford Mail. Not sure exactly why the name change was implemented, but Abingdon is now Abingdon-on-Thames so the firehouse had to change its name to match. Mark your maps, brains and GPS.
Posted in General magpie travel, not really travel, UK news
Tagged oxford travel, UK travel
Leave a comment
The latest traffic updates and tips for 2012 summer Olympics
According to London Transport, Monday will be one of the busiest for the Games. There getaheadofthegames website will have all the latest. The next few days have the following hotspots, according
Virgin Atlantic is updating their fleet
From Virgin Atlantic July newsletter – Virgin is updating its fleet. Click here to watch a speeded up video of the process and find out more.
Music festival coming in August near Oxford
From Oxford Mail. Chalgrove music festival on the first weekend in August. Sounds like it’ll be a blast (there’s a beer tent, after all).
Get traffic updates for 2012 summer Olympics around the UK
London Transport has a website with current information on traffic issues now that the Olympics activities has begun. There is more to the Olympics rash than the scrum in London over the next couple of weeks. There is also the … Continue reading
SuzanneTheTravelMagpie 