Tag Archives: UK travel

Visiting Richard III in Leicester

If you are an Anglophile and/or history buff (both of which I am) and you haven’t read The King’s Grave, by Philippa Langley and Michael Jones, put it on your reading list. Ever since Richard III – or what was left … Continue reading

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Winter walks in the UK

From the London Independent. Floods notwithstanding – and there have been a LOT of them recently – here is a list of 50 winter walks grouped, helpfully, by region. Pull on those boots and get cracking!

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Ten best British adventure breaks

From London Independent (I’m woefully behind in wading through the Independent’s travel sections). Biking, hiking, messing about in boats, er… kayaks and more. Active adventures in Britain.

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Visit Oxfordshire and (maybe) see a wallaby

From Oxford Mail. Wallabies seen in Oxfordshire. It’s certainly cheaper than flying Down Under if you want to see one. Maybe someone could round them up and have a wallaby park?

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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

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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).

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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

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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!

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A great gastro-pub in Oxford

From Oxford Mail. Oxford Blue, a gastro-pub in East Oxford that’s getting a whole lotta buzz.

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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

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Autumn walks in England

From the London Independent. Another top ten list, this time for autumn walks. The article is called walks in Britain but from what I see, they’re all in England.

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autumn walks in the UK

While followers of this blog wait breathlessly for my upcoming posts on Croatia, Slovenia and beyond (yeah, right), take a peek at ten of the best autumn walks in Britain. From London Independent. Length varies between one and nine miles, … Continue reading

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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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!

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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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

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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

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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