This Sceptered Isle.

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Originally posted by Roy T:
All this talk of holidays / vacations has got me thinking so I hope this short link to the Guardian will offer some advice to overseas members wishing to visit this oh so Sceptered Isle.

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We're taking more holidays than ever before - but despite all the cheap flights on offer, most of us still choose to take our breaks at home. So where are the best places to head for this summer? Here, Stephen Moss, with the help of some experts, picks 10 truly great British holidays

The best of British

8 Northumbria

"In Britain magazine's Andrea Spain recommends Northumbria. "The coastline is amazing and the beaches are empty," she says. This is possibly because the sea is so cold and the clouds frequently low. ("It's bleak and windy," says a source on another travel magazine. "I almost froze to death, though the beaches are magnificent.") But if sunbathing is out, there are always the "heritage" sites - numerous castles, including Bamburgh and Dunstanburgh and Holy Island - as well as the garden at Alnwick. And if you want to be pampered, Spain suggests a stay at Seaham Hall , a luxury hotel and spa."

Ahhhhhhhhhh! Seaham is in County Durham and not Northumberland. The rest is accurate tho.

Being a bit old I spent quite a lot of holidays in Five places to avoid numbers 2 through to 5 but that was back in the early 60s to mid 70s and during that time without a doubt they would have all made it on to the Good Places list. Such is the power of nostalgia.

Just think of the additional choices that could have been made if we would have held on to the Aquitaine.

quote:

Originally posted by Roy T:

quote:

Here, Stephen Moss, with the help of some experts, picks 10 truly great British holidays

The best of British

Ahem! Nine, not ten!

We've done the Peaks, Scilly, and Northumbria, and enjoyed them all.

Makes me wonder what number nine would have been?


London always seems to me to be a grimy, overcrowded place where evryone has to do everything at a run, but Southwold/Walberswick are not far from me, and a great place to enjoy a few pints of Adnams before a walk in the afternoon.

Having once had a tour of the Adnams brewery, the head brewer commented it was a myth that their beer "didn't travel". Meanwhile, everyone present was thinking how their beer in Southwold is better than that elsewhere in Norfolk, and even then it's much better again from the brewery tap. A committed lager drinker commented that "if only bitter always tasted this good...".

cheers, Martin

Well I'd trade the Pembrokeshire coast path for the Gower - too many dodgy weekends down the Mumbles would be constantly at the back of my mind

This is my favourite part of the article;

"If you hanker after the London experience, sit in a bathful of your own sweat in a room full of exhaust fumes and pale sneering people in shorts, and burn twenties with a lighter."

It doesn't mention that with a little local knowledge, and admittedly ease of access, out of season you can have the all galleries, museums etc. pretty much to yourself (and they are still mosly free). London works best if you have a day off mid-week, no plans, browse through Time Out, and nip along to whatever takes your fancy. The only thing unpredictable for country mice is the weather. I love the Western Highlands and Islands, but would be bored without Londion. I do tend to avoid the centre in mid-summer though.