Category: England

England Travel Guide and Why Go

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England

Cheap Hotels in Liverpool

When you think of Liverpool there are two things that most likely spring into your mind: the Beatles and the football team. A lively nightlife is also what Liverpool is known for. And it has a great cultural heritage, too.

When it comes to accommodation , you can choose from guesthouses to 4-star hotels and everything in between. While there are no 5-star hotels in Liverpool, that doesn’t mean you cannot find luxury accommodation.

As in the case of any city, you’ll probably want to stay as close as possible to the city center. You might want to check out Penny Lane, too (yes, just like in the Beatles song). Generally speaking, if you are rather close to the city center and within walking distance of public transportation, it should be fine.

Price-wise, expect to pay from £49 per night (2 persons) in a 2-star hotel right in the city center in early summer. A queen room in a 3-star hotel close to Albert Dock will set you back from £80 per night (2 persons).

Search this map to find cheap hotels in Liverpool, or find even more hotel options by searching with the widget above.

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England

Cheap Hotels in Manchester

Manchester is located in the north west of England and is particularly known for its music scene and football. It also has a long industry history and is home to a lot of students attending its Universities.

Although much smaller than London Manchester is home to the biggest airport outside of the capital city. When it comes to finding a hotel for your stay in Manchester, it’s always a good idea to head to the city center. But you can also look for places further away. Didsbury in South Manchester is quite fashionable and a lovely area for your stay. Old Trafford is another nice area for your stay.

Hotels in Manchester range from budget 2-star to fashionable and luxury 5-star hotels. Expect to pay from £44 per night for 2 persons in a 2-star hotel located close to Old Trafford in early summer. Double rooms in 3-star hotels cost from £58 and you’ll be close to the Piccadilly Railway Station.

Pay attention that it’s possible to find discounts especially if you ahead of time. Check both the booking websites and the hotel’s own website (if they have one).

Search this map to find cheap hotels in Manchester, or find even more hotel options by searching with the widget above.

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England Planning a Trip travel guide

Things to do in Manchester

Manchester is one of the most important cities in England, known for its nightlife and incredible architecture. It is also one of the most gay-friendly cities in Europe. If you plan to travel to Manchester, here are some things to do.

Learn some history live: Castlefield

In the inner city of Manchester, you’ll find remains of what used to be the Roman for of Mamucium. Five main areas have been reconstructed and can be visited: the Roman Gardens, the Vicus – civilian settlement outside the fort – , the North Gate, the Defensive Ditches and the West Wall. There are canal-side bars and restaurants, so if hunger strikes, you can relax and have a bite to eat.

A day in Chinatown

Whether you want to get something to eat, plan to wonder around for some shopping or just want to kill some time, head to Chinatown. On Sundays, you can pick up wonderful herbs from here. It’s located behind the Town Hall and really close to The Village.

Clubbing in the Village

Even if you are not in the clubbing scene, an evening in a bar is something you should try while in Manchester. The staff at the hotel/hostel will be able to tell you some of the hottest bars and clubs or whether you can find something to suit your tastes.

Visit the Museum of Science and Industry

Adult or child, you’ll love this interesting museum which shows impressive machineries, such as a working waterwheel. You can also see the booking halls of one of the first passenger railway station (on the route to Liverpool) , learn about Castlefied – the Roman Fort – and many more. It is open daily from 10 a.m. Entrance to the museum is free.

See the city from above: The Wheel of Manchester

London has London Eye and the Wheel of Manchester is this city’s take on the idea of getting a bird’s eye view of the surroundings. Admission fee is £8.50 for an adult (£5.00 for a child). You get to see the city from the height of 60 min and the ride takes about 13 min. It is open daily from 10 a.m.

A museum for the (big) boys: Imperial War Museum

If war vehicles, weapons and war memorabilia are what interest you, then don’t miss this museum. Entry is free and the museum opens at 10 a.m.

Market Street

If you are looking for food , great shops and fun, then this is the place to check out. The pedestrian street is filled with stuff which will easily diminish your vacation money, but it’s so worth it.

Tour Old Trafford

If you are a football (soccer) fan, then this is an exciting thing to do. Of course, you can watch a match but if you happen to travel when no matches are played, then a tour of the famous pitch is the next best thing. The Museum & Tour Centre is open daily from 9:30 a.m. The museum and tour ticket is £15.00 for an adult (£10.00 for juniors). More details here

Visit Manchester Cathedral

The current cathedral dates from Medieval times but was extensively renovated and , as a result, looks much newer. It is a working church so pay attention to the visiting hours (unless you plan to attend the service). Personal guided tours of the cathedral and grounds can be requested. Find the details here .

Aerial Extreme at The Trafford Centre

If you want something different than museums, markets and cathedrals, then Aerial Extreme is a good choice. It’s a combination of amusement park with a challenge of your fitness, which will get your heart pumping.

Photo credits : Castlefield , Chinatown , The Village , Museum of Science , The Wheel , Market Street , Old Trafford , Manchester Cathedral

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England travel guide

Travel Tips: When London Returns to Normal

London is in the news right now for all the wrong reasons, along with more cities across England with each passing day. People are starting to try to take their city back from the looters and vandals, but it’s clear that it’s going to take a lot more than London’s firefighters to quell the flames that were ignited over the weekend.

Eventually, however, the fires will be put out, the windows repaired, the shops re-stocked with merchandise, and – hopefully – the hoodlums appropriately punished. And although it may not look like that will happen anytime soon when you’re watching the BBC right now, London especially has an enormous incentive to make quick work of the cleanup – the city will increasingly be in the spotlight between now and next summer’s Olympics.

If you’ve got a trip to London planned in the near future, it may be smart to keep track of the news to see if you might want to postpone your trip. It’s not as if London or England as a whole is a dangerous place to be, but if you can avoid being around this kind of unpredictable violence that’s probably smart. If you’re visiting a few months from now or planning a trip to see the Olympics, however, it’s likely you’ll see very little of the damage visible on the city streets right now.

London and the rest of England will want to put this behind them as soon as possible, and that includes bringing tourists back. For those future trips you’re thinking about, here are some travel tips you might find useful:

In the meantime, keep up with what’s going on in London and throughout the country by checking the following sites for reports:

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England

Blackpool Illuminations

In the years before 1879, the streets of Blackpool were graced with mere gas light, but that year everything changed, for the Blackpool Illuminations began as an experiment in the use of electricity to power street lighting. On the 19th of September, 16 Robey engines were put into use for powering eight dynamo-electric machines that lit eight arc lamps spaced out along the Promenade. Somewhere between 70,000 and 100,000 visitors came to see what was then called ‘artificial sunshine’ and it is widely believed these simple arc lamps were the world’s first electric street lights.

It was a huge success that continued to grow year upon year with special events and Royal visits taking place in Blackpool that encouraged the use of more than 10,000 lights until the spectacle reached its present day length of a little under six dazzling miles along the Promenade. There are various themes spread throughout the route and so complex are the designs that it now takes 45 staff members an entire year to ensure that all the lights are ready and the displays are fully functional. So vast is the amount of equipment required that it is estimated at a value of more than £10 million!

Switched on every year at the end of the Summer Season, the Illuminations light up Blackpool for 66 consecutive nights and those who are chosen to press the (now famous) button to switch it all on, consider it a great privilege. Each year the identity of the lucky person is kept tightly under wraps to make it even more exciting, though it is often a prominent celebrity.

The Switch On date for 2011 is September 2nd and as tickets are required for that particular night, Blackpool hotels will fill up fast, so some forward planning would definitely be required to avoid disappointment.

Photo by: paul stevenson

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England travel guide

Two reasons to visit England: Stonehenge and Tyneham

Planning a vacation in England means you’ll be faced with a lot of decisions. London is easy to get to thanks to the many airlines serving its airports and cheap airfare to Europe is not hard to find either, especially if you plan in advance. And once in London, you’ll surely be tempted to spend as much time as you can here. I managed to see most of the city’s main sights during a four days trip in spring but if your time is limited, you can plan a marathon sightseeing experience during two days.

Then, travel to Salisbury. If you want to see the English country side, either choose the train, by bus or rent a car. Make sure to book one of the cheap hotels in Salisbury ahead of time. Its proximity to Stonehenge makes it a popular town and therefore not the cheapest alternative if you are after a hotel. But B&Bs are great choices as well and they offer good facilities at lower rates. Plan to spend at least half a day in the city and don’t forge to visit the Cathedral

Now it’s time to visit Stonehenge, the well-known Neolithic and Bronze Age stone monument. To get here, take the tour bus from Salisbury (the ticket is £18). Once there, choose one of the walking tours.

From Stonehenge, get back to Salisbury and then travel to Dorchester either by bus or by rental car. From here, drive to Tyneham, one of the famous European ghost towns . It is not open for the public all the time, so make sure you do your homework and know when the Lulworth Military Range is open for the public. You can spend at least half a day here but make sure you stick to the pathways.

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England travel guide

Going to the Glastonbury Festival

Summer is a time for all kinds of travel, and you don’t really need a specific excuse to take a trip – but if you’re looking for one, planning a trip around a summer festival is an excellent idea.

Many music fans are familiar with some of the best summer outdoor festivals like Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits in the US, but England has been home to the popular Glastonbury Festival since 1970. It’s not only the world’s biggest outdoor music festival, it’s also a combination of music and performing arts in a town that’s famous for being a spiritual destination. In other words, even if you’re not the kind of music aficionado who’d fly across the ocean for a festival, this is a festival that’s more of an event than just a concert.

Glastonbury is located in southwest England, and although the closest airport to the festival site is in Bristol it’s more likely that you’ll fly into London first. You can then choose to hop a short flight to Bristol, but even if you get as far as Bristol by plane you’ll still need to take a train or bus from London out to Glastonbury and the festival site.

There are coaches that run from London Heathrow or Bristol Airport directly to the festival itself, and coaches that connect the festival with other non-airport destinations (including area train stations). Find out all your options for getting to the Glastonbury Festival so you can see which one is best for you.

Going to the Glastonbury Festival in late June can be a great start to a longer trip through southwest England or Wales, or it can just be a long weekend getaway. Either way, it’s a great reason to plan a holiday.

photo by bobaliciouslondon

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England travel guide

It’s Time to Get Back to England

Once upon a time I knew nothing more about soccer – or football, if you prefer – than players weren’t allowed to handle the ball. These days things are different. Even though it’s still not English football that I watch most of the time, however, it’s English football team names that jumped out at me the other day when I looked at a map of the country.

Zooming in on Sheffield to remind myself where it is in relation to York, I immediately saw Blackburn, Blackpool, Wigan, Bolton, Hull, Scunthorpe – and of course Manchester and Liverpool. The more I looked at the map of England, the more it looked like a big list of English football clubs. And that’s when it hit me – it’s been far too long since I’ve been to England.

Now, as much as I’d like to travel to the Champions League final (no matter who’s playing, but also – let’s be frank – to see Lionel Messi), I know that’s not going to happen this year. Flights to London Heathrow are routinely too expensive from my West Coast home, and I haven’t planned far enough in advance to combine one of the cheap fares from NY-London with some of the cheap flights to New York that occasionally come up for my local airport.

Not only that, I’m quite certain that all the budget hotels in London have been booked solid for ages in anticipation of a great Champions League final – and hotels near Heathrow are nowhere near close enough to the city or Wembley to make them reasonable options.

While I’d like to get back to England during the football season and catch a few games, the more important piece of business is catching up with old friends. The fact that my first thought when seeing Nottingham on the map was of Nottingham Forest and not the friends I made when I studied in that city is enough evidence to me that it’s time for a return trip.

photo by deBurca

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England travel guide

Travel Through History in England

One of the biggest draws for visitors to England is the living history found throughout the country. From the mysterious pillars of Stonehenge  to the famous hands of Big Ben, the sights of England are those right out of our history books.  When it comes to World War II, England offers even more for the history buff.

Though the fighting of World War II took place all over Western Europe, for those with a keen interest in the war, England is a perfect base for seeing many of the most important sights. There are nearly a dozen important World War II sights in England and France so if you can stretch your trip to both countries with a eurail pass, you can see even more.

Check out the Churchill War Rooms in London and the sober Battle of Britain Memorial in Kent and then head over to France for a trip to the battle-scarred beaches of Normandy and the small town of Sainte-Mère-Église, where it is said that a soldier’s parachute became hooked on the town church, and he survived the battle by hanging there pretending to be dead as the fighting went on below.

Once you’ve had your fill of history for the trip, take in some of the more lighthearted activities in the area. There are plenty of things to do in Normandy, for example. Visit the beautiful Mont St. Michel, tour Monet’s gardens, and make your way along the cider route. Though the ugly past of World War II still haunts much of England and France, the present couldn’t be more beautiful.

Photo by: heatheronhertravels

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Articles England

Staying in a Narrowboat in London

When it comes to accommodation choices – especially in a big city where camping might not be an option – you’re generally limited as to the type of place you stay. Sure, you can choose between a hotel, hostel, B&B, apartment, guesthouse or inn, but really these are all just variations on a theme – a building with multiple compartmentalized rooms that offer a bed, a bathroom, and if you’re lucky, access to common room and kitchen.

But there are other options. In fact, there is a whole host of unusual places to stay in Europe, from convents and cave hotels to prisons, castles and mountains huts. You can stay on a farm, in an igloo, in a barn, and on a boat. If that last one piqued your interest, check out the narrowboats in London.

London’s narrowboats are generally about 7 feet wide, made to fit the narrow canals of England. You can rent one for a weekend or longer and pilot your way through the many canals in the London area. Stay in one spot for the whole trip or travel around, stick close to London or venture father afield – the choice is up to you. Prices range according to the length of the rental, the size of the boat and the season in which you’ll be traveling. Of course, the more popular the season (summer) and the more people with whom you’ll be sharing the boat, the more expensive the rental will be. But if you come in off season, you can score a boat that sleeps 2-4 people for as little as 200 pounds per night.

Booking in off season can help you save big. Even if you book a boat that sleeps seven people in shoulder season (May and October) you’ll pay less than 80 pounds per person, per night; it’s more than a hostel, but comparable to the cost of many hotels, and you can save money by cooking your own meals on the boat. Plus, since the boat also serves as your transport, you’ll save on the cost of a car rental or train tickets if you plan to explore outside of London. That actually makes a narrowboat stay one of the better London travel deals available.

Photo by James K Thorpe