Hawkstone Hall and Gardens : The Shropshire Hills
Mark Bibby Jackson spends a night at Hawkstone Hall and Gardens, a manor house steeped in history, thankful that he has arrived before the crowds. Spectacular. The one word describes…
Travel Topics
Mark Bibby Jackson spends a night at Hawkstone Hall and Gardens, a manor house steeped in history, thankful that he has arrived before the crowds. Spectacular. The one word describes…
The BFI London Film Festival sponsored by American Express is one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world along with alongside the Cannes Film Festival, the Berlinale, Venice International Film Festival. It is held in the UK capital…
Irene Caswell takes a sneak preview at A Rothschild Treasury, a new permanent exhibition space at Waddesdon Manor in the Aylesbury Vale, showcasing a micro collection of over 300 exquisite…
Mark Bibby Jackson journeys to the city of Lichfield where he visits the cathedral, Samuel Johnson’s birthplace and the nearby National Memorial…
Mark Bibby Jackson goes back to a regular haunt of his youth, to see if the Grand Trunk Road truly deserves the London Curry Awards accolade of best Indian restaurant…
Chiwetel Ejiofor and Michael Winterbottom will receive icon awards at this year’s Raindance Film Festival held in the UK capital in June. Raindance is the largest Indie film festival in the…
The Rhythm & Brews Festival is a new beer and music festival held in September to celebrate the diverse and talented pool of North East musicians, as well as regional…
Held in late August to early September, the Freedom Festival Hull is the flagship event in the former UK City of Culture’s festival calendar. Now in its 16th year and…
Actors, writers, poets and even a few journos will descend upon the West Yorkshire Victorian spa town of Ilkley in October for the Ilkley Literature Festival, which celebrates its 50th…
Kate Burbidge tastes her way through Andrew Baker’s literary tour of the craft and artisan chocolate world – From Bean to Bar. Anyone with even the most basic interest in…
Going to festivals doesn’t have to be an activity reserved only for carefree twenty-somethings with no children. Whatever your age, and whatever age your children are…
En route to Istanbul, Mark Bibby Jackson checks into the room2 Hammersmith, sister property of room2 Southampton, a new concept in hometels, to see if a hotel truly can feel…
Mal Tattersall samples the delights of the Saddleworth Whit Friday Band Contests, to discover much to enjoy in Yorkshire brass band contests. There’s an intriguing sign hanging on a red…
Wish you could dance, sing or play an instrument, but don’t know where to start? Whitby Folk Week this August may be just what you’re looking for. There are more than three hundred events…
Chilli Fest Waddesdon Manor promises to be the hottest event of the summer. The manor house built for the Baron de Rothschild in the 1870s to entertain guests and exhibit…
Mark Bibby Jackson takes time off from his Speyside whisky tour to celebrate the delights of the Balmoral Hotel’s Brasserie Prince by Alain Roux, and savours every moment of the…
Mark Bibby Jackson takes an overnight spa break at Champneys Henlow Grange for a pampering experience that leaves him feeling thoroughly rejuvenated. My previous experience of visiting a spa or…
Set in the heart of England, Studley Castle is Warner Leisure Hotels’ first new venture in 20 years. Mark Bibby Jackson accepts an invitation to see what all the hype…
Taking a short break from their native Suffolk, Roger Hermiston and Eileen Wise discover a plethora of things to do in Harwich, a surprisingly historic town with links to the…
Travel Begins at 40 gives the run down on this year’s WOMAD music festival, which is staying true to its global roots. Every summer in late July musicians, poets, actors, artists, thinkers and even cooks…
One of the foody highlights of the South Coast, the Lymington Seafood Festival occurs each summer. The Lymington Seafood Festival must be one of the most picturesque…
Could there be a more appropriate setting for The Times and The Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival than the historic Regency spa town of Cheltenham ? Originally held in…
Robert Spellman visits Stanley Kubrick: The Exhibition at the Design Museum London, an extensive retrospective on the work of one of the twentieth century’s greatest filmmakers. The phrase “he’s done…
Irene Caswell stays at the Holiday Inn Winchester and finds it an eminently reasonable place to use as a base for the final Winchester Festival. Winchester festival events are held…
The UK has so much to offer with its rich history, galleries, theatres and concert halls, its commercial and scientific enterprise and its varied and undeniably scenic countryside.
UK National Parks
There are 15 National Parks in the UK, ranging from coastal areas to mountainous regions in England, Wales and Scotland. There are currently none in Northern Ireland. Unlike National Parks in other countries, in the UK parts of the designated, protected areas can be owned by private landlords. Such areas as the Lake District, Yorkshire Moors, Pembrokeshire Coastal Path, Snowdonia and the Cairngorms draw hikers and naturalists to them like a magnet.
UK Weather
The British never tire of the weather as a talking point. Broadly speaking it is a temperate climate, although winters are becoming wetter and summers warmer, probably from climate change. Warmer in the South, wetter in the West and colder in Scotland and Northern Ireland, the UK climate can be subject to diurnal change on a sudden basis, although, with the advent of satellites, the weather forecasts are more accurate. It is wise to take a waterproof with you on an extended trip.
Northern Ireland
Since the Good Friday Agreement brought greater stability to this previously troubled land, visitors are on an increase. The Titanic Museum displaying memorabilia regarding that renowned disaster and Ulster Museum looking at 3,000 years of Irish culture and history, are well worth a visit. Outside of Belfast, the Mountains of Mourne in County Down and the Giant Causeway, 60 miles outside Belfast, are not to be missed.