The Midlands
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Lincoln Travel Guide: Best Places to Visit and Things to Do
Getting there: Lincoln is a historic city located in the East Midlands and conveniently situated for travel from most parts of the United Kingdom. Last year LNER began operating AZUMA rail services direct from London King’s Cross station with a journey time of just under two hours making the city even more accessible and perfect…
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Nottingham Travel Guide: What to See, Do, and Experience
Nottingham is often referred to as the ‘Queen of the East Midlands’ as the English Kings held court there when they went hunting in its surrounding forests. It’s famous for the legendary Robin Hood, lace making and much more. Take a look at my guide of things to see and do in this intriguing city.…
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Birmingham: A Travel Guide to the City’s Best Experiences
It might not be well known, but Birmingham has been referred to as the ‘Venice of the North’ as it boasts more miles of canals than Venice. It sits at the heart of England’s canal network with around 35 miles (56 km) of waterways. Getting there: As Birmingham is located in the centre of the…
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Explore Symonds Yat and Monmouth: The Ultimate Day Out for Nature and History Lovers
Symonds Yat is a scenic beauty spot spanning the River Wye. It is located mid-way between the market towns of Ross-on-Wye and Monmouth, both approximately five miles away. Narrow, winding roads lead to the village centre at Symonds Yat East and continuing slightly further there is a large car park where we were able to…
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Travel Guide to Ross-on-Wye: What to See and Do in a Day
Ross-on-Wye is an historic market town sitting on a rocky outcrop overlooking the Wye Valley, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. This scenic part of Herefordshire is only an hour’s drive from Birmingham and is easily accessible, being just off the M50 motorway. The town centre, with its attractive Tudor buildings is centred around the…
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Travel Guide to Tewkesbury: Top Things to See and Do
Our travels took us to the medieval town of Tewkesbury, noted for its well preserved half timbered Tudor buildings and its 12th century Abbey. We started our walk around town at The Cross adjoining the High Street which has a wonderful collection of Tudor buildings including the cantilevered 18th century Golden Key House, the top…
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Top Things to Do in Cirencester: Discover the Cotswolds’ Historic Capital
Cirencester is located 80 miles west of London and is often referred to as the capital of the Cotswolds as it lies in the heart of this beautiful part of England. It was our first visit to this prosperous market town and after finding somewhere to park on the edge of the town, we were…
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Review: The White Hart Hotel, Lincoln
Hotel Review Location The White Hart Hotel opened in the 14th century as a coaching inn and it has continued to welcome guests for more than 600 years. It’s located in the heart of Lincoln’s historic Cathedral Quarter close to both the cathedral and castle. Lincolnshire is situated in the East Midlands and is easily…
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Lincoln Sightseeing & Afternoon Tea at Bells Tea Shop: A Perfect Day Out
After another delicious breakfast at the White Hart Hotel, we checked out of our room, leaving our luggage to collect later in the day. We’d read that an exhibition entitled ‘A Century of Valour’ documenting Lincolnshire’s aviation gallantry had just opened at the Collection Museum and as it was nearby, we decided to begin our…
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Explore Lincoln Cathedral and Castle: Top Attractions in Lincoln
After starting the day with a delicious cooked breakfast at The White Hart Hotel we returned to the Cathedral as there hadn’t been much time to look around the previous evening when we were attending Evensong. Standard adult admission to Lincoln Cathedral is £8 and this includes an optional introductory floor tour but as we…
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Lincoln Sightseeing: A Walk Up Steep Hill and Visit to the Bomber Command Centre
Lincoln is a historic city located in the East Midlands and conveniently situated for travel from most parts of the United Kingdom. Recently, LNER began operating AZUMA rail services direct from London King’s Cross station with a journey time of just under two hours making the city even more accessible and perfect for a weekend…
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The Ultimate Guide to Upton House and Gardens, Warwickshire
The weather forecast was good so we planned a visit to Upton House and Gardens near Banbury in Warwickshire. Arriving around 2.00 p.m. on a glorious summer’s day the main car parks were already full but we were directed to an overflow parking area in a field which was only a short walk from the…
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Review: The Holiday Inn Castle Marina, Nottingham
Hotel Review Location We chose the Holiday Inn for our weekend stay in Nottingham as it is conveniently located a few minutes drive from the city centre, close to the Castle Marina Business Park. We had travelled to Nottingham by train and taking the tram from outside the station, it was just one stop to…
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Explore Nottingham by tram: Nottingham University and Arboretum
The sun was shining through the windows as we drew back the curtains which was a good start to the day. After a hearty breakfast in the hotel’s restaurant we wrapped up warm and walked along the now familiar route to the Meadows Way West tram stop. Instead of taking a tram into the city…
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Exploring Nottingham: the city of Caves and National Justice Museum
Our day started with a hearty breakfast in the hotel’s restaurant and a glance at the morning newspapers. We then wrapped up warm before setting off for a walk along the canal towpath. The Nottingham and Beeston canal runs through the city centre and was just a few minutes walk from the Holiday Inn. Before…
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Nottingham – a perfect weekend break
Nottingham is often referred to as the ‘Queen of the East Midlands’ because the English kings held court there when they went hunting in its surrounding forests. It’s also famous for the legendary Robin Hood so we thought it was about time that we explored the city for ourselves. Nottingham is easily accessible from all…
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Stoke-on-Trent Ceramics Trail
It was slightly overcast as we checked out of the Trentham Travelodge which had been an excellent base for touring The Potteries. We drove into nearby Hanley for breakfast which we enjoyed in the Reginald Mitchell pub named after the inventor of the Spitfire. The building was once a meat market and its glass roof…
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World of Wedgwood & Biddulph Grange Gardens
After a good night’s sleep, we set off after breakfast for a visit to the World of Wedgwood in nearby Barlaston. The Wedgwood group of companies is owned by Fiskars, the Finnish gardening and homeward group so it was interesting to visit as I have visited their showroom in Helsinki. The Wedgwood estate stretches for…
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The Potteries, Trentham Monkey Forest & Gardens
Stoke-on-Trent doesn’t always spring to mind for a short break in the U.K. but reading about its industrial heritage as the world capital of ceramics tempted us to spend a few days exploring the city. Stoke is located midway between Manchester and Birmingham and has direct rail services to London taking only 90 minutes. In…
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A weekend in Birmingham
Meeting my son for a weekend away in the U.K. has usually resulted in trips to London or Edinburgh so for a change we decided to explore Britain’s second city, Birmingham. Strangely, Birmingham isn’t a city I am familiar with, in fact I’ve only ever visited three times and then only to attend courses and…
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Exploring Birmingham
After a leisurely breakfast we were ready for a morning of sightseeing in Birmingham’s city centre. Our first stop was to the Great Western Arcade, an elegant Victorian shopping arcade built in 1876 over the Great Western Railway line. The arcade has two entrances, one on Temple Row and the other on Colmore Row, the…
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The Black Country Living Museum
The weather forecast seemed reasonable so we decided to spend the day at the Black Country Living Museum in Dudley, West Midlands, ten miles west of Birmingham. Although the museum’s postal address is Dudley, the nearest railway station is Tipton. We bought return rail tickets costing approximately £5 each for the 20 minute journey from…
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The Birmingham Back to Backs
After checking out of our hotel and leaving our luggage to collect later, we set ourselves up for the day with cooked breakfasts in a nearby pub and then made our way to Hurst Street where we had booked a tour of the Birmingham Back to Backs terraced houses which are now operated as a museum…
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Medieval Lincoln
Lincolnshire has been up to now a county we have just passed through along the motorway, but finally we decided to stop for a few hours and take a look. We left the car in the lower part of the town close to the Brayford Waterfront, a natural harbour on the River Witham now transformed…
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