Posts Tagged ‘England’

Nottingham City Breaks

March 18th, 2010

Bring to mind Nottingham and most folk think of the legend of Robin Hood, his band of merry men  and the Sherrif of Nottingham and though this attracts increasing numbers of visitors yearly there is much more to the area than meets the eye. Infact Nottingham is home to a respectable selection of interesting local attractions making it an excellent place for a a weekend city break and the following article examines the city and a few of visitor attractions in and around Nottingham, and also some hotels offering Nottingham B&B.

Nottingham is located in the county of Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England, UK. As well as Sherwood Forest, the legend of Robin Hood and the Sheriff of Nottingham, the city is also renowned for the lace making industry especially during the period known as the Industrial Revolution when it gained a superb worldwide reputation.

Nottingham Lace Market

Once the heart of the worldwide lace industry, at the time of the British Empire, the Lace Market in Nottingham is, now, a protected heritage area. The area  is home to many superb examples of industrial architecture of the Nineteenth Century. The Lace Market wasn't like a normal market, rather than having stalls and their stall holders, it was a collection of salesrooms and warehouses selling and displaying lace. After the collapse in the lace industry the area became derelict but, nowadays, the vast majority of the old warehouses have been restored and renovated for other purposes for instance photographic studios and the likes. The Lace Market is a popular tourist attraction.

Galleries of Justice & Shire Hall

Not too far from the Lace Market is the Galleries of Justice in Shire Hall. Shire Hall is a Georgian-built building featuring Neoclassical columns, pilasters and dome. The front of Shire Hall has, if you look at it closely, a misspelled word Goal instead of Gaol. Shire Hall has 2 excellently preserved Victorian courtrooms plus old cells, bath house, a women's prison, a prisoner's exercise yard and an Edwardian police station.

Nottingham is a fantastic place to have a vacation. There is lots to see and do around the city and a huge number of visitor attractions not too far away. Places well worth a visit include; Wollaton Hall, Hardwick Hall and Newstead Abbey.

As is common in all England bed and breakfast, Nottingham accommodation is usually of superb quality at a fair price and many folk choose to stay in Nottingham for part of their vacation and then somewhere else for the remaining days.

City Breaks In Bath

March 17th, 2010

The city of Bath, in the county of Somerset, The Somerset city of Bath may be just less than thirteen miles from the city of Bristol but it is vastly different in many ways. Bath is a much more laid back city than its neighbour. With its enormous number of open spaces, Georgian buildings and elegant crescents it is a highly popular take a short city break.

Bath has been important for an incredibly long, long time. Because of the hot springs, the only hot springs in Britain, it was treated as a shrine by the local Celtic population. It wasn't until the appearance of the Romans that, because of their technical expertise, the springs were developed to their full potential. Right up until today the Roman Baths are an incredibly Bath tourist attraction.

Until the 16th century Bath was just a town, Queen Elizabeth I granted the town a Royal Charter in the year 1590, having paid a visit to the town in fifteen seventy four. By the eighteenth century city of Bath Bath had become an extremely popular resort where etiquette had to be followed and Beau Nash ensured the social scene ran smoothly.

It was during this time that Jane Austen, who resided for some time in Bath, wrote Persuasion and Northanger Abbey, and where Gainsborough, the artist, established himself as a portraitist and landscape artist. It is possible to discover more about Jane Austen, the city's most famous resident, at the interesting Jane Austen Centre.

Bath has a multitude of visitor attractions including, the Roman Baths (mentioned earlier), The Holburne Museum of Arts, Bath Abbey and The Royal Crescent. One tourist attraction you must get to see are the Assembly Rooms and this is where you will discover the incredibly interesting Museum of Costume which features a collection of historical and modern dress.

Many folk choose to take day trips to Bath however if you do not like rushing around it is much better to stay for at least two or three days and walk around peacefully exploring all the city has to offer.

If you are planning a short break in Bath it is important to know that although there are many guest houses and hotels in Bath finding bed and breakfast in Bath can sometime be rather difficult. Because of this it is vitally important to book your accommodation at the earliest opportunity.

Finally I would like to wish that you have a thoroughly enjoyable vacation in the incredible city of Bath, England.

Vacations In Exeter

March 15th, 2010

When the majority of folk debate having a UK vacation they nearly always just mention resorts near to the sea such as Blackpool, Brighton, Bognor Regis and Bournemouth. Infrequently folk might debate taking a vacation in a specific English county for example the county of Devon in south England but rarely do they think about taking a vacation in the city of Exeter. This article discusses various factors why a vacation in Exeter is a clever idea.

The very first reasons for taking a holiday in Exeter is that you will find cheap accommodation with Exeter bed and breakfast available in the region of £25 per night and lots of places around the forty to fifty pounds range.

Obviously there has to be more than a low price to entice you to visit a city and Exeter certainly has plenty to offer the possible visitor. You will find that there are many superb tourist attractions in the city center and even more not too far away and if that is not sufficient then the city of Plymouth is only a short distance away and you will discover that there is also cheap accommodation in Plymouth and even more fantastic tourist attractions. Plus there are plenty of breathtaking sites to visit all along the nearby coast.

Where To Stay In Exeter

The Drewe Arms
This hotel is superb, it's rooms are budget but the building itself is a charming seventeenth century thatched inn situated on the famous Two Moors Way (a walkers route). Please note that it is fifteen miles from Exeter city center. If you require more luxury the inn also offers four-poster rooms.

The Crawford Hotel
This hotel accommodation is lots closer to the city center, just over one and a half km. It is a two star hotel with comfortable en suite rooms and, importantly, 24 hour access to your room, which is superb if you are planning on a late night or need access during the day. You will find there is Free wireless internet access in public areas of the hotel.

Things To See & Do

In Exeter there are just a small number of visitor attractions worth visiting including; St Peter's Cathedral, the Royal Albert Museum and Rougemont Castle. As I mentioned earlier in this article there is a selection of close by seaside resorts to see the best being the pretty villages of Sidmouth, Beer and Seaton.

Further away, between Exeter and Plymouth is the virtually unpopulated moorland of the Dartmoor National Park with the general area having a fair few visitor attractions to visit including Buckland Abbey, Buckfast Abbey and A La Ronde along the main road, to Plymouth. Along the way you will see the Torbay area, which is made up of Brixham, Torquay and Paignton and is commonly called the English Riviera.

Exeter really is a excellent city in which to take a vacation but why not discuss having a 2 destination vacation and spend a few of nights in a really luxurious hotel in Plymouth and travel around the gorgeous coast and countryside in between the two cities?