The delightful kite-shaped Isle of Wight sits at the mouth of Southampton Water which leads up to the busy port of Southampton. Ferries sail frequently from Southampton to Cowes carrying passengers, cars and supplies to this charmingly unspoilt island. Cowes is a renowned sailing venue, particularly for Cowes week in early August. The Maritime Museum is located inside the Cowes Library. Further inland is Newport, the island capital. This busy town has narrow streets which bustle with local activity.

The villages along the east coast are most popular with tourists. Shanklin is typical of old England with thatched cottages, rambling roses over the door, quaint shops and tea rooms. Nearby Sandown has an excellent beach and pier. Ventnor retains its Victorian air. Situated at the foot of a very steep hill, the promenade is lined with guest houses and small hotels. Godshill is known for its gardens at the Old Smithy and there is a fascinating miniature village here too.

The west coast of the island is sparsely populated but the famous Needles, which are white chalk columns standing just offshore, and the multicoloured cliffs and sands at Alum Bay are well worth a visit.

One of the most delightful stately homes to visit is Osborne House. The favourite home of Queen Victoria it is still very much as it was during her lifetime. After the death of Albert, she mourned her loss and ordered his rooms to be untouched so they are wonderfully preserved for us to observe today. The gardens have vegetable patches which the young princes and princesses all tended. The other castle of note on the island is Carisbrooke Castle, just outside Newport. Built by Elizabeth I it became the prison of Charles I before he was tried and executed.

The Isle of Wight enjoys mild winters and sunny summers. It has some gorgeous sandy beaches and delightful ‘olde worlde’ villages as well as beautiful cliff top walks to enjoy.

This brings back some lovely childhood memories of vacationing with my family, my Uncle getting hit on the head with a golf ball, canoe races, my Dad dropping a kid in the lake trying to help him into a boat, rounds of crazy golf and the Beatles song Yellow Submarine playing on the radio all day long it seemed.

Good times!

The biggest mistake people make when visiting London is not taking a weekend in Brighton. At just 40 minutes away on the train, it’s one of the most unique places the UK has to offer, and full of surprises.

Traditionally, Brighton has always been a playground. Preferred by the Prince of Wales as a pleasure resort back in the late 18th century, it’s continued to attract weekenders, partygoers and culture lovers. It also offers a range of overnight options, from the high-end hotels to the traditional Brighton B&B.

Key to its character is its diversity. There’s probably no other city in the UK that can claim to be as bohemian, and as quirky.

With a longstanding proud reputation for tolerance and freethinking, it’s a veritable melting pot of styles, fashions and all manner of freakery.

Obvious attractions include the Palace Pier, which opened in 1899, and the Pavilion. As piers go, it’s a classic, and the Pavilion will confuse and amaze in the same breath. Built for the Prince Regent (later crowned King George IV) between 1787 and 1823, it embraces Regency style and opulence, and is filled with oriental treasures.

Most roads lead to the sea and miles of pebble beach. There are distant views of the stunning chalk cliffs at Seven Sisters and long seafront walks to the avenues and architecture of neighbough, Hove.

Back off Brighton beach, you’ll find yourself in a rabbit warren of curio shops in the south laines. Here, boutiques and antiques meet. Further west there’s the North Laine area with a similar, but larger network of street cafes and entertainment venues.

Brighton has more pubs than you’ll ever visit, and bars frequented by the stars. Weekends in Brighton are never short of surprises; make the effort and leave the capital behind, pick up the latest information from a Brighton blog, but just make sure you leave enough time to get to the return train!

Guest post is by Mark Pawlak, editor at Travel-copywriting.com

Agatha Christie might famously have disappeared for 11 days in 1926, but there is no sign that the legacy she left to the world of literature is vanishing.

A newly-created walking trail in the beautiful South Oxfordshire town of Wallingford is one of many ways in which the memory of this fabulously creative and prolific novelist is still being kept alive.

The Dame Agatha Christie Trail is one of many walking routes that have recently been created by Wallingford Partnership Ltd. This five-mile circular trail will take you from Wallingford to Cholsey with plenty of key places linked to Britain’s most famous crime writer to be seen along the way.

Agatha moved to South Oxfordshire in 1934, living and working in the bustling market town of Wallingford until her death in 1976. Her Wallingford days were productive ones; she is the best-selling writer of books in history, with over four billion copies of her novels in circulation – only the Bible has more copies on shelves.

The walking trail begins in The Market Place by The Corn Exchange; home to the Sinodun Players, the theatre group of which Dame Agatha was president.

Crossing over the babbling Bradford’s Brook will take you to Winterbrook House. This is the place where Agatha lived happily with her beloved second husband Max Mallowan; you can’t miss it as a blue plaque adorns the house’s front wall!

Cholsey and St Mary’s Church lies at the end of the trail. If you’re looking for a grave with the name Agatha Christie on, you won’t find one. But there is a gravestone bearing the name Agatha Mallowan; its ornate design is a sign of the accomplishment of the lady it honours.

Why not round your walk off with some refreshments at The Red Lion; an archetypal English country pub where the locals still proudly talk about Wallingford’s most famous resident.

South Oxfordshire is 40 minutes from London and provides many of the locations for Midsomer, the fictional county shown in the famous Midsomer Murders TV show.

Find out more about South Oxfordshire

Thanks to our Guest Blogger James Christie of travel-copywriting.com

I’ve never been on a cruise before so my holiday this year would most definitely be a ‘first’.  Not a week on the ocean waves though, but a six-night cruise on a luxury hotel barge meandering through the locks of the River Thames starting at Hampton Court and finishing at the lovely town of Henley-on-Thames.  It’s a luxurious and leisurely means of transport which made me realise just how many lovely sights I miss when speeding along in a car.

From the minute my husband Chris and I stepped on board the lovely hotel barge ‘Magna Carta’ on Sunday afternoon, we immediately felt welcomed, with all the crew personally introducing themselves to us.  Along with our fellow passengers, we soon realised we only outnumbered by the crew by one – how’s that for personal service!

The hostesses showed us all to our beautifully appointed suites below deck and proceeded to explain the all important safety rules e.g. closing the portholes when the barge is cruising to avoid water coming into the cabin when using the locks!

We were then invited upstairs to the canopied sundeck where we were able to get to know the other passengers and crew, and enjoy the lovely canapes and champagne.

From then on, all week, you just enjoy the relaxing atmosphere on board, watching the world go by, join in the fascinating daily guided excursions to places like Windsor Castle, the Henley Rowing Museum and the Stanley Spencer art gallery. Or just simply take one of the on-board bikes and cycle down the well tended towpaths, meeting the barge further upstream and getting back on board to sample one of the scrumptious lunches they provide.

Dinner every evening is at around 7.30pm and it’s a veritable feast of delicious food and wine, including fantastic cheeses and locally sourced, very fresh ingredients. Our  chef  Steve was more than happy to cater for different palates – our fellow American passengers were both vegetarian and he did separate dishes at all the meals for them as well as catering for the carnivores on board! Steve also made us a white chocolate cheesecake for my birthday which was the best I have ever tasted!

The leisurely and convivial lunchtime and evening meals soon created a feeling of camaraderie between the passengers which for us, added to the enjoyment of the trip.

I also had a chance to see just how difficult and how much concentration it takes to get through the locks safely – I was allowed to steer the barge for a short time.  I then watched as Dominic expertly manoeuvred the barge into a lock – we likened it to fitting a cork into a bottle.

Saying goodbye to the lovely crew and passengers who had become your second family for 6 days was difficult but on the other hand, we have exchanged names and e-mail addresses and will be sharing our photos and memories very soon. I’m sure we will keep in touch.

Cathy Grant

Past Passenger

For more information about cruising the Thames aboard the Magna Carta, click here.

I have traveled back to London many, many times over the past 35 years since leaving my homeland, in the beginning I always stayed with my family,

and still do, but over the past ten years I have wanted to explore more of England’s beautiful countryside..

We wanted the opportunity to spend time in the seaside villages, but also enjoy the benefits and comforts of a family home, we settled on a cottage rental,and are we glad we did!

Our first experience was in a thatched cottage located in Burton Bradstock, a delightful coastal village in Dorset. The village had a small grocery store, a tea room, post office and two pubs, and the cottage was located across from the church. It was only a 10 minute stroll to the beach and far less than that to the store and the pubs. We had a wonderful time exploring Dorset and into Devon, the location was perfect, we ate dinners in the pub and cooked breakfast in a well equipped country kitchen. We were able to dry our clothes in the dryer after getting caught in a downpour of rain and had a place to store a few bottles of wine for quite evenings in the garden.

Since that cottage stay we have been back to that property, explored the Cotswolds from our base at another thatched cottage in Stow on the Wold, and are planning another for 2011 in Cornwall.

We were amazed at the cost of rentals, they are surprisingly affordable, and if you travel with another couple or family, the price is an absolute bargain.

For example, the cottage we are looking at booking in Cornwall next year is under $120 per night in the very height of the summer season, based on a 7 night stay, and drops to below $80 per night in May or September, that’s for the entire two bedroom house, with a spectacular view of the harbor, not per person!!

There are lots of similar cottages available on our site, some smaller for romantic getaways for two, and others much larger for multi family vacations or family reunions. Either way the pricing is affordable regardless of size, and the more people there are to share the cost the less expensive this option becomes, just rent a mini-van!

One word of warning, when selecting your cottage be sure the bathroom has a shower, as many only have  a bathtub, and be sure it’s not just a shower attachment, unless you enjoy standing in a bathtub that’s not enclosed, try not to spray the water all over the bathroom!

I can highly recommend the experience (not the shower attachment experience) to the return visitor to Britain or the first timers, see London of course, but if you have the time to spend a few days in rural England, or even in Wales or Scotland, you should do it!

Cheers,

Steve Langley

Our guest blogger this week is Neil Sankey, Sales Manager at Hard Days Night Hotel, Liverpool

       When I first came to Liverpool I was astonished at the amount to do, see and visit in this vibrant city. After 2 and half years of working here I’m honoured to be able to share with you some of my favourite places and hopefully give you a few reasons to love Liverpool.

 For a relatively small city, Liverpool is world famous for a very big band: The Beatles. You only have to wander the streets of Liverpool to realise that although no longer in the charts, the Fab Four are very much in the city’s hearts and minds. Our hotel, the Hard Days Night, is the world’s first and only Beatles-inspired hotel and houses some original memorabilia and artwork by internationally acclaimed Beatles artists including those by Shannon, Peter Blake, and Klaus Voorman. The hotel is also in a fantastic location, positioned right in the heart of the Beatles Quarter, which is home to the Cavern Club and Cavern Walks, a boutique shopping centre which has some great designer stores. The hotel is also only a stones throw away from the hub of the city’s action, Liverpool One, which has a cinema, restaurants and loads of high-street shops.

 Our in-house restaurant Blakes is a fantastic place to eat, having just received the title of best restaurant in the city centre by the Good Food Guide, however for truly magnificent views of the river Mersey, Liverpool Cathedral, the famous Liver Building and the rest of the city, try Panoramic restaurant on Brook Street. At 300ft above sea level it’s the UK’s highest restaurant and has just been awarded three Forks and Knives by the Michelin Guide.

 For a good spot to people watch, have a coffee or a cocktail, try the historical Albert Docks on the waterfront. Also home to the Tate Liverpool, the Maritime, and the Slavery museum, it’s a great place to catch up with the city’s art and culture offering.

And finally how can I forget the city’s world famous sporting pedigree? Liverpool and Everton football clubs are only a short distance away and are well worth a visit. At Anfield, Liverpool’s ground, there’s no feeling like it when the crowd sings ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’. It makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up!

Yes, Christmas is wonderful wherever you live, but in England it’s very special, I know I could be a little bias because my childhood was spent in England, and those memories are always with you at this time of year. But I really do believe there are few places better to spend the Christmas holidays, and here is why it’s so special.

Taking the time to enjoy it, in the US it’s one day of celebration on Christmas Day and back to work the next day, unless you are lucky enough to have some vacation days left in the year. In England the vast majority of workers begins their Christmas holiday a few days before Christmas and don’t return until after the New Year. And how can they do this, easy, a worker in the UK is “entitled to holiday from their first day of employment. The minimum statutory entitlement is 5.6 weeks annually effective 1 April 2009”, that’s a quote from a British government web site. On top of this, the day after Christmas is an official holiday, Boxing Day, a day that carries some terrific memories for me!

Food is very important and very traditional and there’s lots of it, Christmas Day is turkey and stuffing and all the trimming (similar to Thanksgiving ), desert is Christmas pudding, with either custard or the wonderful brandy butter, which is hugely fattening but fantastic, especially if my Aunt makes it, she has a heavy hand with the brandy! Then there is a Christmas cake, with lots of marzipan and icing. Throughout the holiday there are mince pies to be eaten, gammon (ham), large tins of chocolates, Turkish delight, nuts, dates, and the wonderful tradition of crackers that accompany Christmas dinner. Everyone at the dinner table has one, it’s basically a tube filled with a small gift, a riddle or joke (similar to a fortune cookie) and a paper hat, that is usually worn during the meal and well into the night. It’s called a cracker because you pull it with the person next to you and the gifts drop out to the sound of a crack. It should also me mentioned, there is also a rather large amount of alcohol consumed, starting at the local pub prior to dinner on Christmas Day, which is usually served about 3pm, and throughout the rest of the day.
Let’s talk more about the pub, this is a very important part of English life, I cannot emphasis it’s importance year-round and a particularly wonderful place at Christmas. Unlike a bar in the US, a pub is a place where friends and the entire family can gather, particularly at his time of year. The pub, wherever you are, will have a Christmas tree, well decorated, and possibly a wood burning fire in the hearth and a warm and friendly atmosphere. There is nothing to compare to this in the US.

The Christmas lights and decorated homes are very similar to the US, most people participate but not all, in London, Regent Street is famous for its light display.
A tradition not found in the US, and primarily for children, is called pantomimes, well known actors or personalities play comedy roles in shows like Peter Pan, Cinderella and many other children’s stories, that involve lots of audience participation, a little corny but very popular with the kids, and a number of parents!

What else should you expect, Dickens characters strolling through the streets singing carols, eating chestnuts roasting on an open fire, you just have to walk across Westminster Bridge for that, fun office parties being celebrated across the country, especially pubs, it’s a special time.

There are many different local traditions and foods served across the UK, the experiences I have shared with you are those I enjoyed growing up and still enjoy as a part of my families traditions when I am able to travel home, but anywhere you visit across the UK you will have fun and enjoy a special Christmas.

Merry Christmas Everyone!