Edinburgh

Edinburgh is well worth a visit if you get a chance, made more attractive by the fact that there are some bargain flights to be had from other UK airports.
Edinburgh is a lively city with it's fair share of entertainment and sights of all types. There is Holyrood house (Edinburgh residence of HM the Queen) bang right next-door to the Scottish parliament buildings. Close by, just a few minutes walk outside the city, you can go walking over Arthur's seat, a surprisingly wild landscape set only about a mile from the very centre of the city.
Scotland's first city is brim full of culture with museums, a castle, galleries and fascinating architecture.
You are guaranteed an excellent stay in Edinburgh as the city is cosmopolitan and really geared up for visitors, and ideal destination for a short break.

Tenby

One of my favourite Welsh haunts is Tenby and it's surrounding area. There is so much to do, it makes for a perfect family holiday - even if you don't get beach weather every day. Tenby itself has plenty of facilities for the traveller and plenty of room on it's beaches. There is an array of places to eat with fresh fish being the speciality along with a variety of Welsh lamb dishes.
Venture into the surrounding countryside for attractions such as Folly Farm (for the kids), Pembertons Chocolate Farm (for yourself), there are castles, gardens and outdoor pursuits of all kinds within easy reach of Tenby. The rest of the Pembroke coast offers alternative beaches if Tenby gets too busy. A relaxing time can also be had on Caldey Island, boats run from Tenby beach at regular intervals (£10 per head for adults) over to the Island populated by monks.
There are a lot of caravan parks around this area mostly populated with fixed site caravans, many of which are available for hire. Holiday lets in cottages and flats around the region are also widely available. If you are anywhere near the 'M4 corridor' travelling to Pembroke is a cinch as long as you are aware that there is a short stretch of the M4 through Swansea limited to 50mph.

Container Hotel

In these days of carbon footprints and recycled everything, it should be no surprise to find people building hotels out of old containers... This is not just a quirky one-off, as major UK hotel chain Travel lodge are pioneering this with a hotel in Uxbridge - I really want to find an excuse to go and stay there!!
For some time, Travel lodge have been investigating and developing the idea of sleeping pods (this from the company who actually have a Director of Sleep - a job for which I fear I may be over-qualified!)
Obviously this type of accommodation is aimed at the more utilitarian travel for business rather than family holidays, but as this type of travel forms a major chunk of UK hotel revenue - it's an avenue worth pursuing from a commercial angle. It is this type of progress that may end up saving the planet, a 'green' idea that is commercially viable.. Ultimately green taxes do nothing to make any type of significant difference, practical recycling for a profit makes much more sense.

1p Flights...

Well, I set out to blog about holiday destinations primarily and cheap flights and travel advice as a kind of secondary topic. Today, I bring you... flights for one penny!! Yes you read it right.
The flights are from Ryan Air and advertised as free, the fact is that you will pay one penny each way, and you could reclaim that penny, but it would cost money to do it...so...don't bother!
As you might expect, there are restrictions such as no stowed luggage, payment by Visa Electron and you must book by tomorrow - but you knew it wouldn't be easy, and as an ardent bargain hunter you won't be dissuaded by such trivial hurdles to overcome.
I was pointed in the direction of these bargains, by the money-master Martin Lewis at MoneysavingExpert.com - read the article here...

This is the short form of what is on offer according to Martin and his researchers:

B’rmgham, B’rnemouth, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow (Preswick), Liverpool, Luton & Manchester departures:

• Book before Thurs 29 May. Flights must be at least 14 days ahead.


• Journeys must take place between 07 Jun - 31 Oct '08: For Mon-Thurs & Sat flights, excluding July and Aug when only Tues & Weds flights are applicable. All school breaks and major sporting event periods are excluded too.


• Destinations include: Billund, Bremen, Brest Brittany, Dinard, Dusseldorf (Weeze), Marseille Provence, Milan, Oslo (Torp), Pau (Pyrenees), Poitiers, Stockholm (Skavsta), and Trieste.
  
  

London Stansted departures:

• Book before Thurs 29 May. Flights must be at least 7 days ahead.


• Journeys must take place between 01 June - 30 June '08: Applicable for Mon-Thurs flights, but some selected routes outside of this may be included too. All school breaks and major sporting event periods are excluded too.


• Destinations include: Aarhus, Altenburg (Leipzig), Bremen, Dusseldorf (Weeze), Eindhoven, Frankfurt (Hahn), Hamburg (Lubeck), Karlsruhe-Baden, Oslo (Torp), Rimini, and Valladolid.

Local Knowledge

There is nothing like local knowledge to help you get the most out of your holiday and there are plenty of guide books and guide web sites that can help you... One such has been compiled by a friend of mine. The site is entitled Colins Wales and covers every inch of the South Wales coast line featuring all beaches and local attractions. Each page imparts knowledge about the locality that will help you to know what to expect, or whether it is the sort of place you want to visit.
The content of this site has been built up over years of travelling throughout the area on a daily basis and forms a valuable resource for anyone visiting South Wales. There is no commercial side to this website and that makes it all the more appealing, it's just honest opinion and information to help the prospective traveller.
Guide books are an excellent way to form a plan of how you will spend your holiday, but with the world wide web at our fingertips chock full of free information, it's beginning to be difficult to justify the costs of a decent guide book.

Airline Route Maps

I was recently offered the chance to stay in France with friends in a 'Gite' for a week, it just remained for me to find cheap flights for the family... easier said than done... A few years ago, cheap flights were available for all sorts of destinations (I flew to Edinburgh for £1 once), but the cheap flights have got a little more expensive and a little more difficult to find. If you know your destination, then you need to find out which airlines fly to the nearest airport(s), and which airports you can fly from.
You can do this by trawling the internet for flight details from each airport, or recently I have discovered the Budget Airline Route Map. This site has a fantastic European Map with all destination airports marked as red dots, hover over a destination and the airports that fly to this destination show up as yellow... This is a great way of quickly working out the most efficient route to take, you could even work out inter-connecting routes very quickly with this system.
Clicking on an airport takes you to a page dedicated to that specific airport, giving links to the companies that fly there, and a list of the airports you can fly from.
Next time I need to plan a European holiday, I will start with the Low Cost Airline Guide...

Visiting London

Probably more than 90% of people that visit mainland UK will come to London at some point. London has a magic that goes beyond the fact that it is simply our capital city, it is considered a centre for all sorts of things including fashion, retail, food and tourism.

London has the sights that visitors really want to see, not least of which is Buckingham Palace which has a constant stream of visitors peering through the railings. The Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square and more recently the London Eye have been on the 'most visited' list along with various museums and galleries.

There are however, plenty of drawbacks, not least of which is the expense of staying there. London is the single most expensive place to buy or rent a property in the UK, has the most expensive shops and the most expensive restaurants and hotels. You will pay a lot more in London for almost anything that you care to mention. London is also the most congested and populated city in the UK and probably one of the most congested in Europe. If you plan to travel to London, I would recommend using public transport/tube trains and taxis for getting around, only picking up a hire car if you plan to drive outside the confines of the city.
None of the drawbacks should put you off visiting, it is worth the hassle just to be in London and savour the spirit of the place.

Polzeath - Cornwall

Tucked away in a quiet corner of Cornwalls coastline is Polzeath, this may not be Hawaii, but it is very popular with British wanna-be surfers. This hideaway offers plenty of Beach space, fine scenery and great walks over the rugged landscape. A large campsite a short walk from the beach can cater for all your needs for a cheap weekend of sand and surf (sun not guaranteed, but likely at least...). In high season, surfing equipment can be hired on the beach including surfboards, body-boards and wetsuits.Visitors are well-catered for, there are plenty of guest-houses, restaurants and watering-holes for those who have come to truly relax in magical Cornwall. Short trips up or down the coast will provide plenty of interest when the beaches do not attract.

Stratford-upon-Avon

A magnet for tourists to the UK from all over the world, Stratford is all that it promises and more... Whether you are just there for a day trip, or if you have tickets to the theatre, Stratford is well-equipped for your needs. It boasts historic buildings in a genteel setting, the river offering the chance to dip an oar into the Avon, and of course a busy program of productions at the three theatres of the Royal Shakespeare Company (Two of which I have experienced first hand).
Stratford manages to be a modern town, a living museum, a popular resort and a centre for the arts all at the same time. One word of warning though, there are those who see the unsuspecting tourist as rich pickings... keep a firm hold on your wallet and do NOT leave valuables in your hotel room.
There is always something going on at Stratford, so do a little research first and book tickets if you want to see a production. There is a fourth outdoor RSC venue in the Summer months, and there are countless festivals and fairs taking place during the tourist season.

The Norfolk Broads

The first ever holiday that I had with friends rather than with family was on the Norfolk Broads. the Broads are a network of waterways interlinking over a large area allowing holiday-makers to meander around back-waters making their route up as they go along. You hire your vessel with as many berths as you require, and after a rudimentary health and safety talk, you are on your way to a very relaxing vacation. Health and safety on the waterways is not to be taken lightly and there are codes of conduct regarding speed and giving way to sailing boats that should be carefully observed.
There are plenty of 'watering holes' along the way to keep you happy as you wind your way around the broads taking in the sights. Anything from cosy little inns to winebars in the more 'sophisticated' moorings.... I found this holiday to be immensely enjoyable and an adventure that I would happily recommend to anyone other than those with small children...
You can spend your time, with a good book, sampling the local alcohol, diving into the water from your boat or just tacking from town to town and walking around the streets. You can even combine the break with a seaside holiday at Lowestoft.
If you're feeling brave, you could hire a sailing boat, but a motorised vessel was the rig for us... particularly as we didn't want to end up getting as close as these two sailing chums did...