Archive for June, 2008
Legoland Windsor - London’s best theme park for young families
Of all the theme parks near London, Legoland Windsor is definitely the best choice for young families. The park is designed for children from 3 to 12, although accompanying adults and slightly older kids should find the place quite entertaining as well. There are over 50 rides as well as live shows, workshops, and other attractions aimed squarely at younger children, and especially those who are already fond of the iconic building-block toys.
Legoland Windsor was the second out of the four existing Lego parks, with the first and largest being in Billund, Denmark, and the two more recent additions being near San Diego, California, USA, and in Günzburg, Germany. Of course, the general theme of the whole place is the Lego toys that we all grew up with, and everything possible is meant to look like it was built from the tiny blocks.
Attractions in Legoland Windsor
As is typical of theme parks in general, Legoland Windsor has various areas within its borders that each have their own theme around which all the rides and decorations are based. Some of the more notable areas in Legoland include:
Date: June 26th, 2008 |
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Chessington World of Adventures - A great theme park for families
Of all the theme parks near London, Chessington World of Adventure is probably the best choice for families with a wide age range among their children. Thorpe Park is probably a better choice for teens, as it has a huge selection of thrill rides and not much else, and Legoland might be a good choice for families with only younger children. Chessington mixes these worlds together with a nice selection of rides and attractions suited for different age ranges.
The attractions at Chessington
Chessington World of Adventures has dozens of rides mixed in among 9 different theme areas that range from Beanoland to Mexicana to Mystic East to Transylvania. These include large and modern roller coasters as well as shows and other attractions well suited for younger children. They have a nice list of all of them, including height restrictions, on the official Chessington website.
Date: June 20th, 2008 |
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Thorpe Park – The London area’s best thrill rides
Those looking for a proper theme park near London filled with thrill rides should look no further than Thorpe Park. Located about 20 miles southwest of the city center, and only a few miles south of Heathrow Airport, this is by far the easiest to reach amusement park for roller coaster junkies passing through London.
Opened on the site of a former concrete quarry in 1979, the 500-acre Thorpe Park has continued to add new rides every year as its gained in popularity. It was purchased by The Tussauds Group in 1998, which was purchased by Merlin Entertainment in 2007, so now it’s part of the world’s second largest entertainment group (after Disney), and also part of the same family that includes the London Eye, Alton Towers, and the Chessington World of Adventures, as well as the Madame Tussauds wax museums, of course.
The rides
Thorpe Park contains dozens of water rides and roller coasters, each within one of the special theme areas contained within the park. These are big and world-class thrill rides, and the names of some of the more popular ones will tell you most of what you need to know including: Stealth, Nemesis Inferno, Colossus, Tidal Wave, Rush, Samurai, Vortex, Slammer, Detonator, and X:\ No Way Out.
Date: June 15th, 2008 |
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O’Callaghan’s Backpackers hostel - Trekker’s Hostel Highlights
If you are looking for a small and quirky place to stay just keep a look out for the yellow door to find O’Callaghans. With only 30 beds it also has the honor of being the oldest of all the hostels in London. Opened in the 1940’s, this little place has a lot of personality, from the free pint or shot when you check-in to the fact that everyone is in such close quarters you can’t help but become family.
Located in very close to the Earl’s Court Station, the neighborhood offers a wide variety of stores, pubs and restaurants. Be aware that O’Callaghans has an age limit of between 18 – 30, but if you are just over be sure to give them a ring.
Date: June 10th, 2008 |
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Meininger Hostel - Trekker’s Hostel Highlights
Situated in Central London across the street from the Natural History Museum and within skipping distance of Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park, the Meininger Hostel is housed in the Lord Baden Powell Scout Headquarters. This impressive London hostel has en-suite rooms, all with kettle, TV, towels and even a small bag of gummi worms on each bed.
As far as a vibe goes, the Meininger is a bit sterile, with everything being very crisp, clean and white. This can be good or bad depending on what you are looking for in a hostel, and there is a huge deck perfect for BBQ’s on a summer day and the vibe could change to that of a party feel if you have a good bunch. With 260 beds and rooms with up to 12 beds, it is an ideal hostel for groups. A big perk are the £7 dorm rooms with shared bathrooms on the 6th floor, an excellent price for such a prime location, especially when you are traveling on the cheap. Add to that free internet and Wi-Fi, all you can eat breakfast buffet and friendly helpful staff, and you have a great place to stay.
Date: June 3rd, 2008 |
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Narrowboats in London: A different kind of holiday
By guest writer Sara Rossini
London: Pubs. Locals. Wine. Cards. Sheep? Most travelers experience London by staying in hostels, fighting the crowds at the Tower of London and drinking outrageously expensive beers – I spent a week outside London living on a narrowboat.
What is a narrowboat, exactly you ask? A modern narrowboat is a narrow (typically 7 feet wide) version of a houseboat made to fit the narrow canals of England and Wales. You can rent a narrowboat, just as you would a houseboat, and personally pilot your way through the many canals in the London area. You can choose to stay closer to the heart of the capital, or you can choose one of the many other distinct starting points in England. Similar to a houseboat, you can moor at one spot for the entire trip, or you can cruise down the English waterways exploring the picturesque countryside and discovering a new location daily. Narrowboat holidays on the canals make for an interesting and unique experience.
England has an extensive canal network, which connects to London’s River Thames providing an easy (although, not obvious) way to spend time soaking up the sights of London while enjoying a unique experience in the peaceful countryside. The most challenging part of each day is picking an activity: from day trips into London Proper, Warwick Castle or perhaps a quiet walk through the canal villages. Depending on the length of trip, travel ambitions, and starting location, the options are limitless of daily activities made available with England’s extensive public transportation.
Date: June 24th, 2008 |
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YHA Holland Park Hostel - Trekker’s Hostel Highlights
School groups, scout groups, large groups, small groups, if you are a group looking for a hostel in London then the YHA Holland Park is perfect. Situated in the middle of Holland Park in Central London and occupying a historic mansion built in 1607, the YHA has been here for the past 50 years.
Offering a classroom, meeting rooms, lounge, TV room, library, a restaurant, free breakfast, dorm rooms for the kids and private rooms for the chaperones, this hostel is an ideal solution to your group booking problem. Holland Park YHA has over 200 beds, which include dorm rooms of 12 and up to 20 beds and is separated into a male, female and mixed section. The stunning gardens within the hostel grounds are only envied by Holland Park itself which creates a damper to any street noise.
Date: June 18th, 2008 |
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Diaspora London Music Village 2008
The dates for the 24th annual Diaspora London Music Village Festival have been announced, and the official lineup for this popular event will be released on June 23, so we’ll update you in this space.
The 2008 dates for this free festival in Hyde Park are Saturday July 12 and Sunday July 13, running from 1pm to 9pm each day. There will be 20 (as yet unnamed) acts over the two days, participating in music, dance, and spoken word performances. The acts are all London-based and from the Diaspora community, which basically means ethnic immigrants in any given place, and in this case, London.
Organizers promise the lineup will include African, Latin, Jewish, Asian, Kurdish, East European and Chinese performance styles, which will reflect London’s amazing immigrant community that is both celebrated and controversial at the same time (although not necessarily by the same people).
Date: June 13th, 2008 |
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Cheap bus trips from London featured on new travel deals site
A new site called Cheaptravelscout.com has recently launched as part of this same network of travel sites, and they recently featured an interesting deal for cheap bus tickets from a new company that serves both the United States and the United Kingdom. You can check out the post on the Megabus company, and you might also want to sign up for the RSS feed for Cheaptravelscout.com itself.
The new site features a flood of travel deals from all over the internet collected in one place, so it’s a pretty good spot for anyone looking for ideas for …
Date: June 4th, 2008 |
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