If your trip to England takes you thru Cheshire (Liverpool/Manchester area), you might want to visit Beeston Castle. Situated on a rocky volcanic outcrop high above the surrounding fields, Beeston Castle offers some of the finest views in the region.
Stone circles, crop circles, mysterious mounds, underground tombs, rolling hills, golden fields of grain. Avebury in Wiltshire is a wonderful place to visit and explore ancient ruins and modern fables. New agers, neo-druids, UFO chasers, and curious tourists by the thousands visit this legendary town in search of enlightenment, aliens, the answers to riddles or just a few good photos of all this weirdness to show the folks back home.
Brighton is only a 50 minute train ride from London, and it can be a wonderful escape from the crowded noisy city, especially on a hot summer day. I visited in Brighton in July when London was roasting in heat and humidity. The express train, full of families with the same idea as mine, only stopped once at East Croyden, then sped down to Brighton. A few miles before the town, it clouded up, and thus what was to be a sunny warm day, turned into a cool, windy one, but refreshing nevertheless.
If you’re looking for fun in London, get down to Covent Garden, the center of London’s theater and entertainment district. There’s lots of trendy alternative shops, markets, music, and restaurants in this area to explore. Much of the area is closed to traffic, so walking around is easy. Window shopping is choice in this district with many specialty shops selling things like rare books, art, shoes, and the latest fashions. Just wander around the maze of short streets. Don’t miss Neal Street and James Street, as these are the alternative places to shop. James Street will take you right to the Covent Garden Market.
No visit would be complete without doing a little shopping in the Covent Garden Market. I found a good selection of typical tourist items like clothing, UK specialty items and knicknacks, all at very good prices. Unfortunately some of the stores in the market can now be found in any mall, ruining the uniqueness of this place.
But still it’s a wonderful place to hangout on a nice day. In summer there’s live entertainment including music, magic, juggling or performance art. Now every month, on the second Friday, there’s a fresh produce market specializing in seasonal and organic produce!
The theater is alive and kicking in London these days. Major productions, including Phantom of the Opera, Bombay Dreams, Les Miserables and many others are still drawing huge audiences.
London’s Theater district surrounds the Covent Garden area, extending to Piccadilly Circus and down to Trafalgar Square. In addition to almost 50 stages, this area is also home to many other types of entertainment including movie theaters and live music venues.
If you visit the area during the day, you’ll see many ticket agents offering reduced prices, as much as 50% off, for that evening’s performances. When I was there one summer day, you could buy discounted tickets for about half the shows in London. Pick up the London Theatre Guide for a list of all the major productions around town.
Check the theater listings on this site for more info on theaters and plays!
If you need to change your currency for English Pounds, beware that rip-offs abound. Most currency changing places and banks either charge large commissions or a “handling” charge, in addition to giving you a lousy exchange rate too. I cashed a traveler’s check for US$100 and ended up paying a 7½% fee for the exchange, in addition to an exchange rate that was about 4% over the interbank rate. I ended up with £57 for that $100. That’s at least £5 less than I would’ve got using an ATM.
If you plan on using cash, which is inevitable in certain situations, I suggest you withdraw funds from your home bank at ATM machines. You won’t be charged an extra fee, just what your bank usually charges. Although now it seems you won’t get the best exchange rate like you used to get. Credit cards likewise are a good deal since you’ll only lose 1-2% on the exchange.
Euros are being accepted in more and more places, but again, be careful because you’re still likely to pay more than using pounds. Until the UK decides to embrace the Euro (they’re pretty split on it right now), you’ll still have to pay to play the currency exchange game.
Also you need to learn the coinage in the UK, since the size of the various denominations isn’t in keeping with most countries’ standards. That is some coins are larger than you would expect, like the 10 pence, which is very large for its value. So examine the coins carefully to become familiar with them, so they don’t slow you down when you’re in a hurry.
London’s famed Underground, the oldest subway in the world, opened in 1863. Also referred to as “The Tube”, the Underground is one of the best ways to get around London quickly and cheaply. If you’re planning to visit a number of attractions in one day, the best way to go is to get a Travelcard for the day which allows unlimited travel through all four city zones for only £5, for the day.
It’s also valid on buses, trams and the rail service to the suburbs. This can be a good bargain if your travel takes you to the outskirts of the city where it can cost £1.90 for a one-way. It also saves you from having to queue up for tickets over and over.
There are maps at every station and in every subway car. The biggest hassle with using the big Underground maps is locating your present position, as this never seems to be clearly marked. A good street map is also essential to find the best route to your destinations.
The Underground now handles over one billion trips each year. That’s over three million journeys each day stopping at 275 stations stretched over 408km. Yet despite its size, it runs fairly smoothly, and isn’t full of grafitti and trash like other subways.
The Underground has no air conditioning, so it can be sweltering on warm summer days, especially during rush hour, when little air seems to circuluate in the packed cars. Improvements to the fan systems on the older lines are slow in coming.
Always watch your belongings and valuables in public transport. While theft is not as bad as in other cities (like the Paris Metro), you should still be careful in crowds.
Don’t forget to “Mind the Gap!”. That simply means watch your step getting on and off public transport as the gap between the doorway and the platform can be larger that expected.
For maps and more info check out the Underground’s website: https://tfl.gov.uk/
A new report by Intraval, a research bureau, counts 805 licensed coffee shops in Holland in 2001. This is a reduction of 1% from 813 in 2000. At least one hundred coffeeshops were closed in the past few years as the government sought to reduce the number, and remove the criminal elements from the business.
The new government while not keen on the coffeeshop business isn’t about to close down the remaining very profitable businesses that employ thousands and generate a lot of tax revenue. In addition, cannabis tourism generates a steady income stream for all the other Horeca businesses like hotels and restaurants.
Few if any new coffeeshop licenses are being granted anymore. When tenants leave, existing licenses stay with the building, making it likely they will continue in business as a coffeeshop, unless the government finds a good reason to revoke the license.
No figure was given for unlicensed coffeeshops, of which there are many. Unlicensed coffeeshops are usually in squats or private homes. These are at constant risk of closure should they be discovered.
So enjoy the freedom to skin-up/light-up in public coffeeshops while you still can.
Meanwhile the Dutch really need to address the issue of the backdoor supply of cannabis, because too many growers are still being busted for providing this most important product to the Horeca trade. This is a completely unfair system and leads to corruption of public officials, some of whom can easily profit from a bust.
I believe the best system is to let people grow their own (as many plants as they like!). A plant is not a crime!
The British Museum is famous for it’s excellent collection of ancient artifacts from the great civilizations of Egypt, Rome and Greece. A recent remodeling of the Great Court with a glass roof has turned the museum into an entrancing blend of architectural styles old and new. Like all the public museums in Britain, this one is free to enter.
Before the Dutch started their own homegrown cannabis industry, most marijuana and hashish was imported from various third-world sources. Many growers in these very poor countries can’t even afford fertilizer, and unless they have some livestock around to generate some, the cannabis is grown without any enhancements. Therefore, in the early days of coffeeshops, most of the marijuana was grown organically without chemicals.
With the advent of Dutch marijuana horticulture, the game changed. Now it was possible to control not just the genetics of cannabis, but the way it is grown to maximize such important things as yield, pest-resistance, and potency. Unfortunately the short growing season, lack of direct sunshine, cool temperatures and mold convinced the Dutch it would be smarter to grow indoors or in huge greenhouses.