England

Birmingham Is Hobbit-Forming: Exploring The City’s Links With J.R.R. Tolkien

by admin on March 11, 2013

One would think, judging by the hyperbole and publicity surrounding native-Kiwi director Peter Jackson’s hugely successful film adaptations of Tolkien’s masterpieces Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, that the author’s only possible inspiration for The Shire, and Middle Earth in general must be the majestic mountains, forests and plains of New Zealand. Not so. [click to continue…]

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One For The Road? Historic London Pubs

The London pub is a great tradition and one that has been established for many centuries. From old ale houses through to the modern day bar-pub hybrids with wasabi nuts on tap and a range of boutique beers, drinking holes in the Capital have seen the city through some of the best of times and [...]

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Weird Names of London

I used to walk through Little Britain every day on my way to work. Nothing at all to do with Matt Lucas, David Walliams and the hit TV show – its name reflects the fact that once upon a time the Duke of Brittany had his quarters here. It lies between Smithfield and the City; [...]

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A Trip to Smithfield Market

Sometimes I end up catching an early train that gets into London at a ridiculous hour of the morning – five or six o’clock, too early for anything to be open except the greasy spoon cafes and a couple of hard-working investment banks.

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Street Art Highlights in Bristol

Whilst you might have been under the impression that street art first saw the light of day in the cultural hub that is London, this form of urban creativity has actually been nurtured and developed in many cities across the UK.

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How to Travel around England during the London 2012 Olympics

With the eyes of the international sporting community turning towards the UK in a few weeks, excitement is building at the prospect of perhaps the most prestigious sporting event in the calendar will kick into action after years of planning. Now of course the Olympics will mean a lot of different things to different people, [...]

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Off Beat Sports Events in London This Summer

There’s really no escaping it, if you live in London (or didn’t research your travel plans properly and happen to be visiting between 27 July and 12 August 2012!) the Olympic games are going to dominate everything this summer, both in London and further afield.

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The Best Walks in Northern England

The North of England has some of the most serene and scenic landscapes in the country and boasts some of the most famous Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Most of the rural North was bypassed during the industrial revolution and mass urban migration lead to the countryside being left open for Mother Nature to [...]

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Soak Away Your Cares in Bath’s Roman Spas

It’s the only city in Britain with natural hot springs, and like any city with an important geological phenomenon it was shaped around this unique feature – which also apparently has healing properties. Legend has it that the city was founded on the hot springs in 836BC when Bladud, the 9th King of the Britons, [...]

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A Guide to Five of London’s Most Iconic Buildings

The architecture of London forms a fascinating patchwork. Central London is not a planned city, like New York or Paris. In London, each successive generation builds something new that adds to the city’s patchwork. The following is a survey of five of London’s most iconic buildings. Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace is the official London residence [...]

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Five Best Places to Enjoy a Roast in London

When you’re looking for a great place to enjoy a roast dinner in London, there are a number of inviting locations that can provide you a fantastic meal. Roast is one of the United Kingdom’s traditional Sunday meals, dating back to the medieval ages when loyal serfs would be rewarded with a side of oxen [...]

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Top 10 Mountain Biking Locations in the UK

Mountain biking is currently the most popular type of cycling in the UK, with MTB sales outnumbering all other bicycle types combined. In recent years, a number of purpose built trail centres have been built featuring cycle routes crossing a variety of terrain, from downhill race tracks and cross-country courses to jump parks and free-ride [...]

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Who Lives in a Street Like This? Britain’s Most Expensive Postcodes

When it comes to the most expensive postcodes in Britain, statistics seem to overlook at least one. Estimates by the internet property experts ‘Zoopla’ place the average property price in SW1A 1AA at around the £935 million mark. Perhaps it’s because the postcode only contains one property and that dwelling isn’t owner occupied but is, [...]

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