UK’s Lesser Known Tourist Attractions

Most of you know that I’m Canadian.  Contrary to popular belief Maple Syrup doesn’t flow through our veins nor are we born with skis strapped to our feet.  I can ski although not brilliantly and I’ve never needed the services of Mountain Rescue.

I grew up 45 minutes away from Sun Peaks ski resort which is currently being developed in conjunction with Nancy Green of Olympic Gold Medal Fame.  When I was growing up it was called Todd Mountain, but apparently Tod means death in German, so to attract more tourists they changed it.

So, I have to admit when I first moved to the UK and came across a dry ski slope I fell about laughing.  Who in their right mind would make a ski hill out of washing up brushes?  Let me think about it, white fluffy powdery snow…..abrasive material used to scour pans.  There doesn’t seem to be any logic in it.

When my family comes to visit, I always take them to the main UK attractions like the Changing of the Guard, the London Eye, Stratford upon Avon, etc but I always have to take them to see the local dry slope and of course we go via the Magic Roundabout in Hemel!  They always have the same reaction as me and jump out to take a photo in disbelief.

We’re hoping to go on our first skiing holiday in February so I’m really looking forward to Madame’s first ski lesson, at the Hemel Snow Centre.  Apparently, they have real snow…

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Giant Monopoly St Albans 2010

On Sunday, St. Albans was turned into a Giant Monopoly Board.  It was the brainchild of the Arts, Sports & Health Team.  The whole idea was to get people exercising whilst taking in some of the local sites.  There were 3 routes to choose from with a number of checkpoints along the way.  We chose the shortest, the yellow route which was 2.5 miles as we had toddlers with us.

We did it with @annieqpr and family, as we are both incredibly competitive we thought it safer to team up than to compete.  Our first stop was Crazy Golf in Verulam Park.  On the way we accosted Mr. Monopoly for our Chance Cards.  Then we were off to the Verulam Museum for a quiz.  Dads and kids strolled around the museum taking in the history while Annie and I ran around like loons, ignoring everything except answers to the quiz.  Next stop was perfect for Annie’s family, Watford FC Speed check, you had to kick a ball into the net and it measure the speed.  Then we wandered back through the park for some duck races.

Unfortunately, we didn’t calculate in the proximity of two pubs to the route so we never managed to finish the course, which meant we didn’t get to collect our Chance prizes, nor did we get to see the St. Albans Jail, which is something we all wanted to see.  Oh well, there is always next year!  Oh and FREE parking in St. Albans…now that is funny!

London Sky Ride 2010

So glad I did it, but not sure I would do it again next year. We set off at about half 9 this morning. Unfortunately, we didn’t take into consideration engineering works on the rail lines so we had to cycle from St. Pancras to the start of the route. But in my true fashion, I chatted up the nearest cycling savvy guy I could find and he escorted us to the start of the London Sky Ride.

Overall, it was fab. We got to sail by a lot of London’s great landmarks; St. Pauls, Millennium Bridge, Big Ben, Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. We also managed to wangle a full English breakfast at the Embankment café. Unfortunately, as time went on it got a bit busy so we high tailed it out of there! I was shitting myself but we cycled up Charing Cross Road and then along Euston Rd. Honestly, it was a piece of piss. Now, I’m tempted to pop into London with our bikes again. A great way to see the city!

Yes, that upright Piano was a bicyle!!!

No Running Please!

Whoops!

We went to Bekonscot Model Railway Village this morning in Beaconsfield, Bucks.  It’s a bit expensive as we could only stay for half a day (£8.50 per adult and £5 for children over 2).  But if you went for a whole day and took a picnic it would be worth it.  However, you can get a voucher from Lets Go with the Children that will get one child in for free for every paying adult.  I had troubles printing the voucher but just printed the website and it was fine.  As you can see by the slideshow below Madame really enjoyed it and so did her dad!

Family Holiday, Bude, Cornwall April 2010

We’ve just returned from a short break to Bude, Cornwall.  We were absolutely blessed with the weather and I can’t recommend the place we stayed at enough.  Just for the record I do not get any kick backs of any type for recommending this place.  We stayed at the Atlantic Cottages on the West Grove Farm just on the outskirts of Bude.  I originally found it on Friendly Baby Boltholes but I was a bit cheeky and went direct in the end.

To be honest it cost a wee bit more than what we budgeted for but was worth every penny.  We were only going to go for 3 days but husband managed to negotiate a great deal for two extra nights (£20).  Prior to arrival the communication was excellent.  We received a very warm welcome from Verity and her family.  The cottages are gorgeous and kitted out to a very high standard; flat screen TVs, microwave, dishwasher, washing machine, TUMBLE Dryer and a wireless connection but I didn’t dare bring my laptop or I would’ve ended up in divorce court.

Bude itself is not spectacular but the beaches are.  You’re minutes away from Summerleaze, Crooklet, Northcott Mouth, Sandy Mouth, Widemouth and Crackington Haven beaches. The only downside is that we had to drive to the beaches but it really wasn’t a problem.  The bonus was being able to return to the farm after a day out and our 2 year old could run wild.  As it is a working farm there were loads of animals to chase around (dogs, cats, pigs, sheep, hens, geese and goats) and children are also invited to help at feeding times. The highlight of my daughter’s holiday was Tess the farm dog!

As the weather was so nice we really didn’t need more than the beaches but we did go on a couple of small excursions.

Boscastle

A stunning little port with a natural harbour. Make sure you go first thing in the morning or parking is a problem.  If you arrive early like we did you can always get a full English breakfast at the B and B on the corner.

Port Isaac

As we are fans of Doc Martin we had to make the short trip to Port Isaac to see the doctor’s surgery.  The scenery was stunning but the public car park sticks in my mind.  It wasn’t a problem if you remembered to move your car when the tide came in at 3pm!

Morewenstow

A gorgeous little hamlet with a church, tea room and a pub.  From the church you can walk a short way to the cliffs edge and see ‘Hawkers Hut’ the National Trusts smallest building.  It is tucked in the cliff edge and isn’t for the faint hearted.  I’m terrified of heights and nearly had kittens walking down to it.

Make sure you stop at the Bush Inn, a 13th Century Freehouse with stunning surroundings and good beer and food.

We had an absolutely amazing time and would definitely recommend a visit to the area.  There are so many things that we didn’t manage to see so we will have to go back!