Frommer's Britain For Free

267 Pages·2010·2.78 MB·English

by  Ben Hatch

BRITAIN FOR
FREE
GREAT DAYS OUT
THAT WON’T
BREAK THE
BANK
BEN AND DINAH HATCH
Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester,
West Sussex PO19 8SQ, England
Telephone [phone]
Email (for orders and customer service enquiries): [email protected]. Visit our
Home Page on www.wiley.com.
All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except under the terms of the Copy-
right, Designs and Patents Act 1988 or under the terms of a licence issued by the
Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, Saffron House, 6-10 Kirby Street, London EC1N
8TS, UK, without the permission in writing of the Publisher. Requests to the Publisher
should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The
Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex PO19 8SQ, England, or emailed to
[email protected], or faxed to ([phone].
Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trade-
marks. All brand names and product names used in this book are trade names, service
marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. The Publisher is
not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in
regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold on the understanding that the Publisher
is not engaged in rendering professional services. If professional advice or other expert
assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought.
UK Publisher: Sally Smith
Executive Project Editor: Daniel Mersey
Commissioning Editor: Mark Henshall
Development Editor: Sasha Heseltine
Project Editor: Hannah Clement
Photo Research: Jill Emeny
Cartography: Jeremy Norton
Photos: front cover © Britain on View/Photolibrary; back cover © age footstock/
Photolibrary; p. viii © Ronald Weir/TTL; p. 4 © Alan Copson/TTL; p. 58 © Paul
Mattock/Fotolibra; p. 88 © Destination Bristol; p. 122 © Mark Burrows/Shutterstock;
p. 146 © David Jones/Alamy; p. 166 © Paul Reid/Shutterstock; p. 186 © Darryl
Sleath / Shutterstock; p. 210 © David Gowans/Alamy
Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that
appears in print may not be available in electronic books.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978-0-470-68841-0 (pbk), ISBN: 978-0-470-66739-2 (ebk)
Typeset by Wiley Indianapolis Composition Services
Printed and bound in Great Britain by TJ International Ltd
5 4 3 2 1
0011__668888441100--ffffiirrss..iinndddd iiii 55//1133//1100 22::1166 PPMM
CONTENTS
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1
London . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Getting Around London 6 Spot the Park in… 30
In or Out? 11 Building the Globe 34
Super Troopers 12 Food for Thought 35
Big Ben 15 Where it Stems From 41
Diana & Dodi 18 Key Fact 42
Harrods Hilarity 19 Barnardo Boy 44
Mamma Mia 23 A Bridge Room too Far 47
Bobby Dazzlers 24 The Boat Race 49
Beating the Drum 25 You’re Going to Like This, but
Not a Lot 50
Fun Recipe 26
61–67 Go Star-Spotting 52
Thomas Coram 27
And to do Online… 54
Scientology 29
2
South-East . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59
Shades of Gray 63 A Stickler for the Rules 66
King’s College Chapel 65 Dadd’s Dad 71
0022__668888441100--ffttoocc..iinndddd iiiiii 55//1133//1100 22::1166 PPMM
iv CONTENTS
More Bedlam 72 The Barmy Army 78
Ooh, I Could Stand on a Losing your Marbles 85
Stone Column 74
3
South-West . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89
Shiver me Timbers 91 Hard Cheese 105
Banksy 93 Alice’s Story 108
Boil & Bubble, Toil & Getting There 113
Trouble 96 Staff & Nonsense 114
Boxing Clever 99 What you Can Bring
The Sting 101 with You 120
Now for Something Com-
pletely Different 105
4
Midlands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .123
Plague Story 127 Gutted Plotter 135
Does my Bum Look Big in Rekindling the Flame 139
These? 129 Rugger Rugger 143
5
North-East . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .147
Cuddy & the Otters 149 The Force is Strong in this
One 151
Still Railing 150
The Best Light-bulb
Jokes 157
6
North-West . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .167
Killer Wales 168 Flower Power 176
Gurning 169 The Great Escape 178
The Worm Turns 170 Telltale Squirrel Signs 183
A German Pain in the The Soap Star 184
Neck 175
0022__668888441100--ffttoocc..iinndddd iivv 55//1133//1100 22::1166 PPMM
CONTENTS v
7
Wales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .187
Pronunciation Tip 188 Exterminate, Exterminate 199
Useful Welsh Phrases 189 Snowdon or Snowdon’t? 203
Look Behind You 191 Rage, Rage, Rage 205
Strewth! 194
8
Scotland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .211
By Royal Appointment 212 More Glaswegian
Lessons 229
Trainspotting 213
Fridge Magnate 231
Easdale 214
The History of Barras
Mungo Jungo 216
Market 233
A Dog’s Life 218
Housing the Burrell
Body-snatchers 219
Collection 235
Bah Humbug 221
To Train to Be a Monk Here
Cuddly Toy Story 222
You Must: 237
The War Poets 226
Wrap It Up 240
Read About Glasgow for
Kirk & Dagger 243
Free 227
Wellington Meets His
Waterloo 228

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .246
0022__668888441100--ffttoocc..iinndddd vv 55//1133//1100 22::1166 PPMM
About the Authors
Ben Hatch started out as a tea boy in the Royal Bank of Scotland. He became
a recruitment consultant, sold advertising space then lawnmowers, worked in
a video shop, as a postman and on the McDonald chicken sandwich station
before finally becoming a journalist on various local papers. He quit report-
ing to become a novelist in 1997. He has written two works of Comedy fic-
tion, The Lawnmower Celebrity and The International Gooseberry and is now
on his third. Ben was tempted into travel writing by his wife Dinah who he
lives with in Brighton. Together they authored Frommer’s Scotland With Your
Family and Frommer’s England With Your Family.
Dinah Hatch went into travel journalism after deciding that crime reporting
for local papers involved just a few too many evenings talking to dodgy
people in dark alleys. Since then she has worked for a variety of national
newspapers, magazines, trade publications and websites and writes exten-
sively for the travel industry. Dinah co-authored Frommer’s Scotland With
Your Family and Frommer’s England With Your Family.
Acknowledgments
To Sasha Heseltine for her edit, Mark Henshall for his helpful steering, Jill Emeny
for image help and Charlotte Tomkins and Emma Knott for their contributions.
Dedication
The book is dedicated to my brother Buster, who I once argued with for three
solid days about whether there is such a thing as garlic salami, and my sister
Penny for the chicken soup she saved me from aged 11.
An Invitation to the Reader
In researching this book, we discovered many wonderful places—hotels,
restaurants, shops, and more. We’re sure you’ll find others. Please tell us
about them, so we can share the information with your fellow travellers in
upcoming editions. If you were disappointed with a recommendation, we’d
love to know that, too. Please e-mail [email protected] or write to:
Frommer’s Britain for Free, 1st Edition
John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate,
Chichester, West Sussex PO19 8SQ
An Additional Note
Please be advised that travel information is subject to change at any time—
and this is especially true of prices. We therefore suggest that you write or
call ahead for confirmation when making your travel plans. The authors, edi-
tors, and publisher cannot be held responsible for the experiences of readers
while travelling. Your safety is important to us, however, so we encourage
you to stay alert and be aware of your surroundings. Keep a close eye on
cameras, purses, and wallets, all favourite targets of thieves and pickpockets.
0033__668888441100--ffllaasstt..iinndddd vvii 55//1133//1100 22::1166 PPMM
Britain for Free Icons
We also use a number of icons that point you to the type of attraction you
can visit and the amenities available. Throughout the book, look for:
Special find – those places only insiders know about
Best bets for kids
Attractions perfect for those less than perfect weather days
Something a bit different!
Attractions employing responsible tourism policies
Tube stop
And the amenities:
Café Shop
WIFI Café with WiFi Farm shop
Restaurant Picnic area
Bar Play park
Pub Kid’s trail
Snack bar Garden
Highchairs Garden centre
Toys Visitor centre
Car parking Maps
Car parking (pay & display) Free audio guide
i
Park & Ride Free leaflet
Cycle hire BF Breast Feeding
Buggy access Shower
Wheelchair access
0033__668888441100--ffllaasstt..iinndddd vviiii 55//1133//1100 22::1166 PPMM
Frommers.com
Now that you have this guidebook to help you plan a great trip, visit our
website at www.frommers.com for additional travel information on more
than 4,000 destinations. We update features regularly to give you instant
access to the most current trip-planning information available. At Frommers.
com, you’ll find scoops on the best airfares, accommodation rates, and car
rental bargains. You can even book your travel online through our reliable
travel booking partners. Other popular features include:
● Online updates of our most popular guidebooks
● Holiday sweepstakes and contest giveaways
● Newsletters highlighting the hottest travel trends
● Podcasts, interactive maps, and up-to-the-minute events listings
● Opinionated blog entries by Arthur Frommer himself
● Online travel message boards with featured travel discussions
0033__668888441100--ffllaasstt..iinndddd vviiiiii 55//1133//1100 22::1166 PPMM
0033__668888441100--ffllaasstt..iinndddd iixx 55//1133//1100 22::1166 PPMM