501 Places

London Eye a little after sunset

Last night I co-hosted the weekly Travellers’ Night In (TNI) event on Twitter. It’s basically a couple of hours of chatter with several hundred people around 10 timed questions on a particular theme. This week it was all about the UK. While the audience is international it is fair to say that the majority of those taking part are from the US. So it was a very good exercise in gauging the perception of the UK by potential visitors to the country.

One of the most striking observations (though hardly shocking) was the overwhelming focus on London. Many people shared their previous experiences of the UK, and of course most were centred on the capital. Others wrote about the places they would love to see again and the answers were London-centric (with Edinburgh coming a clear second).

Is this significant? It certainly is for regional tourist boards. They are fighting a constant uphill battle to attract visitors to explore the UK beyond London. Ask an average American or Japanese person to list five things they would like to see in Britain and the chances are that all five will be in London. And if these visitors have a very limited time in the country (just look at average holiday allowances for US or Japanese workers) they are as likely to hop on the Eurostar to visit Paris as they are to head up to Leeds or Manchester.

Arriving at a country pub in time for dinner

Can regional tourist boards do much about this? I suspect they will always be swimming against the current when it comes to visitors from beyond Europe. The majority of long-haul visitors will inevitably want to base themselves in London, with only those on extended breaks taking the chance to venture beyond the main Stratford-Bath-Stonehenge-Oxford-Cambridge circuit (add in the Edinburgh-Inverness-Loch Ness route for those making Scottish trips). Of course some visitors do break away from these hotspots and find the unsung magic of the UK, but those numbers are always low in comparison to the overall UK visitor numbers.

Does the real opportunity come from low-cost airlines that are able to bring European visitors directly to the regional airports? If we can fly to Bratislava on the cheap for an easy weekend break from many UK airports, what’s stopping people flying the other way to Leeds, Cardiff or Newcastle to do the same? Having lived in many UK cities over the last 20 years I’ve seen just how much there is on offer to the visitor in any part of the country.

I often wonder why those Easyjet and Ryanair flights seem to be packed with Brits, while few Germans, Croats, Spaniards or Estonians make the return journey. Is the UK so expensive? It certainly gets cheaper as you venture outside of the tourist spots of London. Is it our weather? As any Brit will testify there are occasions when we’d all like to escape; but we also enjoy far more good weather than our reputation suggests. As an amateur observer it appears to me that there is still a lot of work to be done by UK tourism officials in promoting the diversity of our country to the European traveller.

20 days of British Airways strikes are about to get under way. Even before this disruption, Eyjafjallajökull has reared its ugly head again and shut down much of UK airspace, along with a fair chunk of the skies of western Europe. Air travel has never been so fraught with uncertainty, even at the height of the terrorist alerts. With the ash cloud set to result in many more no-fly zones in the coming months, many people are wondering about the wisdom of making concrete holiday plans.

I’ve spoken to several people in the last couple of weeks who have decided against booking their summer holiday so far. How can they book two weeks away they say, when they might not be able to get away on their break? Those who run their own businesses are far more concerned about being stuck overseas and not being able to get back to work. The talk soon switches to Cornwall, Scotland and France as possible alternatives, taken in the family car and not susceptible to the whims of a temperamental Icelandic mountain.

British people will continue to take their holidays. Attitude surveys constantly show that people consider their holiday to be a necessity rather than a disposable luxury. The money spent on hotel nights, activities and the vast quantities of food and drink that are consumed on a typical holiday will still be spent. The question is whether it will be spent basking in the Mediterranean sun and beyond, or whether people indulge in their annual break within driving distance of the UK.

This must be a tough time for tour operators and travel agents. The industry has never operated on particularly healthy profit margins and has relied more than most on good cashflow management for its success. With the growing reluctance to plan ahead that is likely to come from this continuing disruption, how many will be able to switch their businesses to provide volcano-proof holidays?

It will be interesting to see how the travel industry copes with this challenge. The next month is likely to bring a budget that will reveal the full extent of the tax rises and spending cuts that the politicians were too afraid to share with us while they were scrapping for our votes. Throw in another ash cloud and an ongoing airline strike, and the travel plans of much of our population could well undergo the most dramatic shift for many years.

Will this finally give a boost to UK regional tourism? There is so much to see in our own country, and perhaps the certainty on offer with a UK break will prove more appealing than ever before. This is certainly the time for the many different UK tourist boards to earn their crust and get the message of what they can offer in front of the millions who are yet to decide on their holiday plans.

All we need now is a decent summer…

In my first post last week I described a fictional journey from London up to the beautiful north west tip of Scotland. It was great to receive many suggestions of places I had missed, and also much doubt as to whether this intense itinerary would be possible to complete in one week. I have to agree it would be an insane rush and would be much better if you took your time and visited these places in two weeks. From the outset I will apply the same caveat to week 2. I am deliberately squeezing in as much as possible, but accept that it’s better taken at a more leisurely pace.

Day 8  You can take a trip to nearby Cape Wrath, but a better experience is to visit Handa Island, just off the west coast from the little hamlet of Tarbet. The island is a lively bird sanctuary and a great place to spot puffins. There are some huge birds here, none more unsettling than the great skua, a creature not averse to attacking human intruders if it feels they are posing a threat to its young. To get off the island you need to wave a flag from the beach to attract the attention of the ferryman on the mainland who will come and collect you. There is an excellent seafood restaurant by the harbour in Tarbet, and you should be in time for a welcome lunch. After lunch take a very long journey south to arrive in time to catch the sunset on the west coast at Arisaig. This stunning coastline was featured extensively in the cult 80′s movie Local Hero, and your long way on the road will be rewarded with views of the Isles of Skye and Eigg to the west.

Day 9 There’s so much stunning scenery to enjoy here, and I am loathed to leave it behind as this area is worth a week alone. But time is short, so today involves a long drive southwards all the way into England. A detour can take you onto the Ardnamurchan peninsula and a visit to the haunting Castle Tioram before crossing on the Corran Ferry and joining the A82 for the scenic drive through the Highlands and along the shores of Loch Lomond. There are many good places for lunch where you can enjoy views of the loch, and soon you will be circling Glasgow (well worth a visit and a shame to miss I know) and heading down the first motorway you will have seen for a few days. By the evening you can enjoy the beauty of the English Lake District, and a stop around Grasmere will leave you in a great location to explore the area in the morning.

Day 10 You have the choice of many walks to experience at least a little of the Lake District. The most convenient from here is the hike up to and around Easedale Tarn. It is a well trodden path but if you start early you’ll have the path pretty much to yourself, and the scenery when you reach the tarn is well worth the walk. From the water’s edge there are many wonderful extensions to the walk, and when you eventually take the path back to the village you will be ready for a hearty meal and a cream tea, before heading off southwards to Liverpool. The first city stop for almost a week, take the chance to wander around the Albert Docks where you have a wide choice of places to eat, as well as absorbing some of Beatles nostalgia that is inescapable in this part of the city.

Harlech Castle

Day 11 Set off in the morning into Wales and a mid-morning stop at Conwy, home to one of the finest castles in North Wales. Explore the castle and the old town walls before driving further west to Harlech, and perhaps the most stunning setting of all the castles in this area. It is well worth a wander along the ramparts and a climb up the steep narrow towers for a view out to the sea. From here drive back to Chester for an overnight stay in this historic Roman city.

Day 12  Today we head south again, down to Telford and a visit to the picturesque gorge at Ironbridge. The bridge itself is the world’s oldest iron bridge, and if you walk a little beyond the usual tourist shops that are on offer it is actually a very pretty spot to wander and choose the best place for a great photo. Head on past Gloucester and back into Wales to visit Tintern Abbey. This lovely ruin is found on a bend on the river Wye, and although the abbey itself is in Wales the best views of it are to be found across on the English side of the river at Devil’s Pulpit. Visit the lively city of Bristol for the evening and another great selection of places to eat. You will hear yet another distinct regional accent as you speak to Bristolians, and by now you will have heard most British accents being spoken!

Day 13  Today we head into Dorset, and a visit to Shaftesbury, with perhaps the most quaint street in the whole of Britain. Made famous to all Brits by the Hovis TV advert this steep cobbled street winds up to what I remember to be a good tea room at the top where you can admire the views of the Dorset countryside. From here the road south and east takes you down into the New Forest, the only National Park in this corner of England. Take time for a walk in the forest where you can stumble across the New Forest ponies. For your final evening stay in one of the many traditional pubs in the forest.

Day 14 It is the last day of a hectic fortnight, and the road leads back to London. A good final stop on the way is the historic city of Winchester. The cathedral dominates the city, but it is well worth wandering through the narrow lanes and finding many small shops (including of course some excellent bakeries). After a stop here, it’s time for the drive back up to London and a flight home, tired but with many memories to keep you satisfied for a long time to come.

The UK has so much to offer beyond its most famous attractions, and the aim of these posts is to highlight just a few of my favourite spots. Of course there are many that I’ve missed, but the message to visitors is this: give time in your itinerary to explore the length and breadth of Britain. There are surprises and delights in every corner of the country, and by heading off the beaten track you will discover your own highlights of this wonderful country.