Cambridge, UK - A short stroll through American history

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Cambridge is always a fun day out. It is full of old colleges, museums and some pretty incredible history. Cambridge is well known for its famous scholars due to having one of the most elite Universities.

Typically most tours walk along the backs of the colleges and through the many museums. We had the opportunity to take in a different perspective from a local guide Murray Jacobs. Walking in the footsteps of the famous Memphis Belle crew was truly a highlight. Lipstick marked ceilings and hundreds of US unit patches adorned the Eagle. It was as if you walked right into an American WW2 film. But graffiti was not just for the American’s who visited the Eagle, as we found pews in the colleges filled with etched names nearly 200 years old.

No tour is complete without a tour of some of the colleges. I truly forget many of the colleges are free admission. Walking the grounds of Emmanuel was one of our favorites. It’s hard to tell there is a small quiet sanctuary in the midst of central Cambridge. You can also catch a glimpse of the famous stained glass image of John Harvard, founder of Harvard University.

Green Badge Tour guide Murray Jacobs really summed up the city of Cambridge perfectly. If you would love a walking tour in Cambridge full of history he is definitely your guy. If you’re interested in going on one of his tours, Murray Jacobs can be contacted as follows:

Email/WhatsApp: murrayjacobs@hotmail.com

Phone: 07733 424792

Happy Traveling,

Katrina

London - How to see all the TOP sites in a few hours

Can you really see London major sites in less than a day? 

Sure you can!! This guide will show you the best way to maximize your time and pocket book for a day trip to London. 

Living close to a major city like London is great, but when people come to visit it’s the first place they want to see. I am here to share with you how I have mastered visiting London in less than a day. This route is not only child friendly, but cost effective if you are on a budget in London. While this does not include entry into any site, it does offer a true whistle stop tour through London without the hassle of queuing for public transit or sightseeing buses.

Your first stop is the parking garage right outside St. Katherine’s Dock. The parking is great, because it is outside the congestion charge area if you are visiting on a weekday. The great thing about this carpark is that due to it being underground there is plentiful parking for larger cars. The address to the carpark is City Quay Car Park, Thomas More St, London E1W 1YW. To enter the carpark you will insert your debit card for authentication. You will use your debit card to enter the carpark from the steps located on the back side of the Ivory House. Parking starts at £1.40 per hour. Let me assure you that the area is not full of crazy London traffic. So if you have a fear of driving in London it will be just fine.

This route even works from Liverpool Street Station or Victoria Coach Terminal. 

Upon exit you will be near the Ivory House and you will see a wooden walkway. Now a 5 minute walk to the Tower of London and right under the Tower Bridge. 5 minutes in London and you have already covered two major sites. Once you have taken as many selfies as possible head down around the Tower of London to the pier right in front. There are a LOT of options to see London, but the most affordable and effective is the TRS Circular Cruise. You can use your Oyster Card or pay at the kiosk out front with your debit card. For this tour you will only need a one way ticket down to Westminster. At the time of writing the family ticket for 2 adults and 2 children is £28.50. Adults are £10 and children £5 if buying individually. While this is not a full sightseeing tour with headsets; the guide will offer some amusing and historical commentary along the Thames. There is food and bathrooms on board and the cruise takes around 30 minutes.

Pro Tip: Once on the boat head to the back of the boat on top. Once the boat pulls away from the Pier the view of Tower Bridge and Tower of London is the best.

Stay on the boat until you reach Westminster Pier. As you begin to approach the pier you can capture some good photos of Ben Big, Parliament and the London Eye. That’s 5 sites in under an hour already. Once you exit the boat make a right towards Big Ben. If you stay across the street you can capture the Red Phone booth shot with Big Ben in the distance. There will likely be a few people doing the same so be patient.  After your photo opportunity you will then head down past the back of the houses of Parliament towards Westminster Abbey. If you have time to spare, you can make your way in for a quick visit.

Now you will need to make your way down Birdcage Walk to the gates of Buckingham Palace. This is about a mile walk down along a shaded pathway past old military barracks and armoury buildings. A few photos here and you will be on your way down The Mall to Trafalgar square. Stay on your left of The Mall as there will be an opportunity to see the famous Guards who watch over Buckingham Palace. They are usually set up in their booths along The Mall and you can take a photo with them. Another London bucket list item I am sure.

You have already seen 8 of the famous sites in London in just short of 3 hours, depending on your walking pace. Now you can stop your tour at Charings Cross and make your way back to Tower of London on the tube or you can follow the rest of the tour to St. Pauls Cathedral.

Upon entering Trafalgar Square you can see a great view of Big Ben from the front of the square near the Lions. You will continue along The Strand past the Somerset House and onwards to St. Pauls Cathedral which is about a mile up the road. You can jump on the tube at Embankment towards Mansion House if you are limited in mobility to reach the Cathedral. There is a lot of history from WW2 in the Cathedral so well worth the admission and visit. Once finished you will head over the Great Fire of London monument for a quick photo stop and back over to the Tower of London.

I hope you enjoyed your whistle stop tour of London. Please see links below for more information about car park, transport and river cruise.

http://www.skdocks.co.uk/location

http://www.thamesriverservices.co.uk/discount-boat-trips-greenwich.cfm

http://www.crownrivercruise.co.uk/bookings.cfm

Happy Traveling,

Katrina

 

Blooms and Babies, OH MY. It's Spring in the UK

I know as a kid growing up in Texas our favorite times of the year were spring. Not just for the flowers, but all the baby animals being born. One of our favorite times as a family is going to the local zoo or visiting small farms to pet the baby animals.

In the UK with so many petting zoos and farms there is always an opportunity for the families to enjoy this awesome experience. The great thing about being in Suffolk is that many of the farms exist right in our back doors.

One of the closest places is La Hogue right in Chippenham about 5 miles from Lakenheath and 4 miles from Mildenhall. It is essential to book to feed the baby lambs as this is highly sought after in the area.  Source: http://www.lahogue.co.uk/baby-orphan-lamb-feeding-2016/

Another family favorite is Old Mac Donald’s in Essex. Not only do they have so many cute baby animals they have numerous activities for even the older kids. Tree house climbing and indoor play areas allow the little ones to burn off some much needed energy.  Don’t forget to book in advance to get some of the great online discounts.

http://www.omdfarm.co.uk/open_animal_petting_farm/kids_days_out_in_essex/fun_things_to_do/tourist_attraction_east_london/educational_visits/special_events/spring_babies/index.htm

Money Savings Tips for UK Travel- Passes, Memberships and More

MEMBERSHIPS

National Trust: £93.50/year for a family (or £70.12 special offer if you do a direct debit aka automatic renewal every year until you cancel). Whether you're interested in gardens, castles, wildlife, or just somewhere peaceful to relax, our membership gives you unlimited access to hundreds of days out. Gain free entry to over 300 historic houses and gardens, access to some of Britains most dramatic countryside and over 700 miles of coastline owned by the National Trust. Historic properties range from Winston Churchill’s Chartwell, the boyhood homes of John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Countryside areas include significant parts of the Lake and Peak Districts. Coastal areas include the iconic White Cliffs of Dover and St. Michaels Mount, to name just a few. http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/membership/

 

Royal Oaks Foundation: The Royal Oak Foundation engages Americans in the work of the National Trust of England, Wales and Northern Ireland, one of the world’s largest and most progressive conservation organizations. IF you do not want to do the direct debit route directly via the National Trust, you can join through Royal Oaks, receive all the same benefits as other NT members, and pay $115/year for a family. Not only is it cheaper, the money you spend can also be a tax deduction (under donations). http://www.royal-oak.org/join/

 

English Heritage: £82 for a family membership (up to 6 children under the age of 19). With English Heritage annual membership you can explore over 400 castles, stately homes, ruins and more for free! Sites include Stonehenge, Dover Castle, Battle of Hastings, Audley End, to name a few. IMPORTANT: English Heritage members can gain half-price admission to Historic Scotland, CADW (Wales, e.g. Caerphilly Castle), and Isle of Man attractions during the first year of membership and free entry in subsequent years. Don't forget all the other discounts (look under "associated attractions", e.g. Discount tickets to Castle Howard, Woburn Abbey, Duxford, that you can get with your EH membership: http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/support-us/members/benefits/

 

Scotland Explorer Pass: If you plan on hitting a lot of major sites in Scotland (and are not members of the English Heritage), you may want to consider getting this pass. Check the website for pricing details: http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/index/places/explorer.htm

 

Wales Explorer Pass: If you plan on visiting many sites managed by the Wales government, and are not members of English Heritage, you maybe want to consider getting this pass: http://cadw.wales.gov.uk/daysout/explorerpasses/?lang=en

 

Historic Scotland: The Scottish version of the English Heritage Pass:http://members.historic-scotland.gov.uk/netcommunity/page.aspx?pid=212

 

Merlin Pass: Unlimited entry to Sealife, Legoland, Thorpe Park, Blackpool Tower, and others. Merlin Annual Pass UK brings together 30 top attractions, making it the UK's biggest attraction. With over 100 roller coasters and other rides, 45 million LEGO bricks, 80 waxworks, hundreds of marine creatures and more: http://www.merlinannualpass.co.uk/

Rail Cards: Get 1/3 off your rail tickets if you qualify: http://www.railcard.co.uk/

Bite Card: FREE discount card for used at participating train station eateries, e.g. Burger King, the Pasty Shop, Upper Crust: https://www.bitecard.co.uk/

 

ONLINE DEALS

 www.groupon.co.uk - money saving deals

 www.livingsocial.co.uk - money saving deals

  www.uk-offers.timeout.com/deals - london money saving deals

 www.vouchercodes.co.uk - restaurant and online shopping deals

www.localsecrets.com - money savings and coupons for Cambridge, Bury and local area

 www.lakenheathyardsales.com - Our local Craigslist

 www.gumtree.com - UK version of Craigslist

www.uswitch.com - compare gas, electricity, broadband, TV, etc companies

 www.moneysavingexpert.com - coupons/vouchers, deals, money saving tips, forum, etc

Helpful Websites for What's Happening in the UK

Well, there's no exuse for staying home and being bored. Get out and explore the UK. A lot of these sites have current things to do if you check back regularly.

Travel - All of UK:

Days out in the UK (mainly London area) - http://www.daysoutguide.co.uk

Day out with KIDS - http://www.dayoutwiththekids.co.uk

With DOGS - http://www.dogfriendlybritain.co.uk/

Best 50 Beaches - http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/the-50-best-uk-beaches-125-480372.html

Plan a pub crawl - http://barcrawl.co.uk

Castles - http://www.castlexplorer.co.uk

Castles - http://www.castleuk.net/list.htm

Holidays in the UK (mainly outdoorsy) - http://www.holidayuk.co.uk

National Trust (England and Wales) - www.nationaltrust.org.uk

 

Travel - England:

London - http://www.frommers.com/destinations/london

The Lake District - http://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk

Tour Norfolk - http://www.tournorfolk.co.uk/index.html

Norfolk Broads Cycling - http://www.norfolkbroadscycling.co.uk

Great Yarmouth - www.great-yarmouth.co.uk

Cambridge - http://www.visitcambridge.org

Cambridge - http://www.cambridge.co.uk

East Anglia - https://eastanglia24.co.uk

Ipswich - http://www.visit-ipswich.com

Northeast England - http://www.visitnortheastengland.com

Suffolk - http://www.suffolktouristguide.com

English Heritage - http://www.english-heritage.org.uk

 

Travel - Wales:

Wales - http://www.visitwales.co.uk

Cardiff - http://www.visitcardiff.com

 

Travel - Scotland:

Scotland - http://www.visitscotland.com

Scotland - http://www.welcometoscotland.com

Scotland top 10 - http://scotland.costasur.com/en/ten-must-see.html

Edinburgh - http://www.timeout.com/edinburgh/features/220/20-great-things-to-do-in-edinburgh

Edinburgh - http://www.edinburgh.org

Physical Activities/Sports (all of UK unless otherwise noted):

Walking/Cycling/Horse riding - http://www.nationaltrail.co.uk

Hiking guides - http://www.contours.co.uk

Walking and hiking guides - http://www.walkingandhiking.co.uk

Biking - http://www.cycle-route.com

Mtn biking trails - http://www.moredirt.co.uk

SEASONAL

Other:

Pick your own - http://www.pickyourownfarms.org.uk

Pick your own - http://www.localfoods.org.uk