During the time we lived in England, I never did make it to Cornwall. Fixed that with a recent trip to St. Ives. It was before tourist season, and not yet warm enough for most people to be doing the beach thing, so from my point of view (as a hot weather wilter) it was exactly the right time. ...

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(Technical issues had me locked out of the blog for a while. Testing to ensure it's OK now.)...

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Alas, the annual cheese rolling festival in Coopers Hill, Gloucestershire, set for May 31st was called off for health and safety reasons, a victim of its own success. Is it because Robbie Coltrane featured cheese rolling in his TV series, B-Road Britain No, that can't be. Robbie was rolling Stil...

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The Holy Island of Lindisfarne is on the east coast of England, not far from the Scottish border in the overall scheme of things. It's accessible by car, but only when the tide is out. There is no bridge, just a causeway connecting the island to the mainland. Any visitor to Holy Island will b...

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Hadrian's Wall, that wonderful piece of Roman construction just south of Scotland, is much more popular now that the tourism authorities are promoting it as a destination. Here's a tip, though book your accommodation ahead. The capacity hasn't kept up with the demand, and while there are some ...

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Berkshire (pronounced more like "Barkshire" than "Birkshire") is one of the Home Counties of England. The Home Counties surround London. This is a field near Kintbury, which is about halfway between London and Bristol, to the west. The picture was taken in early August 2009. This is the ...

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England's Lake District is renowned for its beautiful scenery, as this photo by Katherine Davis has captured so well. The stone circles are ancient and as mysterious as Stonehenge, remnants of a long-ago time. Cumbria is the county in which the Lake District, including this stone circle an...

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For anyone who hasn't seen a real castle yet, Warwick is a pretty nice one to start with. It's about 100 miles from London. Not a short distance, but doable as a day trip. Works well as part of a weekend away too, combined with a look at Kenilworth Castle for example, and maybe even a stop in Str...

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What could be more English than a pub called The White Hart Unless it's The Ship and Anchor, or The Jolly Ploughman, or that old standby, The King's Arms Collecting English pub signs - usually by taking pictures of them - can be a fun hobby, especially for those in search of the perfect pi...

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These wonderful shaggy beasts with the long horns and stylish bangs ("fringe" in England) have a long history. According to the website for the Kinlochroag Fold of Pedigree Highland Cattle, this is "the oldest pedigree breed of cattle in the world and the first breed to be registered. The Highland ...

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I was surprised even in the 1990s to see Woolworths stores still going strong in England. They seemed to have disappeared from Canada some time earlier, at least the ones I knew of had gone. Terry Wha of Bolton, Lancashire in England posted this shot on Flickr.com. (Thanks for sharing, Terr...

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Brighton is one of England's old seaside resort towns. One of its famous sights is the Royal Pavilion, an ornate pleasure palace dating from King George IV's time, I believe. George IV was Prince Regent during the madness of his father, King George III. If that name sounds familiar to Americans, ...

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We call them donair in Canada, but in England you hear kebab or doner. Meat in a bun. Cut off a big roast of meat on a very big stick. Not high on my list but ... after a hard day... after a pint or two, maybe. Fast food in England runs the whole range of traditional English fish amp...

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Sheffield is England's third largest city, according to the notes provided by Paolo Margari, who took this picture. Who knew I wouldn't have got that right. South Yorkshire - all of Yorkshire - is an enigma. It is exceedingly beautiful, and the broad Yorkshire accent strikes my ear as warm an...

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Hastings is an easy day trip from London. It's famous because of the Battle of Hastings when the Normans won and English King Harold had a spear through the eye, as depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry. 1066 and all that. Can't promise a re-enactment, but the field is there and so is wha...

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