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Highland retreat
A grand, turreted shooting lodge set in 58 acres of parkland beside a sea loch on Scotland's Highland west coast, has been named Activity Hotel of the Year at the 2009 Scottish Hotel of the Year Awards. Remote and solitary, this is the third time in succession The Torridon (see above) has collected the title. Sitting at the centre of one of Scotland's prime spots for outdoor activities, getting to it is arguably more of a challenge than climbing the many peaks or kayaking the fast flowing waters. The nearest train stop is at Achnasheen, 20mls/32km distant on the line running north-west out of Inverness. But be warned: it isn't cheap and short of being marooned among the peaks it is essential to book a taxi before leaving Inverness. There is no bus alternative. But taxi drivers are prepared to take fares from Inverness all 75mls/120kms to the hotel. And there are car hire outlets at Inverness. The web address above carries most of the details; or call the hotel on 01445 791 242.
Forth ferry returns
Scotland's only ferry connection with mainland Europe returns to the waters of the North Sea after a break of two years with new boats and new operators on Monday May 18.
Now sailing under the flag of Norfolkline (part of the international Maersk shipping group), the ferries will take 17h to cross from Rosyth (Firth of Forth) to Zeebrugge, Belgium. They sail overnight each way, three times a week.
Commercial and private vehicles, vehicle passengers and foot passengers will be accommodated on the vessels. A mix of cabins and stretch seating will be provided for overnight crossings. A full picture of North Sea, English Channel and Irish Sea ferry routes can be accessed by clicking Europe and Ireland.
North Sea offers
Coastal communities along the north coast of mainland Europe make up the core of spring sailing offers from ferry line DFDS Seaways. With selected travel dates in May and June the gracefully lined, all-white painted ferries pick up passengers in the UK at Newcastle and Harwich. 'A relaxing two-night mini-cruise to Esbjerg' on the Danish peninsula, embarking at Harwich, comes in at £57 per person. Amsterdam comes as a two-night mini-cruise for £52pp (saving 25%). Three-plus nights in the city of canals comes for £85pp. Sign-up before June 30 for a two-night wildlife mini cruise from Newcastle to Amsterdam and save 20% (prices from £59). A similar deal from Harwich to Esbjerg comes with a 15% saving at £82.
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A guide that promises an adventure

The pages on this site describe UK travel for the overseas visitor. When we have brought everything up-to-date it will be the same story for the native Brit too. Inter-city routes covered by coach, train, 'plane, and ferry services that sail to Britain's offshore islands and mainland Europe.

Originally devised as a paper guide for the British Tourist Authority (now VisitBritain), Getting About Britain also provides details on the regional bus and train (often called 'local services') and international routes that connect Britain to many European centres.

More than 1,200 UK destinations are listed, all with contacts and an equally impressive line-up of accommodation from five star hotels to cheap and cheerful hostels at journeys end. Try Speyside for a start.

Clive Lewis
Editor

Brochurelink

Free brochures from destinations all over the UK, to wherever in the world you may be. Simply fill in the Brochurelink coupon, and sit back and wait for the postman to deliver!

Brochurelink

Essex Brochure - Stoke Brochure - West Wales Brochure - More >>

The Original Tour

Planning a visit to the capital? Considered seeing London by famous open-top red bus? The Original Tour provides a round-the-clock hop-on, hop-off bus service with a running commentary in many languages. The same ticket brings trips on the River Thames too.
Avoid the queues. Book ahead now.

Destinations

Click here to visit out destinations page!


gettingaboutbritain.com is a completely new approach to travel for the independent traveller. It journeys to hundreds of locations across our islands, unwraps the process of travel and invites the visitor to pick a way to ride the routes from the choices we present in our pages.

Sample the ups and downs of the Lake District, the melodious tones of a Welsh male voice choir, the pomp and circumstance of a London parade, the caber tossing exertions of Highland games or the tip-toeing navigation of Northern Ireland’s Giant’s Causeway. Of course, there are the straightforward, A to B trips too.

At its heart, gettingaboutbritain.com number-crunches its way through costs and frequencies of bus, train, ‘plane and ferry services opening up a rich seam of things to do and places to go around the UK.

Here are a few randomly selected destinations.

  • Abingdon - Abingdon sits in, what has been described as, the Heart of Oxfordshire. read more
  • Dunbar - East coast harbour with cobbled quays. read more
  • John O'Groats - Britain's most northerly village - though there are other claimants to the title! - which takes its name from the founder of a 15th century Orkney ferry service, one Jan de Groot. read more
  • London - Located at 1 Lower Regent Street, close to Piccadilly Circus, the Britain & London Visitor Centre or BLVC, is a seven-day-a-week 'one stop shop' for visitors to the capital. read more
  • Caerleon - Magnificent Roman amphitheatre and museum and what remains of a Roman fortress beside the River Usk and a few miles inland from the South Wales port of Newport. read more
  • Liverpool - It was the coming of the steamships in the 1840s that launched Liverpool as a world maritime player. read more
  • Cartgate - A roaside stop outside Yeovil, principal town in South Somerset skirted by the border of Thomas Hardy's Dorset (otherwise Wessex). read more
  • Western Isles (Lewis) - The Isle of Lewis sits at the northern end of the 130ml/208km chain of islands off the west coast of Scotland, known as the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides. read more
  • Derby - The cathedral city of Derby sits roughly half-way, as the bird flies, between England's south coast and its northern border with Scotland. read more
  • Plymouth - A naval city celebrated for its intrepid mariners, among whom were the Pilgrim Fathers, who put into Plymouth in 1620 aboard the now legendary Mayflower. read more
  • More destinations - Click here to see more destinations

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