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England General Tips


the Bridge Experience - England
the Bridge Experience
by kathycollins
Tips and photos for England vacations and tourism, posted by real travelers and England locals.
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Information links
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  • Gili_S
  • By Gili_S on February 10, 2005
  • England Page by Gili_S
  • Just few useful links,
    The official Britain tourist web site is here:
    www.visitbritain.com

    So hotels deals you can find here:
    www.syha.org.uk

    Street Map:
    streetmap.co.uk

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    Shop opening times
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  • toonsarah
  • By toonsarah on August 17, 2008
  • England Page by toonsarah
  • Shopping in Newcastle - England
    Shopping in Newcastle
    by toonsarah
    Shops in Britain usually open up for the day between 9.00 and 10.00 AM and close between 5.30 and 6.00 PM. The more local the shop, as a general rule, the earlier its opening and closing times are likely to be. In central London, for instance, many shops will not open till 10.00 or even 10.30, and will stay open later to catch people on their way home from work and tourists heading out for the evening. Shops in England are open all day; they don’t close for lunch.

    On Thursdays, most large shops are open until 8.00 PM, or even later in some of the large shopping malls. Sunday opening is now pretty common. Most large shops open on Sundays. They are allowed to open for 6 hours but opening and closing times vary, though 11.00 AM seems to be a popular opening time.

    Some supermarkets and small local groceries are open very extended hours, and a few for 24 hours six days a week, with only Sunday following the pattern above. Easter Sunday is the only day of the year when shops aren’t allowed to open, though very few will open on Christmas Day, and many others shut on other holidays.

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    Breaking Skies
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  • bpwillet
  • By bpwillet on January 16, 2004
  • England Page by bpwillet
  • Breaking sunset from Lincoln Cathedral - England
    Breaking sunset from Lincoln
    Cathedral
    by bpwillet
    I love taking people to places they have never been to. When people come to England the first thing that comes to mind is usually London. Living out in the "country" I have the opportunity to see more of what is offered in England. There are many cities that I enjoy seeing, one of which is Lincoln. I love the way the city looks and feels. I took the Cathedral Roof Tour for the first time with a friend of mine. It was so worth it. The views of the countryside are amazing and if you are lucky the sun may just break through the clouds.

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    London
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  • alza
  • By alza on November 18, 2003
  • England Page by alza
  • England General Tips
    by alza
    A friend of mine in Belgium had told me that while in London, I should go to Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese. I did, and especially loved the sign outside. It's off Fleet Street I think. That is, if it still exists. But it made it under 15 sovereigns so I'm confident that the old tradition lives on.

    One thing that surprised me on my first visit to London was the fact that the pubs were not that obvious. Many places near my hotel looked like private houses and I walked right pass them, looking for a pub. Suddenly, round 7 at night, I heard singing coming from illuminated houses. I'd follow the sound, look through the window pane and well, it was clear this crowd was not just having their family dinner!
    But I mean, it's not like in Paris, where the cafes spread out into the streets. More discreet (from the outside :-)

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    Icons of England
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  • toonsarah
  • By toonsarah on January 11, 2009
  • England Page by toonsarah
  • Angel of the North, an Icon of England - England
    Angel of the North, an Icon of
    England
    by toonsarah
    A recent project (starting in 2005) set out to establish what were the “Icons of England”. What objects, places, symbols etc best represent our varied culture? I love this project because its definition of the word icon is so loose, and because anyone was able to have a say in the selection of icons. Those chosen are as diverse and wide-ranging as you might expect from such a cultural melting pot of a country. Among my favourites are:
    The Angel of the North
    Big Ben
    Jerusalem
    The Lindisfarne Gospels
    Queuing
    Roast beef and Yorkshire Pudding
    Cheddar cheese
    The Routemaster bus
    The tube map
    The FA Cup
    Hedges
    Cricket
    The pint
    The parish church
    The weather

    See the full list on the ICONS website, and if you’ve visited England maybe consider nominating something yourself. What is the definitive object that shouts England to you?

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    Folkstone Kent
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  • doreenellen
  • Updated By doreenellen on February 13, 2005
  • England Page by doreenellen
  • View of the cliffs from the harbour - England
    View of the cliffs from the
    harbour
    by doreenellen
    Views of the whtie cliffs and coastline of Folkstone. There is so much to do around the area and is good walking county.
    You can also catch a ferry over to France most months of the year. There is a booking office by the harbour.

    The coastline is lovely

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    The English regions and local government
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  • toonsarah
  • By toonsarah on January 11, 2009
  • England Page by toonsarah
  • Map of the English regions - England
    Map of the English
    regions
    by toonsarah
    England is divided into nine regions for the purposes of regional government. These are:
    London
    South East
    South West
    East of England
    East Midlands
    West Midlands
    Yorkshire & Humberside
    North East
    North West
    I will write about each of these in more depth, including the many and varied attractions that might appeal to visitors, in separate tips in the Things to Do section .

    Within each region are a number of local authorities, responsible for many of the local services and facilities. These are arranged in tiers, with the first tier having the most significant and wide-ranging responsibilities including schools, social care, adult learning, libraries, public housing and more. These authorities can be counties (examples include Cornwall, Kent and Northumberland), Metropolitan Districts (e.g. Newcastle and Manchester), Urban Districts (South Tyneside, Luton) and London Boroughs (Kensington and Chelsea, Camden). Below the counties sit second and third tier authorities, known as District and Parish Councils, with fewer but still useful responsibilities; for instance, District Councils look after sports and leisure facilities, and refuse collection.

    From time to time local government is reorganised to create more or fewer of these authorities. This has meant that some traditional counties no longer officially exist, e.g. Middlesex (which was divided into several London Boroughs in the 1960s) and Yorkshire (which was divided into smaller counties, Metropolitan and Urban Districts in the 1970s). Confusingly for visitors however, many of us still refer to these old counties and they are sometimes still used in postal addresses. My parents’ address is given as Middlesex, for instance, but they live for administrative purposes in the London Borough of Hillingdon.

    Of course most visitors need to know very little of this system to plan and enjoy a holiday here, but I thought it would provide some interesting background and also shed some light on sometimes bewildering details.

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    Public holidays
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  • toonsarah
  • Updated By toonsarah on January 11, 2009
  • England Page by toonsarah
  • Carnival on Hastings beach - England
    Carnival on Hastings beach
    by toonsarah
    There are eight official or “Bank” holidays taken in England. These are:
    New Year’s Day – 1st January
    Good Friday – moveable feast
    Easter Monday – moveable feast
    May Day Bank Holiday – first Monday in May
    Spring Bank Holiday – last Monday in May
    August Bank Holiday – last Monday in August
    Christmas Day – 25th December
    Boxing Day – 26th December
    {dates for these in 2009, as well as other notable dates in our calendar, can be found on this useful website]

    These get their name because the banks are always closed on these days. Traditionally shops and other businesses would also close but these days many shops open on most of them, with Christmas Day and Good Friday being the exceptions to this – and most shops also close on Easter Sunday even if they normally open on a Sunday as many now do. Most other businesses, including tour companies and others of use to tourists, will be closed however, so you need to bear this in mind while planning your trip. Public transport will also be affected – most companies run a more limited service (usually the same as on a Sunday) and some may not run at all (for instance there is no public transport in Newcastle on New Year’s Day as I have found to my cost when trying to get to the match!) You may also find that some restaurants close, though most pubs will be open, and on Christmas Day at least good restaurants will offer a special menu; book well in advance if you want to eat out on that day.

    You’ll note that we have relatively few official holidays compared with some other countries, and from time to time there are campaigns to introduce new ones. One popular suggestion is to honour St George’s Day (23rd April) in this way, although the Spring is already relatively well-supplied with holidays. You can read more about the St George’s Day Campaign here.

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    Government of England
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  • toonsarah
  • Updated By toonsarah on January 11, 2009
  • England Page by toonsarah
  • Houses of Parliament at night - England
    Houses of Parliament at
    night
    by toonsarah
    The first thing to remember when trying to understand our somewhat complex system of government is that England is not the United Kingdom and vice versa – it is part of the UK but only a part. The famous British Parliament, based in London, is the centre of government for the UK, which also includes Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, but each of these also has its own government or Assembly as it is known. Some things come under the jurisdiction of Parliament for all four of these so-called Home Nations, while for others Parliament only has responsibility for England and the national Assemblies have the responsibility in the other countries. Among the former are defence and the economy; among the latter health, libraries and most aspects of transport. This system not only causes confusion; there is also the anomaly that is referred to as the “West Lothian Question” (because it was first raised in Parliament by a Member of Parliament from there). This refers to the fact that Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish MPs (Members of Parliament) are able to vote on matters that affect only England because they sit in the UK Parliament. The only solution to this anomaly would be to create an England-only assembly or parliament to deal with these matters, but there are no plans or intentions to do this at present.

    Putting that issue aside, the system of government works roughly like this. Parliament is made up of the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The Commons has 651 elected Members of Parliament (MPs), who represent local constituencies. The House of Lords is made up of 1,185 hereditary and life peers and peeresses, and the two archbishops and the 24 most senior bishops of the established Church of England. The centre of parliamentary power is the House of Commons – the House of Lords is considered a revising chamber and although the Lords can reject a bill that has been passed by the Commons, they only rarely do so. However they do from time to time refer a bill back for amendment or delay its passing.

    The top layer of government is the Cabinet, consisting of the most senior ministers appointed by the Prime Minister. All of these will belong to the ruling party (currently the Labour Party) and are supported by a large number of junior ministers. An MP who is neither a minister nor junior minister is referred to as a “back-bencher” because he or she must sit in the back rows in Parliament. Ministers are collectively responsible for government decisions and individually responsible for their own departments.

    The second largest party forms the official Opposition, with its own leader and “shadow cabinet”. This is currently the Conservative Party; only they and the Labour Party have been in power in recent (post war) times and only these two are considered realistic options to rule at present, though other parties challenge them.

    According to the law the Queen is head of the executive branch of the government and an integral part of the legislative system. In practice however her role is largely symbolic. She is never involved in the day-to-day operation of the government, and is impartial and acts only on the advice of her ministers. So although all Bills require Royal Assent, this is merely a formality. Likewise when the Queen opens Parliament at the start of each session (that is after a holiday, not every day that Parliament sits!), the contents of her speech, which sets out the priorities for the next few months, are determined by the ruling party not by her whim. Nevertheless she is the head of State, and considered by many an important symbol of national unity.

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    Hampton Court
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  • kathycollins
  • Updated By kathycollins on August 9, 2003
  • England Page by kathycollins
  • Hampton Court Palace - England
    Hampton Court Palace
    by kathycollins
    Hampton Court, the home of Henry VIII, is every bit as fantastic as you might imagine. The gardens are fantastic. The history before your eyes is fantastic...Even the costumed tour guides are...well, you know what I mean!!!
    HamptonCourtPalace

    the privy gardens are wll worth the slightly increased fee...don't miss them!
    I hope to have a travelogue about this...or else I'll make a seperate page...I'll let you know!

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