England Local Customs

  New Thatch
by balhannah
 
  • New Thatch
      New Thatch
    by balhannah
  • New Thatch
      New Thatch
    by balhannah
  • Oast house home
      Oast house home
    by balhannah
  • Handsworth St Marys Church and Sword Dancers
      Handsworth St Marys Church and Sword...
    by suvanki
  • Handsworth Sword Dancers
      Handsworth Sword Dancers
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Most Viewed Local Customs in England

1.

Fish and Chips   York

Fish and Chips, York

 3 Reviews  Britains most popular hot take away meal is Fish and Chips. This tasty combination is usually eaten with salt and vinegar; in Scotland sometimes with a special brown sauce. The favourite fish is Cod,... 

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2.

Pronunciation   Oxford

Pronunciation, Oxford

 3 Reviews  Oxford has some intuition-defying pronunciations. If you really want to sound like a native you'll have to say Bay-lee-ill for Balliol (college), Bod-lee-inn for Bodleian (library), Maud-Lynn for... 

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3.

Geordie - language   Newcastle upon Tyne

Geordie - language, Newcastle upon Tyne

 10 Reviews   Perhaps more than any other in the country, the Geordie dialect can seem impenetrable to a non-Geordie, (a Geordie being a native of Newcastle). The differences between this and standard English... 

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4.

English Pubs   York

English Pubs, York

 2 Reviews  While people generally know pubs because of the beer, they are inexpensive places to eat. There is an asociation called CAMRA who works to preserve old pubs and after buying their guide I visited... 

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5.

May Day   Oxford

May Day, Oxford

 4 Reviews  May Morning is one of Oxford's most popular celebrations. Very many Oxonians (and tourists) party the whole night through only to gather on Magdalen Bridge at the unchristian time of 5.30am. The... 

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6.

girls...girls...girls   Newcastle upon Tyne

girls...girls...girls, Newcastle upon Tyne

 2 Reviews  You may notice when you visit Newcastle that there is the occasional coat shop....This is for Tourists only who think Newcastle is cold.... All year round in Newcastle on a night time you will see... 

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7.

Punting   Oxford

Punting, Oxford

 1 Review  Punting is a very popular passtime, particularly in the summer. I think punting is exclusive to Oxford & Cambridge - I've never seen it elsewhere. It's a lot more difficult than it looks - have a look... 

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8.

beer...beer..beer   Newcastle upon Tyne

beer...beer..beer, Newcastle upon Tyne

 5 Reviews  Newcastle Brown Ale is the best known beer from Newcastle. It's been brewed in the city since the 1920s and it's famous blue star logo has been there since the start. It’s available on draught, in... 

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9.

Rowing   Oxford

Rowing, Oxford

 1 Review  Rowing is one of the most popular sports at Oxford, and amongst the colleges the competition is fierce. Whilst the drawbacks of rowing are all too obvious - early starts at 6am, training 7 days a... 

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Reviews from VirtualTourist Members

THATCHED ROOF'S

by balhannah

Driving around England, we came across many Village's where home's had thatched roof's.Beautiful, especially with a Cottage garden to compliment the house!In Stratford Upon Avon, near Anne Hathaway's Cottage, we came across this one being thatched. It was interesting to view and to learn they are under threat as the climate change is bringing about warmer, wetter weather encouraging moss and algae to grow in the thatch, while also creating a shortage of straw. The thatch in the UK and Ireland is wheat straw, while some parts of the country use water reed. Once on the house, the thatch itself provides habitat and food for wildlife, especially birds and insects. I had noticed wire laid over the top to stop, this is to stop the Bird's.A roof thatched by a skilled craftsman can last 40 to 50 years without needing refurbishment, that is a long time, probably needed, as I imagine they would be...

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TOWN SIGNS

by balhannah

As we were driving through quite a few Villages in Kent, I happened to see the lovely sign post in my photo. The windmill is shown, as we were in the area where windmill's were. King George VI recommended, that the old custom of identifying villages with carved or painted name signs be revived. I really think this was a lovely idea, as I saw many different and really nice ones.We went to Biddenden, and I did notice the sign there that won the 1920 Daily Mail competition featuring the Biddenden Maid's. More and more village's followed with signs, especially in 1953, the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. More signs were added in the Millennium, making half of the county villages identified.I liked taking photo's of them, and thought they were much nicer than just a plain sign.

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OAST HOUSES

by balhannah

Whilst driving around South East England, especially around the Kent area, we saw many Oast Houses. They were not being used anymore for drying Hops, but had been made into homes. The first Oast House was converted in 1903! Some others have been Oast Theatre's, a Youth Hostel, a residential centre for people with learning difficulties, a school, Bed & Breakfasts, visitor centres and Museum's. We were able to go into the one at Sissinghurst Castle. I wondered what they would turn out like as a house.

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Afternoon Tea

by TheLongTone

The English don't do this. The classes who did are now the 'Ladies who Lunch' and are....errr, full of lunch and have to catch up on their shopping.Cucumber sandwiches, the cucumbers sliced so thin you could read newspaper through it, egg and cress sandwiches, possibly some ham or roast beef sandwiches. Cake, preferably Victoria sponge and fruitcake. And of course tea.You'll end up paying too much, but what the heck, you'll be sitting somewhere nice and you are on holiday. Enjoy!The tea in your Afternoon Tea should come in a teapot. The sugar should be lump sugar (tongs!) for preference and certainly not in any form of paper envelope or whatever. If the milk is UHT send it back.

Cricket lovely Cricket

by TheLongTone

With the possible exception of pinball I am wholly uninterested in either playing or watching any kind of sport, but cricket is another matter.Let us deal with a few misconceptions about the game: the rules are incomprehensiblePurest rubsquash. Certainly the leg before rules have their intricacies, but in essence the game is very simple: one bloke chucks a ball, attempting to hit the stumps: the batsman attempts to prevent this happening, preferably by whacking the ball a long way. Gladatorial, that's what I call it. Of course there are subtleties. So?The terminology is ludicrous Silly mid on, for example. Well, it's mid way down the pitch, on the on side: it's silly place to hang about if you don't want to find yourself in the way of a hard ball travelling at 90 mph. Its slow and boring. (As opposed to football, which is err.. occasionally fast and almost invariably dull beyond...

Listening to 'The Archers'

by TheLongTone

The Archers is a radio soap opera that has been running on Radio 4 for about a billion years. Touted as 'An everyday tale of Rural Folk' it is one of thos things that polarises the nation, or at least radio 4 aficionadoes. For some, it is the highlight of their day: for others, myself among them the opening bars of the theme tune will trigger a reflex action that can produce a turn of speed that, would shame Ephraim Bolt in order to kill the radio.For a tourist who can understand the language, I would recommend a dip into it: it provides an excellent insight into who the English think they are.

Queuing

by toonsarah

The English are famous for their queues (in the US, “lines”). Although in recent years they have become a bit more casual (some would say rude), it is still generally expected that you will join the back of the queue and wait your turn when shopping, buying tickets, waiting in a bank, post office or for a bus or train.Those who push forwards are known as “queue jumpers” and although people may not say anything (another strange English custom – we don’t usually say out loud what we are really thinking about you!), they will mutter and sigh, and perhaps try to push back in their turn.If you’re not sure whether there is one queue or more for several different cashiers, ask someone. You will often hear people asking, “Who’s next?” The general rule is that you are next if you arrived in the queue ahead of everyone else, but again, if you’re not sure, just ask. In a supermarket it’s polite to...

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Poppies for remembrance

by toonsarah

Remembrance Sunday is commemorated in England on the second Sunday of November, which is the Sunday nearest to 11th November, the anniversary of the end of First World War hostilities at 11.00 AM in 1918. As in most countries, the ceremonies are marked by two minutes’ silence. Wreaths of poppies are laid on war memorials all round the country as can be seen here in this photo of the memorial in Adlestrop church, Gloucestershire (taken and donated by Ingrid), as well as at the Cenotaph in Whitehall, London. The latter is attended by the Queen and other members of the Royal Family, but in small towns and villages up and down the country the practice is observed by members of the Royal British Legion (a charity for retired servicemen and women), local dignitaries and representatives of local organisations.The day is also sometimes referred to as Poppy Day, because of this laying of...

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RED TELEPHONE BOXES

by DAO

They are starting to become harder to find. Nothing is as iconic as the British Phone Box. Needless to say, they don’t make them like that anymore. The red telephone box was designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott. They were designed to protect callers from the rain and to be easily seen. The first telephone kiosks were introduced by the Post Office and made from concrete in 1920 (called a K1). Many London Metropolitan Boroughs would not accept this and the Post Office held a contest in 1924 to make a better phone box. The winning design was by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott who envisioned a silver coloured exterior. The Post Office saw red. Literally. The phone boxes were all made red and matched their letterboxes. This was accepted in London as K2. Sir Giles stayed busy and designed K3 in 1930 made in concrete. K4 was designed by the Post Office itself in 1927 and only 50 were built (please see...

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England at play: Morris dancing

by leics

Many English towns and villages have Morris dancing troupes, and you may well come across them performing if you visit fairs/fetes or special village/town festivals (May Day is a common dance-day).Morris probably has a very long history, stretching back into pagan prehistory, but what you see now is mostly the result of Victorian/Edwardian intetest in 'traditional' customs and later popularity in the 60s/70s (you might note that many of the Morris dancers are not exactly young).So don't think the costumes or music are ancient. They have some ancient notes, almost certainly (the flowers/feathers on hats linking with fertility, the 'raggy man' some troupes have linking with the pagan 'green man') but much of both is a more recent creation.Morris is a male dance, demonstrating potency and virility, but you may see female Morris dancers nowadays (partly because it became increasingly hard to...

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Local traditions and culture in England

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Local Customs: Cities in England
  1. London Local Customs
  2. Manchester Local Customs
  3. York Local Customs
  4. Birmingham Local Customs
  5. Oxford Local Customs
  6. Liverpool Local Customs
  7. Blackpool Local Customs
  8. Newcastle upon Tyne Local Customs
  9. Bath Local Customs
  10. Cambridge Local Customs
  11. Brighton Local Customs
  12. Nottingham Local Customs
  13. Bournemouth Local Customs
  14. Bristol Local Customs
  15. Torquay Local Customs
  16. Chester Local Customs
  17. Sheffield Local Customs
  18. Scarborough Local Customs
  19. Leeds Local Customs
  20. Canterbury Local Customs
  21. Eastbourne Local Customs
  22. Newquay Local Customs
  23. Whitby Local Customs
  24. Windsor Local Customs
  25. Portsmouth Local Customs
  26. Stratford-upon-Avon Local Customs
  27. Plymouth Local Customs
  28. Coventry Local Customs
  29. Lake District National Park Local Customs
  30. Reading Local Customs
  31. Weymouth Local Customs
  32. Durham Local Customs
  33. Cheltenham Local Customs
  34. Salisbury Local Customs
  35. Richmond Local Customs
  36. Kingston upon Hull Local Customs
  37. Dover Local Customs
  38. Exeter Local Customs
  39. Folkestone Local Customs
  40. Halifax Local Customs
  41. Derby Local Customs
  42. Gloucester Local Customs
  43. Greenwich Local Customs
  44. Saint Ives Local Customs
  45. Weston-Super-Mare Local Customs
  46. Kingston upon Thames Local Customs
  47. Winchester Local Customs
  48. Warwick Local Customs
  49. Norwich Local Customs
  50. Oldham Local Customs
  51. Middlesbrough Local Customs
  52. Peterborough Local Customs
  53. Skegness Local Customs
  54. Southport Local Customs
  55. Ipswich Local Customs
  56. Tunbridge Wells Local Customs
  57. Royal Leamington Spa Local Customs
  58. Hastings Local Customs
  59. Stonehenge Local Customs
  60. Barrow in Furness Local Customs
  61. Stockport Local Customs
  62. Leicester Local Customs
  63. Bognor Regis Local Customs
  64. Wimbledon Local Customs
  65. Glastonbury Local Customs
  66. Sunderland Local Customs
  67. Shrewsbury Local Customs
  68. Clacton-on-Sea Local Customs
  69. Hereford Local Customs
  70. Southampton Local Customs
  71. Watford Local Customs
  72. High Wycombe Local Customs
  73. Swindon Local Customs
  74. Ely Local Customs
  75. Yorkshire Dales National Park Local Customs
  76. Skipton Local Customs

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Questions and Answers

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Q:  How much would a taxi from Hastings or Ebbsfleet to Southampton be, and how long would it take respectively? 

leics profile photo

A: Hastings>Southampton is nearly 100 miles and would take around 2 hours. Ebbsfleet would take much the same. A taxi will be (very) expensive, I fear. You would need to... 

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