London Calling

Hello! See, I'm getting quicker at updating here...

As you may have worked out, the tour is 98% done: there's only one more place/county to do, and that's London. Of course, I'm in Greater London now, but I haven't really visited anywhere in Central London as such, unless you count the LSE Library in Holborn, which I don't. So I'll be doing a proper visit this Monday before heading back to Falmouth on a sleeper train for a "Tea Crawl" to finish it all off... but more on that story later!

Hopefully I will be putting more up about my stays in Bath, Cardiff, Birmingham, Oxford, Milton Keynes, Cambridge and Thornaby later - as well as how I came to purchase a top hat in Whitby - but for now I'll leave you with the news that I'm very very nearly done, and am looking forward to a time where I don't actually have to travel around like a mad thing. After all, a change is as good as a rest, and I could definitely do with a rest!

Thanks for reading,
Chris

I'm back!

More soon, but suffice to say I've now been to...

1. Swindon
2. Bath
3. Dorchester
4. Cardiff
5. Caerphilly
6. Swansea and the Mumbles
7. Ludlow
8. Birmingham
9. Lichfield
10. Sutton Coldfield
11. Leamington Spa
12. Warwick
13. Coventry
14. Oxford
15. Northampton
16. Milton Keynes
17. Cambridge
18. York
19. Thornaby
20. Sunderland
21. Newcastle
22. Gateshead
23. Whitby
24. Durham, and
25. Leeds

All in just 18 days! So you'll forgive me for the absence of posts. There will be more soon, never fear, and I'll do my best to keep you posted this week!

Chris

On the rails again...

Hello once more! You know the stage in the 400m where the athletes are rounding the final straight? Well, that's where this tour is atm: the majority is done, but this last bit will be tiring to say the least. Still, the itinerary is sorted, the places have been identified, and in under 6 hours' time I will be heading off to Bath to re-do my bit on Somerset. Then it's off to Dorchester tomorrow, Cardiff on Saturday, many other Welsh places and Shropshire between Sunday and Wednesday: and with any luck, I will be in Birmingham this time next week, taking on the West Midlands, Warwickshire and Staffordshire.

Hopefully I'll be able to get on t'internet every now and then, but the chances are I won't be able to put pictures up until two or three weeks from now, by which time I'll have shuttled through Oxford, Milton Keynes and Cambridge and will be up in the North-East visiting Newcastle and Durham. But oh well, I'm sure you'll all survive in my somewhat prolonged absence from the world wide web. In any case, the longer I am offline, the more fun I'm having on the tour :)

So take care people, and I'll see you when I see you! Next stop, Swindon...

Chris

More places confirmed, and my thoughts on a dark night for football

Hello again! Today's been a good day in parts, as I've been able to book tickets for my visits to Oxford, Cambridge, York (again), Thornaby, Leeds (again), Birmingham, London and Falmouth: and for less than £40, I'll have you know. Add this to the fact that I've found a place to stay for free in Cambridge, and I think we can agree that I've had a pretty productive day: though from a week tomorrow onwards I'll have a lot on my plate!

However, despite the fact that Spurs have yet again gone to Yorkshire, walloped their opponents 5-1 (it was Doncaster this time) and gone home again, I am not an entirely happy football fan. As you may well have seen, Upton Park and the surrounding area saw a number of violent clashes take place between West Ham United and Millwall fans last night: I say fans, but with any luck, the people involved will be banned from going to watch football for life, and will therefore no longer be fans.

I am aware of the rivalry between the two fans: my Gran lives quite close to Millwall's ground, and I know a few West Ham fans personally. But COME ON! How many of you work for rival dockyard companies these days? Or work for the Krays or the Richardsons, come to that? It really is quite depressing: admittedly Spurs and Arsenal fans are supposedly bitter rivals, but over the years I like to think we've come to admire their style of play; whilst they've beaten us so many times recently that they don't mind our taunting in the slightest.

The fact that someone got stabbed; that the game wasn't stopped; that both clubs haven't been banned from competing in the Carling Cup for at least a year; all of these are pretty worrying. If Great Britain actually wants to show the world it's the best at sport, then it could at least start by not trying to have a pitched battle right next to the future Olympic Village!

So sort it out West Ham and Millwall: your rivalry was relevant 60 years ago, but no-one was impressed then, and they're certainly not impressed now.

Rant over :) Thanks for reading, Gloucestershire's section in T-minus 10 hours!
Chris

Coming up next: Walking in Gloucestershire

Hello! Been doing a bit more planning since I last blogged: all the remaining stages have been planned, and I've almost sorted out the travelling and accommodation.

The first stage of the ten that are left should be completed by Thursday, as I'm doing a 21-mile walk round the Stroud area for my feature on Gloucestershire. The walk will start from Stroud Sub Rooms at 9am, then calls at Brimscombe, Chalford, Minchinhampton, Rodborough, Selsley, The Stanleys, Stonehouse, Randwick and Whiteshill, before finishing in Stroud by 7pm. Kind of like Stroud's version of the Circle Line, then, only not as slow :) Hopefully the weather will hold and it'll be sunny all the way round: but who knows? After all, this is walking in England.

After that, it's a week's break before heading to Bath, Dorchester & Weymouth, Cardiff, Caerphilly, St. David's & Haverfordwest, Ludlow & Knighton, Birmingham... well, you get the idea. In any case, I should be blogging regularly throughout the next four weeks, so with any luck you'll know where I'm off to without me having to rattle off the full list.

Take care, and thanks for reading,
Chris

York, Sheffield, York, Retford, Lincoln, Retford, Doncaster, Hull, Doncaster, York... phew!

Hey guys! As you can see, the past few days saw me shuttling around a fair few places: from Tuesday to Thursday I was mainly staying in York, but I also visited Sheffield (again), Lincoln, Retford (in Nottinghamshire) and Kingston-upon-Hull. And I had a snoop around Doncaster's shopping centre, Frenchgate, but I'm not sure if that counts.



Though I did hear a band from Doncaster... www.myspace.com/presentingwipeout. They're excellent, heard them in Lincoln and they played some good covers of Whisky in the Jar, Sex On Fire and All Day And All Of The Night.



Of course, a bit happened before that: Saturday's visit to Hereford seems an age away! Found one of the best cafes so far there btw; No. 10, near the Cathedral. Very good grub indeed. And the Hereford United match was pretty good, the Hereford goalie Adam Bartlett excelled with some saves that would not have looked out of place in the Premier League. Ed also took me and Chris Parry to see Ross-on-Wye, though that wasn't quite as eventful. Nice town though, the sort that looks good on a postcard.



Then Tuesday saw me pootle around Cheltenham again (there was someone giving out free hugs: I couldn't refuse), where there was a Dalek and a Tardis in town. Could it get much better than that? On arrival to York, the answer was yes :) I have always liked York, ever since I first visited it six years ago. Interestingly, the first thing I did was to check into the hostel I stayed at on that very visit: definitely a moment of nostalgia.

Then it was off to Sheffield in order to see a bit more of the place: this time I caught the tram into town (£1.20 for a single is pretty good, and £3.50 for the whole day is fair enough), wandered about the centre a bit more, and then went to see Sheffield United take on Leicester City: I felt I should get Leicester into the tour again after what was a flying visit, and I've sort of made it a goal to watch one football match from each of the top five divisions. Have to say you won't see a better goal than Keith Treacy's equaliser in a 1-1 draw: proper belter, lad.

On Wednesday I went up to Lincoln and saw the Magna Carta, again :) Lincoln's famous for having one of the four copies. And for having a whacking great cathedral too. However, the most impressive thing about Lincoln is not being out of breath after going up Steep Hill: that street's got several tea rooms on it for a reason!

After that, it was a quick jaunt around Retford (I had a long wait between trains), which was a nice if modestly-sized town: decently located though, having two adjacent stations on the East Coast Line and the Sheffield-Lincoln line. A quick change in Doncaster later and I arrived in Hull...

Hmm. The City of Hull, superb. Hull City: awful! I liked the pubs in Hull (especially the George, home of England's smallest window), had a good chat with a Hull fan called Roger and admired the Victorian buildings and the waterfront, but it went a bit downhill at the KC Stadium. Obviously I was happy that Spurs won, but there's nothing that wrecks an atmosphere quite like a 5-1 win for the away side. I wouldn't have minded Hull scoring a couple more goals to make it interesting, especially as I was in the home end.

A quick snoop around Doncaster (changing trains again) and I was back in York, where I bumped into Jess, an ardent Man City fan and a York lass born and bred. Her friends were the worse for wear, and she clearly wanted to be shot of them, but when you're working-class and down on your luck like she was you can't afford to lose too many friends. It was a good chat, though it did make me realise that York is not perfect: the poor girl had been there for almost all of her life, and she described her situation as "Being like a tiger in a cage: with the door open, but a chain around your neck, holding you back."

Not that this stopped me from finding York a great place to explore the next day: it reeks of history, is full of awesome northern accents and has some great places to eat, as well as a thriving music scene. But it does seem a cruel injustice that while us tourists get treated like kings, people like Jess - who actually live there - get a considerably harsher deal. And judging from the front page of the Yorkshire Post I bought on Thursday, it's the young people of Yorkshire who are suffering the most. Makes me feel extremely lucky, to be fair: I may not always get what I want, but I've been fortunate enough to do all this travelling, and I can understand it if people envy what I'm doing, or even resent it. If I were in their shoes, I probably would too.

Epic updating manoeuvre! Coming up next, the Shire, to be confirmed. Thanks for reading!
Chris

Worcestershire's done: 37 down, 13 to go...

Hey guys! As you can see from the title, Worcestershire has been crossed off the list of areas still to visit, which means I've visited almost three-quarters of the isle. Worcester itself was overall very good: grimy in places, and in need of some new industries, but it is a nice enough city and in the Commandery it has one of the best history museums I've ever been to.

I'll be writing in greater detail about Worcester later on, but my overall impression was that it was a place that has done well for itself despite taking numerous batterings: it's been a battleground for the Civil War (twice), flooded by the River Severn on numerous occasions, and has suffered the effects of slums and overcrowding. Nevertheless, it is still internationally renowned for the excellent Worcestershire sauce, is a decent sporting venue, and has a impressive array of local shops. Just don't make your way to the centre from Worcester Shrub Hill station: you pass through the former industrial area, and it makes for grim viewing.

Coming up next on the tour...

• Tomorrow sees me take on Herefordshire, as Ed Stevens, Chris Parry, Tom Hards and Andrew Hartley accompany me to Hereford. We're hoping to visit the National Cider Museum before watching a thrilling encounter between Hereford United and Cheltenham Town: bit of a local derby that one!
• On Tuesday I head off to York in order to discover a bit more about the supposed gem of the North. Hopefully it won't rain as much as it did last time...
• Finally, Wednesday is a pretty hectic day, as I go from North Yorkshire to Lincolnshire via Nottinghamshire (again) to visit Lincoln Cathedral and Castle, before going to East Yorkshire via South Yorkshire (again) to watch Hull City vs Tottenham Hotspur. Keeping track? Excellent...

So there you have it: by the time I finish all that, I'll have done 40 out of 50. Whoop! But now, back to working in the office at Stroud. Thanks for reading, I'll have a brief report on Hereford soonish!

Chris

Back from Being Busy!

Hey guys: it's been a while since the last update, as I'm sure you're aware. Quite a lot has been happening since the last blog: the Americans showed up at half 6 (and left again 4 hours later), I visited East Grinstead and the Bluebell Railway (which was awesome), and I'm now back in Gloucestershire, or as I like to call it, the Shire.

These past few days in particular have seen me working at my Dad's office, and thrashing out a few plans for visiting Dorset, Bath (again), Wales, Shropshire, the West Midlands, Staffordshire and Warwickshire. Oh, and Buckinghamshire (again). And Cambridgeshire. Told you I'd been busy, hadn't I?

Here are a few of the places I've put on a so-far unfixed itinerary:

1. Dorchester
2. Bath
3. Cardiff
4. Caerphilly
5. Swansea
6. Ludlow
7. Knighton
8. Birmingham
9. Stafford
10. Warwick
11. Coventry
12. Milton Keynes
13. Cambridge

And at present, I should be visiting all those places in the space of a fortnight. Let it never be said I'm not mad. Of course, I could argue that I'm staying put for almost a month in order to compensate for all this moving about, but on Saturday I'm up in Hereford, and next Tuesday I'm heading to York, so that's more of a whacking great fib than an argument.

And I might be heading to Worcester mid-week...

So much for staying put! But I have been working a bit in order to raise funds, and being in one county for six days is extremely restrained compared to thirteen in six days. And to be honest, although there's a lot still to do, the bulk of my travelling has come and gone. But Wales should still be very awesome indeed, especially if I get to visit Knighton: where the town is in Wales, but the station's in England. Confusing times, non?

I'll let you know when I'm on the move again!

Thanks for reading, Chris

August Angst

Come in Seattle, we've lost two of your citizens...

I wanted my next post to be about how awesome Norwich was (and don't worry, it definitely was awesome), but at the moment I have other concerns. Larissa and Cassie, who I mentioned in the previous blog, have decided to go AWOL this evening, despite the fact that:

• They're Rose's friends
• All their stuff is at my Gran's house, which is where they're sleeping
• They have no mobile phones (that we know of), and as such can't be contacted.
• They have a flight tomorrow from Gatwick at 2pm.

Enough said, really. Rose is fuming, I haven't seen her this mad in quite some time. To be honest, I'm not particularly happy after: going round most of Norwich wore me out a bit, and the last thing I need is to stay up until 3-4am waiting for two presumably drunk Yanks to start hammering on the door. You guys know my thoughts on alcohol, and it's definitely at fault in this situation.

One more place to go before I head back to Gloucestershire, and that's East Grinstead on Monday for the Bluebell Railway. Then it's home time, woo! I'm looking forward to seeing Stroud again: I know it won't have changed, but I still like the old place. You can't really beat home at the end of the day.

Right, time to get some semi-shuteye. This should be interesting...

Chris

P.S. 70% of the way through now, whoop! If I can get to at least 80% by the end of this month I'll be doing okay: that's five places, btw.

Essex, East Sussex and Eberkshire all done! Wait...

That's right, I've done another three places on the tour, taking the overall count to 34. That still leaves me with just under a third of the island to explore - which sounds a bit daunting on its own - but if I can manage twenty-six in a month like I just did, then sixteen in two months should be doable.

Already confirmed are:

1. Norfolk: that's tomorrow. Visiting Norwich, and possibly either Cromer or Great Yarmouth, depending on the weather.
2. West Sussex: maybe on Sunday, but probably Monday. Visiting the Bluebell Railway and East Grinstead, so looking forward to that.
3. Gloucestershire: kinda have to do this one, as it's where I usually live during the holidays! Will be "visiting" my home town of Stroud, and hopefully doing some other places as well. Back there on Tuesday, whoop!
4. Herefordshire: going to watch Hereford United vs. Cheltenham Town in just over two weeks' time, and hopefully will get to see a bit of Hereford as well. The Tommies gang are helping me out with that one, hurrah!
5. Lincolnshire: visiting Lincoln two weeks on Wednesday, and hopefully meeting up with Josh Harris.
6. East Yorkshire: Travelling solo, on the same day I'm visiting Lincoln, to watch Hull City vs. Tottenham Hotspur. Once I've booked my ticket, that is...

That still leaves me with ten to go, of course. They are...

1. Cambridgeshire
2. City of London
3. Dorset
4. Northamptonshire
5. Shropshire
6. Wales
7. West Midlands
8. Warwickshire
9. Worcestershire

I'm hoping to combine some of those together into one big trip (West Midlands, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Northamptonshire and Cambridgeshire for example), but I need to get back home and discuss things with the folks: am running low on funds atm and need to boost the bank account before I can go gallivanting off to all those places!

Thanks to Abi Brady, Rose, Cassie and Larissa by the way; Abi was my tour guide for Essex, while Rose, Cassie and Larissa accompanied me to Brighton and Windsor yesterday. Steve came along to Windsor too, and got stung by a wasp for his troubles. Fortunately, he killed the brute. Steve 1, Wasp 0!

Thanks for reading, and with any luck I'll be 70% of the way through after tomorrow. Yay, that means I'll get a 1st in Travel Writing! If only it was a degree...

Chris

Rochester? Lovely. Chatham? Hmmmmmmm...

Hello everyone! I'm back from er, Rockin' Rochester. Not exactly a place that would seem to have a thriving nightlife, but who cares? I still found it awesome: very friendly people who were willing to help out, a pretty cool Cathedral, and more Dickens references than you could shake a Claypole at. And judging from our lunch at Simply Italian, the cuisine's not half bad either!

Chatham, however: well, I blame whoever decided to lob massive chunks of concrete at it in the 60's, because this poor old port is in serious need of regeneration (which has recently begun by the way). Dickens World, which is nearby, is definitely worth a look - especially as Dickens spent a great deal of his life in the Medway area - but compared to Rochester, Chatham seemed very unwelcoming. Though like I say, at least work is being done to rectify that, which is promising for the town.

Coming up this week...

• Epping, Essex
• Brighton, East Sussex
• Windsor, Berkshire
• Norwich, Norfolk
• East Grinstead, West Sussex

After that last one: well, who knows? With a few things to sort out when I get back, nothing's quite certain at the moment. But who knows what's coming up next? When I do, I'll let you know!

Chris

St Albans done! And some mild turmoil

Yay for frequent blogging! Though I doubt I'll be able to get up to more than a blog every other day by the end of the month: I left some pretty big gaps this month it's fair to say.

First, the good news: I'm 60% of the way there! WHOOP! This is a pretty good milestone in my opinion: granted I've still got Kent, Essex, East Sussex... ah, let's not even go there. The point is I've come a fair way already and not done too badly, which is encouraging stuff. St Albans is one of my favourites on the tour so far: friendly people, plenty of pubs, good market, and one of the best parks in the country if you ask me! But then, the weather was fantastic today, so perhaps my account of it might have been different if it had been chucking it down with rain.

And whilst we're on the subject of Hertfordshire: er, Watford didn't look too welcoming. I did think about checking it out, and it doesn't look as horrendous as people were describing it from a distance, but Watford Junction definitely needs smartening up: there's something not quite right about that station.

To be honest, the tour is in danger of getting sidetracked by some stuff I'm going through. It's more a confidence thing than anything else: bizarrely I find trekking round huge swathes of this island of ours a LOT easier than a task that most other people manage without batting an eyelid. Hopefully by Tuesday I'll have enough confidence and determination to tackle this problem of mine head on: we'll have to wait and see. Don't worry about me or the tour though, I'm not going to quit after coming this far! In fact, I'll be heading off in 8 hours' time to do my feature on Kent, so look out for a mini-blog on that soon!

Cheers for the support guys, and thanks for reading,
Chris

Recuperation

Hello again!

First, some rather good news: I have discovered that my Gran's house has wireless internet, so the updates should be pretty frequent from now on!

After the pain and stress I put my poor old body through earlier, I think it's fair to say that the past few days have been of recuperating. Admittedly I did complete another stage of the tour yesterday, but my visit to Ipswich was deliberately leisurely, and I feel considerably healthier as a result.

It is a bit weird to think I'm over half-way through, because it still feels as if there's a long way to go: and indeed there is, as I still have seven places to take on before heading back, and even then that still leaves me with 14 places to go: fortunately, most of them are close together, but East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire will be a considerable trek!

If you are ever in Ipswich, by the way, make sure you go and visit Ipswich Museum, which is just to the north-west of the town centre: the wooly mammoth alone is worth the visit, and the museum itself is completely free! Have to say I liked Ipswich, even if bits of it do need cleaning up: there were enough positives to convince me that it's going places. Good artwork too :)

Thanks for reading guys! Doing St Albans and Rochester over the weekend for Hertfordshire and Kent: might also have a poke around Watford and Chatham too if I get time. You haven't lived until you've survived Watford, according to some...

Chris

The intense part is over, but there's still a way to go!

Hey guys! I think I can feel my arms again :)

It's been an intense few days to say the least, but I can now safely say I have been to:

• Edinburgh
• Berwick-upon-Tweed
• Carlisle
• Lancaster
• Manchester
• Liverpool
• Chester
• Leeds
• Sheffield
• Derby
• Nottingham
• Oakham
• Leicester

So as you can probably tell, I am loving this day off! But not loving the fact that the wireless kept cutting out when I wanted to update this on my travels. Oh well...

Annoyingly I can't upload photos just yet, but I will definitely be telling you all about these places and more in the next few weeks. What's that? He's doing more, you cry? Indeed I am. Tomorrow is Ipswich, and then it's St Albans, Rochester, Epping, Brighton, Windsor, Norwich and East Grinstead.

Here's to trying to do too much at once! But at least those places will be spread out over the next er... 11 days. Hey, at least 8 places in 11 days won't be as insane as 13 in 6. And none of them will involve the madness of Edinburgh... hehehe, looking forward to telling you guys all about that. Two pub crawls in two nights isn't even HALF the story. This should be one cracker of a book when I'm done!

Thanks to everyone who helped out over the six days, especially Sam-Wise, Hannah Gregson, John Darnborough, Harry Ullman, Dan Scholes and Libby Galvin. You guys were a massive help! And to be honest, the only reason I'm still going is because of the support of all you guys, so thanks for that :)

Take care guys!

Chris S

Tiring touring!

Hey guys,
I may have bitten off more than I can chew, lol!
I'm in Manchester now having done Scotland, Northumberland, Cumbria and Lancashire (all of which were awesome in different ways), but suffice it to say that I'm WAY too tired to tell you all about what I've been up to so far. But to briefly summarise, I...

• Have been on two pub crawls in two nights
• Gone up the highest peak in Edinburgh at 8am
• Survived the swirling vortex of Berwick

And that's just a taster!

More after the long sleep I'm going to have quite soon. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.......

Chris S

Hi, I'm on the train!

I'll talk to you later: nah, just kidding. My train's just stopped in Newcastle on its way up towards Edinburgh, which is where I'll be for a couple of days. A lot's happened since I last blogged and, to be fair, even more is going to be happening after this one! Between last Friday and today I've been to Amersham and Stoke Poges in Buckinghamshire; accidentally ended up in Slough; seen a circus in Alton, Hampshire; been to Greenwich not once but twice; and blazed a tourist trail through both Dorking and Guildford in Surrey.


Has there been a favourite place so far? Well to be honest, I've liked almost all the places I've visited: admittedly Buckinghamshire didn't have a great deal to offer in attractions, but fortunately it was full of Light Entertainers, and thus was far from being a disappointment. Wiltshire was definitely awesome, and I really enjoyed Guildford on Tuesday: though in terms of free attractions, it may be hard to beat Greenwich, as I got into both the Maritime Museum and the Observatory for scot free. Kudos, Greenwich: kudos.


But now, onto Scotland and Edinburgh! And then Berwick, Carlisle, Lancaster, Manchester... well, you get the idea. It's going to be a long trip!


Take care people,
Chris S

Even more updating!

Hello again! It's been a while, but then, I've been a bit busy.

First and foremost, I'm 24% of the way through the tour: Bedford and Bedfordshire have now been visited, courtesy of Mr Edgar Duncan. Cheers Ed! And if you're in Bedford at any point, be sure to check out the awesome musical keyboard on the high street; it provides hours of fun.

Tomorrow I'm heading out to Amersham and Stoke Poges in Buckinghamshire: should be seeing a fair few thespians from Oxford and Cambridge Light Entertainment Societies (OULES and CULES) whilst I'm there, so I'm looking forward to it!

Next week is rather busy: we've got Surrey coming up on Tuesday, then it's Greater London on Wednesday, and of course my trip to Scotland and Northern England begins on Thursday. Add to all that travelling a trip to Suffolk, and in two weeks' time I'll have gone from completing 24% of the tour to completing 56%: or rather, I'll have visited 16 places in two weeks. Busy times!

Unfortunately it'll be a while before the photos and some of the reports are up, but I'll do my best to keep you posted.

Oh, and before I forget, I've booked a hostel for two nights in York next month, in order to do a proper visit to Lincolnshire and East Yorkshire. Should be a good little trip, that one.

Thanks for reading!
Chris S

9/50: Salisbury, Wiltshire

Take a peaceful village in Wiltshire. Move it two miles south after realising the original location is far too windy. Then place a Cathedral south of the high street, and allow a large amount of half-timbered houses to spring up. The result? Salisbury, a cathedral city that manages to remain busy and peaceful at the same time, which is in itself a significant achievement.

It does have to be said that the Cathedral dominates the landscape: hardly surprising, as it has the tallest spire in Great Britain, and thus can be seen for miles around. You therefore have to be quite distracted to miss your stop when travelling to Salisbury by train, as the spire looms into view a minute or so before the station; Salisbury station is reasonably large, with the four main directions of service being to Bristol, Exeter, Southampton and London Waterloo.

Judging from the experience of my tour guides Emma Preuss and Rachael Wheeler, who arrived by car, Salisbury's rail network is much more navigable than its road network, which threatens to boggle the mind. In particular, we failed to understand the logic of putting numerous box junctions on a roundabout, though we managed in the end. Buses did occasionally make themselves known as well, but as Emma and Rachael were to explain, they are a relatively rare species in Wiltshire.

As well signposted as Bristol and Exeter were, Salisbury is relatively easy to get around, and is a major shopping centre: car parks and rows of shops are dotted around the city, with the odd amusing sight in between. Among these we found a dragon, a goat and a lion, so clearly Salisbury has a thing for animals, be they mythical or mundane.

We spent a great deal of time looking around the Cathedral, so I shall mainly describe that, though the rest of the city is worth a look round too. However, if you want to relax by the airy and spacious cloisters, see some fantastic stain-glassed windows, or have a peek at the Magna Carta, and all for a mere donation, then you'll probably spend most of your time in the Cathedral. The range of stain-glassed windows is very interesting, the Vault is almost as impressive as Exeter's, and the Cloisters are fantastic for just lounging about in, but be warned: the Magna Carta is in its original Latin, so whilst it is certainly historic, you probably won't understand a word of it! Also worth a look are the numerous tombs, one of which has some rather warped pillars.

In terms of shops, there is plenty to buy here: aside from the usual suspects, there is a rather large music store on Catherine Street (east of the High Street) that really does seem to have everything a budding musician would want, including not one but two electric ukeleles. So if you like wandering around historic buildings and picking up interesting purchases, Salisbury seems to be the place to do it: and with a fair few parks dotted around, it's a lot nicer than the other big settlement in Wiltshire, the notoriously run-down Swindon.

More on Hampshire and the Isle of Wight when I get the photos up!
Chris

Update! Sorry for the delay...

Hey guys! Sorry I've been away, been recuperating this past week as you know. The tour's back on now and I had a good weekend lounging about in SE14 of London watching some great tennis... what a final that was.

I'm now in Burbage, Wiltshire, and should be blogging about this fine county in due course: we saw Salisbury Cathedral and Avebury's Stone Circle, so I think I can cross the ninth of fifty areas off my list! Hampshire and the Isle of Wight tomorrow and Bedford on Thursday before Bucks on Saturday, so busy times lie ahead.

Shall be blogging about those soon. Take care!
Chris S

Diary of Great Britain: Murray

Hey guys, here's an attempt at a short chapter for my book. Let me know what you think! :)

Murray

"Enough with the bloody drop shots already!"

I yell in frustration, and a comment like that can only mean one thing: Andy Murray is playing at Wimbledon.

As usual, he's not taking his opponent seriously, and my fellow spectators, Lewis and Antony, share my annoyance. We're sitting in their living room, watching the supposed saviour of Great Britain taking on Stanislas Wawrinka; a man who sounds and looks Polish, but isn't. Although we come in half-way through the fourth set, it isn't long before we think the same as everyone else: damn, this Wawrinka guy's good, isn't he?

We haven't even heard of Wawrinka and already we're impressed by his game. His serve is ferocious, his stamina impressive, and his aces threaten to overwhelm Murray completely. So how come we've never even heard of him, then? And how come he's only the 19th seed?

A Wiki search is called for: Lewis takes over. "Stanislas Wawrinka: Polish descent, born in Switzerland. Left school at 15 in order to pursue a full-time tennis career".

"How old is he?" I ask.

"Let's see: born in 1985."

Only 23? But still older than Murray, and wiser for it. The Scot throws away a break point and goes 6-5 down in the fourth set; he is clearly not in the right state of mind, and the expletives are flying thick and fast. Wawrinka, meanwhile, makes for a fascinating contrast: as cool as your average Swiss, his ace to take the set is unbelievable. So good is the shot that we unanimously shout for a replay, but time is pressing. The match has been going since 6ish, and it's definitely gone 9, though we've long lost track of time in this game. A subtitle insists that BBC News will follow the broadcast shortly, but my mind tells me a tie-breaker is on its way.

However, I'd forgotten Murray's determination. He holds serve well in the fifth set, then breaks serve even better: a lob shot by Wawrinka has us fearing the worst until Murray somehow scoops it back over the net to safety. Wawrinka has no response but to curse in disappointment; we have no response but to roar in hope. One game later, and Great Britain's lone standard-bearer is 3-0 up.

Game over?

We weren't counting on Stanislas: it seems no-one was, except maybe his coach and his father, who shares the same squashed profile. Wawrinka fights back mercilessly at first, and is soon 40-0 up in the fourth game. 3-1, surely? But no. Wawrinka has yet to develop that ruthless streak you see in such greats as Federer and Nadal, and he lets it slip to deuce.

Cue groans of despair from all: I actually punch the sofa as the horror of that scenario kicks in.

"What's worse than losing a game?"

"Getting to deuce."

"What's worse than getting to deuce?"

"Getting to deuce AGAIN!"

We laugh, but this is getting serious. Wawrinka not only holds serve, he breaks it too.

"I could play better than that!" roars Lewis, as Murray tamely smacks the ball into the net. In the next game, he barely moves: another Wawrinka ace makes short work of him.

"Pathetic." snarls Antony; 3-3.

Why do British athletes do this to us? And how come the Swiss are so good at tennis? You would have thought a country made up of lakes and mountains would be useless for such a game, but Wawrinka here is threatening to silence the hyped-up British press once and for all.

Until Murray holds serve, that is. Cue cameramen deliberately zooming in on any cheering female Murray supporter that happens to have a low-cut top. We are all agreed that most cameramen are peeping toms, and that being paid to perform such a task seems highly unjustified. Are they even watching this match?

The camera pans back to a girl with a low-cut red top. Nope, apparently not.

A few moments later and even the cameramen are focusing on the real action, as Murray finally breaks serve again and punishes Wawrinka for failing to show a killer instinct: the drop shots finally start to pay off, and his adversary's aces have long since vanished. As James returns to the house, I feel a stab of sympathy for both Wawrinka and his demise: he had nothing to lose, but the gratuitous whooping of Centre Court, complete with silly hats, threatens to tarnish the efforts of this red-nosed fighter. If Murray wants to go all the way in this contest, he would do well to copy his opponent's serve, and his temperament too.

A roar from the crowd: two match points to Murray. 40-30.

Silence reigns; through the house; down the street; and all the way to South-West London.

Thwock. Thwack. THWOCK.

"YES!"

The cry is in unison: the relief palpable. Murray has dispatched one Swiss: but as we decide a late snack is in order, and the pundits dash onto Centre Court, we all agree that there is much to be done before this hot-headed Scot dispatches the other one.

Is there anything more stressful than Wimbledon? After watching that performance, I doubt it.

Twitterpated! And other updates

Hey everyone! Thought you might like to know I've been Twitterpated...

www.twitter.com/madmadtourist

And that I've also set up a website.

www.madmadtourist.webs.com

Exciting stuff! Am also sorting out a visit to Suffolk, which should be sorted soon: have also been trying to organise my visits to West Yorkshire, Merseyside, East Yorkshire and Buckinghamshire, so am keeping myself busy!

Next stop tomorrow, Norfolk... Norfolk Road that is, as I'm staying with a friend for a few days. And yes, it is the friend who broke his foot on Saturday. Oh well, life goes on, n'est pas?

More updates soon!
Chris

Tour's on standby, folks!

Hey guys! I'm back in Cornwall for about a week now, so thought it would be sensible to inform you that I am the tour is on standby until then. This is partially because I've already done Cornwall, but mainly because there is the possibility that all this touring is going to wear me out: it certainly did last week, so I'm going to try and make sure that doesn't happen again by taking it easy for a bit.

Today for example was a rather slow day: browsed around Falmouth town for a bit and did some food shopping, watched some Dragon Ball Z (a seriously violent, yet hilarious, Japanese anime about martial arts and aliens), and went for a paddle round Gylly Beach, which was nice and peaceful. So nice and quiet, and I'm feeling much healthier as a result. Though the trip to Exmouth did me some good too, I'm sure: I shall be blogging about that in due course, that town is well worth a few hours of your time!

Oh yes, and the person who's house I'm staying at for a few days next week has broken his foot while swimming near some rocks: double fracture = very painful. Get well soon, Lewis!

Signing out,
Chris

Michael Jackson

Hey guys, am in Exeter now, but don't really feel like doing travel writing atm, because something rather shocking has happened: Michael Jackson, aged only 50 years old, has died. At around 9pm GMT - 12pm in Los Angeles - he stopped breathing, went into cardiac arrest, was rushed to hospital, but was pronounced dead on arrival.

My friend James Hartley and I really can't believe it: we've said "No way" at least a dozen times, despite listening to BBC News 24 and reading the word "dead" as many times. The shockwaves will of course be deeply felt in America, but his impact in Great Britain was huge, and his impact in my life was pretty big: such hits as "Thriller", "Beat It" and "Bad" are undoubtedly fantastic singles, and many is the time I have tried (and failed) to moonwalk.

Admittedly, his personal life decisions were regrettable at times: he clearly had significant issues; I detest plastic surgery purely because of how it disfigured him; and his lifestyle clearly affected his health. But the thing I admire about him is that he was able to make such good music despite his obvious flaws, and that he was able to show the world his potential: and while I would never try to copy or worship the man, his determination to make the most of his talent is distinctly admirable. For that, he has my respect as a fellow musician.

Rest in peace Michael, and thank you for the music.

Going to bed now. Shall wake up hoping it's not true. :(

Chris

Update: Hampshire and the Isle of Wight

Morning all! Am just getting ready to head out of Cornwall again: of course, the next time I leave here will be a somewhat more permanent exile, as I'll be away until late September, sniff. 'Tis a shame, but as I've already discovered, there are some other very nice counties besides Cornwall; and in any case, the majority of my friends are going home as well, so you'll excuse me for jumping on the bandwagon!

Anyhoo, just got the date for my visit to Hampshire and the Isle of Wight confirmed: I'll be heading there straight from Wiltshire before heading back to London. So a busy couple of days there! Here's my July itinerary so far, starting on 9/50:

9/50: Greater London
10/50: Wiltshire
11/50: Hampshire
12/50: Isle of Wight
13/50: Bedfordshire
14/50: Kent (tbc)
15/50: City of London
16/50: Scotland
17/50: Northumberland
18/50: Cumbria
19/50: Lancashire
20/50: Greater Manchester
21/50: Merseyside
22/50: Cheshire
23/50: West Yorkshire
24/50: South Yorkshire
25/50: Derbyshire
26/50: Nottinghamshire
27/50: Lincolnshire
28/50: Leicestershire

To put it mildly, I'm going to be very busy: that little lot starts on the 4th July and ends on the 21st, so that's 20 areas in 18 days. And, as you will have noticed, that still leaves 22 areas to go, on a current budget of 400 quid.

Should be interesting, n'est pas?

Right, time to pack and head off to Penmere station: I shall be arriving in Exeter in just under a few hours, mainly in piratical attire. Yarr! I best be gettin' into character, Jim lad.

Castin' off shipmates,
Chris

Back to the Exeter

Blogging frenzy! And I haven't even had a cup of tea...

Even though I've already completed my Devonian part of the tour, I'm heading back up to Exeter tomorrow, as those crazy but loveable Extunes people have invited me to yet another concert. However, in a marked change from the joys of choral music, this one's all about film scores, with Harry Potter and Pirates of the Carribbean on the billing, hence the piratey fancy-dress theme: quite frankly, I couldn't say no!

You again?

If I get the time, I might shuffle down to Exmouth on Friday and do a brief tour before heading back to Falmouth. I haven't been there before, but Exmouth does seem like a decent seaside town; and it also has beaches, which should make a nice alternative to built-up Exeter! Or possibly Torquay, that would be rather awesome now I think of it. The possibilities are endless! :)

The weather in Cornwall, by the way, is gorgeous, which makes you wonder why we're all starting to leave. Have been bumping into a few people who are off pretty soon: my good friend Elliott Sutcliffe was testing out my new Saxon acoustic guitar yesterday, and is doing his dissertation on how 60's Britain is represented in film. Interesting stuff, to say the least!

Right, back to these taster seconds for Third Year. First rule of Third Year, don't talk about Third Year. Second rule of Third Year...

Chris

Update: Bedfordshire and Wiltshire confirmed!

Brief update on where I'm going, and when! This comes as I've definitely sorted my visit to Bedfordshire: I am visiting Mr Edgar "Smaz" Duncan in order to rummage around Bedford, where no doubt we'll be doing something amusing involving John Bunyan. Bedford is also the birthplace of the late great Ronnie Barker, so hopefully we'll find a few reminders of him kicking about the place.

I've also sorted out my visit to Wiltshire, courtesy of one of the many Emmas I know, Emma Preuss, who has kindly agreed to give me a lift from Salisbury to Stonehenge: I haven't visited either of those places before, so it should be fascinating stuff! And we'll also be popping into the rather small village of Burbage, which should make quite a peaceful change from the noisy din that is London Town.

Other than that, my trip to Hampshire and the Isle of Wight is waiting on an amber signal at present, as my "tour guide", Emma Bennett, is waiting to see if she's working or not. And the same goes for my visit of Kent, where Sarah's checking to see when she's free to show me round Royal Tunbridge Wells, and possibly Sevenoaks. So all in all, busy busy times!

And after supposedly shaking off this cold, I sneezed three times in quick succession prior to this post. Stupid man flu...

Chris

Bonus Feature: Cheltenham, Gloucestershire

I'll never forget my time in 'Nam... I've always wanted to say that. Yesterday, whilst on my way back to Cornwall, I decided to spend a few hours pottering about this rather gentrified town: as Tewkesbury is the place I'm visiting for Gloucestershire, my exploits here didn't take me any closer to the 50 mark, but I felt Cheltenham merited a visit anyway. The great thing about Cheltenham is that it doesn't feel like it should be part of Gloucestershire at all: partly because people from Cheltenham don't always get on with people from Gloucester, but mainly because the majority of Gloucestershire did not benefit from the Regency era, something that cannot be said of Cheltenham. You get the feeling that someone decided to spend a lot of money on this place in a short amount of time, which certainly sounds like something George III would do, but the result gives you the impression that, this time at least, he knew what he was doing.

The caryatids (armless statues) of Montpellier

So, what is there to do in Cheltenham? Well, because of the fact that it really was rather small until the 1700s, there isn't a huge amount of history here: but if you're a fan of visual sights and shopping, you may not find anywhere better. The best way to arrive here is by bus, as most take you to the heart of Cheltenham, the Promenade: full of leafy trees, the usual shops and a sculpture of a hare and a minotaur, this is perfect for just ambling along on your way to either the High Street to the north, or the Town Hall gardens to the South.

They're here all week...

The Regent Arcade is also good for shopping (and is set to improve over the next few months, judging from the scaffolding), but even better for eating: the Viennese-style Druckers will have your mouth watering for some Apple Strudel, whilst at the north end, Butler's do a very reasonable cooked breakfast special for a mere £1.50. Millie's, an Ice Cream parlour, is also worth a look, with such amusing names for its milkshakes as RaRaRaspberry and Minted: I went for a Starvery Cool, which was well worth £2.49: compliments to the creator, Fi!

The Everyman Theatre

Like Bath, Cheltenham doesn't appear to be very diverse, but its capacity for letting people enjoying themselves is impressive. Want to go see a play? The Everyman Theatre on Regent Street is well worth a look, with regular big names in attendance. Is reading your thing? There's the Literature Festival in October with such names as Simon Armitage and Anthony Horowitz attending this year. Fancy a picnic? Montpellier Gardens, just south of Cheltenham town centre, is an ideal location, and there are plenty of other parks to choose from. And if you're a sports nut, there's Cheltenham Racecourse to the north, though football fans may wish to steer clear of Whaddon Road: poor old Cheltenham Town do not get very high attendances, and have just been relegated to League Two. Still, what Cheltenham lacks in footballing prowess, it more than makes up for in music: Gustav Holst, who composed The Planets Suite, was born here in 1874.

So all in all, Cheltenham makes for a nice break from the stress-filled routine: unless of course, you try walking with all your luggage from Cheltenham Spa railway station to the town centre, which is at least 20 minutes' walk. Definitely worth taking the number D bus instead!

Oh, and rather fittingly, I saw two people playing tennis in Montpellier Gardens, just as Wimbledon was kicking off. On the evidence I saw, British tennis is in trouble...

Chris

Back from the dead (and by dead I mean man flu)!

Hello! Sorry for the brief pause in transmission: after all the travelling I've been up to my immune system decided to shut down and thus I spent the entirety of the longest day of the year in my room, recovering. How you get colds and the like in such a month as June is beyond me, but I would guess that the 14 hours' sleep in 3 days combined with 200 miles of travelling may have had something to do with it. However, after several Beechams and a healthy amount of sleep, I am recovering fast, and should be back to my mad mad self before too long!

Talking of which, it appears that I've returned to Cornwall (where madness is usually tolerated) with an acoustic guitar in hand: Dad has very kindly lent me his for the summer, and with any luck I will be able to play a few tunes before this touring lark is over! In any case, guitars are great fun to just idle about with, and they usually come in handy at parties. It could be a while before you see me busking with one, however: I can do a few chords, but much practise is needed!

Also briefly visited Cheltenham in Gloucestershire and Taunton in Somerset today before returning to Falmouth, and shall hopefully be doing mini-blogs on all three. Taunton was caught in one heck of a heatwave, I don't mind telling you: perfect weather for cider, too.

Take care, and avoid man flu at all costs: not only does it make you feel rubbish, but you get zero sympathy. At least with some illnesses they send you a card...

Chris

8/50: Bristol/Clifton, Bristol

Bristol, like Bath, is one of those places that refuses to be placed in a specific area. It has been part of Gloucestershire, Somerset, and Avon, which gives you the idea that it moves around a lot: and its proximity to Cardiff, as well as its controversial links to the Carribbean, give you the impression of something that's been cobbled together rather quickly. Is it a port, a gateway to Wales, an upper-class Victorian haven, or a tribute to Isambard Kingdom Brunel? The answer, as you may have guessed, is all four, and this is what makes a rather fascinating hotchpotch of a city, despite its arguably chequered past.

While it is theoretically possible to visit Bristol by car, the traffic in South-West England's biggest city occasionally threatens to become chaotic: it is not necessarily jam-packed, but it is rather hectic. The main train station, Bristol Temple Meads, is about half a mile from the town, and if you're there for more than a few hours, it's best to get an all-day bus ticket for £3.90 into the centre, thus avoiding the busier roads. Either the 8 or 9 bus services from Temple Meads will take you to the main attractions and both are generally frequent and reliable.


Like Exeter, Bristol is very well sign-posted, and the city centre is not hard to find: once there, however, you may find yourself getting lost in a shopper's paradise, as various malls surround the busy streets. Fortunately, Bristol has much more to offer besides its compact centre, especially in the nearby suburb of Clifton Village, most famous for its Suspension Bridge, designed by a certain Brunel. As both I and my official tour guide Frances were quick to note, the area does at times feel like a shrine to Brunel, with many other buildings referring to, or named after, the English engineer. Clifton itself blends nicely with Bristol: important and wealthy, but with hints of originality, and in the case of Frances' house, memories of both Bristol's happier and darker times. The house itself is fantastic, but behind it is a rather deserted bunker from WWII: a stark reminder of how Bristol was heavily bombed. Incidentally, the house itself actually suffered a direct hit, but was later rebuilt.

Makes you glad we didn't live through the Blitz...

When it comes to the darker side of Bristol's history, however, most do not centre on the bombings: instead, much more focus has been put on its involvement in the slave trade during the 17th & 18th Centuries, as it appears to have been what made Bristol both bigger and wealthier. Certainly, Bristol benefited a lot from this inhumane industry, but the idea that it did not expand as a result of other factors, or that no-one in Bristol was against the slave trade, is perhaps taking things a little too far. The controversy still rages on to this day, but the museum on the British Commonwealth apparently does a good job of handling the issue: it's right next to Temple Meads station.

While it's important not to ignore the darker parts of a city (especially if you don't know it that well), not all of Bristol's landmarks are linked to the slave trade, and therefore can be celebrated: this applies in particular to perhaps Bristol's best attraction, the SS Great Britain, which is worth a day trip in itself. Launched in 1843 and returned to Bristol in 1970, this magnificent Atlantic liner is best accessed by a small ferry from the docks near the Cathedral (60p single fare), the ship has been brilliantly restored, and although the entrance fee of £10.50 (£8.50 for students) seems rather steep, it also gives you free access for the rest of the year: a definite advantage, because you will probably find it warrants a return trip!

Thar she, er, dry-docks!

The scale alone of the ship is impressive, as it was one of the largest of its time; anyone who is interested in either science, engineering or history will find it fascinating; and of course, the various hats and mannequinns dotted about make it amusing for kids and anyone who enjoys a good laugh! Unless the weather is horrendous, it's always best to walk around the deck itself and get a feel for what it was like to travel long distance by boat: and below decks, you also get a feel as to how much shorter the Victorians were compared to us, with even the first-class beds proving a bit on the small side! Elsewhere, the gift shop is worth a visit, doing a range of seafaring souvenirs: as my souvenir of Bristol, I bought a box of 50 SS Great Britain Tea Bags, which should keep me going for a fair bit of the tour yet!

An ingenious disguise...

Frances meets Brunel (former Blues Brother)

Not so much liner as whopper...

If you don't manage to visit the SS Great Britain, don't worry: Bristol still has much to offer, especially between Clifton and the Shopping Centres. College Green is the perfect spot for a picnic, and has the advantage of being right next to Bristol Cathedral: which, like Bristol itself, is a wide mix of different styles, and has the advantage of being practically free (a donation is suggested). It does not necessarily blow you away, but the stain-glassed windows of such famous people as Henry VIII and Lord Nelson make it worth a look-round, as does the Lady Chapel, which is surprisingly modern for a building that has existed since 1180. Indeed, the area around this part is particularly good for students, as the University is based around here, which has lead to a wide variety of good eateries, particularly Cafe Gusto at the top of Park Street, near the impressive Wills Memorial Building.

The Cathedral, right next to College Green

These days, however, the main draw to Bristol is not its architecture, but the man who's made a name for himself thanks to his skilled graffiti: the anonymous Banksy, whose recent exhibition at the Bristol Museum was so popular I didn't even bother trying to queue, as it would have taken an hour or so just to get in! In any case, as this is where he grew up and started his trade, you still can find a lot of his works on various streets, such as the one below, which we saw on Charlotte Street: some argue he's a genius, others that he makes outrageous profits from pure vandalism. Proof then, that to this day, while having a lot to be proud of, Bristol can't help but keep on courting with controversy...

Only a British person would use such awful puns...

Thanks to Frances for being a fantastic tour guide, to the people of Bristol for being a generally friendly bunch, and to the man who made my chicken and mayo baguette at Cafe Gusto: tasty doesn't even begin to cover it. And finally, a warning to cyclists in Bristol: in order to stop you going down pedestrian walkways, Bristol has a number of concrete "turnstiles" that are guaranteed to stop anyone on two wheels rather quickly!

Oh, and Happy Birthday to my brother Al, who turns 23 today. I'm back in Gloucestershire at the moment visiting him before heading back to Cornwall: not sure where I'm going on the tour next, but I'll let you know when I do!

Thanks for reading,

Chris

7/50: Exeter, Devon

What do people think of when they think of Devon? Perhaps unfairly, it has been described to me as an inferior version of Cornwall, or the bit that holds the rest of the West Country back. Both seem to me to be unusually harsh, and suggest that Devonshire people are unfortunately skilled in the art of annoying their local neighbours. But when you actually consider that this county contains both Dartmoor, Exmoor, the English Riviera that is Torquay and such cities as Plymouth and Exeter, it seems foolish to dismiss Devon so quickly: though to make one thing clear, Cornwall does Cornish pasties better. It would just be weird otherwise, wouldn't it?

Exeter, in particular, is worth at least a few hours' of your time, and not necessarily because it appears to be city on the up. Exeter City have just been promoted to the third tier of English football; the University of Exeter are 9th in the official tables; and a rather gigantic Next store has recently been completed. But, at the risk of offending the Grecians, my lecturers, and various shoppers, this isn't what makes Exeter, or indeed Devon, great. Instead, what should strike you about both this city and county is the innovation of Devonshire people, and indeed British people in general: and occasionally, the lack of it.

As you approach Exeter St David's (the main railway station) from the South-West, you see the city's own Millennium Bridge, with a medieval church in the background: however, on exiting the station, you are confronted with some buildings that can only have been built in the two decades immediately after the war. Exeter was bombed on the 4th May, 1942, and whilst enough of the original buildings have survived to make the city well worth visiting, there is the odd concrete monstrosity kicking around. Still, once you head into the city centre - a 15-minute walk, which is well signposted - the general surroundings improve.

St. Peter's Cathedral

After meeting up with my official tour guide, Mr Phil Tyson (who does Maths at Exeter Uni), we proceeded to one of Exeter's key attractions, St. Peter's Cathedral. As we were students, entry was only £3, which compared to some is quite reasonable: adult entry, however, is about a fiver. It's still worth going in though, because Phil and I not only found a great deal to see, but also got told some interesting stories by the Cathedral staff, who definitely know this place inside-out. Like many other Cathedral workers, Devonshire stonemasons left amusing mementos: some would just leave their initials, whilst one decided to carve a gargoyle sticking his tongue out at a presumably unpopular bishop! We also found out that one of the Bishops, Bishop Oldham, actually came from Oldham, which was originally called Owldham: hence, of course, the owls around his tomb! Devon also appears to share in Great Britain's habit of coming up with silly names... poor old Nutcombe Nutcombe...

Oh, the cruelty of parents...

It has to be said that Devonshire people are happy to help tourists: with all the signposts and maps dotted around, you'd be hard pressed to get lost in this city. Unless of course, you tried to navigate the unique underground passages by yourself! This is Phil and I went in the mid-afternoon, and is definitely Exeter's main attraction: the exhibition probably needs a bit of work, but it was interesting learning about how they were built, and why. Basically, the passages were built as an easy means of getting to the Cathedral's water supply: the pipes were laid down using the cut-and-cover method they used with much of the London Underground. Indeed, the paralells between these passages and the Tube are striking: firstly, both have been used as an air-raid shelter during WWII; and secondly, both have a long history of problems with the infrastructure! In Exeter's case, the pipes were badly built, and leaked quite a lot. Still, when you stand underneath Fore Street and can hear the traffic rumbling above, and imagine the bombs dropping, it is rather thought-provoking: definitely worth the entrance fee of about £4, and easy to find: it's on Paris Street, near the shopping centre.

Hold on to your hat, Phil!

As well as having a fair amount of history, both Exeter and Devon seem to be good at unearthing musical talent: perhaps most famously, in the case of Chris Martin, who was born in Exeter and is best known for being the lead singer of Coldplay. Also famous around these parts are Muse, as the band formed in nearby Teignmouth, having grown up in the area. With this in mind, my souvenir of Exeter and Devon was Coldplay's double-disc album, Viva la Vida: the title track alone has almost 50 million hits on Youtube, a feat which modern Devon can be proud of.

In addition to breeding musical talent, Exeter also attracts it: I spent Wednesday evening attending a concert at the University, where the Exeter University Singers put on a decent showing, especially with their renditions of such West Side Story songs as Maria and Make of our Hands, as well as a spine-chilling performance of Karl Jenkins' Adiemus. I am horrendously biased with regards to my opinion of anyone involved with music at Exeter Uni, as I attended their Orchestra Week in 2007, but I think everyone would agree that they are worthy of saluting. Well done guys, and in case you'd got this tune out of your heads, I say: Chilli Con Carne! If you want to find Exeter's main campus, also known as Streatham, there are plenty of signs: either head up the hill from St. David's turn left after The Imperial Pub, or head west from the High Street along Queen Street and New North Road: either way, it takes about 20 minutes, and is rather hilly!

You can't go wrong with Leonard Bernstein...

If you get as hungry as I did in Exeter in the evening, you could do worse than heading west of the Bus Station along New North Road and getting some pizza at the Firehouse: £6 for 9 slices, all of which are absolutely delicious (but piping hot)! The pub itself is a joy to behold with candlelit tables and it's a popular student haunt. The Imperial is probably the best Wetherspoon's I've ever visited, the Ship Inn is where Sir Francis Drake presumably had a pint or four, and Pitcher & Piano's has some excellent cocktail bar staff: proper pros, those guys!

It would take me forever to fully describe everything to see in Exeter: Drake's Coffee House is worth a look, as is the Quayside; ultimately, this is a city that is not as rich or important as it used to be, but is starting to become its old dominant self after a period of largely unsuccessful post-war reconstruction. It is quite different from North Devon and areas like Dartmoor, but all of Devon shares the habit of both attracting and breeding talent, whilst generally being quite laid-back with regards to life. Busy enough to keep you on your toes, but peaceful enough to make it much less stressful than most built-up areas in Great Britain. But then again, as a University of Exeter student, I might be just a little bit biased.

Thanks to Phil for showing me round, and for letting me stay the night in the spare room: all the best, Phil! And to Fred, who kept me company on the journey up there, and drew me a fantastic Batman photo :D

I'll try and get the blog on Bristol up either today or tomorrow: thanks for reading!
Chris

Broken Bed, Anyone?

Hey guys. Am writing this at some insane time in the morning because I've just been fixing my friend Phil's bed: one of his housemates broke it in a fit of drunknosity, and you can bet they're not particularly happy with each other. I seem to attract madness everywhere I go, don't I? Anyhoo, I thought it would be nice to do a post where I'm actually talking about how I feel rather than just telling you about places. To be honest, after what's just happened, I have to say that I am never, ever getting drunk like that.

SERIOUSLY.

Maybe it's just Great Britain's culture, but I swear someone needs to teach at least half our population the severe error of binge-drinking. I'm not saying we should all go teetotal here, but breaking somebody's bed, denying it, not knowing what year it is because you are that far gone: this is not what most British people are like, and it annoys me that the world sees us as a group of idiotic drunkards, but if you're going to hand people evidence like that...

Anyone who knows me will know I don't generally drink that much, if at all (though I had a glass of California Rose tonight and a bit of Pimm's, so better than usual), generally because I hate seeing what it does to people, especially if I care about that person. Too much of anything that belongs to this world is not good for you, and alcohol not only proves this point, it blasts this point home through several walls. Poor old Phil had just had his bed fixed, and now has to try and get it fixed again.

Not that this post's supposed to put you off drinking: heck, I heartily recommend a glass of Pimm's, and you can't beat Kopparberg Pear Cider sometimes. But tonight has definitely reinforced the truth I already knew: there is so much more to this life than getting hammered off your face; Great Britain knows it; I know it; and so help me, this tour is going to prove it.

Oh, the rantnosity of this post. I love you all really, even when you're a bit gone. Just don't smash up someone's bed, please. My temporary fix of several large economics books may be working so far, but it won't wash with the landlord...

Chris

P.S. Exeter's awesome by the way, well worth a visit. Shall be blogging about it and Bristol in full detail very shortly!

6/50: St Ives, Cornwall

"As I was going to St Ives, I met a man with seven wives..." Of all the places in Cornwall, it is perhaps St Ives that has the most worldwide recognition: this famous riddle has even featured in Die Hard III, giving this Cornish town a somewhat unlikely connection with Bruce Willis and Samuel L Jackson. Personally, what I want to know is why so many people were going away from St Ives, because after visiting it twice within the past month, it doesn't seem like the place that people would want to leave. Except if they've had a bad seagull experience, but we'll come to that later! I first visited St Ives the day after my exams, as I thought it would be a nice day trip for several reasons. Firstly, it was a lovely day; secondly, I hadn't been there before; and thirdly, because it was a break from the old routine. Admittedly, I wasn't sure what to see there - I had heard it was a very arty place - but I thought it deserved at least one visit.

Having travelled there by train and by car, I can safely say I preferred the train, mainly because the roads around St Ives are very confusing! Whilst map-reading for my "chauffeur" Sarah Adams (who hails from Cornwall), we saw a sign that said "Welcome to St Ives", only to find that it was actually Lelant, and that the real St Ives was at least 3 miles away: possibly the most misleading sign ever! The train line does admittedly involve more changes, but the branch line is very picturesque, and the journey from St Erth to St Ives is only 15 minutes: most trains from London and the South-West will stop at St Erth.

The railway station: conviently located!

If you arrive by train, as I did the first time, you will immediately notice a rather large beach to the right: this is Porthminster Beach, which along with Porthmeor Beach (on the north-west side of town) vies for the title of the town's best beach. Having visited both, it's pretty tricky to pick a winner: the sand on both is excellent, and both get rather busy in the summer! At the moment, Porthmeor is my favourite, because that's where I indulged in a spot of sand-writing (see above), but if you've got the time, it's best to check out both. St Ives also has two smaller beaches ,Porthgwidden and Harbour, which are perhaps more enjoyable if you want some peace and quiet.

Porthminster Beach: ain't it a beaut?

Heading straight-on from the train station, which is right next to a large car park, you soon find yourself in the middle of town: the great thing about St Ives is that it's not difficult to get your bearings, especially if you follow the crowds to begin with! Most people go up the steps on the left and head straight along the main road until it forks into Bedford Road on the left, and the High Street on the right. It's always advisable to keep an eye out for St Ia, the Church in the middle of town: but in any case, this is a well-signposted town, and you shouldn't get lost unless you're trying to figure out the complexities of the road system, which probably needs some work!

One of the things I really liked about St Ives is that you can do a wide variety of things: you can just head to the beach and enjoy the surprisingly cool water; you can explore the many different shops; you can help yourself to some Cornish cuisine; you can go trekking up towards the small Chapel on the Island; or you can simply marvel at all the artwork on display in the town. West Cornwall benefitted hugely from the flood of artists that came to the region looking to capture the magnificent scenery of this part of the world, mainly as a result of the arrival of the railway. Barbara Hepworth, Alfred Wallis, and countless others have made a living out of creating masterpieces, some of which are on display in the Tate St Ives, next to Porthmeor Beach. The displays are pretty good, though whether they're worth the entrance fee could be debated, especially when you can look around most of the town galleries for free.

Just as well I paid student fare, isn't it? But worth a peek!

Just one example of the excellent artwork this town's produced...

What particularly struck me about St Ives was that, unlike some parts of this county, it had both a Cornish and an International feel, which for an area that supposedly yearns to be separate from England, seems a little surprising. Perhaps it's because of it's international reputation for art, and its unique climate, but this seemed the sort of place that revelled in being part of a group, rather than yearning to distance itself from the rest of England. There was no resentment of tourists or students here either, which is not entirely the case in my student town of Falmouth, but that may be because the residents direct their anger towards a different target: seagulls.

An "evil, evil seagull"... at least this one can't steal your food!

Most British people would probably agree that seagulls are a bit of a nuisance, but the ones in St Ives are apparently so bad that, in the words of one ice-cream vendor, an RAF detachment may be required to deal with the bloody things. A couple of people who accompanied me on my second trip had horror stories to tell of their ice creams being snatched, and there is actually a sign near the station warning visitors to shield their food: good thing I had a hat to protect my cornish pasty, then! But don't let them put you off, just remember that it's often safer to enjoy St Ives' excellent cuisine (try the chips at the Lifeboat Inn on the Wharf!) inside a restaurant.

You have been warned...

And in terms of shops, I suggest you spend at least an hour just browsing in Fore Street, north of St Ia: there is something for everyone along this street, from the delightfully hippy No Worries (which sells camper van mugs) to I Should Coco, the originality of the shops here will mean that when the time comes to leave St Ives, you will feel a little saddened, and determined to come back again before too long. Unless of course, you take your eyes off that ice cream of yours for so much as a second.

Mug of awesomeness!

Special thanks to all my UCF friends who recommended visiting in the first place, and to Sarah for driving me there. And for those who wish to know the answer to "How many were going to St Ives?", consider this: there are two St Ives in Great Britain, the other being in Cambridgeshire. So maybe they were all going to St Ives after all...

Listen to Kenny, he speaks the truth!

5/50: Bath, Somerset

Think Bath, and the chances are you won't immediately think of Somerset. After all, Somerset evokes thoughts of rock festivals, cider, an obsession with the letter z, cheddar and the Wurzels, none of which really seem to apply to the history-obsessed, Jane-Austenised, regency city of Bath. Indeed, there is a definite sense of separation between Bath and the rest of the county: partly because it appears to be on the "wrong side" of Bristol, and partly because it has a much higher student population: two universities, compared to er... well, does Somerset actually have any other universities?? Add to this the high number of tourists Bath attracts compared to the rest of what is a rather quiet county, and you see why Bath seems to be in a county all of its own.

Here, this ain't no comboine 'arvester...

Of course, there are some things that link Bath to its county of origin: Bath Abbey and Wells Cathedral, near Glastonbury, were linked for a long time under the Bishop of Bath & Wells, which for me evokes memories of Blackadder II, which had an episode based on said bishop. Fortunately, neither Bath nor Wells have since attracted a reputation for eating babies, which is probably just as well! You can still hear the classic Somerset accent - or should I say, Zummerzet accent - around here as well if you pay close attention, but it is hard to show how Bath and Somerset are one and the same when Bath will insist on being so fantastically different.

"And did you tell him about the baby-eating Bishop of Bath and Wells?"

Take, for example, Pulteney Bridge and the Weir: there are not many bridges I know that have a wide variety of shops on them, nor do I know of a weir that is quite so ferocious. As my good friend Tom Murphy (a student at the University of Bath) explained, you would be mad beyond belief to attempt to kayak down the weir, as the sheer physics of it alone would leave you somewhat doomed. Strangely, this does not stop the odd madman from trying: but judging from the comedy show we walked past near the Abbey, Bath is full of a few wonderfully mad people.

Pulteney Bridge, complete with riverside cafe!

Looking along the bridge itself

My capable guide, Mr Tom Murphy.

As Tom pointed out to me on our way south towards the bus station, there are signs of the weird (and therefore wonderful) everywhere you go in Bath. Near Pulteney Bridge, there is a house with three different styles of roof...

You can walk from the majestic splendour of such Regency streets as the Royal Crescent and The Circus to the Roman Baths in less than 10 minutes, via some truly magnificent parks and gardens...

There is a delightful shop on Cheap Street (west of the Abbey) called December 25th, which presumably does not actually open on the day itself...

And the road system is so chaotic that it actually makes a great deal of sense to get off the stop BEFORE the bus station! Though in fairness, this only applies to the city centre: transport to and from the suburbs is both quick and reliable, and the rail service is pretty good when you consider that Bath wasn't on any of the original main lines. And compared to the madness that is Stroud Bus Station, the only one I know that lies either side of a MAIN ROAD, it wasn't really a huge inconvenience.

I don't really feel I can make a full assessment of Bath without visiting it again: Tom certainly made for a good guide, and it definitely left a good impression on me, but it felt like a place you need to experience quite a few times before fully grasping its many features and contrasts, which is usually the case when there's a high student population kicking around (student housing, incidentally, is not to be sniffed at in Bath). In any case, I didn't actually go to the Roman Baths, which seems beyond belief when you consider how the place got its name. Shocker!

4/50: Oxford, Oxfordshire

The last of my January visits, Oxford is a place I know very well in ways, but is not a place that can be easily sterotyped: and I therefore felt it deserved to be on the list. In any case, it seems a bit bizarre to try and sum up Oxfordshire without visiting Oxford, especially as it contains so many of the county's characteristics, whilst having a distinctly different side to it. Even without its much-lauded university, Oxford has a number of key attractions: it is one of the many passing points of the River Thames (it's also known in Oxford as the Isis), it was the host of a vast number of burnings that took place during the reign of Mary Tudor - hence the memorial to Thomas Cranmer, Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley - and it served as the Headquarters for King Charles and the Royalists (that most famous of pop groups) during the English Civil War. However, to try and sum up Oxford without mentioning the University is a thankless task, especially when there are so many University colleges in the city centre alone. The fact that Oxford University is the oldest of its kind in England alone speaks volumes about its history, not to mention the fact that it has seen the likes of Thatcher, Rowan Atkinson and Samuel Johnson pass through its doors as students, which gives you a glimpse of its diversity.

The Oxford Ox (and Brian)

However, if you arrive in Oxford by train, as I did, the first thing you see is not a University building, but the statue of an Ox just outside the station: as the logic behind place names goes, Oxford's is pretty clear-cut. Heading east towards the centre, you soon pass over the Thames, as well as getting a glimpse of Oxford Castle, which sadly does not compare well to its peers. Shortly after this, the shopping centres loom, but it is only after Queen Street that Oxford really becomes enticing, as the "city of dreaming spires" comes into its own. An interesting mix of shops, pubs and colleges, Oxford's centre compresses itself into a cross between Touristville and Studentville: no souvenir too tacky, no shop devoid of student discounts, no street too pedestrianised! Thankfully, the latter makes the city relatively car-free, though some would argue that the many cyclists are a constant menace. Opposite Balliol College and by these pedestrianised streets, the Tourist Information Centre is definitely worth a peek, not least because of the amusing fridge magnets, which include a wobbling don on a spring next to the iconic Bridge of Sighs.

The River Isis

Although January is not always the best time to visit Oxford - punting on the Thames isn't available in the winter months - it is significantly cheaper to visit the colleges at this time, and you get to experience the colleges when they are full of students, rather than full of tourists. Some colleges stand out more than others, though they are all worth a peek if you have the time: Christchurch is the location of the Cathedral, whilst St. John's and Merton are usually seen as the big hitters, due to their size, prestige and vast wealth. However, colleges such as these usually require a map (it is very easy to get lost in St. John's!), and you may find smaller colleges such as St. Edmund Hall and Oriel more appealing: St. Edmund's is one of the smallest colleges, whilst Oriel is medium-sized, and is right next to Merton and Christchurch. Also of interest are Jesus College (it is a running joke that hundreds are rejected by Jesus every year), Balliol (one of the oldest colleges) and Magdalene, which has its own deer park. Apparently every don gets their own deer, and if the don dies, then the deer is killed. Which makes you wonder what happens when the deer dies...

Magdalene College... where the deer and the graduates play?

My particular interest in Oxford is that I am an honorary member of one the University's many societies: namely, Oxford University Light Entertainment Society (OULES for short). OULES are one of at least four Drama Societies, but unlike the others, they are dedicated to putting on performances for those who aren't able to attend theatre performances, such as the elderly. They are also dedicated to having a laugh, randomly bursting into song, and (in some cases) gin. I had the honour of co-writing one of the plays they performed in 2005, and both my brother Al and my sister Rose performed in it: indeed, Rose has been a member of OULES since 2001, when she started studying at Balliol. We met up in the Four Candles for lunch: sadly, this Wetherspoons pub has not taken the opportunity to exploit the reference to that most famous of Two Ronnies sketches, but it is a decent enough pub, and has the advantage of being both "town" (non-student friendly) and "gown" (student friendly), which isn't the case with most Oxford pubs.

"No, fork 'andles... 'andles for forks!"

Whilst most pubs in Oxford do a good lunch, the best places to eat are arguably the cake shops, particularly the Vaults, which on location alone is worth visiting, as it is right next to the Radcliffe Camera, and is only a stone's throw from the aforementioned Bridge of Sighs, a brilliant copy of the Venetian original (as might be expected, Cambridge also has a copy). Although the cakes do seem a little pricey at first glance, you cannot complain about the quality, and the friendly staff are a credit to the city. Shopping is also decent, particularly if you're a fan of bookstores: but it is interesting to note that Oxford City Centre never had a Woolworths, though this isn't as strange now as it was a few years ago!

The Radcliffe Camera

The Bridge of Sighs

Like many of the places I've visited so far, what strikes me about Oxford is the contrast: this is a place where it is not uncommon to see a magnificent piece of Gothic architecture shunted into the background by the presence of a kebab van. The colleges may give the impression that this city is thriving, and in terms of tourism it most certainly is, but a brief foray into the residential areas shows that Oxford is still struggling to recover from the decline of one of its main industries: automobile production at Cowley, in the south-east of the city. It would be going too far to say the area is deprived: however, some of the residential areas appear to be suffering from gradual decay, and you sense that this is an area where the recession could bite with some force. Both Oxford and Oxfordshire have been faithful servants to England's history, and both are a credit to the country, but stereotype either at your peril: this county is so much more than a hotbed for students.