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Londoners Recycling With “Smart” Bins

Renew bins in London © architizer.com Throwing your next soda can into a recycling bin is a win-win for many Londoners, with the installation of new “Renew” bins. The bins display data from stock quotes to weather and transit details. Twenty-five are already in place around London. While the bins don’t come cheap, the developers have [...]

Poll Reveals Most Reassuring Airline Pilot Accent

Cockpit ©kudumomo A recent poll conducted for the Business Travel Show in London found that a pilot with a Home Counties accent to be the most reassuring accent for passengers. A Cockney accent was chosen as the least trustworthy accent, followed by a Midlands accent. Given the results of the poll, airline expert and travel [...]

Cute Pandas Send Edinburgh Zoo’s Numbers Soaring

Panda ©Chi King Since the arrival of two very cute giant pandas, visitor numbers at the Edinburgh Zoo are up 200 percent. Around 70,000 people have visited the new zoo residents since December–more than three times the number who visited the zoo during the same period in 2010. The two pandas, named Tian Tian and [...]

Rio Statue Replica Causes Uproar in London

Christ the Redeemer ©David Berkowitz The statue of Christ the Redeemer with open arms in Rio is seen around the world as a symbol of peace and friendship. But residents of a posh north London neighborhood are up in arms at the possibility of the Brazilian national tourist board erecting a temporary replica on the [...]

“Tartan Butler” Assisting Tourists With Ancestral Quests

Tartan kilt © ericjowett Based out of the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh, the “Tartan Butler” is a newly appointed concierge helping visitors discover their Scottish heritage. Andy Fraser, otherwise known as the Butler, is a long time fan of Scottish and clan history. Fraser’s interest in genealogy began with the research of his own Scottish ancestors, [...]

The Museum of Celebrity Leftovers

leftovers ©jenny downing On the coastal city of Kingsand, England there is a seafront cafe that has garnered a reputation for more than its locally sourced seafood and vegetarian fare. The Old Boatstore, a cafe owned by Michael and Francesca Bennett has been visited by a few celebrities, including Libertines co-frontman Pete Doherty and royal [...]

A Chilling Winter Tour of London’s Dark Side

People make a big deal about Halloween but for me winter is the right time for ghost stories and the macabre, particularly in a city like London. When the wind whistles through the city streets and there’s mist on the lake in St James’s Park – when it’s dark at three o’clock in the evening [...]

Big Ben is Leaning and the UK Parliament is Sinking

Big Ben ©apdk Rumors about the architectural stability of the famous UK parliament building and it’s iconic tower have been making the rounds this week. The 96-meter tall clock tower, which houses the bell nicknamed Big Ben, leans about 46 cm to the left of its peak. In response to concerns, a spokesman for the [...]

Tour the Real “Downton Abbey”

The cast of “Downton Abbey” © guardian.co.uk Fans of Masterpiece Classics’ “Downton Abbey”, a PBS series detailing the lives of the Crawley family in Yorkshire, England, will delight in the news that they can now visit the Abbey…to the tune of $12,000. Visitors will tour Highclere Castle (the Abbey’s setting in Newbury, England), the gardens, [...]

BA Sends Passengers Into Panic with Crash Announcement

BA Plane © prayitno Airlines are always looking for new forms on in-flight entertainment to spice up those long boring hours for passengers, but it seems like BA went a bit too far on a recent flight: British Airways apologized today for an error that left passengers on board a flight from Miami to London [...]

Classy Hotels Rented By the Hour in London

Do Not Disturb ©SLR Jester Secret romantic rendezvous are getting a location upgrade thanks to a group of Parisien (of course) hoteliers. The website www.dayuse-hotels.com if offering hotels across 50 cities (mostly in France) with 80 in Paris and is currently launching in London. The website allows guests to rent rooms in London during the [...]

Photo of the Moment: The Imposing Monument of Lanyon Quoit, Cornwall

© Johan J.Ingles-Le Nobel

Windsor Legoland Hires Kid Concierges

Legoland Windsor ©Rob Young The new hotel at Legoland Windsor, which is set to open in March, will offer a team of six boys and girls between the ages of eight to 12 concierges to help younger guests decide how to spend their time at the park. In exchange for their kid perspective, each kiddie [...]

New Evidence Connects Stonehenge to Wales

Stonehenge, Wiltshire, England© glennharper Geologists recently discovered that the inner stone rings of Stonehenge match those of an outcrop in Wales. The other stones were most likely quarried 20-30 miles away from the current site, but a mystery still remains. How did the inner stones travel 160 miles from Wales to England? The geologists believe [...]

Exclusive London Hotel Opens, Plans to Close in a Year

Vacancy with a time limit © fitopaldi Last week “A Room for London” opened as a temporary, one bedroom hotel commissioned by Living Architecture and Artangel. The hotel’s designers drew inspiration from Heart of Darkness which documented Joseph Conrad’s riverboat voyage through the Congo. The hotel is placed atop the roof of the Southbank Centre’s [...]

English Heritage Worried Name is “Too Stuffy”

Richmond Castle ©jamiejohndavies After the government slashed it’s funding by a third, English Heritage is looking for creative ways to attract members and visitors to its 400 historic buildings and monuments. The organization hired market researchers to determine whether it was detouring visitors because its name was too ‘stuffy’ and middle class and if more [...]

Scotch Whisky, Now in an Aluminum Can

Nightcap ©Ella’s Dad High brow booze in a low brow can? Why not. Scottish Spirits Imports Inc. will soon be putting prized liquor into a humble aluminum can. Ken Rubenfeld, vice president of operations for Scottish Spirits Imports told The Huffington Post that they hope their can of scotch will stand out in its unique [...]

Company Offering Tours of London’s Most Hated Highway

M25 Junction 8 to 11 ©Highways Agency Is the M25 London’s version of Route 66? A bus company in the UK would like you to think that. Brighton and Hove Bus and Coach Company is offering coach tours of the 117-mile orbital highway for visitors to the UK. The M25–mocked as ‘Britain’s biggest car park’ [...]

Cruise Line Recreating Titanic’s Disastrous Voyage

MS Balmoral ©.curt. In what is probably the most disastrous travel package gimmick of the century, a British company is marking the 100-year anniversary of the Titanic’s sinking with a sold-out cruise following the Titanic’s exact route to America. Hopefully this ship is bringing more lifeboats… Two thousand “disaster voyeurists” will be departing on the [...]

Brontës’ Final Resting Place in Limbo

Brontë Memorial Chapel, Haworth Parish; Haworth, England ©haworth-village.org Haworth Parish, the Haworth Village church housing the final resting place of Emily and Charlotte Brontë, is facing financial troubles. A total of £1.25 million is needed to pay for repairs of the church, mostly due to water damage. At the present time, the parish has collected £28,000. [...]

London Dungeon Discovers ‘Fake’ Skeleton Attraction is Real

the London Dungeon ©Oscar del Rio In a scene straight out of a crime television show, a real human skeleton was uncovered among the piles of fake bones at the London Dungeon attraction. There are unconfirmed suspicions the skeleton could have been’smuggled’ from the Far East to be used in dissection by early British anatomists. [...]

Chocolate Lovers Festival in London

Chocolates ©Anjum. Sweet tooth’s unite! London’s Southbank Center Square will be playing host this weekend (From Dec. 9 to 11) to the The Chocolate Festival a celebration of all things chocolate. The festival, which is mostly free, will have 30 stalls selling and sampling chocolate, and visitors can also chat with British chocolatiers like William [...]

Seven Tips for Travelling London’s Underground

For many visitors coming to London, one of the greatest fears is of not being able to get around town. Of getting lost on the tube, of catching the wrong bus and ending up in Battersea instead of Bayswater, of being ripped off by a taxi driver or being clattered by a cyclist. My preferred [...]

Stable for Rent to Those Seeking an “Authentic” Christmas

The Nativity ©trippiit Convinced that modern Britain has forgotten the true meaning of the holiday season, Fiona Turton of Brighton, England, is renting out her stable to help families get back in touch with the “reason for the season” Ms Turton said: “I love the idea of renting out my stable to people wanting to [...]

Speedy Travel through Boarding Moving Trains?

Train © curns A British design group has conceptualized what it believes could be the next wave in travel efficiency: trams that hook up to high-speed trains while moving in order to facilitate quick transfers. According to company director Paul Priestman: “The idea with Moving Platforms is that … if you were going on holiday [...]

Queen to Rent Out Palace During London Olympics

St. James Palace ©siegertmarc Her royal highness is renting out rooms in St. James Palace for corporate and charity events to make a little extra cash during the during the London Olympics. Historian David Starkey states that the opening the palace was perhaps inevitable, “We are in an age where everything is up for sale [...]

New World Record: Largest 3D Street Art Ever [Video]

“The painting measured an impressive 1,160.4m² and was unveiled at London’s West India Quays, Canary Wharf.” Amazing!

Photo of the Moment: Dead End Church, Scotland

© Paul Hart

Plane Passengers Watch Wheel Fall Off, Neglect to Inform Crew

Passengers who saw a wheel fall off a plane as it took off did not immediately inform the crew, a report has said. The accident happened in March on a Flybe flight from Exeter to Newcastle. The captain returned to Exeter and used the emergency brake and “significant amounts of right rudder” to safely land [...]

Why Beer Lovers Should Get Out of London and Go to Guildford

Travel writer and beer enthusiast Andrea Kirkby uncovers the secrets of a surprisingly unknown “beer lover’s paradise” within striking distance of London …

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