Are these Britain's dullest days out? A shrine to pencils, a teapot museum and a Bakelite collection among our pottiest attractions. By Gwyneth Rees Updated: 00:59 GMT, 31 August 2011.
Book the Best Hostel in Europe - Europe's Famous Hostels. SACO - The Worldwide Serviced Apartment Network. 20 top spots to stay. The 30 coolest B&Bs in Britain -Times Online. Grandeur places to stay on a budget. UK-wide Wolsey Lodges is a collection of rather posh country piles - 170 in total - around Britain. Fangs for coming: eight eccentric places to stay in Britain. Beach Sun Retreat, Dymchurch, Kent No need to rely on the notoriously fickle British weather when you book into this beach retreat in Kent – it comes with its own sunshine.
Hidden gem museums. But if you want something slightly different and away from the madding crowd, there’s no shortage of alternatives.
We could mention the Lawnmower Museum, the Pencil Museum or even tip our hat to the Bakelite Museum – where better to pay your respects to the precursor of modern plastic? There are dozens of quirky, hidden, inspiring and unusual places to marvel at, some of them distinctly off the beaten track, others just around the corner from it. An area famed for its scenery and heritage is the south west of Cornwall. The town of St Ives, on its northern coast, has attracted and inspired artists for many years. Quirky British Events. Up Helly Aa, Shetland, Scotland Up Helly Aa is the largest fire festival in Europe.
As if the torchlight processions weren’t spectacular enough, local residents dress up in full Viking regalia — winged helmets, armour, you get the idea — and the evening culminates with the burning of a Viking longship. A traditional celebration of the end of winter and the coming of spring, it’s a truly memorable occasion. Most haunted places in Britain. Here are Britain's top 10 most haunted sites (visit them if you dare): Highgate Cemetery, London By night, Highgate Cemetery in London is like something out of a horror movie.
Eerie crooked gravestones, headless angles covered in ivy, dark overgrown passages between the tombs, it’s no wonder this is Britain’s number-one ghost spot. Despite it’s chilling atmosphere, by day Highgate Cemetery showcases some of the Britain’s most spectacular Gothic architecture, offers fascinating guided tours. A Fresh Look at Britain's Better Bits. Five of the best quirky hostels. It’s hardly necessary to point out how far youth hostels have come in the last twenty years or so.
Gone are the fly-blown sheets, the aroma of unwashed socks and the hopeless reputation for being cheap but seldom cheerful. Now, in an increasingly competitive market, you can expect clean, comfortable accommodation often with hotel-standard facilities. Here are five hostels with character to spare… Portmeirion: a slice of Italy in Wales. Pastel-hued villas glowing in the warm spring sunshine, gently waving cypress trees, classical statues looking impassively over the piazza…
UK tree house hotels: branching out in Sussex and Somerset. Seeing as my head’s in the clouds today, I thought I’d share these two tree house hotels with you.
The luxurious Treehouse in Somerset sleeps five and has a wood-burning stove and cedar wood hot tub while the thatched Tree House at Castle Cottage in West Sussex has a more romantic tucked-away feel and sleeps two. Both are perfect for a weekend of treetop tomfoolery. A luxury tree house built in and around a mature lime tree in Somerset Treetop living in style The Tree House at Castle Cottage. The mysterious Margate Shell Grotto. In 1835, young Joshua Newlove fell down a hole and inadvertently discovered Margate’s Shell Grotto.
Seventy feet of underground tunnels lead to a chamber decorated with arcane symbols made entirely from sea shells. And the purpose of a cave studded with over four million shells mosaicked into phalluses, stars and flowers? Nobody really knows. Deadly plants and treetop eats at the UK’s coolest garden. Unapologetically contemporary, occasionally weird and always inspiring, the Alnwick Garden features a poison garden (home to Deadly Nightshade, Mandrake and the odd whiffy narcotic normally banned in this country) as well as a bamboo labyrinth and a treehouse restaurant.
It’s pretty intoxicating even for those who wouldn’t know a Sweet Pea from a spade. While you’re there, don’t miss Alnwick Castle, the medieval fortress used as a backdrop for the Harry Potter films and Robin Hood Prince of Thieves. The treehouse The Alnwick Poison Garden. Five of the best: unusual places to stay. Leeds Castle, Kent - Great Days Out in Kent, England - Home. Visitors never forget their first breath-taking vision of Leeds Castle in Kent, rising majestically from the moat as it has done for over 900 years.
With 500 acres of beautiful parkland and formal gardens, daily events and year round attractions, it’s not just the glorious history of Leeds Castle that will ensure you want to come back time and again. Your annual ticket allows you to visit as many times as you like across a whole year. Both this and day tickets are available to purchase online in advance or on the day of your visit. Open all year round, there is something new for everyone to discover every day. What's On Easter Quest 5th April 2014 to 21st April 2014 RSPB at Leeds Castle 5th April 2014 to 21st April 2014 Creative Coats of Arms Workshop 15th April 2014 to 16th April 2014 Leeds Castle Run Club 16th April 2014 Spring Photo Walks 17th April 2014 Buy Tickets Online The Great British Kitchen Easter Quest Leeds Castle Golf Course The Glorious 1930s Castle House Party.