Tag Archive - London

Explore on a train – the journey is part of the adventure

July 30, 2010 in Travel with 0 Comments

Like to explore and want to win a weekend away in Europe – it caught my eye and so I had a look at Eurostar’s Explorer Train promotion.  Besides liking the name, I appreciated the TS Eliot quote.

It also made me think of some of my adventures on trains. Growing up as a kid I never had an interest in trains, for me it was anything that would fly – aircraft, spacecraft were exciting.  But once I started to travel and explore the world I found that I really enjoyed train travel and many of my most treasured travel experiences have been on rail.

Part of that is the romance of train travel, being able to look out the window at changing urban and land scapes but most importantly its that on trains you still have the feeling of being up close with local life.  Trains carry a bit of local culture, emotion and feeling that is hard to replicate and to borrow from the Man in Seat 61, the journey is part of the adventure.

I took War and Peace on the Tran Siberian across Russia and didn’t turn a page being so busy meeting people on the train.  After hiking the Inca Trail and returning to Cusco, the Andean Explorer south to Lake Titicaca travelled through awe inspiring scenery. Picking up a bento box and then hopping on a bullet train in Japan or the TGV with a glass of red wine through France all hold a place in my memories. And my wife will never forget hopping on her first sleeper train at 2am from Spain to Portugal while on our honeymoon – the death train is her nickname for it. All explorer train stories I plan to share at a future time. And I hope to hear about some readers great train journeys.  

So if you live in the UK and want to win a weekend away on 24-26 August to Amsterdam, Cologne, Lyon, Avignon, Brussels or Bruges send in a photo with a short description of your greatest journey of  exploration within Europe (with or without travel by train) to Eurostar. I had a look at the gallery of entries to date, some nice photos so far but plenty of chances for travellers to enter some more off the beaten path adventures.

And when you look at your travel choices, always consider a train, as the journey is part of the adventure.

Disclaimer: I don’t have any relationship with Eurostar, besides travelling to Paris every year while I lived in London.  I like a quirky competition though so if you live in London or the UK and want a weekend away have a go.

5 Cycle Hire Cities to Try (as a local or tourist)

July 7, 2010 in Travel with 0 Comments

"Copenhagen style" bike lane in Melb...
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Cycle hire schemes are launching all over the place these days.  If it’s not the desire to get people out of cars and appear to be greener, local and city governments want residents and tourist alike to feel good about a greater mix of transport options.  Over recent years I’ve lived in the majority of cities on this list who have now introduced cycle hire schemes and I also worked on a cycle hire evaluation project for London so I’ve got some perspective. Of course the success of a scheme is very subjective but schemes usually establish themselves pretty quickly into the transport mix for a city and find their niche (sometimes unexpected).  Often the hardest challenge for schemes is to get people to use the scheme the first time but once you’ve tried you’re often hooked. And for tourists, feeling the wind in your hair as you cycle around a city can offer a great change to the normal walking, public transport or bus/taxi view giving a fresh perspective.  Whoever you are local or tourist I suggest you give cycle hire a try.

Paris, France – a poster child for cycle hire schemes, its launch and prominent good-feel buzz has put the pressure on other cities around the world to implement a scheme themselves.  Keen pricing, and many access points make this scheme one of the best.  It also helps that Paris is fun to cycle with so much architectural beauty, gardens and laissez faire attitude.  For tourists it a great way to experience Paris and for locals it’s a quick and easy alternative to the metro for short trips.

Copenhagen, Denmark – the Grand daddy of cycle hire schemes having launched in 1995 the cycle service team also employees prison rehabilitees and gets them back into work so a nice social innovation angle as well. The original cycle hire model now adapted by many, Copenhagen is a very cycle friendly city for tourists and locals and is looking to refresh its system to continue leading the way.

Montreal, Canada – launched in 2009, the scheme has 3000 bikes in 300 stations offering good coverage but will only operate in the snow free months (snow can be a hazard on two thin wheels!).  Montreal is a beautiful city so perfect for a spring or summer cycle. Montreal’s Bixi system was designed so it could be used in numerous other cities, and has since been adopted elsewhere such as Boston, USA and Melbourne, Australia.

Melbourne, Australia – launched this year, Melbourne’s scheme is still in the process of being rolled out but the first bikes of the scheme are in place in inner Melbourne. Melbourne is a cycling crazy city with many locals already riding to work but for new adopters it might take a while to get the hang of it.  However for tourists it’s a bonanza as Melbourne is very cycle friendly with many marked cycle trails in all directions worth exploring especially the water side ride along the bay from Albert Park/St Kilda down the coast.

London, England – due to launch later this month (the 30th) so the jury is still out (and there is lots of expectation) but having lived there cycling has its pros and cons but when the public transport system is 100s years old and the streets are clogged cycling is a very good option if you need to get around.  The current Major Boris Johnson is also introducing 12 cycle superhighways to help the flow of cyclists into and around the city. Perhaps of more use for locals than tourists since walking, buses and the tube can get you most places pretty well in the city I’d like to hear from any tourist who tries it when it launches?

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Wimbledon: Great for the tennis but also worth a visit any time of the year

July 4, 2010 in Sport, Travel with 0 Comments

Roger Federer receives Rafael Nadal's serve du...
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I lived for several years in SW19, the leafy and usually sleepy suburb of London known as Wimbledon.  But every year around this time the Championships of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club thrust Wimbledon onto the world stage and made Wimbledon a buzz of activity. Today is the culmination of the championships with the Gentleman’s Singles final between Rafael Nadal of Spain and Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic in what promises to be an interesting match.

While people usually come out to Wimbledon only for the tennis, if you’re ever in London, particularly with kids I suggest you come out for the day and see what else it has to offer from peaceful parks to quirky museums and on the right days a vibrant art scene to view.

Wimbledon Park – in the two weeks of the Championships the infamous queue for daily tickets snakes its way through part of the park.  The rest of the year it’s a weekend meeting place for many locals.  Kids enjoy the large playground and in summer there is a great paddling pool.  Public tennis courts, a mini golf course, boating lake (with pre-requisite ducks) and plenty of open spaces for football (of all codes), picnics or other outdoor amusement abound.

Windmill Museum – I never imagined there would be a museum of windmills in Wimbledon but there is and quite a good one.  Located on Wimbledon Common, another large urban park for exploring the Museum gives plenty of detail on the history and working of windmills and has hands-on milling for children making it worth a quick stop while you explore the Common. And not far from the Common you also have first Buddhist temple of its type built in the UK.

Deen City Farm – Free of charge, this educational farm and riding school is great for the family and a good diversion from the plethora of museums and art galleries you’ll encounter on the rest of a London visit.

Wimbledon Art Studios – a warehouse full of tiny art studios just behind Wimbledon’s dog racing track has several open Art Shows through the year where the artists put on some wine and nibbles while you peruse a wide variety of styles from aspiring and established artists (many who are regulars in central London galleries at much higher prices).  I always enjoyed the shows, even if you didn’t buy anything as you’ll always find something that caters to your tastes and I love a good maze of corridors to navigate.