Tag: www.visiteastofengland.com

America, Countries, Culture, UK

Carry on glamping

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Amanda invited herself into my tent. Happy Days… until her boyfriend turned up.

And told us that we should leave town first thing in the morning… or else.

Castle Douglas in Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland’s south-west (https://www.visitscotland.com/info/towns-villages/castle-douglas-p244361) was my first experience of camping and it didn’t put me off.

And we took off for Saint-Raphael https://www.francethisway.com/places/saint-raphael.php on the French Riviera the following summer after school.

Where there were no such dilemmas about having someone in my tent.

Cramped and sweaty

Once all our rucksacks were in the tent there was only room for one of us to sleep in it. Oh, and I struck out too.

These days I go higher style… The Boat D’Azur and https://www.google.com/amp/s/about-france.com/mobi/index-amp.htm.

And higher style means camping now too… or glamping as it’s come to be known.

So where’s best to go?

With staycations the order of the day now, here are thoughts on how to liven up your experience in the UK and US.

But just don’t muscle in on the wannabe local gangster’s moll.

Rocky mountain high

This is the right way up

Camping at height – Estes Park, Colorado: And a particular highlight. Get this… adrenaline junkies are suspended more than 100ft up a sheer rock face.

Where you will be strapped in for a night under the stars.

Kent Mountain Adventure Center https://kmaconline.com/directory/cliff-camping-colorado/ offers a vertical grill and views of the Rocky Mountain National Park.

And you’ll be able just to roll out and start climbing those Rockies… just tell Brad or Dexter I’m coming.

Visit www.colorado.com and The New Frontiersmen.

Gone fishing

Get the rod out

Yosemite slam: This is Big Country and you’ll want to reveal your hunter-gatherer.

Lake McClure at the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains is where to pitch tent.

And get out and fish the lake and get your heart pumping at the Exchequer Mountain Bike Park.

Before heading to Yosemite to take in the giant Sequoias.

Camping spaces can be hard to get in Yosemite National Park and that’s where Indian Flat Campground near the gates comes in.

You’ll strike gold too at the Mariposa County Fairgrounds just a mile from the Gold Rush town. See www.mariposa.com.

Norfolk Broads

Let’s cosy up in the tent

Hickling Campsite, Hickling, Norfolk (https://www.hicklingcampsite.co.uk): Of course for many of us there’s nothing better than snuggling up next to your loved one.

And here’s one we prepared earlier from Norfolk in England’s East Anglia.

You’ll get to stay in a self-contained hut.

The Norfolk Broads are one of England’s natural delights while further afield you can explore secluded beach walks and boat trips.

And check out the best that East Anglia has to offer with https://www.visiteastofengland.com/ and www.visitengland.com.

MEET YOU IN THE CAMPSITE

Africa, America, Asia, Countries, Europe, UK

Fiveday Friday – take those drinks outside

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Just on a whim, and because this is how we’ll be drinking in the future, here is a new feature Fiveday Friday.

Five of the best travel experiences from around my world of travels (and some of them won’t involve drink).

I’m spurred here by a radio shout-out for the sprawling 500-year-old The Lindsey Rose.

The Rose lies near Ipswich, Suffolk in England’s East Anglia http://www.thelindseyrose.co.uk and https://www.visiteastofengland.com.

Southwold in Suffolk, which is about 118 miles east and a two-and-a-half hour drive from London, was recommended to me by my old boss.

And with its dainty beach huts and English Country Garden pubs it was very much like ‘somewhere different but the same’ for this Scottish family within your own country.

Which is what we’ll all be reengaging ourselves with more and more now.

That’s not to say we won’t be reflecting on those awesome outdoor drinks dats we’ve enjoyed around the world.

Beer o’clock in South Africa

The Brewery and Two Goats Deli, Nieu-Bethesda, South Africa: And this beer garden deep in the heart of Afrikans country even has a wooden hammock.

Where you can sleep off your wooden smorgasbord sample of beers and stouts.

There’s nothing wooden though about this little haven in Nieu-Bethesda. Visit https://www.southafrica.net/uk/en/ and What’s new pussycat?.

On the Bosphorus

TTG Travel/Turkey Travel Group: And if the back garden can be a stretch of water which splits two continents….

Pleasure cruises are perfect for small groups and you can work off that Turkish spread with a boogie on board.

While looking out on two continents on the Bosphorus.

See https://www.turkeytravelgroup.com, https://visit.istanbul, www.turkishIrlines.com and Wham bam, thank you Hamam.

Swiss for Prosecco

Interlacken, Switzerland: Well, you do build up a thirst whizzing through a wood and the main road on your tutti bike.

It’s an electric scooter hybrid, you understand.

And you’ll find a bar in the valley where your Prosecco Spritzer has never tasted so good.

See www.myswitzerland.com and Swhisskey on the rocks.

Der Plague and Der Great Outdoors

Oberammergau, Germany: And not a bad place to drop in on as the good burghers of this Bavarian town know all about pandemics.

They made a pact with God back in the Middle Ages where they would put on a Passion Play if He rid them of the plague.

And you’ll want to sit outside anyway to take in the murals that tell the story of Oberammergau.

See https://www.passionsspiele-oberammergau.de/en/home and https://www.topflight.ie and www.topflightforschools.ie.

Jocky Mountain High

Salt & Lime, Steamboat Springs, Colorado: Now Coloradans are ideally placed for this COVID crisis because they’re outdoors people.

They freestyle up the Rockies, white water raft on the French Powder River and then sit down in the open air on their ranches.

And rooftop restaurants such as this one, Salt & Lime Morning www.suckandlime.com in Steamboat Springs www.colorado.com.