Old Sarum - English Heritage

What is the best thing to do on a March day in England where the wind is blowing a hooley?

Go to the cinema? - Nope, films are all rubbish
DIY? - Nope, ruined all my hammers
Bowling? - Last time I went i hit myself in the testes.

So the decision was set, we would walk the dog! We decided on an English Heritage property called Old Sarum. Its a bit much to call it a castle. It was a castle, it isn't now!  Anyway, its near Salisbury in Wiltshire and that is in England if you hadn't already guessed it!

We got there about 10:30am on a Sunday, a windy Sunday! The car park was already filling up so already I have a tip for you.  Go early.  The mock drawbridge over the deep empty moat looked very impressive and you are soon into the middle bit where the castle would have been.  If you don't want to read anymore you can watch some footage of the whole trip below:

For those still reading. "Ruins of a castle" is the right term for this place. There is not a great deal left, but what there is is impressive and had plenty of signs with information.  The only thing to point out is, a lot of the signs aren't exactly sure of themselves and use the words "maybe" "probably" quite a lot.   "This building was probably the keep"  "This might have been where the servants lived"
 etc. One has to bear in mind this place was not built around the time of Disney World, and was several hundreds of years ago where people didn't tend to write stuff down as to what rooms were was.  one the less, the site is well kept and has plenty of information.

Outside of the main castle you can walk around the old moat, even in it if you wish and it has some great views over the surrounding countryside and Salisbury itself.

All in all, it is definitely recommended but try to avoid going when its really windy. It was a bit wild up there!

British Airways is going more British, but it isnt

British Airways have just announced that they are selling out a new million pounds on upgrading the First Class experience.  Among the improvements they are going to add a British Afternoon Tea service on bone china, better wine and bubbles and a more luxurious bed / seat arrangement.

This year is 100 years that BA have been around and I think theyve realised that perhaps theyve let things slip a little, and are in dnager of other airlines taking our money.  Virgin Atlantic for example is relatively new to the game as far as BA is concerned, but has taken away a lot of its long haul passengers. EasyJet has also taken away a lot of its short haul passengers - so not its time for them to invest some money and buy some new planes, and smarted up the customer experience.

The thing is though, is it too liuttle too late - and did you know that Britsh Airways isnt actually British? Its owned by a Spanish company IAG who also own American Airlines. Isnt adding an afternoon tea service to the mix a little bit 1950s? It's also been romoured that BA are going to buy some second hand A380s, which other carriers have ditched for more economical craft - so it will be interesting to see how they deck those out. Hardly think it will be in the same standard as Emirates or Etihad.

Of course the First expiernece will opnly be for long haul and probably in newer planes, so where does this leave short haul and people who get to fly in the planes from the late 90s? Stuffed, really is the answer and not with scones and jam!!

To be honest I'd give it a few years and let them upgrade everything before giving it a go. You might end up paying first class prices but we stuck with a leaky aircon over your head, or a stained seat where grubby people have sat and farted for the last 20 - 30 years.

Here is the story from the news, makr up your own mind!
BA is getting fancier - more tea vicar?

Don't travel to the Travellodge Monaco - N Miami & Sunny Isle Beach

I could summarize this hotel with one word: shocking, or even two words: totally shocking, but tor purposes of writing a descriptive review that's useful i wont.

On booking this hotel we knew it wasnt going to be amazing, but at $80 we thought it might at least be decent, and the description portrayed it to be a "resort" with a pool, a pool side bar and clean, comfortable rooms. It wasn't.

On arrival we were greeted by a building that looked as though it was in the middle of a demolition, they charged $8 for parking, and the pool was shut due to them painting it. Apparently it was going to he closed for a day but by 7pm it hadn't even drained yet. I wouldn't be surprised if it was actually a murder scene. The smaller pool had already been filled with soil. What was hidden under there? If we were hoping to console ourselves with a drink at the poolside bar that was also right out. It was also closed and looked like it had been since 1985.

The room looked as though it should have been rented by the hour and smelt as though it had been. The sink was almost coming off the wall and only needed a small house spider to cross its path to make it fully come away from the wall.
The door had a security chain and a dead bolt on it. Great impression for security then.

The stairwell doorway near to our room needed a serious case of wd40 and they appeared to have purchased the only triangle wheeled trolley left in the world to push up and down every 5 minutes.

The hotel staff were over helpful to try and get you to give them a tip. We didn't. They offered to give us a menu for room service, I assume they meant for food but we declined due to the fact we didn't wqnt to be on a drip in a hospital bed for the remainder if our holiday.

In summary, dont visit this hotel,

Check it out on Tripadvisor https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g34486-d85810-Reviews-or25-Travelodge_Monaco_N_Miami_and_Sunny_Isles_Beach-North_Miami_Beach_Florida.html#photos;aggregationId=101&albumid=101&filter=2&ff=106190890 

The Watercress Line - Is it worth a visit?

Now I am not going to bore you with a history lesson, but once a upon a time in the United Kingdom we heavily relied on steam power. Steam trains were the back bone of the country (Not the Ford Transit as Ford would have you believe) We had railway lines spanning all over our island, a true network of being able to ship products and people. Then one man came along, his name was Beeching and decided upon a huge and punchy round of cuts to the railway network.  It meant that many branch lines were pulled up, steam trains were left to rot. Railways were no longer the best  route to transport goods and people, and started to spill onto the roads.

Fast forward to 2019 and the roads are the most congested they have been.  Old railway lines have had houses or roads built upon them. The amount of lorries and cars are at an all time high, and the only thing the government wants to do is tax cars more and more and build silly smart motorways that aren't smart

The Watercress line which is located in Hampshire is one of the railway lines that were hit by the cuts. In the late sixties it ran as far as Winchester, and to Alton. Linking it with the west coat, and into London. It was closed, and if it hadn't had been for volunteers, shareholders and investors, people who wanted to save the railway - it would have stayed shut.  By the late seventies it was open again as a heritage railway, and thanks to all the volunteers and people who put their heart, and their money into this - its still going strong!

It spans from Alresford to Alton, a distance of 10 miles in beautiful country side. You can choose to ride on the train, or see it flash by in all its grandeur from many of the vantage points along the route.  Just one of these points I happened to visit this weekend.  Take a look:

It also has events on during the year such as Walk the Line where you can well, walk the line for charity..  War re-enactments, a dining train called The Countryman, and also the Alresford Belle, The famous Santa Special where children get to meet Father Christmas - and the Little Blue Bastard, otherwise known as Thomas the Tank Engine!

There are some seriously passionate people who take the time to run this railway and it is worth a visit. You really should go and show your support!

Check out the website, and the timetables here to avoid disapointment and to avoid the Little Blue Bastard weekends!

https://www.watercressline.co.uk/

They also have a YouTube channel! Click Here

Marwell Zoo Review - We saw a Pidgeon!

We recently went on a visit to Marwell Zoo, near Winchester in Hampshire UK.

This review will be short and not so sweet.  We saw a handfull of animals, with the best being a Pidgeon near the cafe, followed by the second best thing of some Giraffes, and worst of all a tigger pacing up and down looking like its world had collapsed around him.

Zoos are a fun place for people to gawp at animals doing not much at all. On this occasion there werent any animals. 

Would not reccomend!

London Gatwick BLOC Hotel Review

VIP Room - Amazing room

I booked the VIP room (runway view 648) for my husband as a surprise before we flew to Scotland to celebrate our wedding anniversary and we were not disappointed with the view at all. 

The Armani shower is, without question, the best shower we've ever experienced in our travels. We want one for home!! It was the most perfect way to unwind post travelling and refresh prior to our onward journey. The amenities were greatly appreciated and saved us having to unpack and repack our suitcase.

The bed was comfortable and the blinds offered suitable coverage from the light outside which was impressive.

The view, well, wow, there's nothing negative we can say about that at all, we were looking out onto the stands and had a brilliant view of the two runways. We’re not aircraft spotters by any stretch of the imagination but it was really enjoyable watching the ground activity and seeing the planes land and take off. Just to mention it was really quiet too so you don’t need to worry about noise, the big A380 took off whilst we were there and it really didn’t impact on us at all.

We didn't wait until late in the evening before we attempted to use the TV. Despite following the instructions it became clear the box linked to the TV screen was clearly not working. Unfortunately we had both got into bed so were unwilling to clamber down to reception to make them aware. Believe you me, the other guests would have not appreciated the view either!

We attempted to ring reception but it wasn't answered, we rang back again and the phone rang until it connected to the duty manager’s answerphone service and neither of us felt it appropriate to make the on-call manager aware of this blip. The answerphone message asked as to phone reception and leave a message for them to contact us if we did not wish to speak with the manager. This we did however the call was never returned, we left feedback online then gave up and went to sleep.

The hotel has now fully resolved this by way of a refund and its clear they  are keen to ensure all guests get what they paid for!

It’s fair to say I shall be saving up to stay in the VIP room again!!

Destiny Scotland - Chisolm Hunter Suites review

This review for The Chisolm Hunter Suites (Destiny Scotland) in Edinburgh could have been a 4 or even 5 star review but unfortunately it was not to be.

 

First things first I think it’s important to start on the positives. 

The view of the Castle and the location of the apartment are completely incomparable. You are in the heart of the City within easy walking access to everything you may want. The apartment had every facility you need for a self catering break. 

Negatives

Changing our apartment the day before check in to a less desirable apartment, pee soaked bed linen and an extractor fan you can’t turn on unless you want the apartment to smell like sewage. 

We have previously stayed at one of Destiny Scotland’s other locations (the Malt House Apartment) and absolutely loved it, the apartment was beautiful and extremely comfortable with all the amenities we needed to support us during our stay. We felt we were a little out of the centre of the city however and decided when we were going to return we would be in the heart of the city and we truly were. 

We were a bit let down in a number of areas however. We booked our stay 6 months in advance to guarantee the best room available and requested to stay in one of the ‘Superior one Bed Apartments’. The images shown on the website from which we used to decide which apartment to book clearly showed two floor to ceiling huge windows which flooded the apartment with light. A sofa in front of one and the dining table in chairs in front of the other. Lovely jubley. We couldn’t have been happier with our choice. 

A week before we were due to book in (when we had already left home and were staying elsewhere) we received our check in instruction advising us we were in Flat 1 on the second floor. We were so pleased as from looking at Google Street View it was clear we were going to be staying in one of the apartments with the huge windows we’d seen in the pictures and had booked. 

Unfortunately, the day before we checked in we received a further check in email which said we would be in Flat 4 on the third floor. There was no explanation for this. I was really disappointed as I knew from looking at Street View we would not have the benefit of the larger apartment we had anticipated. I contacted the team to be told it was like a game of Tetris to get everyone in which meant people would often be moved. I was not impressed. 

We raised this again with the team when we arrived at the offices to drop off our luggage (such a useful facility to have to drop off our luggage prior to booking in and leaving with them until our evening flight, thank you). I said I was disappointed as we would not have the floor to ceiling view we had been anticipating. The member of staff we spoke with said we were still in a superior apartment and our view would not be compromised. Once we entered however I can categorically say I disagree. 

The apartment is beautifully modern, the induction hob, fan oven, fridge/freezer, dishwasher and washer/dryer were all very appreciated and meant we were fully self-sufficient, all items we were very grateful for. 

However, let’s be under no illusion here, the top floor apartments are compromised in space and access to the view of the castle. You lose space because of the roof line. Be aware too, the staircase to reach the apartments are almost corkscrew so carrying our 32 kilos of suitcase up the stairs was not a fun experience. 

We entered to find the sloping ceilings impacted on the overall space we had been anticipating in the apartment. We had a bay window which looked out over the castle which we had to clean as it was filthy inside, and out. We don’t expect the outside to be cleaned regularly, they face out onto Princes Street so expect them to get dirty quickly, however, we do expect the inside to be cleaned. There were face and hand marks of the previous occupants on the glass which impacted on the view and we couldn’t relax until we’d moved the sofa around and cleaned the windows so we could enjoy the view of the castle. 

On our last night we had booked a night walking tour but when we went to leave the complex we were held back by a number of extremely drunk people trying to access a party which was being held on the floor below us. We’re unsure whether this was in apartment 1 or 2 but it wasn’t a nice experience being stood at the bottom of the stairs being unsure to leave the complex as a group were struggling to get in. We didn’t want to face refusing access to the complex as we were unsure how they would react so we had to wait for them to source the number to access the right apartment. It was clear they were too drunk (and, according to their conversation, too stoned) to remember the log in code. We waited until they had called their friend and sought the code to enter the complex before we left. When the door opened we found two women completely unaware of their surroundings and barely able to stand entering the complex with three other gentlemen and another female. We returned to our apartment at approximately midnight to find the party still going in full, noisy swing, not what we had anticipated.

Another note, do not turn on the extractor fan in the bathroom for Flat 4, my god, we turned it on following a shower, went out and returned a couple of hours later and it smelt like something had died in the apartment. The smell was so pungent and made the apartment an unpleasant place to be. It smelt like rancid drain water and it took us a while to work out what it was and where it was coming from. We turned the extractor fan off, aired the apartment and then left it off for the rest of our stay. 

On the day of check out we always try to make things easier and strip the beds and place all the linen and towels in an easily accessible place for housekeeping staff. This is when we realised that underneath the top sheet there was a thin mattress protector which was covered in yellow stains. This would have been instantly obvious to whoever had placed the top sheet over when changing the bed linen between guests. We took photos as we couldn’t quite believe it. At £150 a night we don’t anticipate sleeping in other people’s urine because a member of staff couldn’t be bothered to change a mattress protector. Fair to say we were furious and I’m unsure whether or not we will be using Destiny Scotland again which is such a shame as they do have some fabulous properties in our favourite city. 

If you want to be in the heart of it the definitely go for it but check you get the room/apartment you pay for and expect and be anticipated to clean or check it’s clean before you stay.