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ALISTAIR BEAR'S

ENGLAND

First Stop - Poole, Dorset

Rating - 4 paw prints

Located on the south west cost of England, Poole has the largest natural harbour in the world.

Things to do: Stroll along the waterfront, visit the famous Poole Pottery, visit Brownsea island and for recreation there is Tower Park which includes an ice skating rink, cinema, water park and bowling. If you have children why not head for Poole Park with it's mini golf, paddleboats , zoo and miniature railway. For shopping there is the Dolphin Centre. And yes there's lots of beaches.

Things you must do because Alistair Bear says so:

Visit "Waterfront" the new museum or take a harbour cruise. In fact there is so much to do why not check out the official Poole website.

Poole Website

Next Stop - Lincoln (castles, cathedrals, pubs, shopping, galleries, why it's just great).

Rating - 4 1/2 prints.

Yup it's Alistair in Lincoln

Located 3 hours north of London

Things to do: The Lawn (the old insane asylum), Lincoln Cathedral (don't miss the famous "Imp") and the Usher Gallery.

Things you must do because Alistair Bear says so: Lincoln Castle and don't miss the very weird Chapel. After you pretend you are a prisoner in the chapel go up to the podium and look back. I guarantee you'll be freaked out. Skip the coffee shop in the castle it's kinda yucky. Best place for a spot of tea is "Ye Olde Tucke Shop" across from the Magna Carta on the Steep Hill. Also don't miss the Museum of Lincolnshire Life. It's very well done and worth the effort. Did you know the "tank" was invented in Lincoln?

Places to stay: Carhome Guest House (Reasonable, good food, parking out back, lovely rooms with tea & coffee making facilites. Easy walk to town).

Places to eat: Best spot is a pub called "The Bridge" which is 6 miles out of town heading east on Carholme Road. Now that's great food!

Handy bathrooms : In the castle by the giftshop, in the cathedral by the cloisters and all other attractions.

Next Stop - Nottingham (Land of Robin Hood. I bet you didn't know but I have a relative named Marian Hood from Nottingham).

Castle grounds my photo

Rating - 3 1/2 paw prints

Things to do: Nottingham Castle and grounds and Market Square, Sherwood Forrest (you need a car though), Newstead Abbey - 12 miles north on A60 (home of the famous poet Lord Byron). Stop for a pint at Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem (reputed to be the oldest pub in England dating from 1196).

Things you must do because Alistair Bear says so:

The cave tour below the castle and don't miss the Robin Hood Centre.

Places to stay: Haven't stayed there for awhile so can't recommend anywhere.

Places to eat: Pubs are always a good bet. Make sure they serve meals as many don't.

Handy bathrooms - At all the tourist sites.

Next Stop - Bath (I went in the washing machine once inside a pillow case and survived it. Oops, not that kind of bath is it?). This is the Bath where the Romans bathed, I wouldn't have minded being a Roman back then.

Rating - 4 paw prints

Things to do: Visit the Baths you silly goose. You can try tasting the water too but it's not very pleasant. From the special fountain not from a stagnant pool. The Abbey is pretty darned nice too. Lots of nice little shops tucked away in passageways for you to discover near the Abbey as well. Lots of museums and I enjoyed the Victoria Art Gallery. Take a hike up to Royal Crescent

Places to stay: Sorry can't help you. I stay with my relatives in Bristol which is about 45 minutes away. Here's a lovely link for you though to find a good B&B. "Lovely Link"

Places to eat: The Pump Room or perhaps The Canary.

Places to shop: "Bears in the Wood" - 25 St James Square or The English Teddy Bear Company (lots of fun stuff for us bears).

Handy bathrooms: You can see the signs for restrooms just behind the Abbey.

Next Stop - Stratford (home of Willy Shakespeare only you can't say "Willy" cuz it means something else in England)

Anne Hathaway's Cottage

Photo taken by my friend Adrian Green who lives near Stratford

Rating - 4 1/2 paw prints

Things you must do because Alistair Bear says so:

So much to do , so little time. Everything is worth seeing. Start of course with Shakespeares birthplace and centre. Then there is Anne Hathaway's Cottage (just over 1 mile from town centre), Mary Arden's House (Shakespeares mom, this is 4 miles from Stratford), and Hall's Croft (home of Shakespeares daughter Susanna). Then you have to see a Royal Shakespeare Company performance either in the main theatre (good gift shop), or "The Other Place" which is a smaller theatre behind it (and nicer I think). Wait there's more. What about "The Teddy Bear Museum" at 19 Greenhill Street (my favourite).

Really super duper stuff nearby (within an hour and a bit):

You must go see Warwick Castle. Spend the day. It's the bestest castle in all of England. Great displays, a really scary dungeon, the best gift shops anywhere, wall walks, gardens.....everything your little heart could dream of. Don't miss this wonderful place situated on 60 acres. Warwick is close to Stratford too, I'm thinking 20 minutes or so.

Cadbury World. Yes the place that means chocolate. The whole history of chocolate, a tour of the working plant (they start your piece of chocolate from scratch when you start the tour and when you are done your personal piece of chocolate is ready). Not only that they feed you various chocolate bars as you walk around the plant. The gift shop is to die for and there is a little museum outside and down the stairs. I won't tell you what I spent in the gift shop, it's too embarassing. Cadbury World is in Bourneville up towards Birmingham. It would be between 1 and 1 1/2 hours from Stratford.

Places to stay: Once again I always stay with my friends who live there. I'm pretty good at "reading between the lines" on B&B adverts. Here are a few that look promising.

Hardwick House

Quilt and Croissants (Well I like the name)

Craig Cleeve House (This one sounds very nice)

Places to eat: There is a cafe in Warwick Castle and of course in Cadbury World. As for Stratford I've hit a few pubs without much success so I won't recommend anywhere in particular.

Handy bathrooms: In the car parks near town centre there are very nice and clean facilities.

Next Stop - Oxford (I lived in the first village outside of Oxford on the road to Stratford)

Rating - 4 paw prints

Blenheim Palace one of many photos I took

Alistair drags everybody here when they visit

Things to Do: Remember there is no Oxford University. Oxford is a city composed of many colleges so is like one big campus. You can wander around the grounds of some of them. Oxford also has several museums and lots of great bookstores. The Bodleian Library has over 5 million books. There's also a market if you want to do a little shopping for food.

Things you must do because Alistair Bear says so:

Ride the Oxford Story, I just love these little historic rides. For a good view of the city climb up the Carfax Tower. But about 20 minutes from Oxford is Blenheim Palace. It is the birthplace of Winston Churchill and is one of England's largest private houses. Sylvester Stallone got married here and Barry Manilow said he gave his favourite concert here. It is breathtaking so check it out.

Places to Stay: I lived there so never stayed in any hotels. Still here is a selection of spots you might want to check out:

Green Gables (Good location, sounds promising & reasonable rates)

Places to Eat: Very fancy but worth every penny is the Randolph Hotel. I often had a drink at the Eagle & Child where Tolkien and C.S. Lewis used to hang out. If you have ever watched the TV series Inspector Morse why not check out his old haunt the White Horse on Broad St.

Handy Bathrooms: I always used the one at the coach station as I came in to town by bus. There is a shopping mall on the high street so you can find some in there also.

Here's a few other links to places I love but haven't had time to add yet:

Great Castles

Great Houses

Woburn Abbey| Chatsworth House

Best Coal Mine to visit (In Wales of course)

The Big Pit

My great grandfather and great,great grandfather worked in this mine

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