BS: Advice please - young lady visiting UK

Subject: RE: BS: Advice please - young lady visiting UK
From: Micca
Date: 28 Jun 07 - 11:30 AM

Moses, If they shut Camden Town, Chalk Farm is a bit nearer than MC and an easy walk , especially as Camden Lock Market stretches in that direction too, so, at the top of the Market you are quite close to the station!!! worth printing out a map from streetfinder See Here

Subject: RE: BS: Advice please - young lady visiting UK
From: Splott Man
Date: 28 Jun 07 - 11:55 AM

If you're looking for low key things, the Lookout in Bracknell Forest is good. Hands-on science exhibits. Trails. Bike hire.
If she enjoys a walk. I second the Leith Hill thing. Box Hill and the stepping stones (the real ones, not the pub), Peter Labelliere's gravestone, and on a Sunday, thousands of bikers (with Red Molly maybe).
My pick of the London museums would be the Natural History.
If she likes theatre, is the open-air theatre still going at Polesden Lacey?

Splott Man

Subject: RE: BS: Advice please - young lady visiting UK
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 28 Jun 07 - 12:12 PM

Check with Transport for London for tube closures - they're also to be found in the Metro free morning newspaper that can be picked up any weekday at many locations across the Underground.

Camden Lock just after pay-day is a dangerous thing to do. You can lose more pounds there than any Cambridge or Atkins diet!

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Advice please - young lady visiting UK
From: Rasener
Date: 28 Jun 07 - 12:48 PM

Hey Splott man, used to live just by the look out. Used to have great walks through the forest there. Happy memories.
There is that great swimming pool there as well. Forgotten the name now.

Subject: RE: BS: Advice please - young lady visiting UK
From: GUEST
Date: 28 Jun 07 - 04:23 PM

Camden Lock is between Chalk Farm and Camden Town, go north to Chalk Farm to leave, fewer crowds, fewer pickpockets and it will be open.

Actually when I took my neices of similar age to Camden Lock they weren't that interested as none of the clothes had "labels".

For museums Sir John Soanes in Lincoln Inn Fields is wonderfully eccentric, my kids loved it at that age.

Also worth going to Oxford. Park at Thornhill Park and Ride and take the bus from there. Travel upstairs, nearside for a good view of the shark in Headington, but don't warn her. It is always better as a surprise.
University Museum (and Pitt Rivers) is good for youngsters. For a boat or punt on the river it is worth getting to Magdalen (sp?) Bridge at around 11:30 with a picnic before it gets too busy.

Subject: RE: BS: Advice please - young lady visiting UK
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 28 Jun 07 - 06:38 PM

English rock music! The best in the world!

And get another young lady, a bit older, to show her round a sex shop, a really raunchy one. (Swear her to secrecy first)

Teen fashion - Lilly Allen chic....

Any show at which Peaches Geldorf is DJ-ing. (not good, but look what daddy does)

Any show at which the Chemical Brothers are DJ-ing. GOOD.

A bit less culture - a bit more enjoyment.

Does she ride? Can you get her into a REAL stables, top class horses and all...

Is she into dogs? The major English dog shows are among the world's best.

C'mon guys - think FOURTEEN! Don't be so stuffy!

WLD, where are you when I need you?

Subject: RE: BS: Advice please - young lady visiting UK
From: Peter K (Fionn)
Date: 28 Jun 07 - 08:49 PM

Camden tube is always closed on Sundays because it can't cope with the numbers who would otherwise try to use it. And yes, Chalk Farm is the way to go.

Subject: RE: BS: Advice please - young lady visiting UK
From: My guru always said
Date: 29 Jun 07 - 05:46 AM

Thanks Moses, Micca, Lis & Guest for Camden Lock, tube & map info. Might just try to get along Sunday morning, but not if it's raining badly. My right hand still isn't good at umbrellas & I've never got on with the Beasties anyway!

Lost part of yesterday with Cassie over a misunderstanding about times, but rescued her from Orpington at lunchtime. It took about 40 minutes to get there and we had a 3 1/2 hour drive home 'the pretty way' *grin* Managed to start off with a nice pint of Summer Lightning (Cassie had coke) in the Skimmington Castle at Reigate followed by a meander round Leith Hill, Coldharbour, Newlands Corner (squirty ice-cream pitstop) returning via Ranmore Common & the rear of Denbies. Then did bangers (Cassie's never seen then done without the aid of a BBQ) & mash at the cottage followed by video clips of the funniest bits of Top Gear. All topped off by listening to an Einaudi (clever piano stuff) which just has to be copied for Cassie to try at home.

Today's just started to birighten up after the rain, so it looks like a South Coast day starting off via Box Hill. The fox cubs are just starting to come out for their breakfast of bird food (they LOVE peanuts) so I'd better wake Cassie & see if she fancies a bacon sarnie! Oh the delights of England * grin*

So, we'll only have tomorrow (Saturday) to sort & of course that'll depend on the weather. Probably Windsor Castle & possibly a Thames & Hampton Court trip, we'll have to see. Hope to see some of you at Linda's BBQ on Sunday, am keeping my fingers crossed about the rain & will try to get Cassie to choose one of my cross-stich kits!

Thanks again everyone!

Richard Bridge - I had no idea you were so 'clued up' about teenagers, you've more hidden depths than I thought!

Subject: RE: BS: Advice please - young lady visiting UK
From: Splott Man
Date: 29 Jun 07 - 06:41 AM

And don't forget your own back garden!!!

Subject: RE: BS: Advice please - young lady visiting UK
From: Splott Man
Date: 29 Jun 07 - 08:27 AM

Hi Villan.

I have a vested interest, the exhibits at the Lookout were supplied by the company I work for.

Subject: RE: BS: Advice please - young lady visiting UK
From: Cats
Date: 29 Jun 07 - 03:47 PM

Hils, bring her to Cornwall for a long weekend with the two of you. You can do Boscastle, Newquay, Padstow, the tin mines, the moors, our quaint little cottage.... Don't just restrict yourself to London and the environs. How about Stratford on Avon?
cats

Subject: RE: BS: Advice please - young lady visiting UK
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 30 Jun 07 - 08:06 AM

I think Hils said earlier in the thread that time constraints don't allow travelling much further than London. She's only staying a few days and Stratford on Avon isn't that close when you have to go round London to get there.

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Advice please - young lady visiting UK
From: My guru always said
Date: 01 Jul 07 - 07:26 AM

Many thanks for the offer Cats but as Liz says, time's short & it's our last day with Cassie!

Isn't it funny how when things start to go wrong, they just go from bad to worse? Normally I'd take the hint from Lady Fate and take another path, but that's difficult when you're doing stuff with other people.

Yesterday was going to be fantastic, going to & from Windsor by boat from Runnymede, but due to the vagiaries of the linked 'street-map' from the boatyard web-site we started off on the wrong side of the Thames & missed the boat by 5 minutes!! It rained almost all day of course. Could only get a space in the short stay car park so had to pay £8 for 5 hours. Richard got stuck at the scanner in Windsor security for ages. There was a 45 minute queue for the State Apartments which we decided was a bit much so skipped it. Car door was dented by a 4x4 drivers door when parked in a narrow bay of the car park. Then the round trip boat trip we decided to go for almost got delayed by 30 minutes due to lack of custom - we'd already waited 30 minutes for the scheduled departure!!

Things brightened up when we got home & warmed up in our cosy cottage and for the third night running we (Cassie & I) had our ice-cream cocktail workshop - we got pretty good at it over the past few days *grin*

Anyway, though we're starting late today we'll be off to Linda's BBQ in a few hours hopefully - after bacon sarnies & a slideshow of family early days!

Subject: RE: BS: Advice please - young lady visiting UK
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 01 Jul 07 - 07:28 AM

My daughter was a teenager fairly recently....

Subject: RE: BS: Advice please - young lady visiting UK
From: Cats
Date: 01 Jul 07 - 08:05 AM

Would have been easier to come to Cornwall for the day. At least it didn't rain very much!!

Subject: RE: BS: Advice please - young lady visiting UK
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 01 Jul 07 - 04:45 PM

I agree. Cornwall is the most beautiful place in England. Really it's another country.   

However I think this feeling that Cornwall fans have is quite inexpressible. I don't see how you would communicate it in a day trip. Unless you took a plane. then a hire car. see The Lizard, Lands End, St Ives and the Tate at St Ives.

Could be expensive.

Subject: RE: BS: Advice please - young lady visiting UK
From: GUEST,Shimrod
Date: 02 Jul 07 - 06:01 AM

Camden Market and Brighton, and other haunts of 'Southern Jessies', will give her entirely the wrong impression. She needs to spend a few days up here in the gritty North where the real people (and their whippets) live.