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Rick Steves' England

Updates since the 2012 edition

The Great British Heritage Pass is no longer being sold (or accepted at sights).

London

See the update page for our London guidebook.

Updates for those still travelling with the 2011 edition

In a cost-cutting move, English Heritage is adjusting the winter hours of some of the historic sites and homes it administers. Check www.english-heritage.org.uk for the latest details.

Also because of funding cuts, several TIs in England have closed (including the ones in Durham and Penzance), some less-visited English Heritage sights (such as Holy Island and Rievaulx Abbey) now have reduced hours in the winter, and a few made-for-tourists buses (such as the Gorge Connect bus in Ironbridge Gorge or the Moorsbus in the North York Moors) have reduced service.

London

See the update page for our London guidebook.

Greenwich

It now costs 10 pounds to enter the Meridian Courtyard and Flamsteed House at the Royal Observatory.

Cambridge

Trinity College is undergoing an extensive renovation, and access for tourists will be intermittent until at least November 2011. The Wren Library remains open and can be entered by way of Garret Hostel Lane.

Dover

Dover Castle has slightly different hours: April–Sept daily 10:00–18:00, from 9:30 in Aug; Oct daily 10:00–17:00; Nov–March Sat–Sun 10:00–16:00, closed Mon–Fri. Parts of the castle may close in high winds. Three new exhibits there bring the Secret Wartime Tunnels to life: Operation Dynamo (where you can tour the command center of the successful 1940 mission to evacuate 338,000 Allied soldiers from the beaches of occupied Dunkirk), Wartime Tunnels (with artifacts charting the tunnels' history), and the Underground Hospital (30-minute guided tour of a recreated WWII hospital ward).

Churchill House has a new website: http://churchillhouse.homestead.com.

La Scala Italian restaurant is closed Sunday year-round.

Portsmouth

The Duke of Buckingham Pub no longer serves food.

Near Portsmouth
Fishbourne

The Fishbourne Roman Palace is closed every day mid-Dec–Jan.

Dartmoor

Chagford

The correct email address for the Globe Inn is graham@theglobeinnchagford.co.uk.

Sandy Park Inn has a new email address: info@sandyparkinn.co.uk.

Cornwall

Penzance

The correct email address for Chiverton House B&B is alan.waller@sky.com (with a period between the first and last names).

Bath

The Town House B&B has closed.

Jill and Keith of the Holly Villa Guesthouse have sold their B&B. Instead, try the nearby Apple Tree Guesthouse, run by friendly Les and Lynsay (7 Pulteney Gardens, tel. 01225-337-642, enquiries@appletreeguesthouse.co.uk).

The correct address for Yak Yeti Yak, the Nepalese restaurant, is 12 Pierrepont Street.

Near Bath

Stonehenge

Brian MacNeillie's taxi service from Salisbury to Stonehenge has been sold to another Brian; he's keeping the same phone number but now has a different e-mail: briantwort@ntlworld.com.

Cotswolds

Stow-on-the-Wold

Both the Chipping House B&B and the West Deyne B&B have closed.

Ironbridge Gorge

Some museums in the area close at 16:00 (or entirely) in winter.

The Gorge Connect bus now runs a little less frequently.

The Royal Air Force (RAF) Museum Cosford closes at 17:00 in winter (Nov–Feb).

Blackpool

Blackpool's TI has moved back to the wedding chapel on The Promenade, across from Blackpool Tower.

Lake District

Keswick

The Dunsford Guest House has new owners: Deb and Keith Graham.

Derwentwater Hostel has been sold. Its future is uncertain, but it is still taking bookings through October 2011. Check in advance if you plan to use this hostel: tel. 017687/77246.

North Yorkshire

Moorsbus schedules have been reduced; if sightseeing in the area without a car, check schedules carefully.

Durham and Northeast England

Durham

The Victorian Town House B&B has a new phone number: 0191/370-9963.