Rick Steves' Great Britain
- The 2008 edition of Rick Steves' Great Britain is now available.
- See the guidebook updates for London.
Updates since the 2008 edition:
England
General
British rail fares are being restructured. For more info, see www.ricksteves.com/rail/greatbritain.htm#nonusa.
Note that the travel insurance available via EasyJet Airlines is only valid for residents of the UK.
Tube fares: On page 51, we say that a single cash fare on the Tube from central London to Heathrow costs more than a single cash fare within the central Zone 1. This is no longer true: Any ride in Zones 1–6 (i.e., the center of town all the way out to Heathrow Airport) costs a steep £4 for adults paying cash.
Greenwich
Conservation work on the historic Cutty Sark clipper ship, which was delayed by the May 2007 fire, has resumed. The fire has not only caused a major setback in the schedule, but millions of pounds worth of additional costs have been incurred. The visitor center is open Sun-Tue 11:00-17:00 (last admission 16:30), closed Wed-Sat, call to confirm that center is open. For more information see www.cuttysark.org.uk.
Windsor
The Blondes cafe has closed.
Penzance
The correct email address for Warwick House is enquiry@warwickhousepenzance.co.uk, and their website is www.warwickhousepenzance.co.uk.
The Cotswolds
The Blue Cedar House in Moreton-in-Marsh has closed.
The Crestow House B&B in Stow-on-the-Wold has been sold and may be closed for a period of time. The new owners may offer accommodation in the future.
Bath
The Woodville House has a new website at www.woodvillehousebath.co.uk.
Blackpool
The correct email address for the Robin Hood Hotel is info@therobinhoodhotel.co.uk, and their website is www.robinhoodhotel.co.uk.
North Lake District
The Parkfield Guest House in Keswick has changed their email to enquiries@parkfield-keswick.co.uk, and their website is www.parkfield-keswick.co.uk.
York
The website for Bootham Guest House has changed to www.boothamguesthouse.com.
Durham
The Bed & Breakfast at #12 will close in September 2008 when its owner retires.
Scotland
Edinburgh
The Belford Guest House has closed.
The folks who run the literary pub tour now have a bus tour for literature lovers. The tours leave daily at 13:00 and 14:30 in July and August, with a bookish take on many of the city's main sights (£10, www.edinburghliterarypubtour.co.uk).
Glasgow
Note that London-Glasgow rail repairs will cause train re-routing (or bus-replacement services) on the west coast main line on weekends through December 2008.
Oban
In Oban, McTavish's Kitchens — long a tourist favorite for its corny folk-music show and crank-'em-out Scottish food — will change hands at the end of 2007. It's unclear whether the show will go on.
Inverness
The new visitors center at Culloden Battlefield has opened. This state-of-the-art facility traces the events leading up to the fateful battle, giving each side's perspective (Scottish and English). The exhibit plunges the visitor into the middle of the action — including being immersed in a high-budget reenactment of the battle, where you're surrounded on all sides by attacking soldiers (on 360-degree movie screens). It ends with a timeline tracing the aftermath of the battle. A planned handheld GPS guide will help visitors recreate specific events on the battlefield itself. For more information, visit www.culloden.org.uk.
Wales
Ruthin
Ruthin is opening a new museum in the Elizabethan-era Nantclwyd House, with an exhibit on 17th-century Wales.
The tourist information office in Ruthin has closed indefinitely (due to the renovation of its former home, the Craft Center) — nobody's sure whether it will re-open in 2008. For tourist information, visit www.ruthin-wales.co.uk.
Beddgelert
The Plas Tan y Graig Guest House has a new website at www.plas-tanygraig.co.uk, where you can check room availability and make reservations online. The rate for a Db is now £65 (a bit more over holidays). Please note that they require a two-night minimum stay.
South Wales
The already cumbersomely named St. Fagans National History Museum/Museum of Welsh Life will also be known as Amgueddfa Werin Cymru, its Welsh name. The sleepy galleries are undergoing a renovation as some items are moved out into a new storage facility being built to hold its burgeoning collection of artifacts.