Sunday
When I arrived at the BA Terminal at JFK Airport, I was astounded by the length of the check in line. When I went to the kiosk to print my boarding pass, I could not get it to recognize me by passport, record locator or credit card. This was a blessing in disguise. When I joined the queue for check in I had the good fortune to be assisted by a nice gentleman from BA. When I explained my plight, both at the kiosk, and on their website the night before, he pressed a few buttons and upgraded me to business class. Yipee!
BA’s business class has flat beds (if you are short), or a semi reclining seat if you are larger. Although I was more comfortable in this seat than in many others, I was unable to sleep across the Atlantic, and too tired to watch a movie, so I tossed and turned most of the night. I can usually sleep immediately on an aircraft, so this was odd. Was I too comfortable?
Monday: The flight landed at Gatwick, and since I had time to spare, I headed towards the lounge where I waited for my flight to Manchester. My driver was right there to pick me up when we landed, and drove me to the Radisson Edwardian Manchester, in city center. He did not speak to me the whole way, probably because I had my eyes closed. The trip was about a half hour.
Radisson Edwardian Manchester Hotel has a listed exterior and a modern interior. The first room I was given came complete with a man, already checked in, and in bed! Back down at the desk, I was given another room, and a bellman to accompany me to the room this time. It was unoccupied. The room, decorated in browns, had large frosted glass windows, for the most part, to avoid the prying eyes of the conference rooms across the atrium. It gave you a sense of sunlight, but the drapes needed to be closed for any real privacy, making the room pitch black. The bathroom was nicely laid out and freshly designed. I spent quite bit of time looking for the hairdryer, and was finally forced to leave with my hair wet when in order to meet the rest of the group on time.
The 13 of us were met by Blue Badge Guide, Kate Dibble for a transfer to lunch at The Modern, in a museum building called Urbis. It has panoramic views of the Manchester skyline. We all introduced ourselves and what we do for a living (12 ladies, and one very nice man). A two hour lunch is brilliant sunshine was followed by a two hour 'Discover Manchester' walking tour of the city, ending at the John Rylands Library. Our dinner at Vermilion & Cinnabar included Asian fusion dishes. When we returned to the hotel, we were all too exhausted to do anything but go to bed.
Tuesday: Our first stop was the Imperial War Museum North, with its interesting design, based around the idea of the world shattered into pieces by war. It is not a monument to war, but a museum showing the effects of war on people’s lives in a most loving way. We walked
across the Lowry footbridge to The Lowry, a performing arts center, for a guided tour
At Manchester Cathedral, we saw how the medieval church was constructed over a period of 600 years. The interior of the church contains many pieces of period art, notably the medieval woodcarvings of the Ripon Carvers. It is one of the Grade I listed buildings in Manchester.
Manchester Cathedral. We had lunch at Market Restaurant with a special traditional British menu including classics such as fish & chips and roast beef.
Best experiences: The War Museum
Would I stay in this hotel again? Probably not. Although centrally located, it is too modern for my tastes.
Overall, I was impressed with how Manchester has changed from a bombed out inner city to a modern glass and brick extravaganza.
We took the train from the Piccadilly train station - the Transpennine Express train from Manchester
Piccadilly to Windermere. The train had just a few cars, so we all stood until the next stop, and moved to one of the three cars that were added at the next station, suitcases in tow. Michael helped all of us store our luggage neatly in the small luggage storage area, and we all relaxed in the first class carriage. It was too good to be true though, because a stop of two later, we were informed that the car we were in was destined for Edinburgh, not Windermere. At another stop, we alighted and joined the now empty car where we had been originally standing. Michael is a patient man. The tea stewardess was not, however, and she ordered us to all sit together at 3 tables rather than spread out, as it seemed to be too inconvenient for her to serve the whole car. First class comes with perks - a comfy seat, tables, complimentary tea, water or coffee, and snacks.
At Windermere, it was raining, and we were transferred to the heart of the Lake District National Park to the Waterhead Hotel. It was getting dark, but we did get a twilight peek at the lake outside our country house hotel. The rooms were nicely done, had bowed windows overlooking the lawns and the lake. It was the best night’s sleep I had the whole week!
Our dinner was a very stylish one at the Lindeth Howe Country House Hotel, a stunning hotel overlooking Lake Windermere, formerly owned by the children's author Beatrix Potter. We had a champagne reception near the fireplace in the drawing room, followed by fabulous food. The sticky toffee pudding was to die for!
We had goody bags too, of fresh gingerbread and nut butter, among other things.
Wednesday Our itinerary was reorganized, so that we did not get to see the Coniston Coppermines at Coniston, but instead visited a castle type home with beautiful views, and then the home of Beatriz Potter, Dove Cottage/Rydal Mount in the village of Grasmere. former homes of William WordsworthWindermere. Before lunch we enjoyed a scenic sailing from Ambleside to Bowness-on-Windermere. Lunch and a tour at the World of Beatrix Potter, the only Beatrix Potter themed attraction in Europe. It was quaint, and a perfect stop for kids, although we all enjoyed it, too. We had a traditional Cumbrian lunch in the Tea Garden, perfect for a ladies lunch.
Our last stop was Levens Hall, a place I had always wanted to visited. We were shown round house by Suzy, the owned, and around the internationally renowned topiary gardens by Head Gardener Chris Crowder.
Another train ride (3 hours) from Oxenholme arriving into London Euston station, followed by a coach transfer to the May Fair Hotel , my favorite London Hotel, because of its location, friendly staff and celebrity guests (Jessse Jackson, the founder of BoysZone, and an actress from Eastenders were all spotted in the lobby and at dinner. The May Fair is a luxury London hotel, set in exclusive Mayfair in the heart of the capital. Opened in 1927 by King George V, the new contemporary interior boasts creations from some of the world's top design houses including sofas and chairs re by Fendi, chandeliers by Baccarat and paintings from St Petersburg..
We were invited to a Cocktail Reception followed by Dinner at the May Fair. The evening was co-hosted by Radisson Edwardian Hotels, Visit Britain, Heart of England/East Midlands and the key British suppliers. I was seated next to Gustavo, a journalist from Brazil, and we had a lively discussion about Bush versus Obama, and other political ideas.
Thursday - This was a "real" work day . We took the tube to ExCeL with our Oyster cards. They are a pass which can be topped up regularly. Fares are subtracted as you swipe the pass at the turnstile. It’s the easiest way to travel on the underground. The trains were packed during rush hour, and we let some pass by for lack of room. One calamity - the Canning station where were changed trains for the Docklands Light Railway was filled with pigeons, unseen above us in the rafters. The inevitable happened, not to me, but to Jane, and I cleaned up the mess. I think I am going to get a higher place in heaven!
We spent the whole day at the Best of Britain & Ireland Travel Trade Forum (BOBI), meeting ne-on-one with key British suppliers, networking and attending seminars covering everything from the impact of the credit crunch on tourism to the London 2012 Olympic & Paralymic Games. Afterwards, we attended a networking reception for Buyers and Suppliers hosted by Heart of England. Good Food Ireland provided the scrumptious food. It was a very long day and night, though, and I was exhausted.
Friday - We arrived at the Tower of London for the Opening Ceremony, followed by a viewing of the Crown Jewels. We watched a military escort march with the Yeoman Sergeant to open the Tower for the day's business. We ahd a private, special viewing of the Crown Jewels followed by refreshments hosted by Historic Royal.
Leaving London behind, we traveled toward Kent with a silent driver in a too small van (a disappointment), where we had lunch at the Millers Arms, Canterbury (Shepherd Neame Pub, so named because the brewery sponsored the pub). This is called a tied house, tied to the brewery, versus a free house, which can serve any kind of ale and beer) .Shepherd Neame is Britain's oldest brewer with the brewery based in Faversham in Kent. We had tasty pub food. I particularly liked a saying chalked on the beams of the pub, " An alcoholic is a person you don’t like who drinks as much as you do", or something like that.
I did not join the tour of the Cathedral or the Canterbury Tales, since I had been to Canterbury many times before. We checked in to Canterbury Cathedral Lodge, right across from the Cathedral with stunning views and spartan, monk like accommodation. We had drinks hosted by Canterbury Cathedral Lodge, followed by the best dinner of the trip at Abode Hotel, Canterbury.
Abode Canterbury is located in the city centre. The 8 course tasting menu was made even better by the personality of the waiter, Mark, who was a hoot.
Saturday- We toured Dover Castle, an English Heritage property. It is not particularly spectacular from the outside, but the underground tunnels where military personnel were stationed during WWII were intruiung. We looked around the underground hospital, telephone exchange and the anti-aircraft operations room. This is only for the fit, as steep sloping walks and underground passages are tiring.
Our tour was reorganized to allo us to visit the private garden at Hool House, where we were met by the 82 year old father of the owner. Even though it was late March, many plants were already in bloom, and you could see the promise held by the budding trees and flowers, which peak between Easter and mid-May.
Later , we toured the Pines Garden and Pines Calyx, 6 acre magnificent organic gardens, shaded woodland, cliff top walks and a seaside cove. We had a champagne reception at Walletts Court (we use this hotel in the romantic category of our self-drive Britain program), and showround. This award-winning secluded hotel has at its heart an ancient manor house which nestles in wild open landscape, complete with swimming pool, spa, steam room and Jacuzzi. We had an early dinner at its sister property down the road, the White Cliffs Bay Restaurant. Centered around a traditional Elizabethan Kentish weather-boarded inn. The award winning restaurant offers modern British cuisine using locally sourced, organic, free range produce
Sunday - The 1 ½ hour transfer from Canterbury to Gatwick, where I was dropped off was an early departure, but at was far better than the 2 ½ hour transfer from Canterbury to Heathrow. On the BA flight home, I had premium economy, with faster food service, a bigger seat with legrest, and a choice of movies.
Ellen McNulty is President of
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On a visit to Canada on the occasion of the 1976 Montreal Olympics, one of The Queen’s dresses was embroidered with stylised Olympic rings. 