Advantages: amazing access and fantastic amount of history and culture
Disadvantages: 50oc in summer is a little too hot for a long day

...I first visited Egypt last summer (2005) with my partner. We chose to stay in the Hurghada resort for two weeks in june. on the coast the temperature was between 30-35oc. We were planning on spending two nights in cairo looking at the pyraminds however we spoke to our tour guide who reccommended a five hour coach journey to Luxor instead. Our first reaction was to dismiss it as five hours each way is a very long day in the summer heat but our guide was very enthusiatic about Luxor and in particular Valley of the kings so we gave it a go. Our morning call was at 4am but suprisingly the journey did not seem that longand in fact I found it really interesting after travelling through the desert we drove along the Nile and through villages where children and their parents were working or playing in the fields or waving estacically... Read review

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Advantages: Chateaux and gardens, old towns and local cuisine
Disadvantages: Unexciting landscapes, well-trodden tourist trail

...Where is the best place in France to get away from it all, to slip off for a few days (or a few weeks, or months), perhaps to your second (or third, or fourth) home? With a country so rich in attractive regions, this could be regarded as a tough question, but the kings of the Valois dynasty in the late 15th and early 16th Centuries were in no doubt about their answer. They picked on the lower valley of the Loire, and in particular the stretch between Orleans and Tours, to site their out-of-town chateaux and hunting-lodges. Where they led the court naturally followed, and soon any ambitious aristocrat felt the need to have a prestigious pied-a-terre nearby from which to keep in touch with current intrigue and to curry favour with the king. The reasons that attracted the Valois kings and their retinues to the Loire Valley... Read review

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Advantages: Good food, good wine ,friendly people and great country.
Disadvantages: Lack of french

...will never be enough as they nearly all have something different to offer. I would like to think that once you have visited you will want to return, so, what I can give is the benefit of my own Loire Valley Experience to suggest some itineraries that you can do at you own pace depending on the length of your stay. They take in the major chateaux as well as other attractions. Blois-Chaumont-sur-Loire-Amboise Bloise The Royal City of Blois sits proudly by the banks of the Loire with its skyline dominated by its cathedral and famous chateau. The city was the favoured stronghold of the kings of France for 100 years, with the chateau being the principle royal residence from when Louis XII established his court here in 1498 until Henry IV moved it to Paris in1598. Blois is the 'prefecture'(capital) of the department of Loire-et-Cher (which... Read review

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Advantages: Easily Accesible, Lots Of History
Disadvantages: Some Of The Old Abandonded Industries Are An Eyesore

...was planted by the Children of Loxley School in 1935 to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of King George V. Whilst the oddly shaped stone is a mounting stone, used for getting on and off a Horse. This is believed to date back to medieval times and originally stood on the opposite side of the road. It was moved to the Village Green when two semi-detached Houses were built on its original site in the 1950's. There were two Churches in the Valley. The Methodist Chapel on Loxley Road was built in 1885 and is still used today. Whilst the United Reform/Independent Church which was built in 1797 closed in 1991, although the Burial Grounds are still used. THE HISTORY THE VALLEY Several hundred years ago the Valley supported several small Industries which grew up around the Water Wheels, the remnants of which can still be seen today. These were mainly... Read review

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Advantages: A Great Day Out
Disadvantages: Lots Of Enviromental Damage Was Caused During Its Creation

...and the peace and quiet, but be warned during the Summer weekends the Valley can get very popular so if it is peace and quiet that you are after you may have to wander off the beaten track. THE HISTORY OF THE VALLEY The upper two Dams in the Derwent Valley were constructed at the early part of the twentieth century. Building began in 1901, this engineering was so vast that a purpose built Village called Birchinlee was constructed in the Upper Valley to provide Houses for all of those employed on the project. This Village even had its own Railway Station on a spur from nearby Bamford. Today, a hundred years later, traces of both the Railway Track and the Village of Birchinlee itself can still be seen. These two Dams were completed in 1916 and opened by King George V. The principal objective of these new Dams was to provide drinking water... Read review

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Advantages: Interesting, very interesting!
Disadvantages: The most famous tomb is now closed.

...announcing my name change to Nefertiti (the beautiful (or perfect) woman has come). ~Getting there~ The Valley of the Queens is a short distance from the Valley of the Kings, just the other side of Queen Hatshepsut's Burial Temple (see my last review Queen of Hats & Cheap Suits). Getting there would generally be by coach or taxi and it is probably about 20 mins from Luxor. As this site was included as part of our trip, we took the coach from Queen Hatshepsut's temple to the Valley of the Queens, this took us all of about 10 mins and again, we arrived in yet another coach park and had to run the gauntlet of the mini market & souvenirs. ~I'm going in~ We get to the gates to go through to the valley and hand our little tickets over, and make our way along the dusty path (it looks exactly like the one in the picture above). To the left... Read review

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Advantages: Some great rides, pay once, ride all day.
Disadvantages: Getting old, dreadful food.

...Lightwater Valley is a small park in North Yorkshire, just north of Ripon, easily reached from the A1 and A61. But anyhoo, I visit Lightwater Valley generally once a year and have normally left with a large grin plastered on my face. Prices for 2004 are £14.50 p/p which is pretty good value, keep your eyes peeled for BoGoF offers on their website too. It is home to The Ultimate rollercoaster, once holder of many records (still the longest rollercoaster in Europe), but starting to look a little decrepit with its rusted track and poorly kept trains. But still, its one helluva a ride, especially after the 2nd lift where everything goes a little insane, be warned the coaster gets very very rough from hereon in but if you can handle it then you'll have a great time. Its also about as unique as youre gonna get in the coaster world, seeing... Read review

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Advantages: see article
Disadvantages: see article

...Luxor is bet known for the ‘valley of the kings’, which is but a short trip across the Nile, but there is plenty of other attractions there also. The Temple of Queen Hatshaput – A fantastic palace built at the base of a large granite cliff face. Whilst you cannot enter the palace the work up to the front via the temple access is breathtaking. The Karnak Temple – You see all the statues and the entrance to the Temple on all the holiday programmes. The entrance is lined with some twenty sphinxes and a re in good condition. Inside is row after row of statues and obelisks again all in very good condition. The Valley of the Kings – A must on a visit to Egypt. Whilst there you can actually enter the tombs and see where the great kings were laid to rest. The feeling of history is fantastic as you walk... Read review

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Advantages: A great day out for all the family
Disadvantages: none

...it was ceremoniously opened by King George VI on September 25th 1945. Derwent Dam and reservoir… This enormous reservoir covers approximately 170 acres and reaches up to 35 metres deep. A small island lies in the one and a half mile stretch of water. The reservoir and its enormous dam were made famous by the Dam busters ,(or operation Chastise, with Barnes Wallis and his famous bouncing bomb), during World War II. The Dam being very similar to the German dams so the RAF used it to practice there low flying raids. (The majority of the actual film was shot here) Getting there….. By Road: Along the A57 Glossop to Sheffield road crosses Ladybower by the Ashopton viaduct. A minor road on the west side of this leads to Fairholmes. Approaching from Hope Valley, follow the A6013 north from Bamford to reach Ladybower and the A57. By Bus... Read review

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Advantages: unique in the world
Disadvantages: none

...Salaam, hi and hello! When we were in Luxor in Upper Egypt 28 years ago, we crossed the Nile by ferryboat to get to the West bank (called Thebes by the ancient Greeks) from where a bus took us to the Valley of the Kings. This isn´t done any more, a bridge was built 7 km downstream 10 years ago and now it´s a bus ride all the way. A bridge, what else is new? Luxor had 30 000 inhabitants when we were there in 1975, now it has 350 000. (Later in Cairo, a man told us that Luxor was a mere village; seen from Africa´s biggest city with an assumed population of 18 to 20 million [nobody knows the precise number] this statement can´t surprise) We passed some (real) villages, saw children on their way to school (10 years are obligatory, nearly all children do go to school according to our Egyptian guide), in the canal taking water from... Read review

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