Art and Antiques

The ultimate souvenir of an English trip might be the Conker-nosed Member for Little Snoozing-on-the-Wold and Winsome Beauty by Gainsborough, or a Chippendale chair. Heres’s how to impress friends and horrify creditors.

Art

You could start your search for affordable contemporary English art on the internet: try www.countereditions.com , www.eyestorm.com or www.britart.co.uk,. London remains the center of the British art world. The traditional heart of the art gallery scene is Cork Street and Soho (W1), but the real action is n ow in Brick Lane, Old Street, Hoxton and Whitechapel (E1). Go to www.newsexhibitions.com for a list of commercial galleries with maps and exhibition details, the leaflet Galleries (published bi-monthly) contains the same information and can be picked up free from listed galleries. Despite the hype about YBAs (Young British Artists), it’s not all pickled cows (Damien Hirst) or Unmade Beds (Tracy Emin). If you’re after Old Masters contact the Society of London Art Dealers (SLAD), 91 Jermyn Street, London SW1Y 6JB, tel (0207) 930 6137. Not only serious collectors haunt Christies and Sotheby’s auction houses, but the steep catalogue fee separates buyers from voyeurs. Outside London, many larger cities (Manchester, Liverpool) have thriving contemporary art scenes. St. Ives is noted for its profusion of galleries, and many small towns boast a gallery selling high quality art, often inspired by the local area.

Antiques

The rule of thumb for an ‘antique’ is that it must be at least 100 years old; moth-eaten teddy bears and prototype computers fall into the dimly related category of ‘collectables’. The good news is that antique dealers cluster together; famous centres include London’s Portobello Road, Petworth in Sussex, Woburn in Bedfordshire, the Cotswolds, Bath and Bradford on Avon, Long Melford in Suffolk and Harrogate in Yorkshire. Each antiques-rich area has its own association of dealers who put exhibitions together. Many are also members of two national antique dealers’ associations, based in London: The Association of Art and Antique Dealers (LAPADA), 535 King’s road, London SW10 0SZ, tel (0207) 823 3511, www.lapada.co.uk; and British Antiques Dealers Association (BADA), 20 Rutland Gate, London SW7 1BD, tel (0207) 5894128, www.bada.org – which give you assurance that you are not taking home a white elephant. The buyer’s bible is The Guide to the Antique Shops of Great Britain, published annually by Antique Collectors’ Club, tel (01394) 385 501, www.antique-acc.com; It also lists auctioneers, trade associations and shipping agents; www.antiquesandfineart.com has an inventory of dealers according to specialism and area. A fun way to hunt is at antiques fairs, which spare you the legwork by bringing traders together under one roof.

Children

When you’ve exhausted beaches, walks and ruined castles, you’ll be relieved to find that England’s cultural attractions are peppered with interactive exhibits for children. Children pay less almost everywhere, and you can often get family deals – but bring proof of age if your teenagers are tall or hairy. Hotels, pubs and restaurants have always been the sticking point, but things are improving. The shift from smoky, man boozer to smokeless, family pub-restaurant is near complete; segregation of bars and dining rooms ensures that the innocence of under 15s is preserved and the law upheld. The Whitbread and harvester chains trade on child-friendliness, with children’s menus and play areas. However, some traditional pubs still take pride in excluding anyone who can’t down a pint. Convivial family eating is not as customary in England as it is in Italy, Spain or Greece; for every restaurant that openly welcomes children with high chairs and smiles there will be another that barely tolerates the noise and mess, with pursed lips. Seaside resorts are the most accommodating, but few English hotels yet provide cots, extra beds or bottle-warming facilities.

Countryside Code

• Guard against risk of fire.
• Fasten all gates.
• Keep dogs under close control.
• Keep to public footpaths across farmland, using gates and tiles to cross fences, hedges and walls.
• Leave livestock, crops and machinery alone.
• Take your litter home.
• Don’t remove any wildlife, plants and trees.
• Don’t make unnecessary noises.
• Don’t valuables in your car.
• Don’t take souvenirs of ancient monuments.

Disabled Travellers

Travellers with disabilities are well catered for nowadays, but difficulties do still arise because of the age of the infrastructure, including hotels, attractions and transport. For help and advise, contact RADAR, a mine of information. It publishes the annual guide Holidays in Britain and Ireland – A Guide for Disabled People, with advise on transport and accommodation; much of the information is also online. As a rule, they advise newer, purpose-built hotels that have had to comply with modern building regulations regarding accessibility, which often means staying in blandly reliable chains like Travelodge, Travel Inn, Formula one, Ibis or Holiday Inn. The Tourist Board’s official accommodation guide also provides a list of places to stay geared towards disabled people.

Trains and planes are supposed to provide help for wheelchair users or anyone who needs help getting on and off. Phone the airline or train operating the company in advance to find out exactly what help you can get, and book it. Ryanair is the only airline to charge for wheelchair use – part of its zero-frills service. If you are travelling by train, you may have to get between London stations, which you can do by bus (no. 205 runs from Paddington to Whitechapel, stopping at Marylebone, Euston and King’s Cross; no. 705 runs from Liverpool Street to Paddington via Waterloo), which is not ideal, or expensive taxi. Phone London Travel Information tel (0207) 222 1234 for advise. Coach travel is virtually impossible for wheelchair users.

The National Trust publishes an annual booklet, Information for Visitors with Disabilities, with details of accessibility. English Heritage produces a similar Access Guide. Phone private attractions for details.

Disease

In 2001 Foot and Mouth disease decimated herds of sheep and cows, bankrupting farmers and devastating the tourist industry. As foot-paths closed, national parks including the Lake District and Dartmoor, became bereft of visitors. Britain officially declared free of Foot and Mouth on 15 January 2002.

Eating Out

Prices quoted for a meal are for two courses (a main course and either a starter or dessert) not including drinks:

• Very Expensive: cost no object
• Expensive: £30 - £50
• Moderate: £15 - £30
• Cheap: under £15

Many restaurants offer good-value set menus, especially at lunchtime. Always ask. Most restaurant open for lunch and dinner. Some stay open all day, especially at weekends.

Electricity

The current is 250 volts AC, so you need a converter for US appliances. Wall sockets take uniquely British three-pin (square) fused plugs, so you will need a plug adaptor too. You can pick them up quite cheaply at airports, department stores and some chemists.

Embassies and Consulates

Australian High Commission, Australia House, Strand, London WC2B 4LA, tel (020) 7379 4334. www.australia.org.uk

Canadian High Commision, 1 Grosvenor Square, London, W1K 4AA, tel (020) 7258 6600, www.canada.org.uk

Republic of Ireland Embassy, 17 Grosvenor Place, London, SW1X 7HR, tel (020) 7245 9033

New Zealand High Commission, New Zealand House, Haymarket, London, SW1Y 4QT, tel (020) 7930 8422. www.nzembassy.com

US Embassy, 24 Grosvenor Square, London, W1A 1AE, tel (020) 7499 9000. www.usembassy.orh.uk

Emergencies

The UK emergency telephone number is 999: an emergency operator will put you through to police, fire, ambulance, coastguard, mountain rescue or cave rescue (the last two via the police). The European emergency number, 112, works in the UK too. Carry a mobile phone on long walks.

For vehicle breakdowns, check with your car hire firm if the roadside recovery policy is with the AA, tel 0870 544 8866, or RAC, tel 0870 572 2722. Call the rental company if you are going to need a new car.

Health and Insurance

If you injure yourself, you will be seen for free in a hospital Accident and Emergency department, but prepare for a long wait. If it’s not urgent, ask at your hotel to find a doctor. European nationals are eligible for free medical treatments if they bring an E111 form, and Australian and New Zealanders may also benefit from reciprocal arrangements. To find out more about what you may be entitled to, go to www.doh.gov.uk/overseasvisitors.

Anyone else is advised to take out travel insurance, or check if you are covered by your credit card or home policy. All travellers will still need cover for baggage loss, cancellations and so on. Keep two copies of your policy in separate places, lest your baggage disappears, and hang on to any receipts.

IAMAT (International Association for Medical Assistance to Travellers), 417 Centre Street, Lewiston, NY 14092, tel (716) 754 4883. Can advise on health risks around the world.

Maps

Ordinance Survey has been producing small-scale, accurate maps of Britain since the Napoleonic Wars, when it was necessary to know the south coast like the back of an Englishman’s hand to defend it from invasion. The defence ministry published the first map of Kent in 1801, closely followed by another of Essex. Now Ordinance Survey publishes high-quality leisure maps. The Explorer 1:25,000 series (4cm to 1km or 2.5inches to 1mile) is the most detailed for walkers, off-road cyclists and horse riders. It shows places of interests, rights of way and camping sites. The Landranger 1:50,000 series is still small-scale but not detailed enough to entirely depend upon for orienteering, say in Dartmoor mist. An excellent source of maps is Stanfords, 12-14 Long Acre, London WC2 9LP, tel (020) 7836 1321. Otherwise, you can pick up maps locally.

Media - Newspapers

British newspapers have a mixed reputation, for quality journalism and sensationalism. They fall into two categories: broadsheets and tabloids – describing their format but also indicative of the type of journalism – the former are regarded as serious, the latter as trashy, although the boundaries may sometimes be blurred. The best-known broadsheet is the Times, also known as The Thunderer, once the British Establishment’s paper of record. It still aims to be politically neutral and is highly regarded for the quality of it editorial and columnists, but many would contend that it went downhill when Rupert Murdoch took it over, relieving the editor much of his independence. The Independent stepped into the breach, with mixed success. The left-leaning Guardian, favoured by young metropolitan, is known for its coverage of the arts. The right-leaning Telegraph has an excellent sports section. The middle-brow Daily Mail and Daily Express offer a mixture of serious journalism, right-wing opinion columns, and a variety of showbiz and gossip stories. The red-top tabloids – Sun, Mirror and Daily Star – are known for celebrity content and gung-ho journalism; foreigners may be shocked by the Sun’s page 3 girls. These papers sell in vast numbers and are surprisingly influential. Local papers are often high quality and especially good for local listings and events. Some to look out for include the Manchester Guardian, the Birmingham Post and the Liverpool Echo.

Distinctly British political magazines include the Spectator (right of centre) and the New Statesman (left of centre), which offer in depth analysis and columnists. The Week (mainly subscriptions) provides and excellent roundup of the press each week. Alternatively, Private Eye provides fortnightly satirical view of Britain, from parliament and local government to the arts and media; it often unearths the worst cases of corruption and hypocrisy.

Media - TV and Radio

Although satellite and cable have proliferated over the last few years, most households still rely on terrestial networks for their entertainment. The two public service channels, BBC1 and BBC2 also have a remit to educate and inform, although you wouldn’t always know it. ITV is lowest-common denominator broadcasting, while Channel 4 is meant to cater especially for ethnic and other minorities – which bizarrely translates into lots of shows involving sex. No one knew what to do with Channel 5, and not many people watch it either. BBC1 has news programmes at 1pm and 6pm (undemanding for families), and a more substantial news at 10pm. ITV news at 6:30 and 10:30pm is largely for infotainment. The best news is on Channel 4 at 7pm; lasting an hour, it provides some analysis and context.

Newsnight at 10:30pm on BBC2 often stirs up controversy, with presenter Jeremy Paxman needling top politicians.

The BBC dominates the airwaves too: Radio 1 is pop, Radio 2 adult easy listening, Radio 3 classical and Radio 4 the favoured talk radio of the chattering classes. Radio 4’s morning news programme, Today (6-9am), sets the national news agenda, although the constant interruption of guests by the presenters is legendary.

Money and Banks

Currency

While the rest of Europe is now happily bartering the euro, British euro-phobia means the currency still comes in pounds (sterling) and pence, with a hundred pennies to one pound, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 pence and £1 and £2 coins. A pint of milk will cost you about 70p, a pint of beer about £2.50 and an off-peak return train from London to York about £65, a filled sandwich from £2 to £5, a desk-top computer roughly £1,000 and an average three-bedroom house in the Southeast at £190,000. At the time of writing, 1 euro will give you 76p and a dollar 51pence. Put the other way around, £1 will give you $1.96 and £1 will give you 1.32euros, but of course, foreign currency exchange rates fluctuate wildly. Shop around for the best rates in banks and bureaux de change: the worst rates tend to be hotels, followed by the bureaux de change in tourist areas, at airports and ferry terminals. Banks usually offer a slightly better rate. Always check the commission fee.


Cash and Credit Cards

If you are travelling from abroad, bring enough cash to get you to your first stop. Traveller’s cheques remain the most secure means of carrying money around, but these days, you can use credit and debit cards just about anywhere.

ATM machines abound in airports, towns and cities, allowing you to draw out money in local currency with your card. Some cards exact a fee for currency conversion. Visa and MasterCard/Access are widely accepted in hotels, restaurants and shops. American Express and Diners Club slightly less so. If the Cirrus or Maestro logo appears both on you card and the ATM machine, you can make international transactions from your home account. If you lose your credit card, a new one can be issued, but never quickly enough.


Traveller’s Cheques

Travellers’ cheques, on the other hand, can be replaced within 24 hours if they are lost or stolen, providing you keep a separate record of the cheque numbers. The main brands of cheques (American Express, Visa and Thomas Cook) are accepted by banks and bureaux de changes, but not usually in shops.

American Express Foreign Exchange Bureau, 30-31 Haymarket, London W1, tel (020) 7484 9610. Open Mon-Sat 9-6, Sun 10-5. Also 7 Wilton Road, Victoria, London SW1, tel (020) 7630 6365; Whiteley’s Shopping Centre, Queensway, London W2, tel (020) 7221 7190.

Thomas Cook, 1 Marble Arch, London W1, tel (020) 7530 7100. Thomas Cook travellers’ cheques can be exchanged at Thomas Cook branches anywhere, commission-free.


Banks

Opening hours are usually Mon-Fri 9-4:30, although larger banks may stay open till 5pm and small town banks may close at 3pm. Some banks open on Saturday mornings, but usually just to sell you mortgage.


Tipping

If there is a relaxed etiquette for tipping in England, English people have yet to master it. You would usually tip about 10-15% of the price of the meal in a restaurant where there is table service and your waiter or waitress has been attentive. Taxi drivers, porters, hairdressers and tour guides might expect a little something, but don’t feel obliged unless they are particularly deserving.

Packing

Don’t forget that the English weather is changeable, even in summer. Your best bet is to pack a lot of layers, which can be peeled off should there be a heat wave or piled on when the temperatures plummet. Bring a couple of jerseys even in summer. Jeans-weight trousers or skirts should do you all year, but you might want to pack shorts and t-shirts or a light dress in summer. A waterproof jacket is a year round necessity; in winter, you’ll need a coat. Always pack at least two pairs of shoes, and make sure one is good for walking. You’ll only need smart clothes is you plan to stay in grand hotels and eat in the classiest restaurants (even then smart casual would do), or to attend a posh event such as Glyndebourne or Ascot. Launderettes are everywhere, and the more upmarket hotels have their own laundry services, so it’s easy to get cleaned up.

The only accessory worth packing is a pair of binoculars. They come in handy not only for spotting wildlife, but also for admiring high ornate roof bosses and winged angels in churches and for reading road signs that you have passed in the car, saving you the trouble of reversing or getting out on a busy road.

Pets

You can bring a dog or a cat into Britain from the USA, Canada and some European countries under the Pet Travel Scheme (PETS) without quarantine on certain approved airlines, sea and rail crossings, providing they have been micro-chipped and vaccinated, and had a blood test at least 6 months before travelling. For more information, contact the Pet Travel Scheme Helpline, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Area 201, 1/a Page St., London SW1 4PQ, tel (0870) 241 1710, www.defra.gov.uk. Ask your airline about the specifics of pet transport. The majority of hotels don’t welcome pets, but farmhouse B&Bs may accommodate well-behaved dogs, which are also allowed in most pubs.

Post Offices

The short-lived rebranding of the Royal Mail as Consignia appeared to herald the beginning of the end for a much-loved and once famously efficient national institution. These days, it’s a special surprise if a first class letter arrives the next day (once this was the norm, and if it didn’t come with the first post before breakfast, it would be delivered later in the day); post offices are shabby and there are often queues. However, the service battles on in the face of competition from email and courier companies. Main post offices provide a dizzying array of services on top of letter and parcel post, including currency exchange; sub-post offices often sit at the back of a corner shop. A first class stamp currently cost 34pence and is allowed 6 days travel time before it’s given up for lost. A second-class stamp costs 30p and delivery takes 3-10 working days. Special Delivery guarantees next-working-day delivery, but someone has to be in to sign for the parcel or it gets dumped at a depot miles away. Recorded delivery can take any number of days, as long as it’s signed for. Delivery of letters or parcels to the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand by airmail takes about 5 days. You can get mail sent Poste Restante to any post office in the UK and pick it up with some form of identity.

Post offices are open Mon-Fri 9-5:30, Sat 9-12:30. Sub post offices are often close on Wed at 1pm. For information about services call tel 0845 722 3344 or go to www.royalmail.com.

Public Holidays

• January: New Year’s Day (1st)
• March/April: Good Friday and Easter Monday
• May: May Day (1st monday); Spring Holiday (last Monday)
• August: Late Summer Bank Holiday (last Monday)
• December: Christmas Day (25th) and Boxing Day (26th)

Shopping

Once upon a time, rural crafts relied on locally available raw materials: Devon, the Midlands and Poole were known for pottery; the Somerset Levels for basket-making; the Weald of Kent and Sussex for trug-making and so on. The demise of many traditional crafts with the Industrial Revolution was remedied by the middle-class artisans of the Arts and Crafts movement; these days, every rural areas supports a mixture of craft people, especially the West Country. Two books might help in the quest for crafts: Craftworkers Year Book, Write Angle Press, 16 Holm Oak Drive, Madeley, Crewe CW3 9HR, tel (01782) 750 986, for a diary of craft fairs; or Craft Galleries Guide, BCF Books, www.bcfbooks.co.uk.

For details of craft guilds and contemporary makers, contact The Craft Council Resource Centre, 44/a Pentonville Road, Islington, London N1 9BY, tel (020) 7806 2501, www.craftscouncil.org.uk, or the Rural Crafts Association, Heights Cottages, Brooks Road, Wormley, Surrey GU8 5UA, tel (01428) 682 292.

For glass, try Dartington Crystal in Torrington, North Devon, or the Barbican Glasss Centre in Plymouth. Dudley, in the West Midlands, still boasts its Crystal Mile. The National Glass Centre in Sunderland has a shop too. In the Lake District, you will find Adrian Sankey’s hand-blown glass in Ambleside, and the Lakes Glass Centre in Ulverston.

The Stoke-on-Trent porcelain manufacturers (Wedgwood, Spode and Royal Dalton) all have shops selling their wares, as does Royal Worcester. Small potteries, like in Wincombe in the Cotswold, Muchelney in Somerset and David Leach’s pottery in Bovey Tracy welcome visitors, as do craft potters of North Devon.

The historic centre of jewellery retail is Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter. The rare Blue John Stone still supports a small trinket trade in Castleton in the Peak District, while Whitby in Yorkshire is still the centre for jet jewellery.

Basket-making still goes on in the Somerset Levels around Bridgwater, where the withy or willow beds provide the raw material. The Willows and Wetland Visitor Centre in Stoke St Gregory, tel (01823) 490 249, sells wicker baskets and furniture.

Opening Hours

Most shops are open Mon-Sat 9:30-5:30 and Sun 11-4. Many city supermarkets stay open until 8pm or later (some are open 24 hours), although Sunday opening is restricted by law to six hours (generally 10-4). Petrol stations remain open long hours (often all night except in rural areas), and also sell necessities such as milk and toiletries. London has late opening on Thursday eves (until 8pm).

Sports

To participate in any sports or outdoor activities un England, contact Sport England, tel (020) 8778 8600, www.sportengland.org, who will put you in touch with the relevant body: the British Canoe Union (www.bcu.org.uk), British Horse Society (www.bhs.org.uk), British Mountaineering Council (www.thebmc.co.uk) and Royal Yachting Association (www.rya.org.uk) are a few. Other information sources for outdoor activities include the British Activity Holiday Association, tel (01923) 252 994, www.baha.org.uk, the Association of National Parks, www.anpa.gov.uk, Forestry Commission, tel (0131) 314 6100, www.forestry.gov.uk and RSPB, tel (0176) 681 577, www.rspb.org.uk.


Cricket

The sound of leather on willow on a village green is traditional England at its most dreamy. It might well be a highlight of your trip to go and see a county game (just turn up), or better still, one of the Test matches. The five-day Tests take place at The Oval or Lords in London, Edgbaston in Birmingham, Trent Bridge in Nottinghamshire, Headingley in Leeds, Old Trafford in Manchester or Chester-le-Street in County Durham (tickets in advance from the grounds). Contact the England Cricket Board, tel (020) 7432 1200, www.ecb.co.uk, for more information.


Football

Otherwise known as soccer, this is England’s most popular sport. It’s played in the autumn, winter and spring months, with a brief respite in summer. The rules are simple (once you’ve mastered the offside rule) leaving spectators free to concentrate on the celebrity players, who change clubs for millions of pounds and have lifestyles to show it. Premiership games are where you get to see the stars, but tickets are expensive. In London, the best known clubs are Arsenal and Chelsea, while outside the capital, Manchester United, Liverpool, Everton and Newcastle United are currently top of the league. If you’re more interested in the game than the stars, the First and Second Division matches are great entertainment on a Saturday afternoon, and there are mid-week matches too. Go to www.premierleague.com or www.football-league.co.uk for information, or contact clubs directly.


Golf

In 1608, golf came down from Scotland to England, where the mild weather and landscapes are ideally suited to the game. There are hundreds of golf courses, with strict dress codes and exclusive membership policies. Few of the best courses, and none of the most prestigious, allow buggies (carts) and caddies are rarely on offer. Course fees vary for visitors and there may be a maximum handicap allowed, so check with the club.

There are three main centres of golfing excellence in England: the Lancashire coast, the Home Counties west of London and the south coast. Then there is The Belfry in the West Midlands, a Ryder Cup venue.

Lancashire’s top seaside links courses boast Royal Lytham St. Anne’s, one of the oldest in the British Isles; Roal Birkdale, with its flat fairways and devilish sand dunes; the Championship course at Formby; and Hillside, south coast links have challenged the world’s finest golfers: Royal St. George’s is the best known, having hosted the Open 12 times. Park and Heathland courses west of London include Sunningdale, the snootiest in England; the Championship courses of Walton Heath and Wentworth; and Stoke Poges, which features in two James Bond films, Tomorrow Never Dies and Goldfinger.


Hockey

The national hockey league has three divisions, Premier, Division One and Division Two. The big club sides are Cannock, Reading, Canterbury, Chelmsford, Southgate and Loughborough. Sadly, the national hockey stadium at Milton Keynes has been taken over by Wimbledon FC, leaving the game homeless.


Horse-Racing

Founded in 1711 by Queen Anne, Ascot is Britain’s most famous racecourse. Ascot Racecourse, Ascot Berkshire, tel (01344) 622 211.

Newmarket is the headquarters of British racing. There are two courses: the Rowley Mile featuring Sagitta 1000 and 200 Guineas in early May and Champion’s Day in October. The July Course hosts six summer evening fixtures followed by entertainments. The Racecourse, Westfield house, The Links, Newmarket, Suffolk, tel (01638) 663 482.

The three-day May meeting and Sunday fixtures in August attract huge crowds to the old racecourse at Chester. You can even watch from the Roman Walls. The Racecourse, Chester, Cheshire, tel (01244) 304 600.

Cheltenham is the home of the national hunt racing; the highlights is the three-day national hunt festival in March with 10 Championship events including the Cheltenham Gold Cup and Champion Hurdle. The Racecourse, Presbury Park, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, tel (01242) 513 014, www.cheltenham.co.uk.

The Epsom Derby on Epsom Downs is one of the best-known flat races in the world. There are also four evening fixtures followed by music. The Racecourse, Epsom Downs, Epsom, Surrey, tel (01327) 726 311.


Polo

The polo season takes place from May to September with the High Goal season in June and July. The rules of polo are even more complex than those of cricket. The sides have 4 players, who each have handicaps from minus two to a perfect ten. Polo games are ranked High, Medium or Low Goal, referring to the combined handicap of the team. A high Goal game lasts six chukkas: a ‘chukka@ is 7 minutes, at the end of which, players have a 3 minute interval to change horses. Teams change ends after every goal, and there is a short half-time for the crowds to rush on and tread in the divets. There are five main (High Goal) contests in the polo calendar: The Prince of Wales Trophy at the Royal County of Berkshire Polo Club, the Queen’s Cup at Guard’s Polo Club in Windsor Great Park, the Warwickshire Cup at the Cirencester Park Polo Club, and the Cowdray Park Gold Cup British Open Championship at the Cowdray Park Polo Club in Midhurst. The Coronation Cup is a one-off international match at Cowdray on the fourth Sunday of July. For tickets, contact the clubs, for information the Hurlingham Polo Association, tel (01367) 242 828.


Rowing

The best-known event in the rowing calendar is the Boat Race between Oxford and Cambridge universities, which takes place the Saturday before Easter on the River Thames. The 149th meeting in 2003 was won by the Dark Blue Oxford crew, who edged in by a foot. The best viewpoints for the 4-mile course from Putney Bridge to Chiswick Bridge are: Putney Bridge, Putney Embankment and Bishop’s Park (for the start); Hammersmith and Barnes (mid-course); Dukes Meadows and Chiswick Bridge (for the finish). Riverside pubs get very jolly (and packed) on the day. Go to www.theboatrace.com for more details.

The first varsity boat race took place in 1829 at Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire, now the venue for the annual Henley Royal Regatta.


Rugby League

The question of pay for players missing work for matches split the RFU in 1895. The new Northern Rugby Football Union – until recently the sole professional union – also abolished line-outs, rucks and malls and reduced teams from 15-13 to make the game faster and more exciting to spectators. In 1922, the NRFU changed its name to the Rugby Football League, although at the top level, it is still played only in the north of England, with the exception of the London Broncos. There are 12 clubs in the Super League, including St Helens, Bradford Bulls, Wigan Warriors, Leeds Rhinos, Widnes, Halifax and Hull. Games take place between February and October, climaxing with the Grand Final at Old Trafford on 18 October. The PowerGen Challenge Cup is the knock-out competition. Main international tournaments are the Ashes, between Great Britain and Australia in November and the Tri Nations between Australia, New Zealand and Great Britain in autumn. For international and league games call tel 0870 990 1313, or the RFL, tel (0113) 232 9222, www.rfl.uk.com.


Rugby Union

Rugby Football in England is associated with grammar schools and public schools, which encourage fiercely competitive rivalry. Twickenham is the home of national rugby union, including the Six Nations tournament and the Middlesex Sevens, played in August and accompanied by a mass orgy of picnics in the car park. The Premier League has about 12 big teams including Harlequins, London Irish, Leicester, Wasps, Gloucester and Bath, whose matches are titanic clashes in the mud and rain with tribal followings. Go to the Rugby Football Union website for tickets, www.rfu.com. Tickets for international fixtures are largely distributed through the RFU’s member clubs, otherwise, try Twickenham’s ticket line, tel 0870 902 0000, or www.ticket-master.co.uk.


Surfing

The British Surfing Association, tel (01637) 876 474, www.bsa.org.uk, produces a calendar of events for the year. The major dates are the Newquay Open in late May, South Coast Challenge in Challaborough, South Devon in late October, the North East Open in Cayton in Yorkshire in early November and the North Devon Open in Croyde, North Devon in early November. If you want to ride the waves yourself, www.britsurf.org.uk has links to surfing organisations and clubs, and the details of surf schools, boards, shops and wetsuits.


Tennis

The hub of the grass court season, (late May to July) is England, climaxing at the Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon, one of the four international Grand Slam tournaments (along with French Open, US Open, Australian Open). Two outdoor grass court tournaments lead up to Wimbledon: the men’s Stella Artois Championship at Queen’s Club London takes place two weeks before the start of Wimbledon, www.stellaartoistennis.com. A women’s grass court tournament is held at Eastbourne at the same time. The Samsung Open takes place in Nottingham the week before the Wimbledon, at the City of Nottingham Tennis Centre, University Boulevard, Nottingham, tel (0115) 915 0000. Founded in 1877, Wimbledon is a classic English event, often disrupted by rain. It starts 6 weeks before the first Monday in August and lasts a fortnight. Tickets are sold through tennis clubs and schools affiliated to the Lawn Tennis Association, by public ballot, or by queuing on the day. To apply for tickets, send an SAE to PO Box 98, Wimbledon, London SW19 5AE (overseas applicants should send a self-addressed envelope with an International Reply Coupon instead of a stamp) by the end of the year before. Successful applicants will be informed by February. You can still buy tickets on the day, but you will have to queue. For details, go to www.wimbledon.org or call AELTC, tel (020) 8971 2473 or the Lawn Tennis Association, tel (020) 7381 7000.

Telephone and Internet

England has embraced the internet despite the reluctance of phone companies to provide cheap, fast access; it’s a great place to research flights, train timetables, hotels, self-catering accommodation and special events.

You will find an internet cafe in most towns, or you may be able to log on at public libraries. Some hotels have internet facilities too.

Now that mobile phones are ubiquitous, payphones are being phased out; if you have a mobile, see if you can replace your SIM card with a local pay-as-you-go card for your stay (or pay extortionate international call charges). Payphone calls cost a minimum of 20p for local calls, more for long-distance and international calls; phone cards can be bought from any newsagent for £5 or£10. If you plan to make lots of calls home or abroad, it’s worth getting a Onetel phone card for cheap rates; go to www.onetel.com for details. Calls from hotels are always expensive.

• Directory enquiries: 118500 (British Telecom) 118118, 118888 or 118000.
• Operator: 100
• Emergency Services: 999 or 112

Time

Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is the local time of the prime meridian or zero degrees longitude, which passes through Greenwich in London. It remains constant; from it, standard times around the globe are measured. British Summer Time runs from the end of March to the end of October; clocks are put forward one hour ahead of GMT to make the most of the daylight hours. It wasn’t too long ago that England was carved into the time zones. The clock of Tom Tower in Christchurch College is still 5 minutes behind GMT, marking Oxford Time.

Tourist Information

Since 1 April 2003, England has a new tourist information service: VisitBritain. Contact the Britain and London Visitor Centre, 1 Regent Street, tel (020) 8846 9000, www.visitbritain.com, or one of the 560 tourist information centres in English cities, towns and villages. They can give good up-to-date information on places to visit, events, where to stay and eat, and local transport. They also sell maps, guides and entertainment tickets, and can book your accommodation on arrival or in advance. Frustratingly, assistants are sworn to impartiality; only a few are prepared to break the rules and tell you their favourite restaurant or beach. National Park information centres can give specific advise on walking in the parks.

Weather and Climate

On the one hand, Britain’s latitude is Arctic and on the other the island is warmed by the Gulf Stream that carries warm water from the Gulf of Mexico across the Atlantic. Where these extremes collide, you get the endlessly changeable British weather, the natural enemy of barbecues and music festivals. Unpack your kite and the wind will drop; plant your tomatoes and it won’t rain for a month; put on your swimming togs and a cloud goes over the sun. And just when you are getting used to the drizzle, along comes a hurricane, flood or heatwave. Such severe weather is seen by the natives as evidence of cosmic displeasure, a tradition that goes back to the time of Bede, who announced the arrival of the Vikings, with a worsening of the weather.

It’s no surprise, then that the weather is the Englishman’s favourite conversational gambit; it’s an apparently neutral topic that opens up limitless conversational possibilities, a perfect marriage of national and natural temperaments. In general, the south coast is the sunniest part of England and the mountains of the west and north, the dullest. The Lake District is wettest, followed by the Pennines and the West Country; East Anglia, the Midlands and eastern England are driest. The north coasts of Devon and Cornwall are windiest, but wind speeds increase with height so the strongest winds are on top of the Lakeland fells. The average temperature is 8.5 to 11 degrees Celsius, with the highest temperature on the Cornish Coast (where palm trees grow). July is the warmest month, and it may snow between December and February.