[ April 2, 2010 10:00 am to April 5, 2010 5:00 pm. April 2, 2010 10:00 am to April 5, 2010 5:00 pm. ] http://www.hdfairs.co.uk/food_easter_festival.html
Adults £4.80 (in advance save £1)
Seniors £4.30 (in advance save £1)
Children £1 (in advance save 50p)
Memorial Hall Park, Great Missenden, Bucks.

[ April 13, 2010; ] Hungerford, Berkshire
Probably the only celebration still extant of Tutti Day a centuries old tradition that goes back, some say to the time of King Alfred. It is celbrated on Hocktide, the second Tuesday after Easter. Two Tutti men visit houses in the town and give oranges to the females and, in return, they get a [...]

[ April 17, 2010; 12:00 pm to 8:00 pm. ] http://www.holland.com/uk/holland-house-london/#
Trafalgar Square, London
marking the Queen Mother’s birthday as Dutch expats try and turn London orange for the day. Dutch food will be available on the stalls as well.

It is a truth universally accepted by the visitor that if there is an attractive event, then locals will load the prices of accommodation, travel, airfares and everything else to try and make even more money. Air fares during the BA strike for example, seemed a lot higher than had been quoted previously by rival airlines. Accommodation prices for the Ryder Cup in south east Wales were, how shall I put this, fully explored for maximum benefit for some providers a little while ago but is now becoming a bit more realistic.
And the same seems to be the case in South Africa. One villa, according to Fleewinter the specialist accommodation provider, wanted to charge £3500+ per night for a villa that slept 12. The minimum rental was 5 days making the total cost £17,500. And you still had to pay for airfares and food and local travel on top. That works out at just under £1,500 per person just to share a room! Another wanted to charge £17,685 for a villa sleeping 18. Talk about taking the Michael.

The Isle of Man may be best known for business but the tax haven is too beautiful to be left just to bankers and businessmen. Local resident, Jessica Crowe, reveals why we should cross the Irish Sea and discover the sleepy island for ourselves

Update: Hardly had the comment below been published that Tourism Swansea Bay had e-mailed me to say that not everything had egg hunts. Over easter at Margam Country Park they are celebrating Easter Bushcraft and Environment days. (www.neath-pottalbot.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=2487&event_id5711.) The idea is that families can learn about the wilderness. There might be the odd egg around on some of the stalls but healthy activity is more to the fore.

We’ve had a lot of press releases sent to CD-Traveller in the last week or telling us about events up and down our countries over Easter.
There are the traditional church services reminding us what Easter means spiritually.
The other sort of press release talks about Easter egg hunts. And more egg hunts. And even more. Is there anything else happening over Easter apart from egg hunts? Is it all a massive marketing attempt by Cadbury’s to promote their eggs in a final flourish before they become Kraft eggs or whatever? Just as they seem to sponsor all the sweet throwing at Christmas pantomimes so it seems they sponsor Easter. At Cadbury World, just outside Birmingham they have their Easter Extravaganza (which I thought would be “eggstravaganza” but they haven’t gone that far)

[ March 26, 2010 to March 28, 2010. ] http://www.viewlondon.co.uk/whatson/chocolate-festival-at-southbank-centre-article-8105.html
Southbank in London
Free
As much as you would want to know about chocolate

[ April 3, 2010 to April 5, 2010. ] http://www.gardenshow.info/details.php?showNumber=0
Herts County showground, Redbourne, nr St Albans
Adults £5
Seniors £4
Children free
Parking free

[ May 22, 2010 to May 31, 2010. ] http://www.derbyshirefoodfestival.co.uk/starts off with the Derbyshire Food & Drink Fair at Kedleston Hall (£3 adults; free for children) and then there are events throughout the county during the week

[ May 3, 2010; ] www.sloenefyn.com
Butachowyn, Nefyn, Gwynedd
Adults £6
Children £3
Family Ticket £15

[ May 3, 2010; ] www.promday.org.uk
promenade, Colwyn bay
Free

Today begins the second British airways cabin crew strike. Talking seems to have got nowhere. The only difference is that more passengers should get away over this four day strike than last time according to BA. As ever, see for the latest on whether your flight is still scheduled to go. http://www.britishairways.com/travel/strike-ballot/public/en_gb?refevent=HOME_URGENT_CENTRE
The unions have also announced the days of the national rail strike. It lasts 4 (seems a very popular number) days starting from the first working day back after Easter, April 6th. The strike will be over two 4 hour periods from 6-10am and again from 6-10pm. It will make life difficult for commuters into the major cities. At the moment it is expected only about 25% of services will run and for those coming back after an Easter break it could be a long journey. The good news is there will be talks next week so maybe this strike won’t take place.
See http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/service_disruptions/2010/dispute.html for details

[ April 3, 2010 10:00 am to April 5, 2010 5:00 pm. April 3, 2010 10:00 am to April 5, 2010 5:00 pm. April 3, 2010 10:00 am to April 5, 2010 4:00 pm. ] www.chesterfoodanddrink.com
celebrity chef demonstartions; 120 stalls; children’s rides
Chester Racecourse
Adults £6
Seniors £4
Children under 12 free

[ May 1, 2010 to May 3, 2010. ] www.llantransfest.co.ukBodafon Fields, Llandudno
Adults £5
Seniors £4.50
Children £1

The short answer is that there was none.
Despite the thoughts of some organisations, the Chancellor didn’t announce that there would be any climbdown on APT (Air Passenger Duty). Despite the attacks that were made this month by the UN World Tourism Organisation, he took no notice of them. Despite the lobbying by Caribbean nations in particular but also places like South Africa which claim that this tax unfairly impacts on poorer and developing nations, the Chancellor took no notice. Unless a new government after the election has a change of heart, then we will be paying APT some 300% higher then just a few years ago when the November increases occur.

Last month Garuda, the Indonesian flag carrier, started a service on its Japanese routes to Indonesia. It must have been successful because from 2nd June it will be introduced onto their Amsterdam-Dubai-Djakarta flights. And what is this successful service?
It’s processing your travel documents on board the flight so that you don’t have to queue at immigration desks when you arrive.
This is the one device that could endear me to an airline for life.

Tired of taking mediocre photos? Relax – with travel snapper, Panos Kostouros, as your guide, memorable photographs are well within your reach. Happy shooting!

I was quite surprised to find yesterday that the first local school had just broken up for Easter. In my mind it was still weeks away but in fact Good Friday is only 2 weeks tomorrow.
After the winter we have had it wouldn’t surprise any of us if bookings to the Spanish resorts and warmer areas was the main appeal but personal finances being what they are, some of us will think of taking no breaks at all. And for those that do go, there could be quite a few handicaps to going away. First there are the railways. The RMT union is considering scheduling a nationwide strike because of what it says are safety issues that may occur when Network Rail lays off staff. . You probably need to be an expert to know if safety was an issue. Needless to say, Network Rail says there is no problem and you have to wonder whether if safety was the issue, the union wouldn’t have called the strike as soon as it legally could. By striking at Easter, the cynical amongst us begin to wonder.

Ahead of the London International Dive Show that is taking place at Excel this week-end, CD Traveller gives you the low-down on diving holidays

Since the London Eye opened in time for the millennium in 2000, wheels have been springing up all over the place. In some cases they have proven to be more popular with we visitors than the authorities. Such seems to be the case in Belfast where the wheel that nestles next to the City Hall may be closing.
Like the London Eye it was a temporary feature. Like the London Eye it has become one of the big draws for tourists. Like the London Eye, it has been under some threat. In this case it is the Environment Agency who don’t want it positioned next to the City Hall. And that is why the lease has been held up. Now the owners, Great City Attractions, have had enough of the messing about by the planners.
So who wants it to stay?

[ April 3, 2010 to April 25, 2010. ] over 50 different events take place over the 3 weeks at almost as many locations

It has been announced this afternoon that the National Heritage Memorial Fund will give £1.285 million to save the Anglo-Saxon Hoard that was found last year in fields in Staffordshire. (see CD-Traveller 15/1/2010 and 30/9/2009) This, together with the money raised by the councils and the public donations, will enable the hoard to be kept in the area. As such it will form a considerable visitor attraction in the years to come.
It has also been announced that there will be an archaeological dig in the area to see if it is possible to decide why the hoard was left there or whether there are other finds in the area.
For the full details of the announcement see http://search.hlf.org.uk/NHMFWeb/LatestNews/

Whether you’re staycation-ing or vacationing, CD Traveller tells you what’s happening in the travel world

I had an e-mail this morning from a tour operator in Mongolia asking (in German for some reason) if we would work with them to bring tourists to the country. It isn’t unusual for CD-Traveller to be asked this sort of thing and all are declined. But what struck me about this e-mail was the address it came from; Wedding Palace, Room 3. What a great address at which to stay and so different from the Bide-a-Whiles, Marine Hotels and Beach Plazas that crop up so often.
I got to thinking about some of the more interesting names which I’ve come across.

It doesn’t seem that it has been 25 years since the Greek actress, Melina Mercouri, and the French culture minister of the time, Jack Lang jointly conceived of the idea of having, each year, a European Capital of Culture. Starting tomorrow, the European Union will be celebrating the idea with a conference in Brussels to consider the achievements and what might be done in the future.
This year there are three capitals of culture per year, Essen in Germany, Istanbul in Turkey and Pecs in Hungary. The idea has been copied in the Middle East, where Alexandria in Egypt is this year’s beneficiary, and the Americas where this year Santa Domingo in the Dominican Republic is the winner. As British Tourism Week has ended what next to celebrate tourism? Margaret Hodge our minister for culture, has announced that we will have our own British capital of culture from 2013.

What is the role of the passenger in any industrial dispute?
To listen to argument after argument knowing that they can have little influence? To tolerate politicians with fairly well known attitudes who spoke them before the dispute and who will speak the same afterwards? To know that each side will say they regret the disruption that it will cause passengers but that there was no other way? To realise that they will be the ones inconvenienced but who can have no say or sway in the decision of either side?
Is short, then the passenger has to grin and bear it.
In any dispute there are 3 partners, the company, the employees and the customers. The company and the employees will discuss and negotiate. The only time the customers become involved is when decisions have been made.

CD Traveller talks travel with Wendy Wu – founder and principal of Wendy Wu Tours: the UK’s leading China specialist tour operator

UPDATE: Air France-KLM have announced that as from 28 March that they have extended their policy on hold baggage so now you can carry up to 3 hold bags at no additional charge. Each can weigh up to 23kgs.
In the last couple of years, putting your luggage in the hold has begun to be charged. On charter and no-frills flights it is not unusual to pay anything between £8 and £14 or so for a case and maybe more for a second case. And that is for each part of the journey. In America even the traditional carriers such as American, United, Delta, Continental and US Air charge for the first bag (and any other bags) on domestic routes. Over here, BA, Virgin Atlantic, Aer Lingus, Aer Arann, Air Southwest, Eastern Airways, Logonair and BMI haven’t reached that stage though flybe charges.
The obvious way to avoid paying hold luggage charges is to only carry hand luggage, the result being that some hand luggage is beginning to resemble the size of the kitchen sink. Some airlines limit hand baggage to 5, 7 or 10 kilos, others go by size. Some airlines turn a blind eye to the size of a bag and if you can lift it and place it in the overhead bin, that’s acceptable. But will that continue?