3 minute read
Travel
Easter holiday ideas
Good Friday falls on 10th April this year and the two-week school holidays run from 6th - 17th April inclusively, with the kids back at school on 20th April. If you’re not planning on going abroad for Easter, here’s a few affordable staycation ideas to get in the Easter mood…
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1. A trip to Cadbury World: Get the train from Orpington to Birmingham New Street and then up to Bournville Train Station, (£126 for a family of four –two adults and two children under 13 years). Visit Cadbury World & enjoy Afternoon Tea and stay overnight in a Birmingham Central hotel including Breakfast from £149 total. 2. A mini seaside break from £209 for a family of six, two adults and four children under 16 years. Staying three nights, self-catering in Rye on a family run holiday park. 3. A city escape: Get yourself to Edinburgh from £799 for a family of four, two adults and two children under 12 years. Staying for three nights on B&B with return flights from London.
Jude Greene-Steward, Shore Travel
10 TRAVEL PREDICTIONS FOR THE 2020s
1. The Heathrow hiatus continues: Expansion plans will remain a political talking point 2. Gatwick’s stealthy development: Gatwick continues planning its second runway so that its two runways can be used simultaneously. 3. A game of terminals: There is around a 70:30 North/South passenger divide between Gatwick’s terminals, causing overcrowding in the North terminal and an under-utilised South terminal. 4. Electric cars: The 2020s will see more UK households swap at least one of their carbon-fuelled vehicles for electric ones in a bid to be more environmentally friendly. 5. Wave goodbye to ‘Kiss and Fly’: The more eco-conscious younger generation will increasingly make their own way to the airport as awareness grows of the benefits of driving and parking their own car rather than being dropped off. 6. STAN the parking robot: This year Gatwick airport will be trialling a parking robot (STAN), which will move cars from a valet drop-off point to another part of the South terminal long-stay car park to reduce bus transfers. 7. Escaping the wet: The Met Office says UK winters are set to get wetter as a result of climate change, which APH predicts will drive even more tourists to sunnier destinations abroad. 8. Avoiding trophy destinations: The savviest travellers will explore further away from traditional tourist hotspots and find the next set of popular destinations. 9. A rise in BIY (book it yourself): Following last year’s Thomas Cook collapse, more people will be pushed towards self-packaging breaks in 2020 and beyond. In turn we’ll see a rise in the ‘Sharing Economy’ of money-saving and community building apps such as AirB&B and HiyaCar, the car sharing platform. 10. The pursuit of ease: Business travellers will continue to prioritise quality and ease when taking business trips abroad, driving more of them towards the most reliable and secure Meet & Greet parking options.
Eurostar has launched new services to and from the Netherlands. Commercial services start on 30th April from Amsterdam and on 18th May from Rotterdam. Tickets start from £35 each way. See eurostar.com
Brits will now be able to travel with a blue passport as the traditional colour has returned for the first time in almost 30 years as from last month. In a first for the British passport, the back cover will also carry its own symbolic design – the floral emblems of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales embossed. The blue passport will also be the greenest British passport ever; the carbon footprint produced through manufacture will be reduced to net zero, through projects such as planting trees. Those with valid, burgundy passports can continue to use their passport for travel until it expires. New passport
LOUISE MARWOOD ALEX GAUMOND JOE THOMAS FROM THE INBETWEENERS BO PORAJ FROM MIRANDAFROM EMMERDALE ADAM BLANSHAY PRODUCTIONS AND NICOLAS TALAR PRESENT THE BIRMINGHAM REPERTORY THEATRE PRODUCTION OF
HHHH ‘BREATHTAKINGLY FUNNY’ SUNDAY TIMES
BY MATTHIEU DELAPORTE AND ALEXANDRE DE LA PATELLIÈRE TRANSLATED AND ADAPTED BY JEREMY SAMS
