h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Ooh is either of you able to update this entry that I wrote in 2003 before I moved away from Birmingham in 2007. A1132039

Did you know that the signal box at new street station is a listed building? Should be anyone's first stop if stranded in Birmingham!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Brum_New_St_Signal_Box.jpg

I will update.

Here's how...

A87727936

About 10 miles east of home is Royston Cave. I have been known to reccomend, take, or kidnap and force people to visit the place.

It is a bell shaped man made cave carved into chalk, possibly by the Knights Templar. It dates back to the 13th or 14th century and it's walls are covered in carvings of (mostly) religious symbols.

It is wierd and very unusual. It is in the centre of town underneath the main road that runs through the town.

http://www.roystoncave.co.uk/

PP

Ooh! I used to live just down the road, in Arlesey. I never knew Royston had a cave.

I do have half a memory that the Knights Templar are associated with passageways under Hertford, though.

I am going to cheat and nominate a place that is not near me, but which I pass by once a fortnight. Watts chapel is a small chapel in a graveyard in the village of Compton just off the A3 south of Guildford in Surrey. It is lined with ceramic tiles in "Arts and Crafts/Art Nouveau/pre-raphaelite style". The tiles were made by the villagers (it was a bit of an artists colony) under direction and design of Mary, the wife of the victorian painter Watts (Watts gallery is just up the road) after his death. Have a look at flickr

That chapel ceiling is absolutely gorgeous!

"Perhaps the most spectacular walk in the UK."

I think there are a couple of walks I've been on in Wales and a couple in the Lakes that would dispute that crown. Sharp Edge onto Blencathra takes some beating. The north ridge of Tryfan, followed by Bristly Ridge onto Glyder Fach is probably the best single day I can think of, but you must be pretty fit to do both. And Snowdon via Crib Goch is a serious breathtaker.

When I lived in Shrewsbury it was great - the town centre is practically medieval in layout and has been relatively little affected by the coming of the internal combustion engine. Hawkstone Park historic follies is just up the road, Ironbridge gorge and the cradle of the industrial revolution is just down the road, and right near the centre of town is the very very first steel-framed building in the entire world, the ancestor of every skyscraper in Manhattan and Chicago and all the other cities - Ditherington Flax Mill. Not a lot to see there, disappointingly, but one hopes they'll develop it soon. Plus of course the statue commemorating Shrewsbury's most famous son, and one of the most important human beings to have ever lived (if you go by their effect on our knowledge of our place in the universe...) - Charles Darwin.

Right now I'd take people to Blackpool for the sheer tackiness and the rollercoasters, the Pennine moors for a bit of walking, and probably down to Manchester for the museum of science and industry and the IMAX cinema at the Printworks.

I was in an internet cafe in Sydney Australia and two young tourists came in to use the e-mail. They seemed lost and lonely. There are many sights to be seen in Sydney but, like most places, it is a hard place for foreigners to make short term friendships. Perhaps these tourists need a "friendship guide". Such a person would be a volunteer like the ones that made the Sydney Olympics such a success. These "guides" would befriend tourists who cannot afford organised tourist events. Instead these tourists could be taken to fitness centres and local parks and local bushwalks. There is something like this in famous cities like Paris where ex-pats will be a "guide for a day". But volunteer guides will only need to show tourists the alternate activities available to locals (that are cheap) and then the tourist can decide what they like. For example, do they know about "lady's night" on Thursdays in most pubs, or the monthly neighbourhood markets omn Saturdays in the grounds of public schools, or the markets in the Rocks district of Sydney on Saturday and Sundays. This local knowledge of cheap outings would help what I call the lost and lonely tourists. I know most of this in on internat travel sites but that does not overcome the "lonely" part of the tourist experience.

Poor buggers...forget Steak+Kidney, just shove em on a bus up to the fabulous Far North Coast of NSW and they'll be in heaven or Byron Bay, we have the Bluesfest starting in Easter...3 days of love and interminable headaches, layers of backpackers, a million or so baby boomers not acting their age and enough bald spots to power a reactor...and sun, surf, babes, dudes, rich buggers acting poor and more food than you can poke a stick at...what more does a lonely tourist need I ask?




oh ok then, just one more locally brewed lager(I never said I passed maths did I?)

Yeah but they may prefer a trip to Manly.
Forget Bondi Beach. The only people you run into there are
young Irish economic refugees (they constantly pester you to find
them a job) and old Kiwis (who tell you there is no better place to
live than NeaZeeland- Go figure). After you got the young Irish to say
"I want some CRAIC now!" to a drug cop and got a Kiwi to say he was
SEEX (six) magazines to a priest, there really is nothing to do in
Bondi. But go to Manly and those backpackers will find three top
beaches (not just one lousy one) and some of the best eating in Sydney.
The trip over on the Ferry is alone worth all the effort.

I've been trying to get out of the house each day, and I've found that I've really enjoyed a local hidden gem: Haughmond Hill. It's an outcrop of rock that juts over the plain in which the Severn meanders and Shrewsbury lies. It's not that big, and the middle of it is a working open quarry. While that is pretty hideous (and noisy if you go at the wrong time of day) the rest of the hill is a lovely wood protected by the Foresty Commission, who have laid out paths through it. There's nothing long or strenuous, but it makes for a very pleasent stroll of an afternoon.

It's not a place that you would stumble upon, so although it feels busy at the weekend, it's not actually that busy really for such a lovely spot. That's probably for the best though, as the car park can get quite full!

At the other end from the car park is another hidden gem: Haughmond Abbey. I can't remember the details of exactly which sect set up the abbey here or when, but it is now a ruin that is open during the summer months, run by English Heritage. It's not that big but it is interesting to wander through it.

There is something restful in an old ruin. In my country, Australia, we have young ruins. These are usually abandoned farm houses and shearers sheds. Bush walking trails are now set up on the theme of "Rail to River" trails. The idea is to catch a train to a suburb that becomes the starting point and then walk the bush trail to the nearest river. These trail walks can be as long as several kilometers but are broken up into sections for shorter walks. The only abandoned site, that I have come across on these trails, is an aboriginal cave. Unfortunately, urban development is taking away any historical gems. Our young ruins are being demolished to build ugly high rise developments. In a country that is screaming out for heritage, our planners are doing their best to destroy any remaining buildings from the nineteenth century.

That's very interesting Greg. Will modern buildings ever compete with the picturesque ruins of time gone by?



This is a call for anybody in this thread who can put together a short Entry ( you don't have to write loads) please, for Peer Review. The Guide is really short on verbatim accounts of local places of interest - a lot of our stuff is years old - so we need new blood. Or writing.

If you could spare a little while to write two or three paragraphs about your local place - please do - help is available both in the Edited Guide Workshop or from Create, or myself.

If you're confident just drop it straight into Peer Review. All contributions will be really welcome. Many thanks in advance.





you want to see me grovel? oh alright then

I can write two paragraphs on the aboriginal cave but it is in Sydney Australia. Not sure if that is what you want.

Oh yes! The Guide is pretty well served by Brits but there are far fewer Researchers from your side of the world. Go for it!

Things to do and see in Belfast:

Stroll in Victoria Park, in the shadow of the Harland and Wolff shipyard cranes. It's right beside the airport too, so you can duck every time a plane goes overhead. (You can pretend you're very amusing and point at a mallard on the lake while you shout "Duck!")

Take a more strenuous walk up Cavehill, which gives spectular views over the city and Belfast Lough.

Have afternoon tea at the Merhcant Hotel (if you're feeling flush)and admire the ornate ceiling of this former bank headquarters.

or visit St Georges Market (food on a Friday, variety on a Saturday, selection of both on a Sunday)

Go shopping in Victoria Square, making sure you visit the viewing platform up in the domed roof. Call into Sawyers fish and deli place and marvel at the wonderful array of foodstuffs.

Explore the many pubs in the various Entries (back alleyways) in the city centre. Make sure you visit The Spaniard.

Check out who's playing at The Black Box.

Have something to eat at The Potted Hen beside the cathedral, or Hill St Brasserie. Or Made in Belfast near the City Hall

Visit The Barge, moored beside the Waterfront Hall to see the new maritime museum.

Im on the west coast of Norway - i have mountains on 3 sides of a flat valley with every kind of terrain - lakes,marsh,moor,heath,etc.
The 4th side is the sea. Out to sea are numerous islands - right and you get to a set of fjords going something like 100 miles with various branches, left and you get to Bud and further inland to Molde with its own nice fjord - the fishing is awesome and the tourists get lost. Theyre too buisy trying to get to "places of interest."

Birmingham has a film festival (Flatpack). It’s on at the moment (March). Last night I saw an excellent documentary about death row called ‘Into the Abyss’. At lunch time today I saw some animated Japanese shorts in my local coffee shop. I am eagerly anticipating an atmospheric screening on a boat, a guided walk and some children’s events. Last year we went to a rather excellent ‘Paper Party’ where interesting things were done late into the night with paper, film and music.

It makes me happy because I love cinema (especially serious cinema) although I will happily watch anything that does not have a talking animal in.
It makes me happy because I go to lots of places in Birmingham I don’t normally go to. It allows me to see the arty side of the city. Also to meet people I wouldn’t normally meet.
It makes me happy because lots of people come from other parts of the country and see what a great place Birmingham really is.
It makes me happy because it’s run by volunteers (including me this year) and I love that there are people who do this.