Tourists

[Brandane]

Nardini's . It must have been there for years, I'm sure it was there the last time I was there in 1982 lol

My first visit was 1968, long before I lived here. The same basket weave chairs are still there! It was closed for several years following a dispute with the council over planning permission. Now under new ownership, the only Nardini connection is the name. It first opened in 1935 BTW..

 

[Brandane]

Slightly off topic but @Brandane post mentioned Nardini's and I thought I have heard of a lot of Scottish Italian named ice cream parlours, so I googled the Scottish/Italian connection and came up with this.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-19624507

Surprising what you can learn on CC.

They forgot to mention @Pat "5mph" .

 

[alicat]

Not many tourists in my area unsurprisingly. Even the locals don't visit.

If you want cheering up, I can tell you Bobby Sands' telephone number.

 

[Electric_Andy]

Devon and Cornwall have always been busy but more so this year. Trouble is most of the roads just weren't built for this volume of traffic. And inconsiderate parking, larger vehicles, and many of the more secluded beaches are now well known to most. Mustn't knock it though, keeps lots of people in work and nice that poeople are exploring our fine country

 

[screenman]

No not at all, i made my first visit to Lincoln in May and thought it was a decent kind of place We spent a few hours there and it was a blazing hot Sunday with loads of tandem riders in town.I was dawdling along admiring the machines, much to the annoyance of mrs marshmella.

Maybe that says more about tandems than about Lincoln.

 

[Dave 123]

You ought To try Cambridge. Overrun with gaggles of oriental tourist groups. Rude, unobservant and stupid. It’s getting to the really unfunny stage now.

 

[classic33]

My parents live in York and report it is rammed.

It always fascinated me in York that in the centre there are people speaking every language possible and photographing anything, yet if you go more than a few hundred metres from the centre and around a corner, suddenly the population density plummets and you're in a normal street surrounded by locals.

The old city is fantastic onna bike before six.

Can get the oddest reactions when doing that.

 

[Reynard]

You ought To try Cambridge. Overrun with gaggles of oriental tourist groups. Rude, unobservant and stupid. It’s getting to the really unfunny stage now.

We get them here in Ely as well. Though maybe not quite on the same scale...

 

[Bollo]

I live near Basingstoke which is also the birthplace of Jane Austen (well almost). Surprisingly we do see the odd tourist but once they've exhausted the Austen trail I think they hightail it out of town. One of my favourite bike routes goes through the village she lived in and a few times I've met tourists (usually American) stumbling around trying to find the house she was born in, which is difficult as it no longer exists!

Steventon! It is nice that way and I usually pass through once or twice a month on a ride. I’ve noticed that a couple of the cottages look a bit tidier recently, but it’s still just a little farming hamlet so doesn’t have much to offer the intrepid tourist. Amazingstoke on the other hand.....

 

[wonderloaf]

Steventon! It is nice that way and I usually pass through once or twice a month on a ride. I’ve noticed that a couple of the cottages look a bit tidier recently, but it’s still just a little farming hamlet so doesn’t have much to offer the intrepid tourist. Amazingstoke on the other hand.....

...... or Boringstoke/Basingrad depending on your persuasion!

 

[snorri]

Was it the Nardini's bit that gave it away, or the seagulls? Or the traffic?

Thirty years on I still remember waiting in a Largs chip shop to be served, the chipper was standing with his back to the customers whilst he stirred up the chips. He completely forgot about the mirror above his head as he did a peculiar oral juggling act with his dentures which was seen in the mirror by the waiting customers. I don't know to this day what his chips were like, I left promptly.

 

[Bollo]

One relatively new feature over the past two or so years is the appearance of the flag-wavey tour guide. Maybe I've just not noticed before, but the groups are certainly larger and there are more Chinese tourists who probably feel more comfortable with a guide.

I like to imagine that the guides make stuff up, like pointing to Greggs and saying that's where King Alfred used to buy his steak slices, or that the cathedral is being converted into an Ikea.

...... or Boringstoke/Basingrad depending on your persuasion!

I will not have a word said against Basingstoke!

I think I've told the story before on CC about my slightly surreal visit to the Basingstoke Tourist Information office so won't repeat it here, but it all went a bit Royston Vasey.

 

[wonderloaf]

One relatively new feature over the past two or so years is the appearance of the flag-wavey tour guide. Maybe I've just not noticed before, but the groups are certainly larger and there are more Chinese tourists who probably feel more comfortable with a guide.

I like to imagine that the guides make stuff up, like pointing to Greggs and saying that's where King Alfred used to buy his steak slices, or that the cathedral is being converted into an Ikea.



I will not have a word said against Basingstoke!

I think I've told the story before on CC about my slightly surreal visit to the Basingstoke Tourist Information office so won't repeat it here, but it all went a bit Royston Vasey.

I'm not Basingstoke born and bred, moved here due to work but I agree I think it gets a bad press. I'm going to have to check out the tourist office sounds interesting. Can't be too bad as I'm typing this as I'm sitting in Spoonies (The Angel) enjoying a quiet pint.

 

[wonderloaf]

Absolutely. And so is Liz Hurley.

 

[User169]

I'm not Basingstoke born and bred, moved here due to work but I agree I think it gets a bad press. I'm going to have to check out the tourist office sounds interesting. Can't be too bad as I'm typing this as I'm sitting in Spoonies (The Angel) enjoying a quiet pint.

Having grown up in Amazingstoke (graduate of Cranbourne, lol), I can safely say It gets the rep it deserves.

Mind you Jane Austen was deffo an Amazingstoker, despite what @Bollo claims!!!