PalenQ

I' just love traveling to Brtain and have been doing so annually for too long to admit - it's my favorite country in Europe to be in and here are some reasons i love Britain, especially England, so much:

--The multi-faceted British accents - some of which i feel like saying to 'Do You Speak English'? But being able to understand the locals is a big plus for some real interacting and discussions, etc.

--Bed-and-Breakfasts - the traditional English ones, not the glorified ones in central London - ubiquitously run by kind older ladies who serve up a hearty typically 'English breakfast', after asking 'Tea or Coffee'? - i love seeing the Bovril bottle they all have but which it seems no one uses!

--Pubs - Of course pubs, which unlike at home, see to attract an all ages all types crowds - a social center in neighborhoods it seems - with darts and all - pub grub too - and all the better now that they are smoke-free places by law

--Trains - yeh i'd described them as third world in a satirical way for good reason but they are always fun to hop - especially in first class where on long-haul runs you can get complimentary food and drink. Just love those old brick Victorian train sheds

--The London Tube - just so unique and again a great people watching chance

--Double-decker buses - i love just getting on them on the top deck at the front windows over the driver and go in any direction - the tree limbs swishing across the front

--FREE museums!

--Marks and Spencer's Food Halls

--Public Footpaths - practically anywhere in the countryside you can take a public footpath thru lovely scenery, along the Thames, etc.

--Tellie - in my Eltham B&B i get only the five basic channels but again a great way to synthesize British culture - I'm a Coronation Street addict and often head back to the B&B just in time to catch that night's show - or Big Breakfast type shows in the morning

--Bobbies and their alien-type conical hats

--Most of all Britons, who seem so friendly to Americans at least and always helpful

--Old red phone boxes

--Old post boxes with the monarch's name on them when they were put up - many still with Victoria it seems, esp in rural areas

---TIC or Tourist Information Centres - always an avalanche of free brochures - printed walking tours, room booking help and great advice - also walking tours with local docents are often free as well

--Chippies or fish and chip shops

--Chinese take-outs

--Street markets - colorful and animated selling 'fruit and veg' and in London at least seemingly full of Cockney type accents

--the old English cafe - few and far between now in Starbucks and Pret-dominated central London but lots in many neighborhoods - grease a la mode but cheap and filling

--The best LOOS in Europe - public loos that are clean and practically everywhere outside of central London - but even in London itself there are many more than in most such cities.

--Public greens and sprawling parks - love the dog walkers

--Tabloid newspaper scalpers screaming out salacious headlines - papers in general to learn about what's going

--Tesco and Sainsbury markets all over, even central London for great picnic supplies - lots of deli items, salads, etc.

WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT BRITAIN (And nothing but Love, Love!)

Trophywife007

1. Scones with strawberry jam and clotted cream

2. Liberty of London

3. Food halls at Harrods

4. Beautiful green countryside

5. The weather, oddly enough; but it is refreshingly different from what I'm used to.

PalenQ

Trphy - please enlighten me about 'Liberty of London'

thanks

crckwc1

Black London Cabs with drivers who know absolutely every street in the city.

Westminster chimes -- the real thing!

Teatime

Food: KitKats -- better than in the US; Sticky Toffee Pudding; scones; clotted cream; Cornish meat pies; brown mustard; beans-on-toast; cucumbers on sandwiches (hey, I'm easy to please!)

Stoic, stiff-upper-lip Brits

Well-behaved dogs on leashes

Electric kettle in your hotel/b&b room

Weather forecasters predicting "cloudy with the odd bright spot" and similar phrases

Garden shows on TV

Merseyheart

The London tube, which can get you anywhere in that huge city....

The Ferry 'Cross the Mersey....:}

Sharing a common language, so you can talk to the locals....

Newspapers (and candy!) available everywhere.....

BBC Radio, with its relaxed chat and quizzes....

The South Bank, with all its activity, and the river....

Churches, with their quiet....such a nice place to pause during a busy day...

The peaceful parks of London....

...there's probably more, but I can't think of them right now...but oh, Pal, I've been to England many times, so I am glad to contribute to this thread...

MelJ

I, too, love the United Kingdom.

Mainly, first and foremost: The people! I appreciate their dry sense of humor, their ability to soldier on regardless of weather (I remember well the first time I saw those plastic covers for baby strollers so they could continue to walk in the rain.)

The appreciation for history and the need to renovate rather than tear down.

The flowers. Window boxes, gardens, hedges...

The cozy, warm feeling when sitting in a pub having a pint. I never felt like a stranger or tourist in any, whether it be London, Belfast, Dublin, Edinburgh or a small town.

So much more!

MelJ

Oh, I can't forget two more important things.

1. Milky Way candy bars. They taste NOTHING like the ones in the States and I find myself craving gthem!

2. Clotted cream. Is there anything in the entire world as perfect?

wombat7

Pal as the self confessed anglophile that you are I am amazed that you do not know the reference to Liberty of London means exactly that - the shop called Liberty of London on Regent Street - and T3 in LHR.

My additions to the list would be:

Private Eye

Radio 4 (luckily you can get that outside of the UK)

BBCiplayer (can get that as well if you know what you are doing)

The Grauniad (pretty good on line though)

The sarcastic "wit" of some of the inhabitants (thanks to Messrs Quiche and Chum there is a fair bit of that here as well)

Abbot Ale

Cheese – too many different types to name

National Gallery

The Proms (can listen to on line but it is not the same)

traveller1959

I love that the English National Football Team (almost) always loses against the German Team - e.g. the last game in Old Wembley and the first game in New Wembley. The English are masochists. But it is masochism in style.

wombat7

And given the list is not restricted to things I feel I can add some specific people:

Stephen Fry

Paul Merton

Jeremy Paxman (name one person who can say “come on!” as well)

Ian Hislop

Jonathan Miller

Peter Ustinov

Richard Attenborugh

John Sessions

Dawn French

Bill Nighy

AA Gill

janisj

Wombat7: "Pal as the self confessed anglophile that you are I am amazed that you do not know the reference to Liberty of London means exactly that . . . . "

I was thinking the same thing. Anyone who has been to London as many times as our friend says he has - I'd have thought he has walked right past Liberty many, MANY times. It is sort of hard to miss.

Trophywife007

Thanks Wombat.

Yes, PQ, Liberty of London is that large tudor style building on Regent Street at Great Marlborough Street that you've probably walked past a dozen or more times. I especially like their trademark prints that one can find made into scarves, ties, umbrellas, address books, etc. They make lovely gifts, too.

Next time you're there, have a look and enjoy!

wombat7

To be fair, I do tend refer to the place as "Liberty's" - but I do not profess to be an anglophile with annual trips to the UK.

stfc

Extraordinary. John Sessions, Milky Ways, the Grauniad? Bloody Hell. Peter Ustinov is sadly no longer with us.

'Liberty of London' is usually referred to as 'Liberty's' by us locals. Well, not me, but those who are interested in it. Maybe that's where the confusion lies.

wombat7

You are right - Ustinov was a loss. But I stand by John Sessions and the Grauniad - and will throw in the shipping forecast for goo measure.

A Scilly Automatic Fan

wombat7

or even good measure!

PalenQ

I'm not sure what claiming to be an anglophile has to do with knowing or not knowing what the Liberty of London is even though now that you describe it i have walked by it zillions of times - but i confess to not being one really i guess and i must admit i have never ever been to London - wombat and janis have exposed me as a fraud. Scratch all my loves of Britain i started with - they were all cut and pasted from other Fodorites.

stfc

As you wish wombat, I'm just amused by what amuses others. It is my proud boast never to have bought a copy of the Guardian, although I was once at such a loose end that I glanced at it. I shall leave it for the liberals and the muesli generation. Do you know where and why it was christened the Grauniad?

I didn't know Milky Ways were still sold. Their only attraction was that they cost 3d whereas Mars Bars cost 7d when I was at school. 7d was a lot of money to an 8 year-old in 1962. Almost 3p in modern money.

PalenQ

Liberty of London is the luxury collection by Creative Director Tamara Salman. Drawing on Liberty's 130 year heritage the seasonal collections span handbags ...
www.libertyoflondon.co.uk/

I guess the Royal Estates owns the whole street and it has been one of the most neglected by tourists and shoppers in spite of its great location. Now i read they are trying to make the street one of Europe's most upscale in terms of shops - so Liberty fits right in with their plans - as does a new Whole Foods Markets they are trying to lure here

highflyer

I love the fact it's home then in no particular order there's my favourite chippy in Manchester, fantastic curry, M&S, wonderful gardens like Kew, Wisley and Tatton Park, Radio4, absolutely yonks of history, driving on the left, the weather