Walk Talk Tours Blog

What Manchester reads today...

2009-07-02T10:29:00.000-07:00

How do we access information? Print press, radio, television, or on the net?Often we use a combination of information sources, to find out what's going on in the world, what's worth seeing and where it might be worth going.

In days gone by, there were fewer trusted sources of information. The arrival of the Internet and the subsequent decline in newspaper circulation has made it harder for people to figure out what's kosher and what's not...

Manchester played an important role in the development of the British newspaper. For it was the city that was the birthplace of the left-leaning Manchester Guardian in 1821. The newspaper was established by the city's Unitarian community, who felt excluded from the political process - which was dominated by Anglicans at the time. At one time the paper was commonly called "Britain's non-conformist conscience". The Manchester Guardian became a daily in 1855.

The paper became known simply as The Guardian in 1959 and has retained the title ever since. The editor of the newspaper moved to London five years later.

The launch of Guardian Unlimited network of websites first went live ten years ago and the sites have helped the newspaper make the transition more smoothly and successfully than some of their competitors.

Mancunians regard their city with pride and rightly so. "What Manchester says today, the rest of England says tomorrow" was a popular phrase used to describe the city in late nineteenth century and it could, some might argue, still be applied today. Visitors and locals alike can hear more about some of the firsts pioneered in the city with the Manchester: Then & Now, Walk Talk Tour.

Manchester Libraries run a whole range of activities designed to engage people of all ages in the pursuit of knowledge (and have some fun).

The Central Library (pictured above from the Albert Square side) is one of the city's most striking buildings. Hear more about its architect and some of the famous and lesser known people to have studied there with the Walk Talk Tour Manchester travel guide. To hear an audio sample from the tour please click here.

If you like what you've read you can subscribe to our RSS feed. Please feel free to bookmark and share.

The Manchester International Festival runs until July 19 at various locations in the city. For more information please click here.

Visitors can hire the Walk Talk Tour Manchester city guide from the Visitor Information Centre in the Town Hall Extension on Lloyd Street, just off St Peter's Square. Headphones and tour plan provided.

The lower picture shows the arhces which run beneath the Town Hall Extension, on the Mount Street/Albert Square side of the building.

Westminster Abbey orders a corona

2009-06-30T06:05:00.000-07:00

Westminser Abbey the site of the coronation is set to have a new addition added to its roof. The feature will cost £10m and is known as a corona.

Confusingly, as is the way with the English language there are umpteen different meanings for the word corona. When I think of a Corona, I think of the beer of the same name. Apparently, a corona also is the name for a long, blunt ended cigar. In addition, the word describes coloured rings of lights, typically from red outside to blue inside, which sometimes appear to border the Sun or Moon. The origins of the word, according to A Dictionary of First Names (Oxford Paperback Reference, Oxford University Press, 2006) comes: "From a Late Latin name meaning ‘crown’; name of a minor saint martyred in Syria in the 2nd century, who was venerated in Bavaria, Austria, and Bohemia in the Middle Ages".

The corona planned for Westminster Abbey will be a crown like structure. According to Ruth Gledhill, the Religion Correspondent in The Times: "The intention is to create a gilded structure, which is likely to be composed in part of wood, glass and lead, in time for the Diamond Jubilee of the Queen's Coronation in June 2013".

Visitors to London can hear about the Abbey's rich history with The Palace Trail audio travel guide. The Palace Trail walking tour begins outside of the Abbey and concludes in front of Buckingham Palace. Listeners have the flexibility to enjoy seeing the sights at their own pace, as opposed to having their agenda set by a conventional tour guide.

A Benedictine monastery was established here in the middle of the tenth century. After the Norman Conquest, William the Conqueror elected to have his coronation in the Abbey. Every subsequent English - then later British - monarch has been crowned in the Abbey - bar two. Find out which two with The Palace Trail audio tour guide, discover why Westminster Abbey is a royal peculiar and more. To hear an audio sample from The Palace Trail please click here.

There are five Walk Talk Tour London city walking tours. All of which are available in English, French, German and Spanish.

Buy one Walk Talk Tour and get a second one free by entering the following promotion code into the shopping basket page: VL405.

The image above shows the West Towers of Westminster Abbey, which were begun under the stewardship of Sir Christopher Wren, but were completed in 1745 - after Wren's death - under the gaze of one of his pupils, Nicholas Hawksmoor.

Baked Britain - London set to enjoy sun

2009-06-28T02:15:00.000-07:00

Temperatures in the British capital are set to soar over the next two days, Monday, June 29 and Tuesday, June 30. Temperature could reach 32 degrees Celsius (89.6 F). Night time temperatures are expected to be as high as 19 - 20 degrees Celsius.

We are not used, or often very good, at coping with extremes in temperature in the British Isles. That's probably one of the reasons why the weather is such a popular topic of conversation throughout the UK and Republic of Ireland.

The anticipated heatwave has led to the Government issuing an amber alert, which means that there is 60 per cent chance that an area, or areas, of the UK will experience high temperatures on two consecutive days - and in the night sandwiched between them.

London is a great place to visit whatever the weather, but there are a few precautions sightseers should consider taking to avoid the potentially harmful affects of getting too much sun. Make sure you and your companions drink lots of water, use a high factor sun-screen/cream and try and spend plenty of time in the shade.

Listening to a Walk Talk Tour London travel guide can be great way to enjoy the sights and stay safe in the sun. Each audio walking tour of the capital can be completed comfortably in two hours, but listeners have the flexibility to explore the sights at their own pace. So, you can get as much - or as little - sun as you want.

Each Walk Talk Tour London walking tour costs just £5.95. So, you'll have spare change to buy that bottle of water, beer or that ice cream that has your name written all over it. And each of our five London tours are available in English, French, German qnd Spanish.

Use the following code to buy one Walk Talk Tour and get a second one free: VL405.

The top image was taken from Trafalgar Square looking down Whitehall towards the new Palace of Westminster. The tower is St Stephen's Tower home to Big Ben. Hear more about Big Ben, Trafalgar Square and the equestrian statue in the foreground of the picture with the Palace Trail audio guide. To hear an audio sample from the audio tour please click here.

The second picture shows Buckingham Palace, the London home of the Sovereign and the administrative headquarters of the British Monarchy.

For more information about staying safe in the sun. Check out the following link to the NHS website.

Solitude in the City

2009-06-25T10:40:00.000-07:00

What's your idea of hell? Getting stuck in a lift on your own? Being marooned on a desert island without human contact, or your favourite records and books? The idea of a life of lengthy isolation from the rest of the world - does not appeal to me.

But, others see the world a little differently. And difference is what makes the world go around.

Artist Ansuman Biswas has won the right to spend forty days in solitude at the Manchester Museum. The Calcutta born artist's spell 'in solitary' will begin on June 27 and end on August 5. He will not be entirely cut off from the real world, Mr Biswas will be blogging about his experiences via The Manchester Hermit's Blog.

Mr Biswas will be cocooned in a Gothic Tower within the Museum, which is part of the University of Manchester. Isolation is nothing new to Mr Biswas; he has previously being a living exhibit in a museum display in London. For that role at the South London Gallery, Mr Biswas went without food for ten days and 'lived in' a confined space.

Back in May, he told the BBC that: "Being at top of the this gothic tower is much the same way the brain is at the top of a spinal chord. The nature of loss, the cultural memory, I want to question what is important to us and how do we show that we value it?"

His exploits do have a hint of the David Blaine about them. They are attention grabbing and, some might argue, utterly pointless. Whatever you or I think, Mr Biswas has a platform (his blog) and he intends to use it to debate the merits of items and artifacts selected (before his seclusion) from the Museum's 4.5 million strong collection In the words of the Museum of Manchester's website: "He will be opening up a wider debate about why museums collect and preserve objects, whilst allowing species and cultures to become forgotten and extinct."

When he is 'released' from captivity, Mr Biswas will want to stretch his legs. He met want to take the opportunity to go walk about in Manchester. His home in the Museum was designed by Alfred Waterhouse, the architect who designed Manchester Town Hall and the Central Library. Both destinations feature in the Manchester: Then & Now audio downloadable tour. To hear an audio sample from the tour please click here.

Independent mined travellers - like Cornelius (pictured above), the only ornament in my garden - can hire the Manchester: Then & Now tour from the city's Visitor Information Centre, on Lloyd Street, just off St Peter's Square on a preloaded MP3 player. Cost: £6 per MP3 player plus a £10 refundable deposit. Earphones (not the kind Cornelius is wearing) and tour plan provided.

Spotlight on Chester's Rows

2009-06-23T04:54:00.000-07:00

The Rows are public galleries that run uninterrupted through the front of buildings in the centre of the city of Chester. In Chester, for hundreds of years, the word ‘row’ has applied to small assemblies of shops connected by a single trade and sometimes owned by one merchant.

The original rows were built on stone undercrofts. A fire in 1278 may have served to act as a catalyst for the expansion of the Rows in the city. Many of these undercrofts are still used as commercial premises today.

The picture above shows the High Cross and the top of one side of Bridge Street. The Cross marks the centre of Chester where the four streets from the Roman fortress’s main gates - Bridge Street, Eastgate Street, Northgate Street and Watergate Street - met.

For readers familiar with Chester, in the UK, you may think of black and white timbered buildings. As Nikolaus Pevsner, the late celebrated architectural critic, wrote in The Buildings of England: Cheshire: - “Chester is not a medieval, it is a Victorian city. What deceives is the black and white. 95 per cent is Victorian..."

The nineteenth century architects responsible for the black and white revival sought to preserve the unique character of the Rows, just in a better ventilated, brighter form.

Visitors can go walk about in Chester with the Chester Revealed audio downloadable tour and hear much more about the history and development of the Rows. The audio guide is narrated by broadcaster and actor Jonathan Keeble and features a welcome to the city from David Mitchell, half of the world's only husband and wife town crying duo. To hear an audio sample featuring Jonathan please click here.

This August residents and visitors alike will be able to Roam the Rows over the four weekends in that month. For more information regarding the event take a look at the Chester Performs website.

The Chester Revealed tour can also be hired from the city's Tourist Information Centre, in the Town Hall, on Northgate Street. Visitors hiring the tour will receive a copy of the tour plan, digital stereo neckphones and an MP3 player pre-loaded with the tour.

Take One: EIFF kicks off Edinburgh festival season

2009-06-19T01:13:00.000-07:00

Edinburgh's Festival season is upon us. The Edinburgh International Film Festival (or EIFF for short) started on June 17. The EIFF celebrates the best in film ends on the final day of this month. Last year, the EIFF took the momentous decision of moving from its regular slot in August to a new one in June.

Twenty-three world premieres will be screened at this year's EIFF and a whole host of new films by UK directors will be shown over the next twelve days.

Last year the Edinburgh International Film Festival attracted in excess of 50,000 spectators. This year organisers will be hoping to top that figure.

Walk Talk Tours have teamed up with the Festival to offer EIFF web members the chance to win one of three MP3 players preloaded with our Old and New Towns audio guide. To hear an audio sample from the Old and New Towns audio walking tour please click here.

There are two Walk Talk Tours of Edinburgh. Each retails at £5.95. Purchase both simultaneously and receive a twenty per cent discount.

A Walk Talk Tour is a great way to explore a city like Edinburgh as each audio guide gives listeners the flexibility to enjoy hearing about some of a city's better - and lesser - known attractions at their own pace. No timetables to adhere to - except your own. With a Walk Talk Tour, you are the boss.

Edinburgh in August can be great fun with performers from around the world showcasing their talents at a variety of festivals and venues throughout the city. The Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) starts on August 14 and ends on September 6. The EIF's boisterous sibling the Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the world's largest arts festival. The Fringe starts on August 7 and concludes on August 31.

The Edinburgh International Book Festival (EIBF) is held in the Gardens in the middle of Charlotte Square. The EIBF runs from August 15 to August 31 this summer. For more information on the various festival in Edinburgh take a look at official Edinburgh Festivals website.

What's Cooking?

2009-06-17T09:52:00.000-07:00

Sisters Helen, Lisa and Janet opened Sweet Mandarin on Copperas Street in Manchester’s Northern Quarter in 2004. The restaurant is situated close to the Old Fish Market, on High Street, and near to the Manchester Craft and Design Centre. Helen has also penned an award winning book entitled Sweet Mandarin, which charts the survival of three generations of females in the family, starting with the birth of their grandmother, Lily Kwok, in rural southern China in 1918. Lily moved to Hong Kong in the 1930s and then onto England in the 1950s, where she opened one of the first Chinese restaurants in Manchester. The love of catering has sustained the family for three generations.

I had never been to a cookery school before and I was a little apprehensive at the prospect. My fears were soon dispelled by the warm and friendly welcome that Helen, Lisa and the other three participants on the Beginners Programme to Chinese Cookery gave me.

Lisa began by telling us about the five essential ingredients in Chinese cooking: ginger, onion, garlic, salt and sugar.

Then it was down to business, starting with a Dim Sum Masterclass. Lisa patiently explained the origins of the dish. She then demonstrated how to create mini vegetable spring rolls, crispy won tons and chicken fingers in turn. We each created a number of rolls ourselves.

Lisa explained and then demonstrated how to make Won Ton Soup and Chicken and Sweetcorn Soup. Won Ton literally means ‘hollow cloud’.

Lisa then explained how to make four dishes. Each of us would be responsible for cooking one of them. I cooked Crispy Vegetable Chow Mein Noodles. The other dishes were stir fried beef strips with ginger and leeks; egg fried rice and chicken and veg in a jung pao sauce. They tasted pretty good – for beginners.

Susan, one of the other participants, had sampled a number of different cooking courses and felt that Sweet Mandarin’s Cookery School was far and away the best. It was a really hands-on approach to learning to cook and I can recommend it to anyone. For more information about the opening times of Sweet Mandarin and their cookery courses available at the restaurant please click here.

Sweet Mandarin is located a short walk away from Cathedral Gardens where the Manchester: Then & Now audio tour guide concludes.

Helen Tse’s Sweet Mandarin book was nominated for the Portico Prize last year and Helen was also selected as one of eight great new writers in the Fall of 2008 by Barnes and Noble, the American bookstore chain.

Edinburgh still a 'Hotbed of creativity?'

2009-06-14T04:18:00.000-07:00

The list of Scottish inventors, scientists and industrialists that made a mark far beyond their homeland is long and impressive. Edinburgh born John Napier, the inventor of logarithms, which greatly simplified complex division and multiplication calculations; John McAdam, who revolutionised road building; Alexander Graham Bell, best known as the inventor of the telephone and John Logie Baird, pioneer of television. Logie Baird died on June 14, 1946. One of the core themes of Scotland Homecoming 2009 is 'Great Scottish Minds & Innovations'. The Scotland Homecoming 2009 site describes the country as having been a 'hotbed of creativity'.

Talented Scots still excel internationally in a range of activities and pursuits. The number of pioneering scientists and inventors has slowed - as it has done in the rest of the UK. Remember Dolly the sheep? Dolly was the first mammal to be successfully cloned. A team at the Roslin Institute near Edinburgh was responsible for cloning her. Dolly is displayed in the Connect Gallery in the National Museum.

Even so, the Scottish capital is perhaps now better known for its festivals than its inventors, scientists or writers - though Harry Potter author J K Rowling and the author of the Rebus novels, Ian Rankin, live in the city.

Each summer Edinburgh is a 'hotbed of the creative and performing arts' as players in a range of fields 'strut their stuff' at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe - or Fringe for short -and the Edinburgh International Festival. This year's Fringe runs from August 7 to August 31, the Edinburgh International Festival begins on August 14 and ends on September 6. A number of other festivals will also be taking place this August.

Alexander Graham Bell was born in Edinburgh's elegant New Town. Visitors to Edinburgh can hear more about Bell and some of the colourful characters associated with developments in a variety of fields, including literature and philosophy with the Old and New Towns Edinburgh audio guide. To hear an audio sample from the Old and New Towns Edinburgh walking tour please click here. The audio downloadable walking tour costs just £5.95. Listeners have the flexibility to explore Edinburgh in their own time.

Pictured above is the Scott Monument in Princes Street Gardens.

For more information about the dates of the various festivals taking place in Edinburgh this summer please click here.

Planning a trip to Edinburgh

2009-06-11T03:42:00.000-07:00

The Edinburgh Fringe line up was unveiled yesterday. The Fringe line up is even bigger than last year. Approximately, twenty-five per cent of acts will be Scottish, which is appropriate in this the year of Homecoming Scotland 2009.

The Fringe runs from August 7 - August 31. A third of the Fringe line up is made up of comediennes and comedians, including Ricky Gervais and Jimmy Carr.

The Edinburgh International Film Festival takes centre stage later this month as the Festival Season in the Scottish capital kicks into gear. The Festival starts on June 17 and ends on June 28.

The Fringe programme may defy the recession, but individual finances for many of us remain tight. If you are looking for value and innovation, then step this way.

Walk Talk Tours have two audio downloadable walking tours of the Scottish capital for listeners to enjoy via their iPod, MP3 player or cell phone. Both audio guides allow listeners to explore Edinburgh at their own place. With a Walk Talk Tour there are no hidden charges (there is no such thing as a free tour) and there is no timetable to adhere to. Select your tour, purchase, download, transfer to your MP3 enabled device and away you go!

Walking is a great way to appreciate the diversity of Edinburgh's architecture and heritage. Paul Kelbie wrote in The Guardian in November 1998 that: "Edinburgh was awarded World Heritage Site status in 1995 because of the unique contrast and quality of architecture between the medieval Old Town and the Georgian New Town". To hear an audio sample from the Old and New Towns audio tour guide, which begins outside Edinburgh Castle and ends in Charlotte Square, please click here.

Pictured above is Bute House, in Charlotte Square. It is the official residence of the First Minister of Scotland, Alex Salmond. The Georgian House, a museum celebrating life in late eighteenth and early nineteenth century life, is next door at 7 Charlotte Square. The Gardens in the centre of the Square play host to the annual Edinburgh International Book Festival each August.

Planning a trip to York? Don't bring a pillow

2009-06-09T07:43:00.000-07:00

York's normally sedate Museum Gardens played host to a seemingly spontaneous pillow fight on Sunday, June 7, involving 500 people according to the York Press. The fight had been organised through the Social Networking website, Facebook. The ostensibly spontaneous gathering of a large number of people is called 'flash mobbing'. Participants quickly gather, 'do their thing', and then melt away.

North Yorkshire Police quickly broke up the pillow fight. A recent 'flash mob' pillow fight in London had led to some participants sustaining serious injuries caused by snooker balls and other items concealed in pillow cases.

Superintendent Lisa Winward from North Yorkshire Police told the York Press that: "Having considered the violent nature of the event in London, we decided we were not prepared to allow a similar situation to develop in York which, potentially, could have resulted in serious disorder and injury to both the people involved and innocent members of the public."

A sick resident of the city would once have been able to rest their head at St Leonard’s Hospital, which was once the biggest hospital in the north of England. The remains of the Hospital, which was founded around 1100, can be seen in the Museum Gardens.

The ownership and uses of the land which now make up the Museum Gardens have changed down the years - as have the influences in the city of York itself.

The Museum Gardens, originally intended for botanical and scientific research were part of, the now ruined, St Mary Abbey’s estate. The eleventh century Benedictine monastery was the wealthiest in northern England. It was destroyed during Henry VIII’s Dissolution of the Monasteries around 1540.

Go walk about in York with the Best of York walking tour and hear about the city's rich history on your own terms. The Best of York sightseeing tour can be completed in two hours, though listeners have the flexibility to stop, start and resume their audio tour guide as they please. To hear an audio sample from the Best of York audio tour guide please click here.

Story of London: Walk this Way

2009-06-06T18:17:00.000-07:00

Elements of the month long Story of London have been criticised by some commentators, including The Guardian's Dave Hill and blogger Diamond Geezer. Hill wrote on June 2 that "the Story of London is far more about re-packaging the capital's "cultural offer" to visitors than anything else. Good may come of this: much of that "offer" is appealing and the draw of London's history, galleries and theatres, coupled with a favourable exchange rate, is a big reason why the capital is weathering the recession relatively well. But the schedule has a deeply conventional look about it..."

Today is the final day of the Story of London Walking Weekend where residents and visitors alike can enjoy a wide variety of walks through the capital. However, if you cannot make it on any of today's guided walks, do not fear there is a way to enjoy some of London's rich history at a time that suits you.

Walk Talk Tours is an official partner of the Story of London. You can experience some of the best that London has to offer via your iPod, MP3 player, cell phone or BlackBerry with a Walk Talk Tour audio downloadable tour guide, 24/7, 365 days a year. All of our London walks are available in French, German and Spanish.

Perspective: it's not just what we see it's the way that we see it. Great cities elicit different reactions from different people. London, Europe's most populous city, is great; but, it can be easy to feel overawed by the scale of the place and the speed at which its residents and commuters go about their day to day business.

I know that some of our customers have taken a day to complete a particular tour because they have used the flexibility afforded by their self guided audio tour to spend time visiting attractions, places of worship, shops, pubs and restaurants along the route of their tour. All of the London audio guides - bar the longer City & South Bank Circular tour - can be completed in two hours.

Each Walk Talk Tour London walking tour costs just £5.95. Buy two audio guides together and save twenty per cent. That's two tours for less than £10.

Decide how your day will unfold

2009-06-03T09:31:00.000-07:00

The routine of our everyday lives can be monotonous and stressful. Think of the structure of your working day. It might follow a pattern like this: get up, swallow some breakfast, embark on the school run/set off on the daily commute, arrive at work, switch on computer, open inbox, make business call and so on... Grab a bite to eat, begin commute home, spend some time with partner/and or children, have evening meal, check emails, 'zone out' in front of the television. Go to bed, repeat process the following day and for the rest of the working week.

Increasingly, time on vacation is one of the few occasions when many busy adults have the chance to go with the flow and just see how things pan out.

Imagine having the flexibility to visit some of the places you have always fancied going to, without having the stress of having to arrive at a particular time and look around a particular attraction, like say Edinburgh Castle, in a certain time frame. Independent travellers can 'go with the flow' in Edinburgh's Old Town with the Royal Mile & More, audio tour guide. Unlike a conventional tour, listeners have the flexibility to explore the route of the tour from Edinburgh Castle to the Palace of Holyroodhouse at their own pace. The tour can be completed in two hours or listeners can take a day to enjoy the historic Old Town. It really is up to you. To hear an audio sample from the Royal Mile & More audio tour guide please click here.

What's more you can actually learn things for fun, rather than because you have to, like for work. Find out about the origins of the word Edinburgh, hear about the last person to be tried under the Witchcraft Act in Great Britain and more. Pub/coffee shop trivia is often easier to absorb - and more fun to share - than the latest set of company figures, don't you think?

Should you miss any part of your commentary, you can simply replay it and listen again. No stress. You can start, stop and listen again as you wish, not as others dictate. If only the ordinary working week was so simple...

Listen up and see London "with fresh eyes"

2009-06-01T07:58:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, May 31 was the 150th anniversary of the first occasion on which Big Ben, the famous bell in St Stephen's Clock Tower, was rung. Today sees the beginning of the Story of London. A range of themes will be celebrated during the month long celebration: history, music, theatre, art, architecture, film and fashion.

The Story of London will be a month long celebration of the "city's past, present and future". One of the keynote anniversaries being celebrated this summer in London is the 500th anniversary of the coronation of King Henry VIII, the monarch who is most popularly remembered for having had six wives.

London Mayor Boris Johnson says: "There are so many stories to tell, in so many different ways, and the Story of London will be a kaleidoscopic exposition of the city's past, present and future. It will bring together some superb attractions for visitors and Londoners, who will also be able to 'revisit' their city with fresh eyes."

Londoners and visitors alike can enjoy exploring the most populous city in Europe on foot with five Walk Talk Tour audio downloadable tour guides. Go walk about with a Walk Talk Tour and see the sights on your own terms. Should an attraction during - or after the month long Story of London - demand a closer look, with a Walk Talk Tour it's easy to stop your tour and then resume it when you are ready.

Hopefully, the weather will be bright and sunny in London during the Story of London. However, if the weather does take a turn for the worse, listeners can make the most of the flexibility afforded by a Walk Talk Tour to look round a world famous attraction, indulge in a spot of retail therapy or take the opportunity to have something to eat or drink.

Each Walk Talk Tour London tour guide costs just £5.95. All of our London tours are available in French, German and Spanish. All of the London tours - bar the longer City & South Bank Circular audio guide - can be completed in two hours, but, listeners are free to take as long as they wish to explore the sights on each tour's route.

For more information on the activities taking place during the month long festival check out the Story of London website.

Short break in London: travel light & travel well

2009-05-28T09:19:00.000-07:00

Planning a short break in London? Are you taking a short haul flight to the Big Smoke? Understandably, many passengers are reluctant to pay for a suitcase or large bag to go in the hold. Having to retrieve a suitcase from the carousel at the airport can delay your departure from the airport to your eventual destination. If I'm flying with a budget airline, I tend to carry the bulk of my luggage in a holdall. I also like to include a small backpack, which I pack in my holdall for the flight, which I can carry things in during my stay.

Once you arrive at your base for your stay - be it a hostel, hotel, bed and breakfast - leave your main bag in your room and then pack a few essentials in a backpack that you can take with you when you venture out into the city.

As mentioned in a previous post, I always like to take a bottle or two of water when I'm out and about. I tend to get thirsty and you never know when it is going to come in handy. The Underground can be hot, particularly at this time of year.

Some people like taking a guidebook with them when they're visiting a major city, like London, for the first time. A well written up-to-date guidebook can provide an insight into a city. On the flip side, a guidebook adds weight to your backpack and marks you out as tourist - when you might prefer to be a little less conspicuous.

Visitors can go walk about in London with five Walk Talk Tour audio downloadable tour guides. Listeners download their chosen tour or tours from our website to their iPod, MP3 player or cell phone. Most of the tours with the exception of the longer City & South Bank Circular audio tour guide can be completed in two hours.

Each Walk Talk Tour London audio downloadable guide costs just £5.95. Purchase two tours from walktalktour.com simultaneously and receive a twenty per cent discount.

A Walk Talk Tour allows the listener the ultimate in flexibility. The listener can stop and start as they see fit. If you're out and about in the UK it's always a good idea to have a waterproof or an umbrella close at hand, so you day doesn't end up being a damp squib or, at worst, a washout. If the rain starts to fall and you're enjoying a Walk Talk Tour, your day need not be ruined. Simply pause your tour and resume it when the weather has improved.

Pictured above is the National Gallery on the north side of Trafalgar Square. The Museums, Galleries & Performing Arts London tour guide begins outside the National Gallery. Like the other four Walk Talk Tour city walking tours it is available in English, French, German and Spanish. And the tour comes complete with a downloadable tour plan (map) for listeners to print off.

Audio tour guides: Concept to Consumer

2009-05-26T09:20:00.000-07:00

Getting a handle on something we don't understand can prove difficult. I used to struggle with the concept of pi (π) when I was at High School. I always assumed that pie was simply something that we ate. How much we liked it depended on the filling inside. Imagine my amazement - and for sometime bemusement - that pi (π)was a number (3.14159265) that when put in an equation could be used to figure out the area, diameter and circumference of a circle.

Explaining what a Walk Talk Tour audio tour guide is, can induce the same bemusement that the concept of pi (π) used to induce in me.

The idea behind Walk Talk Tours is simple. We produce professionally researched and recorded series of products in MP3 format that consumers can download from our website to their iPod, MP3 player, cell/mobile phone or MP3 enable device. We also provide a map or tour plan in PDF format that listeners can download and print out to help navigate round the route of the tour.

Doubters scoff that the concept of audio downloadable tour guides will never work. Many people thought that the Duke of Bridgewater was off his rocker for instructing James Brindley, a self taught engineer, to build Britain's first purpose built canal. Francis Egerton, the 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, had a transport problem. Demand for coal in Manchester was growing, and he had coal aplenty in his mines at Worsley, only ten miles away. His solution was to build a canal, which both penetrated the mines and brought his coal to the city. The canal was finished in 1761. Seventeen years later the Duke of Bridgewater was selling 400 tons of coal a week in Manchester and a network of canals - carrying passengers as well as freight - extended down to South West England.

The Duke was colourful character. I am pictured above dressed up as the Duke.

In Manchester, Chester and York tourists can hire the respective Walk Talk Tour audio guides of each city from the Visitor Information Centres in each location on pre-loaded MP3 players.

My philosophy is simple: people make places. Curiosity may have killed the cat, but as human beings it is natural that we want to 'get under the skin of a place' when we visit somewhere for the first time or reacquaint ourselves with a place that we have not visited for a while. Each Walk Talk Tour audio tour guide is designed to be accessible, informative and entertaining. Listeners have the flexibilty to go at their own pace and have no timetables to adhere to - as is the case with regular bus, boat or walking tours. To hear an audio sample from the Manchester Then & Now audio tour guide please click here.

Feedback from customers has included comments such as "I've live here all my life and I never knew that" and "Very impressed! Thanks again for the quick service and advice you gave. Will definitely recommend to others."

You can follow Walk Talk Tours on Twitter (WalkTalkTours). There is a Tweetup in Manchester tomorrow at 18:00 at the Sweet Mandarin restaurant at 19 Copperas Street in the Northern Quarter. Hope to see you there.

Houses of Parliament Trivia

2009-05-21T02:59:00.000-07:00

The world's "oldest gentleman's club" has been attracting press for all the wrong reasons recently with the scandal regarding MPs' expenses. So, I decided to list five pieces of trivia that you can impress/bore your friends with.

1. The Houses of Parliament's proper title is the new Palace of Westminster. The original Palace was established in the eleventh century. Back then the site was an island in the River Thames, known as Thorney Island. It remained a royal residence until Henry VIII (six wives and all that) and the royal family vacated the Palace in 1512. The Houses of Parliament was largely destroyed by fire in 1834. The new Palace of Westminster was finished in 1870.

2. The Big (or Great) Stink. Britain's Parliamentarians at Westminster may be having a tough time of it at the moment, but in the nineteenth century the stench from the River Thames could be unbearable. The smell was at its worst when untreated sewage in the river combined with unseasonably hot temperatures. This was the case in 1858 when temperatures peaked at 35 Degrees Celsius. The Great Stink did lead to Parliament instructing Joseph Bazalgette, a highly regarded engineer, to implement his plan for a comprehensive sewerage system under London.

3. The long and the short of it. The longest Budget Speech was made by William Gladstone on 18 April 1853, it lasted 4 hours and 45 minutes. His great adversary, Benjamin Disraeli made the shortest Budget Speech, fourteen years later, which lasted just 45 minutes.

4. The iconic clock tower is called St Stephen's Tower, not Big Ben. Big Ben refers to the bell in the tower. Nobody knows for sure whom Big Ben is named after. One theory goes, that the bell is named after Sir Benjamin Hall, the first commissioner of works, engaged on the reconstruction of the Houses of Parliament after the fire of 1834. Some others have argued that Big Ben was named after a well known nineteenth century heavyweight boxing champion called Benjamin Caunt.

5. Women at Westminster. Countess de Markievicz became the first female MP, when she was elected in 1918. The Countess was a Sinn Fein MP for a constituency in Dublin, but she never took her seat in the House of Commons. The first female MP to take a seat in the Lower House was Lady Astor. She was the MP for Plymouth Sutton from 1919 to 1945.

Discover more about the Houses of Parliament and the best of royal and monumental London with the Palace Trail audio tour guide.

London Eye set to be greener

2009-05-18T01:54:00.000-07:00

As the row concerning MPs' rumbles on, you could be forgiven for thinking that there are no other news worthy stories in the UK at the moment. The concept of 'waste' - in this case a misuse of taxpayers' money - and the damage it does is central to the arguments surrounding the electorate's representatives who sit at the new Palace of Westminster. Everyone of us wastes precious resources without necessarily thinking about it (though we don't have the chance to claim it back on expenses).

I found it heartening to read that the London Eye is going to be doing its bit for the environment in a £12.5 million programme, which will see heating and ventilation improved in each of the attraction's 32 capsules. The BBC website reported that the upgrade is due to begin this summer and be completed in 2012. Visitors enjoying a flight on the Eye enjoy wonderful views of London.

The London Eye first opened to the public in February 2000. Each capsule is deigned to afford visitors a 25 mile view across the British capital's skyline. More than 33million visitors have enjoyed a flight on the London Eye since it first opened.

Independent minded travellers can hear about the history of some of the sights that they can see from the London Eye with a Walk Talk Tour London tour guide. There are five podcast guided tours of London. Each Walk Talk Tour guide of London is available in English, French, German and Spanish. Hear about the history behind a building popularly known as the Gherkin with the City and the Tower audio tour or the City & South Bank Circular audio guide. Hear more about the Houses of Parliament with the Palace Trail city guide.

Going walk about with a Walk Talk Tour is a healthy and stimulating way to enjoy the sights. And of course listeners are helping to reduce their carbon footprint as they enjoy exploring London on their own terms. Unlike a conventional guided tour, listeners to a Walk Talk Tour city guide have the flexibility to see the sights at their own pace. Stopping to visit a particular attraction or enjoy refreshments is easy when you are your own boss.

As long as you have a comfortable pair of shoes, an iPod, MP3 player or MP3 enabled phone/BlackBerry you are free to go walk about with a Walk Talk Tour.

Pictured above is St Stephen's Clock Tower, commonly called Big Ben (though that's the name of the bell not the tower), the equestrian statue depicts King Charles I. Listeners to the Palace Trail can hear about both and much more besides.

This House believes

2009-05-15T09:45:00.000-07:00

MPs have endured a torrid week, after the Daily Telegraph first published details of MPs' expenses on Friday, May 8. The roll of shame is long and inglorious. 'I acted within the rules', the initial reaction of many Parliamentarians accused of spending taxpayers' money, on items and services totally unrelated to the fulfilment of their public office, no longer washes with the public.

The British public's faith in their elected Members of Parliament seems to be at an all time low. The title Right-Honourable Member rings hollow for many members of the public. Watching Question Time on BBC One last night it was plain to see the contempt in which MPs of all parties - however honourable or decent - are currently held.

Looking back at the annals of history, Parliament has been faced with crises before, but in the past the enemy has been from outside the confines of the new Palace of Westminster or from across the floor of the House Commons - not seemingly from the behaviour of many MPs from all sides of the Lower House.

Winston Churchill proved to be a great unifying force in the face of the threat posed by Nazi Germany. Independent travellers and Londoners alike can learn about the Mother of all Parliaments with the Palace Trail, audio downloadable travel guide. To hear an audio sample from the Palace Trail podcast guided tour please click here.

Reputations can take a long time to be built, but can be dashed in the blink of an eye, as any business person knows. At Walk Talk Tours we are trying to build our brand. We are proud of our recent nomination in the Lonely Planet Blog Awards in the Best Themed Blog category. Our products are designed to enable visitors to enjoy the best of some of Britain's most visited cities at an affordable price and in an environmentally friendly way.

There are five Walk Talk Tour audio city guides of London. All five mp3 guided tours are available in French, German and Spanish. Each tour represents excellent value at just £5.95 a piece. Purchase two tours in the same order and receive a twenty per cent discount.

For flexible sustainable city sightseeing: go walk about

2009-05-13T03:40:00.000-07:00

When out sightseeing, I would always recommend that you wear footwear that is comfortable. In an ancient cities like York and Chester, one of the highlights for many visitors is enjoying a walk along a stretch of the historic walls. If you are used to wearing high heels - largely on the flat - think about how your feet (and your shoes) will cope with climbing up a set of steps or negotiating cobbles, like on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh.

For any dads sightseeing with teenage children, you might to avoid wearing socks with sandals unless you don't mind a bit of an ear-bashing. As the late British Comedienne, Linda Smith, once said: "We know Jesus can't have been English. He is always wearing sandals, but never with socks."

On a more serious note, in these troubles financial times, it is easy to overlook the threat that climate changes poses to all of our lives - and the lives of our children and grandchildren. Going walk about with a Walk Talk Tour audio downloadable guide will help you reduce your carbon footprint and allow you to explore the sights on your own terms. Your tour is reusable, you are using your own equipment (iPod, MP3 player, cell phone or BlackBerry) or if you hire the tour (the equipment - MP3 player, neck phones and map are reusable) and you are not using any fossil fuels like you would do if you decided to take a sightseeing bus tour.

'Battery-hen sightseeing' that's rushing to see as much as possible in a confined space of time - can be counterproductive. You may be able to cross off various 'must-see places' on a list, but will you be able to remember them when you return home?

If you're on vacation you should be in charge of your own destiny - for as much as your stay as possible. Each Walk Talk Tour is downloadable from walktalktour.com and allows independent minded visitors to easily visit on the route - or close to - the route of the tour.

Visitors to Chester, Manchester and York can also hire the respective tours of each city from the Tourist Information Centres a preloaded MP3 player. Visitors utilising this service are asked to pay a deposit of £10 per MP3 player, which is refundable once the MP3 player(s) have been returned to the Tourist Information Centre at the end of your tour.

I took the picture of Chester Town Hall (above) on Monday morning. The Tourist Information Centre, where visitors can hire the Chester Revealed podcast guided tour, is situated at the left-hand end of the building on the ground floor.

This is the 200th post made on the Walk Talk Tours Blog. I hope that you have enjoyed reading the blog.

In February last year, we started off with eight tours in three cities: London, Edinburgh and York. We have subsequently added Manchester and, most recently, Chester to our portfolio of audio downloadable guides.

More tours are in the pipeline. We value your support and your feedback. Why not go walk about? Thanks for reading. Here's to the next 100 posts!

You can follow Walk Talk Tours on Twitter (WalkTalkTours).

What to pack for a great day out?

2009-05-10T11:29:00.000-07:00

Sightseeing should not be a stressful business, but it can be. When on vacation, in a country like the UK, it is a good idea for a member of your party to carry a small backpack in which you can put things, which might come in handy later in the day.

The morning might be bright, sunny and full of promise, the afternoon might be wet and windy. Cover both bases and pack a small waterproof coat that you can roll-up into a pocket size pouch. You might not be dressed to impress, but you will be warm and dry. I have a Jack in a Pack for such occasions and it always does the job.

On the other hand, if the forecast is for bright sunny weather, pack some suncream (sunscreen). For advice on how to protect you and your loved ones from the sun check out this link to the Livewell section of the NHS website to ensure you stay safe in the sun.

If you or any of your friends suffer from asthma, hay fever or need to take medication, at some point during your day out, make sure you take the appropriate medication or equipment with you.

'An apple a day keeps the doctor away', or so the old saying goes. Taking some fruit out with you can keep hunger at bay. If breakfast is included with your accommodation take some fruit for later in the day. If not, it might be an idea to purchase some fruit and other provisions from a general store or supermarket near your hotel or hostel as it is liable to cost you less than if you're trying to buy something from - or near to - a top tourist attraction.

Similarly, it might be an idea to pack a small bottle of water or two, or some soft drinks. Should you be delayed for any reason you will appreciate having some drinks with you. Luckily, the tap water in the UK is safe to drink. So you can refill your water bottle(s) if needs be.

If you are heading somewhere for the first time, it might be an idea to take a guide of some kind.

If you are going sightseeing in London, Edinburgh, York, Manchester or Chester why not go walk about with a Walk Talk Tour audio downloadable guide? Each audio guide is made up of commentary points (like tracks on an iTunes album) and comes complete with a downloadable map for listeners to print off and easy to follow instruction so you can enjoy seeing the sights on your own terms.

Scottish Devolution 10 years on: milestone or millstone?

2009-05-08T06:33:00.000-07:00

The Labour Party swept to power in a General Election in 1997. The new government held a referendum on Scottish devolution that same year. Voters in Scotland were asked to vote on two issues. Question one: 'Should there be a Scottish Parliament'. 74.3 per cent of the electorate who voted felt there should be a Scottish Parliament. Second proposal: 'A Scottish Parliament should have tax-varying powers.' 63.5 per cent of the those who turned out to vote believed that a Scottish Parliament should have tax-varying powers.

The following year the Scottish Parliament was established under the Scotland Act. On May 6, 1999, the first elections for the devolved Scottish Parliament were held. The new Scottish Parliament first convened after the election on May 12, 1999. The Queen officially opened the Parliament on July 1.

The new Scottish Parliament moved into its new premises at Holyrood, at the foot of Edinburgh's Royal Mile, in 2004. The new complex was opened by the Queen on October 9, 2004. The new parliament cost more than ten times its original budget of £40 million and took three years longer than planned to complete. The taxpayers’ bill was £414.4 million, but the striking structure was a hit with the public attracting 700,000 visitors in its first year.

Critics of the Scottish Parliament have claimed that it is merely a talking shop which has created another costly and unnecessary layer of bureaucracy. Some English voters (and Scots living in England) look enviously north of the border at a Parliament which has abolished tuition fees for Scottish students studying in Scotland among other measures.

The system of devolved government has come in for praise, too. In May 2008, The Economist praised Holyrood as "a model of participatory democracy with an excellent system of committees, one of which even hears individual petitions."

Visitors to Edinburgh can go walk about in the Scottish capital and hear about the history of the new Scottish Parliament (and the old) with the Royal Mile & More audio downloadable travel guide. The tour is narrated by broadcaster Graeme Mackenzie. To hear an audio sample from the Royal Mile & More Edinburgh audio tour please click here.

Sightseers can take a look round Holyrood for themselves and make up their own minds on whether Devolution has been a good thing for Scotland. To find out about the Parliament's opening times please take a look at the Royal Mile & More's Where & When page.

Visiting London expensive? Not necessarilly

2009-05-05T03:14:00.000-07:00

Visit London has been trying to persuade the world that visitors can find value in London. In the current economic climate, that may be the case with most major attractions - bar the London Eye - offering discounts to try and attract visitors through their doors. Perceptions are difficult things to change as a poll of 2376 European visitors by TripAdvisor discovered. The respondents felt London was the most expensive and the dirtiest city in Europe. Oh, and the cuisine in the English capital was the worst in Europe, too. Ouch.

Impressions count. What we see and hear of a place inform our opinions and colour our views - for better or worse.

Visiting London needn't be so expensive. With a little bit of planning, a visit to London can be a great experience. Take a sightseeing, there a few pitfalls that visitors need to be aware of.

1. There's no such thing as a free tour. An increasing number of visitors are seduced by the notion of taking a 'free walking tour' of London. You are expected to tip your guide and they will try and sell you additional sightseeing trips for the remainder of your stay.

2. Bus tours. The best known companies that provide bus tours in London are The Original London Sightseeing Tours the Big Bus Company. Both companies offer sightseeing tours in a range of languages. These kind of tours offer the advantage of allowing visitors to pack a lot in to a relatively short period of time, which is good if you're just in London for one day. The tours are a little on the pricey side. A 24 hour adult ticket for the Big Bus Company retails at £22 for adults and £10 for children. The Original London Sightseeing Tours are currently offering the same prices - £22 for adults and £10 children.

There is an alternative, which offers the independent minded traveller the opportunity to experience the best of London in English, French, German and Spanish. Walk Talk Tours have five audio downloadable walking tours of the capital which sightseers listen to via their iPod, MP3 player or MP3 enabled device (i.e most cellphones and BlackBerrys). There are no hidden charges and once you have downloaded your tour it is yours for keeps.

Listeners are free to explore London at their own pace. Typically, the tours can be completed in two hours - though the City & South Bank Circular audio travel guide will take three. With a Walk Talk Tour you're in charge. Each tour costs just £5.95. Buy two tours simultaneously and receive a twenty per cent discount.

You can follow Walk Talk Tours on Twitter (WalkTalkTours).

Great value London sightseeing

2009-04-29T11:27:00.000-07:00

The number of US and Japanese visitors choosing London as there destination of choice dropped dramatically last year. However, an increase in the number of visitors from within the UK helped offset the ill effects. More than 26 million people visited London last year. The number of visitors from France and Italy increased in 2008 as sterling fell - and continues to fall - against the euro. The number of Spaniards choosing to vacation in London and the overall amount they spent declined, reflecting the Spanish economy's troubles.

London is still a great place to vacation. And with the current recession, some great deals are there to be had on everything from attractions to hotel accommodation and sightseeing activities.

Visitors can discover the history and pageantry of some of London's most famous landmarks with five Walk Talk Tour London audio travel guides. Each Walk Talk Tour London city guide is available in English, French, German and Spanish.

Soak up the sights and sound of royal and monumental London with the Palace Trail audio downloadable tour. This tour starts outside Westminster Abbey and ends in front of Buckingham Palace. Find out where the inaugural meeting of the General Assembly of the United Nations was held in 1946. Learn about the origins of the saying 'robbing Peter to pay Paul'. Hear about the iconic St Stephen's Clock Tower home to Big Ben and more. To hear a short audio sample from the Palace Trail London city walking tour please click here.

Get your timing right and you will be able to catch Changing the Guard at Horse Guards Parade and Mounting the Guard at Buckingham Palace. In order to find out about the opening times and admission charges of attractions along the route of each tour take a look at our Where & When pages.

All of the Walk Talk Tour London audio travel guides can be completed in two hours - except for the longer City & South Bank Circular MP3 Walking Tour.

Enter the following code in the shopping basket page and buy one tour and get one free: MW213. Expiry date May 05, 2009.

Make the most of the Magic Weekend in Edinburgh

2009-04-28T09:12:00.000-07:00

This weekend sees Murrayfield, the home of the Scottish Rugby Football Union and the venue for the vast majority of the Scotland Rugby Union team's home internationals, play host to seven Superleague Matches. The majority of supporters attending the fixtures will be travelling to Edinburgh from the North of England, the traditional stronghold of rugby league in Great Britain. Three teams - Harlequins RL, the Celtic Crusaders and Les Catalans are based further afield.

Twenty-two clubs from Cheshire, Lanchashire and Yorkshire broke away from the Rugby Football Union in 1895, over the issue of compensating players for loss of earnings while playing matches. Today, both codes of rugby (league and union) are professional. League is a thirteen a side code, Union is fifteen a side. For the record, I am a fan of both codes.

Whichever team you are cheering on over the weekend, I hope you have a good weekend. Make the most of your time in the Scottish capital by downloading two Walk Talk Tour audio city walking tours to your iPod, MP3 player or mobile phone. Both audio downloadable tours can be completed in two hours, though you're free to take as little or as long as you wish to explore the sights on each route.

Enjoy a stroll from Edinburgh Castle through the Old Town and hear about the city's long relationship with witchcraft with the Royal Mile & More city guide. Hear about the venue where J K Rowling, creator of the Harry Potter books, penned some of her works. Learn about a seemingly well-to-do tradesman who, unwittingly, built his own gallows. The Royal Mile & More podcast guided tour and the Old & New Towns mp3 guided tour are both narrated by Graeme Mackenzie. To hear an audio sample from the Royal Mile & More tour please click here.

Please be aware that sightseeing may be more difficult than usual on Sunday, May 3, as the 10km Bupa Great Edinburgh Run is taking place. The runners are scheduled to start at 10:15 am. For more information see the Bupa Great Run site.

Walk Talk Tours are pleased to offer visitors to walktalktour.com the chance to Buy one Walk Talk Tour and get the second free for the duration of the Magic Weekend. Simply enter the following code in the shopping basket page and you will qualify for the BOGOF: MW213. Offer expires May 5, 2009.

Each Walk Talk Tour Edinburgh city walking tour costs £5.95. The offer applies to all of our Walk Talk Tours until May 5, 2009.

That code again is: MW213.

Chester Revealed

2009-04-26T06:53:00.000-07:00

The historic city of Chester is well worth a visit, whatever the time of year. There's a great new way to experience the city, too, which is available to local and visitors alike: 24/7, 365 days a year. Dispense with your guidebook, do not worry what time the guided tour is scheduled start; see Chester at your own pace and in your own time.

Go walk about with the Chester Revealed audio downloadable city walking tour. The Walk Talk Tour Chester mp3 guided tour represents excellent value at £5. Two customers can legitimately enjoy the tour for the price of one.

The Chester Revealed iPod travel guide consists of commentary points. Listeners start outside the Town Hall. At the end of each commentary point listeners are invited to press pause now, and then press play when they reach their next commentary point. Just to ensure that you do not get lost, listeners are also provided with a free downloadable map to print out.

The Chester Revealed city guide is narrated by the actor and broadcaster Jonathan Keeble. To hear an audio sample from the Chester Revealed audio downloadable tour please click here. The tour also features a short blast of David Mitchell, half of the world's only husband and wife town crying team, welcoming you to the city.

Stroll along a section of the city's historic Rows, which are thought to originally have dated back to a least the thirteenth century. Today, much of the black and white timbered frontages of the buildings on the Rows date from the nineteenth century, as listeners to the Chester Revealed tour will discover. A Row refers to a covered walkway that runs uninterrupted through the front of a building - providing public access to an area which would usually be enclosed.

Enjoy a walk on a section of the city's walls. Hear how Roman prisoners met their Nemesis at the Roman Amphitheatre and more. See and hear about the history of the Eastgate Clock, reputedly the second most photographed timepiece in the world.

Walk on to Chester Cathedral with its many rich stories to tell. Then walk through Abbey Square and back to the city walls - with a pause to hear about an ancient gate. Walk along the walls to the Northgate, once the home to a notorious prison. Descend the steps at the Northgate to Northgate Street and then walk back to the Town Hall.

The image above features Bishop Lloyd's Palace and is provided courtesy of Visit Chester and Cheshire.