General Chat

I'll agree with you about Gloucester, it was criminally neglected by planners in the 60s but I do think they are trying to regenerate now and if you walk around the town some of the old buildings are coming to life again. Some parts of the docks where they have built living accommodation are 'put down' by some people but I think mostly they have done quite well and the area on a bright sunny day is vibrant. Sadly they are going to build new offices for Ecclesiastical insurance on the temporary car park which we think is a huge mistake but time will tell. Some nice little cafes around the Victoria basin now. and, yes the cathedral is magnificent. Blackfriars is interesting and I hope they can regenerate that sensitively.

I have a lot of connection to Portsmouth and still like parts of the city and Southsea.

I forgot to say in my previous post that I have visited Fife once and loved it and would like to go back, a very unspoiled area of Scotland, little coastal villages and a superb little museum at Crail (I think it was) near an old airfield. And wonderful fish and chips at Anstruther.

Parts of Gloucestershire because it's where I grew up and where Dad's side of the family come from - I like the rolling hills, the flat Severn plain and the country walks and pubs! Gloucester city has been criminally neglected by planners, but the Cathedral is magnificent.

There are many other places I love, including Dorset, Cornwall, the mid-Wales mountains, the Peak District and the Yorkshire Dales. I also love London, and have a childhood connection to Portsmouth, some parts of which never seem to change, and which I still love.

Yes....i had that in Scotland. Mind you though, i had trouble understanding the true Scot accent, as well as them understanding me, but we got by...lol
I kept asking my OH...What did he/she say!!!....hee hee

Great Country and lovely folk. Bloke that ran a B&B in Edinburgh where we stayed, was from my home town in Melbourne. He wanted to charge me double price for a Banana at breakfast, as he knew our crops back home in QLD were having trouble.!!! Geeez..once an Aussie, always an Aussie.....lol

Did you find, Tony, that when travelling in the UK people fell in love with the Aussie accent. I've seen people ignored in shops while the staff fight to serve me and ask if I know their Uncle Fred who migrated out to Oz 50 years ago :D

Sue

G'day SueMaid.. :-)

Yes....there are some very nice peeps in small country towns and outback communities around Oz that love a chat, and will go out of their way to be freindly.
Best "Real" hamburger i ever had was in "Kulgera roadhouse ( S.A and NT ) border. Population about 220 peeps scattered.
It was as big a a dinner plate, and 6 inches high, and after driving 300kms from Coober Pedy it was a welcome sight...Yumm!! Chap threw in a free bottle of Coke to see us on our way through to Alice Springs.

Tony :D

Scottish Highlands. Magical. If there is a God he will be living there.
West Coast of Ireland lovely too but I think Scotland just has the edge.
Oh that's not England. Lake District and Northumberland.



Vera

Hi Tony :-) How about a tiny hamlet in South Australia with a pub, a post office and a bakery. The best meat pies I have ever tasted and as they were just about to close up anyway they wrapped up another two pies and sent us on our way. They also filled our flask with coffee - all for no cost.

Sue

Mmmm........Being an Aussie one might think i would choose Queensland with its tropical Islands of powdery white sandy beaches,and crystal clear blue water and palm trees....but for me personally its the N.T ( Nothern Territory ) Australia's last frontier. Basically untouched by mankind ( so far )

Bordered by the Timor Sea, the Arafura Sea and the Gulf of Carpentaria
Home to two spectacular natural rock formations, Uluru (Ayers Rock) and Kata Tjuta (The Olgas), which are sacred to the local Aboriginal people, who were caretakers for an estimated 40,000 years.

Temperature's that can reach up to a high of 50c but can also be as low as minus 7c at night.
The beautiful and scenic "Kakadu National Park", with its wetlands and native wildlife which is larger than Wales in the U.K.
With only a population of around 230,000 people spread out over 1,349,129 square kilometres ( mainly along its coast line ), the peace and quite is deafning...lol
To stand alone in the middle of the outback desert with no sign's of life for thousands of km's east,west,north and south is an experiance to remember. You can scream out as loud as you can ( great frustration and tension releiver...lol ) coz no one will hear you.

On one holiday in the outback i waited 45 min sitting on the bonnet of my car sipping on a cold beer,before i saw the next sign of civilization drive by.( Peak hr traffic!! )The Nothern Territory's attractions are as diverse as the landscapes they appear in. There are Aboriginal art galleries dotted around the state, crocodile and wildlife parks, Water Buffalo, Wild Camels and Goats ( left by our early explorers ), Wedge-tailed eagle with its two and a half metre wing span souring 2000 metres above you,The big Red Kangaroo standing about two metres in height,WW11 memorials ( Darwin ) Pearling exhibitions( Broome W.A),or you can swim under massive waterfalls on a 40+celcius day, or walk through sandstone galleries of ancient Aboriginal rock art, cruise the scenic rivers sipping on a cool wine, or even try a taste of real “bush tucker”.

Tony :D

The south coast of New South Wales Orstraylia - God's own country. Lovely beaches that stretch for miles, bushland and the mountains :D

Sue

I want to know what people like and why! I don't know where the River Wye is (unless I google) ... or what Meanwood is ... or why people like them ;)

The shores of Lake Ontario and the St Lawrence River, for sure.

East of Toronto, from Port Hope along the shores to Cornwall before you get to the Quebec border, through Gananoque and Kingston and Morrisburg. Just nowhere better to spend a summer day. Blue water, lovely small towns and small cities, historic forts and such, provincial parks with beaches, local theatre, three-hour cruises through the Thousand Islands.

A beautiful sunny Canada Day in a town like Cornwall or Brockville with day-long performances by local talent at the municipal park (well, one year in Brockville we got the reconstituted Mamas and Papas! but then Denny Doherty was from Nova Scotia) and fireworks by the water's edge at night, just can't beat it!

The river Stour just outside Glemsford in Suffolk. I caught my first ever fish there. A magical moment for a boy from the slums.

There are a few places I don't like.For reasons I cannot explain, I find the fens very scary and spooky.

I love the Welsh valleys and always want to go back there.Again,I don't know why.Whatever magic Wales has,Ireland has it more.

Nowhere beats West Sussex and dear old Pompey in the next county. That is where the family were spawned and there is still a something special to me about the place.

Libby my gfather was a Master Mariner also and settled in Liverpool at the same time - he was Manx.

Love Isle of Man, I think it is unique (apart from Douglas), Yorkshire, the moors and the Dales and York itself, south Devon and my favourite place there is Beer and my birthplace on The Wirral, the Antrim Coast Road in N. Ireland which also leads to the Bushmills Distillery (OH loved the scent of the air) and Ardglass. The Trossachs in Scotland and the Pembrokeshire coast in Wales. Must not forget the north coast of Cornwall!

My first husband and I visited Oban a number of times, loved it. Haven't been for many a year though, probably changed beyond my recognition. My Dad always said we were from Scottish descent and I often thought I may have been walking in my ancestors footsteps. How wrong I was (and my Dad) ..... his family were originally from Southampton.

I have always been drawn to the sea though .... Dads family were all Master Mariners and his g grandfather settled in Lverpool in the late 19th century. Polperro is another favourite.

I am now settled in Conwy, originally moved here is 1995, and feel "at home" although my heart will always be in Liverpool <3

The Wye Valley:o))

jude :D

Like you I have many. I love the Lake District, the walks, the views when you climb even just a little way, the awesome North Lakes and mountains. the little bays in Cornwall which take me back to when our holidays were always down there with friends when the children were all young, the Jurassic Coast (Bridport area,), the wide expanse of pebble beach, the towering cliffs, little places like West Bay, Charmouth and Lyme Regis, The wonderful Tropical gardens at Abbotsbury. South Devon, Dartmoor, wild and unspoiled, villages off the beaten track (husband's home county). South Wales, Laugharne and the pretty seaside places, St Davids. And of course Gloucester, the Cotswolds, golden cottages in pretty villages.
Hampshire is a favourite because it is my home county but more as I remember it than how it is now. :-)

Just wondering .. Guess that we get to see some places through family research and the like . Having lived in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and past 12 years in Cornwall I have many but what are yours .... I will share as we go along