I recently decided to visit one of this country’s most mystical landmarks, Stonehenge. And as I live in London, I decided to see what else was on offer in that area, because I rarely get to explore this country’s heritage outside of the city.

On this road trip I discovered the marvellous array of attractions and historic sites around Stonehenge itself. I also found a recently renovated English tradition along the way.

Coming from London the journey involves taking the M3 south before heading West on the A303. It is here, near Basingstoke, that I discovered the reborn English tradition that is the recently renovated Little Chef in Popham, this featured on Michelin Starred chef Heston Blumenthal’s documentary “Big Chef takes on Little Chef”. This is well worth a visit if you’re travelling on the A303, although be prepared for a more crowded atmosphere than your standard Little Chef.

From here continue West until reaching the Legendary Stonehenge and take some time to marvel at its shear size and shrouded history. There are plans for the A303 to be placed in a 2km tunnel in the future, removing the road from sight and sound of the stones and meaning a coach journey, with a 1km walk to get there. So go and visit it sooner rather than later.

Why not drive further west enjoying the beautiful thatched housing and country roads that Wiltshire and Somerset have to offer, heading towards Glastonbury. Here you can venture into King Arthurs Avalon, also riddled with legend or enjoy a leisurely walk up Glastonbury Tor and enjoy the breathtaking views.

There are tons of heritage sites to visit in this area so I would recommend having a look around as there is far too much to cover off in this Blog. This drive around the Wiltshire and Somerset area will whisk you back in time and leave you wishing you had hired that car for just one day longer.

As part of the team at Avis London City I am proud to announce that we are now the premier car rental company for London City Airport, and will be for the next 7 years.

This means that Avis now are the only car rental company with access to the main front car park and our customers do not have to take the lengthy walk to the long stay car park to collect their rental car.

We are also excited as we have had a brand new office, which is situated just next to the terminal building and has a Traffic Master and Flight Information Screen to help get your journey off to the best possible start.

Also to help improve the service at Avis London City we’ve extended the opening times at the weekends, by recommendation from our local customers.

If you are picking up your Avis rental car from our London City location, myself and the team look forward to meeting you and to find out what you think about our new office.

I recently returned home from a holiday around Egypt and, seeing as I haven’t written on the blog for a while, I thought I’d take the opportunity to write about it. I covered a lot of ground in my 16 days there and I found it to be an incredibly diverse and rewarding country to visit. Below is a summary of my top 5 destinations:

Cairo
Makes the list for the Pyramids of Giza alone. But, while visiting the pyramids will place a tick on anyone’s “places to visit in my lifetime” list, there is so much more to Cairo than the world’s only remaining Ancient Wonder of the World. The Islamic area is my undoubted highlight. Go back in time and get lost wondering the streets of this medieval city before heading in to the hustle and bustle of the Khan al-Khalili market. Need a rest? Hang out like the locals do – head to Fishawi’s Coffeehouse (but later at night when all the tourists are gone) and watch the world go by. Looking for a bit more tranquility? Take a rest in the Al-Azhar Mosque.

The White and Black Desert
From Cairo, head to the Bahariya Oasis where you pick up a 4WD tour into the White Desert. The White Desert is incredible: huge chalk formations that have been sculptured by the wind and sand into all kinds of crazy shapes, many of which resemble mushrooms. Lonely Planet describes it as a “dreamscape landscape” and that’s exactly what it is. With your tour you’ll camp under the most beautiful star-lit night sky before heading back through the Black Desert, where you’ll find mountains covered with sprinkles of black volcanic dust and rock.

Luxor
Luxor surely has been blessed with more Ancient Egypt sites than anywhere else in the country. The East Bank’s two main attractions are Luxor Temple and the vast Karnak Temple. The West bank is home to the area’s biggest attraction: The Valley Of The Kings, and heading into these ancient tombs is something special. But for me, the star attraction is the Temple of Hatshepsut, which is built directly into the limestone cliffs to stunning effect. When you need a break, hire a felucca and float along the Nile or, if you want a little more Nile time, head down to Aswan and take a cruise back up to Luxor.

Dahab / the Red Sea
Most people head to Sharm El Sheikh when visiting the Red Sea, but if you like your holiday destinations free from McDonalds and Hard Rock Cafe then Dahab is the place to be. Often referred to as the Koh Samui of the Red Sea, it definitely has that Thai feel. It’s a great spot for snorkelling and diving trips, and the Ras Mohammed National Park is accessible via a live-aboard.

St. Katherine’s
Quite possibly the most stunning place I visited in Egypt, a small settlement nestled deep into the Sinai mountains. The area has huge religious significance with the town sitting under the gaze of Mt Sinai, where God is believed to have delivered the Ten Commandments to Moses. It is also home to St. Katherine’s Monastery, where you can find the descendant of the Burning Bush. Make the hike up Mt Sinai at 3am to ensure you reach the summit for sunrise. It’s breathtaking. And if you can, travel to St. Katherine’s independently so you can spend the night there. Listening to the Islamic prayer echo off the mountains at night will make the hairs stand on the back of your neck.

Driving around Egypt is straightforward as the roads are very direct and generally pretty empty. I would not recommend driving in Cairo and if you drive down from Cairo to Luxor then you’ll need to plan to join one of the timed police convoys (in place for security reasons). If you do hire a car, you will need an International Drivers Permit.

I’ve spent a fair bit of time in the mountains since starting to snowboard in 1995, and to be honest I’ve tried most methods of getting out into Europe. 15 hour road trips in the back of unheated windowless Sprinter vans potentially being the highlight.

I’ve found over the years, flying into Geneva or Lyon and then self driving through Avis is an excellent way of tackling the transfer and still retaining independence while in the mountains. I love to explore, and having a hire car allows me that pleasure. This road trip takes you from Lyon Airport all the way to the highest city in France, Briancon and some of the ski resorts worth stopping at in between.

From Lyon airport you should head for Grenoble into the Daulphiné Alps and the Ecrins National Park and some fantastic ski resorts that will suit everyone from total beginners to hardened pro riders and off piste specialists.

The first main resort you will come across is L’Alp D’Huez, a famous stop on the Tour de France. The summit at Pic Du Blanc is an impressive 3300m and apparently has the longest pisted run in Europe at 16km. With 240km of runs and 2 snow parks there should be plenty to keep you occupied. My tip would be to take the “Alpette Rousses” lift up to “Dome de Petite Rousses” to get away from the crowds and marvel at the top lift station and its precarious position atop a 400metre cliff.

A few kilometres further down the valley towards Briancon is a right turn to Les Deux Alps, the party town of this part of the Alps. Bars, clubs and eating a plenty. My personal favourite being the Avalanche Club, although I can’t recall much from my time inside this little gem that is open till the small hours of the morning. The resort goes up to 3600m and has 225km of pistes. Glacier riding in the summer, 2 freestyle parks and smaller parks if you like jumps, spins and rails. You can access best high alpine area in the Southern Alps, La Grave, from here. If you like alpine charm character then head down to the little hamlet of Venosc from the main resort. Traditional building set in the depths of the Venosc valley below L2A.

20 minutes further up the valley towards Briancon is La Grave, although patrolled its total un-pisted and has no formal avalanche controls. Its high, it’s dangerous and should not be considered unless you know what you are doing or have hired a guide from Bureau des Guides de La Grave – La Meije. The area has unsurpassed off piste and 2150m vertical descent as well as some of the most amazing mountain scenery in this part of the Alps. Its also worth noting that the small restaurant at 3200m does an awesome steak, chips and tea, useful when its -32C outside.

From La Grave head towards Briancon and you’ll come over the high mountain pass of the Col Du Lautaret at 2053m, this is often closed due to snow falls. From here it’s all down hill to our last stop, the highest city in France and the sprawling ski area of Serre Chevalier. The three communities of Monetier / Chantemerle and Braincon link up to create a vast ski area of 250km of piste up to 2800m. Probably the most French and family orientated of the resorts in the area, which offers a wide range facilities and riding potential. It has great off piste and tree riding, plus a couple of parks. Briancon itself has a fascinating history and fortifications dating back to the 17th century, so if you do get this far then certainly take the time to drive down into the town and explore…Oh and its has the only McDonalds for about 2 hours…I’m sure some people will be interested in that.

View Lyon to Briancon in a larger map

Following my recent post on Top Gear’s review of arguably the world’s greatest driving roads, i-Motor magazine this month looks at the other end of the spectrum and identifies some of the most dangerous roads on the planet.

Below is my pick from their selection
- Eyre Highway, Australia – Has stretches of highway up to 300 miles without settlements is not an ideal place to break down! Also known for being the straightest, flattest road in the world, it’s ‘road trains’ are a familiar, yet dangerous, sight.
- Arc De Triomphe, France – One of the most recognisable monuments in France is found in the centre of a daunting road junction. With multiple lanes and no road markings, it needs to be approached with caution!
- Yungas Road, Bolivia – Built in the 1930’s and known as ‘Death Road’, it has unguarded drops of at least 600m along its single-lane track. Yungas Road is responsible for up to 300 deaths annually earning it the reputation as ‘the world’s most dangerous road’

I know from visiting China that although it doesn’t make the above dangerous road list, is always a place I’d chose to take the chauffeur driven option than drive myself – where have you been that would make you want to choose the chauffeur option?

I’ve always considered the switching on of lights in London the official kick off to the festive season, and this morning it was announced on the radio that lights ceremony would be next weekend. When I arrived at the office, ready to share my new found Christmas spirit, one of my colleagues pointed out he is way ahead of me, as he has already finished his Christmas shopping. This sparked an animated conversation about the best places in the UK for Christmas shopping, here are our favourites. Let us know what you think and give us your suggestion.

Westfield shopping centre – London
This is one of my favourites; it is one of the largest shopping centres in Europe, with over 275 shops for you to choose from. No matter if you’re looking for Tiffany’s or Next it’s all there for you to choose from. Also with loads of great restaurants and the fact that it’s open until 9pm most evenings, you can make a whole day of it.

MetroCentre – Gateshead
If you are up in the Gateshead and Newcastle area then visit the MetroCentre. This is THE largest shopping centre in Europe, with over 330 stores, 50 restaurants and a cinema. There is a great mix of designer stores and ‘highstreet’ shops, so you should be able to find exactly what you are after.

Brighton
Although it is not the time of year to be sitting on the beach, Brighton has some great and unique shopping areas. If you are looking for ‘highstreet’ shops then Churchill Square is the place for you, but if you are looking for an array of boutiques, unique shops and restaurants then you need to head down to The Lanes. But if you are looking for a bargain then make sure you head down to the outlet shops at Brighton Marina. This charming seaside town has something for everyone.

Bicester Village, York Outlet Village and Gunwarf Quays
Also for all you bargain hunters out there make sure you check out one of these outlet villages. Bag yourself a great bargain on designer brands and highstreet labels, but all at affordable prices. Also with places to eat or have a coffee you can spend all day shopping to your hearts content (or until you have get everything you need).

Hyde Park London – Christmas Market
If you’re in London between the 21st November to 3rd January and looking to get into the Christmas spirit then make sure you head over to the Christmas market at Hyde Park. This winter wonderland has traditional Christmas market stall, fair ground rides, great food and drinks and much more. You’ll have a great day out and be able to do some Christmas shopping at the same time.

Bath Christmas Market
As Rob mentioned last year Bath Christmas market has been highly recommended as somewhere to go to get in the mood for Christmas. So this year make sure you visit spectacular Christmas market between 26th November and 6th December. There are loads of great stalls to brows and buy unique Christmas gifts form for your family and friends.

Back in March Rob posted his blog post “What are the United Kingdom’s seven natural wonders?”. While it highlights just how beautiful the British landscape is, I think there are plenty of architectural marvels on our doorsteps also. So today I launch our poll to find out what you think are the UK’s seven man-made wonders. And if your favourites aren’t on the list let us know by posting a comment and we will add them.

PS – we’re going to publish the results of the natural wonders next week so this your last chance to get your vote in for this one as well.

PPS – if you’re interested in visiting any of these places and need a car to get you there then we do currently have an offer on weekend car hire. There is more info on our website: www.avis.co.uk/weekend_inspiration

Hi, my name is Dan and I am the station leader of Exeter Airport.

Following Darren’s blog post last week, I thought I would write a something to tell you about a new travel option for those visiting the South West by train. We have just opened a new service from Exeter St Davids train station that is really easy and simple to use. For those arriving on the train, we are providing a complimentary taxi transfer from the train station to our rental office where the Exeter team will be able to get you on your way with no fuss. Simply show your taxi receipt to our rental agent and they will take the cost of the taxi off the bill. There is a regular train service from London Paddington to Exeter and it usually takes 2.5 hours. To book just go to avis.co.uk and select Exeter St Davids as the rental branch you would like to rent from.

For those of you who have not come to Exeter before let me tell you a little bit about my home city. Exeter is a vibrant university city with loads to do for all tastes. We have an excellent range of shops, all the big high street names as well as many independents. The new Princesshay shopping centre contains over 50 shops and has won prizes for its innovative design. It also contains restaurants and bars for when you need a break!

When you are shopped out there are plenty of things to see. You can walk along the roman wall which dates back to 180 -200AD or take a trip through the underground passages which are medieval aquaducts built in the 12th century. Exeter cathedral is also well worth a visit. Free redcoat tours are available and meet on cathedral green daily.

My personal favorite place is down on the quay which grew around the canal in the late middle ages. It is a great place to sit and watch the world go by or grab a drink and dustbin lid pizza at The Waterfront. After all that pizza you can walk or cycle along the canal all the way to the coast- a really nice way to spend an afternoon.

Hope to see some of you soon.

So after just finishing the Autumn Bank Holiday, I thought I would share with you my long weekend trip to part of the West Country. My friends and I decided to make the most of our last long weekend this year and escape London. We chose to go to Exeter, none of us had been before and the main reason to go was that a friend was moving there in three weeks to study a Masters degree and crazily had not visited the town.

We packed up my Peugeot 308 with four guys, luggage and a Frisbee (we were hopeful of some sun!), the drive from North London to Exeter was three and a half hours, the journey was comfortable for four grown men, so I can recommend the 308 for this trip. The drive to Exeter was largely motor ways, the M25 and M4 and surprisingly for a bank holiday the traffic was not too bad, just slowed slightly as we got closer to Somerset.

Once we arrived, we went straight to the Hotel to dump our bags and explore the city centre. I found Exeter to be a small town easy to walk around; it had plenty of the high street shops to bag a bargain, but no real boutique stores to explore. We found a nice little café on Cathedral Square for lunch with views of Exeter Cathedral dating back to 1114. Afterwards we headed down to the Quay to rent a canoe to explore the River Ex. I would definitely recommend that you book these in advance as they had a three day advance booking period, probably because it was a bank holiday weekend. We stayed around the Quays for dinner and ate at ‘On the Waterfront’ restaurant a Pizzeria. As a self proclaimed Pizza expert I would recommend visiting the restaurant, good pizza and good value. Staying in the area we headed to the local pub ‘The Prospect Inn’ which had a live band on in a large Marquee by the river.

The following day we decided to jump in the car and explore around the River Ex, we headed down to Exmouth, unfortunately the weather was overcast, so we did not spend long as the tide was in and with no sun the options were limited. So we decided to drive round to the other side of the river to Torquay. Torquay being a larger town had more to offer for an overcast day. We headed to the Barceló Imperial hotel and took the coastal walk, taking us above the English Riviera, even though it was cloudy the views were nice and it was peaceful away from the fruit machines and Ice cream shops.

Back in Exeter for the evening we ate at Michael Caines, a local restaurant also located on Cathedral Square and run by a local Michelin star chef, the meal was good, fresh local food and great value as they had a special promotion running. With no real plans we wandered around Exeter trying out the local pubs till we found one we liked. The ‘Old Fire House’ a pub that served local brewed ale, it had a nice chilled atmosphere, mainly lit with candles and seemed to be a very friendly crowd.

Last day of the long weekend and we hit the road early so we could stop of on the way back for lunch, we had the choice between Bristol and Bath, opting for Bath. Fortunately the journey was easy with barely any traffic till we hit Bath city centre. We managed to get parked although I can imagine if we had arrived much later than 2:30pm we would have struggled. After lunch we went to explore the city, unfortunately we did not have a great deal of time, but Bath is definitely on my list for a future visit and even with a brief experience I would recommend this for a weekend break, with great architecture, good pubs and restaurants and some nice looking shops and galleries.

So in three days we managed to discover a small fraction of the West Country and I know it has a lot more to offer, so would be interested in any tips for my next trip.

I haven’t had a chance to blog about it until now but a few weeks back I drove up to the Peak District for the weekend. The Peak District had never really appealed to me but a few recent trips around the UK had opened my eyes to how beautiful our country can be and, as it is very accessible from the south, I thought I’d make the drive up. Armed with my “Walk Britain: Great Views” book, I set my sights on hiking The Roaches and Mam Tor. Here is my account of my two hikes:

The Roaches
As you drive through Upper Hulme and approach the gritstone cliffs and clustered rock formations of the Roaches, you can’t help but get a little excited. While I’ve seen plenty of beautiful sights on the British landscape, I’ve never seen anything so quite unusual. When you approach the gritstone rocks themselves you will wonder what natural events could possibly have led them to take on such mangled and twisted shapes. But there is plenty more going on. On the larger cliff faces you’ll find rock climbers taking on the challenge of scaling them. Surrounding the rocks are clusters of woodlands, pasturelands and moorlands that add plenty of colour and texture to the scene. The problem is that if you focus too much on the details in front of you, you may miss the stunning panoramic views of the hilly Peak District countyside beyond. The views are visible from all the way along the ridge and stretch for miles.

Starting at the road alongside the Roaches, you can start your hike at Hen Cloud, the first of four distinct summits. Make your way along the The Roaches until you come to Roach End. Many people turn back here but I’d recommend carrying on through on the “Concession Path to Danebridge”. Then, at the intersection, if you turn right, heading in the direction of Gradbach, you’ll come to Lud’s Church. Which, incidentally, is not actually a church but a green, mossy chasm that seemingly appears out of the middle of nowhere. It is the stuff of fairytales. From here, make your way back along the ridge towards Hen Cloud. All in all, the hike is about 8.5 miles.

Mam Tor
My second hike was Mam Tor, or the “Shivering Mountain” as it also known. The hike centres around the Great Ridge, where you hike up to the top of Lose Hill and make your way along up to Mam Tor. The views are amazing, particularly over Hope Valley where you can see cliffs, moorland and the dramatic gorges – most notably Winnat’s Pass which is believed to have once been an undersea ravine. Meanwhile, the cliff-face of Mam Tor reveals it’s layers of shale and grit, an awesome addition to the view.

From Mam Tor you can either head back down to town via Winnat’s Pass or through Cave Dale. The latter option provides this hike’s fairytale addition: Peveril Castle, which sits nestled along the edge of the cavern. The town you are heading into (which is also where you’ll start) is Castleton is blessed with an abundance of great pubs that you can visit for a well earned post-hike drink. Castleton also has a number of other great local attractions most notably Peak Cavern.

Despite my preconceptions, these hikes opened my eyes to what a stunning addition the Peak District National Park is to the British landscape. The Roaches is now one of my favourite UK hikes. And the best thing is that it’s central position makes it a highly accessible park to visit from many parts of the country!

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