English Treasures

The Three Compasses is a family pub located in Aldenham, Hertfordshire.

Aldenham is a quiet and small village just a few miles from Watford. The pub is located down a quiet country lane, but is simple to find.

I have been going to this pub now for a few years in a few different capacities; it's near to my work and is a favourite place for the odd after work, or lunchtime drink.

The Actual Pub
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The pub itself is a lovely big building, I believe it was built in the 18th century and was even frequented by highway man Dick Turpin. It has a lot of traditional original wooden beams which keep it full of character.

A very key feature of a pub in my opinion is the atmosphere. The Three Compasses is always well lit but with warm oranges and there is plenty of windows and natural light. I love this aspect of this pub as it really sets the tone for the atmosphere inside. It's extremely friendly and light without being clinical and it by no means dark and dreary. It is a great pub for a relaxed and familiar atmosphere. No angry inbred looking locals here, waiting to chew out the newcomers.

The pub is laid out to accompany people who are looking for different things from their pub experience. There are bar stools, comfy sofas for groups to relax on, as well as formal tables and booths

The tables tend to sit up to 6 and are grouped together on a raised area of the pub, although you can have food anywhere in the pub, this is obviously for those looking for that more "restaurant" experience if eating at the pub.

The toilet facilities are more than acceptable and always clean and tidy. There is disabled access to the pub.

Drinks
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The pub serves a vast array of wines, beers and ales which include:

Draught beers: Carlsberg, Erdinger, Fosters, Kirin, Kronenbourg 1664, Stella Artois, Wells Bombardier Smooth, Guinness, Magners & Strongbow Cider.

Real Ales: 2 changing Wells Young's Ales
They also have an extensive wine list, hot chocolate, tea & a good range of speciality coffees. Obviously they also have a variety of soft drink which are mostly what I sample myself not being much of a drinker.

Food
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They also serve food until 9pm nightly which I must say is one of its strongest points.

The menu is quite varied and has a lot of choice, from burgers and steaks to salads and pastas, there is a good range with caters to vegetarians too. At lunch times there is a large menu that includes the usual full menu, plus an array of sandwiches, jacket potatoes and lighter options.

My Opinion
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I really do enjoy this pub, as I said; I am not a large drinker, so for me it is nice to have an enjoyable evening out without alcohol being the main focus. Here, there is so much else on offer that it is always pleasant to visit.

The members of staff are extremely friendly and are always happy to have a chat and help with any special requests etc. After a few visits also, they always seem to remember a face and it makes it a lovely place to go to.

The food is also cooked fresh and to a very high standard. Price wise, both the food and drink are about average if not a little on the cheap side. I like the little touches best in the pub that make it that bit more family friendly, there is a children's area for during the day where the kiddies can keep themselves amused with various toys. There is also a nice beer garden with ample seating and it's always clean and looked after. Again there is a small area with some kiddie toys and slides for those days when the weather is nice enough to warrant sitting outside.

The pub does a very fun quiz on Tuesday evenings which is something I will occasionally go to. They have themed nights and special offers a lot like most pubs and will advertise these clearly, so you know if you're going to get a cheap drink!

Set in a lovely quiet little village this pub manages to keep up with the current trends in having well trained and friendly staff with competitive prices, as well as delivering that small village service of familiarity with great choices and a modern yet traditional pub to host it all in.

Overall, I think the Three Compasses has done a wonderful job at keeping everything in proportion and as such been successful at drawing crowds from the young for wild nights out, colleagues for lunch time chats and the odd beer, to family meals in the evening with facilities for the children.

Anyone who is going to be in the area and is looking for a nice well balanced and friendly pub in which to relax with a reasonably priced beer, look no further. (Oh and try the gammon! My personal favourite!)

Being born and raised in Watford, The Harlequin shopping centre has been my local centre for disposing of my monthly wages for a long time and we have a close relationship, one of a shop-a-holic and its supplier!

Where is it?
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The Harlequin is located in the town centre of Watford in Hertfordshire. The building itself is in the centre of the ring road (one way system) which is accessible by road, train or bus.

The best route into Watford town centre for anyone coming from further away is via either the M1 junction 5 or M25 junction 19, both of which have exits on the "Stephenson Way" roundabout. From here, Watford Town Centre is clearly sign posted and will only take a matter of minutes, down one road, to get to. Once on the ring road, the harlequin is the huge big building with Harlequin written in large letter across the side, you can't miss it!

Opening Times
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Monday 9am - 6pm
Tuesday 9am - 6pm
Wednesday 9am - 6pm
Thursday 9am - 9pm (this is when most of my money is likely to vanish....silly late night shopping!
Friday 9am - 6pm
Saturday 9am - 6pm
Sunday 11am - 5pm

In December, to allow for the Christmas shopping, the centre is open until 9pm all evenings during the week.

Parking
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The Harlequin itself has 3 multi storey car parks that feed directly into the centre. Named; Kings, Queens and Palace. There are also a few more multi storey car parks in the town centre named; Church, Sutton and Gade. These do not have exits directly into the Harlequin but instead exit onto the high street at various points, just a short walk away from the Harlequin.

All car parks in the town centre are on the same tariff payment wise, £1 for up to an hour, £1.80 for up to 2 hours £2.50 for up to 3 hours and so on. They have lifts as well as stairs and escalator access and are always clean. I like the layout of the car parks, which are colour coded by floor, so should I forget I parked on the 3rd floor; I may remember it was the purple floor, very handy for those with brains like mine.

Shopping
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The harlequin consists of an upper and lower mall, the upper mall is all in one section, but on the lower mall it is in 2 halves. Both ends of the Harlequin lead to different points on the high street.

There are many clothes shops which include: Morgan, Jane Norman, Zara, Next, H&M, Miss Selfridge, New Look, Top shop for the girls as well as Top man, Suits you, Republic, River Island, Primark and many others for the men as well as women.

There are sport shops including: Millets, JD Sports, Sport Soccer, JJB Sport and Animal.

There is also a range of kids, electronic and miscellaneous shops including o2, Orange, Argos, HMV, Zavvi, John Lewis, Marks and Spencer, Clinton Cards, Disney Shop, Superdrug, WHsmith, Boots and many more.

I have always enjoyed shopping at the Harlequin and in comparison to other centres near me, Brent Cross for example, I always seem to forget that the Harlequin really does have a much wider choice, even if I do get bored of its familiarity occasionally. Price wise, each shop will obviously vary, but I do not tend to struggle finding anything I want.

Eating out
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A few years back the harlequin got rid of its large "food court" which consisted of a large seated area and lots of fast food outlets, this hasn't however, limited the choice too badly.

There are 2 Pontis restaurants in the Harlequin, a Druckers Coffee House, Starbucks, Millie's Cookies, Yoghurt Land, BB Muffins and of course all the shops like BHS and M&S that have their own cafes/restaurants as well as many more I am sure to have forgotten. On the high street, all the fast food outlets and pubs and bars remain in abundance, so no one is going hungry here.

Other Facilities
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The Harlequin has lockers at either end, located next to the toilets. These are quite large and if you are planning on making it a long trip, they are handy for dropping a few bags off while you continue to shop. Last I used these they were £1 each, and you do not get your pound back at the end.

There are 2 sets of toilets in the harlequin, One either end. These have male, female and disabled units as well as a baby changing facilities. These, in my opinion, have always been clean and plenty of cubicles etc to service the amount of customers.

Miscellaneous
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There is a customer service desk at either end of the Harlequin which provides information on job opportunities, gift vouchers, enquiries, lost children and hire of mobility items such as scooters and buggies. I have always found these to be helpful and polite.

There is a good security presence around the centre itself, with guard often seen wandering about keeping an eye on things, but not in a way that makes you paranoid.

There are a good amount of cleaners around, always staying on top of spillages and emptying bags and cleaning floors. The centre is very clean in my opinion.

I have notice in Kings car park, on floor 1, that there is a crèche for children. I have never needed the service myself, but it's nice to know it's there.

The Harlequin also hosts many shows / signings / performances in the centre of the lower mall (Outside HMV) These vary on the time of year, but include a grotto at Christmas. I have seen in my time, gymnastic displays, fighting displays, battle of the band competitions, game competitions (My other half being the proud winner of a guitar hero one!) Dauphine and Celeste performing live also, even though I had wished I wasn't there that day!

Conclusion
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The Harlequin is large and has a good selection of anything you could need, chances are you can find what you want here, it's clean and has good parking as well as nice staff and facilities. I think it's easy to find your way around and has more to offer than shopping for a good day out. I suppose that's why I'll continue to be a slave to its shopping magnetism!

It's worth a visit...although be warned, nearing Christmas it does get a tad busy!

The best safari park/zoo I have been too in the UK.

The West Midlands Safari and Leisure Park is just outside Bewdley, West of Birmingham. I live in the Watford area of Hertfordshire, and you may think this is a long way to go to a safari park, especially with Woburn just down the road (but I don't rate it - will soon be writing a review as to why).

Anyways the West Midlands Safari and Leisure Park is easy enough to get to, it's up the M40, M42 then signposted on the A448, it takes door to door from my house between 1 hour and 50 minutes and 2 hours 20 minutes. It is worth the drive!!

It costs £11.50 per adult, this is very reasonable, I went to London Zoo in January and it cost over £15 just to get in.

The amenities within the park are: shops (gift shops), photo shacks, face painting, picnic area, and food outlets including: Congo Candy Sweet Shop, Port Livingstone Pizza, Lost City Fun Foods, Oasis Licensed Bar & Coffee Shop, Hot & Spicy, lots of Refreshment & Snack Houses throughout and an Explorers Café and Botswana Burger Co restaurant. There are toilets and amusements throughout the park grounds (but not on the actual safari park circuit).

The £11.50 includes parking and entrance to the Safari Park and Leisure Park which actually is: the drive-through safari, Sea Lion Show, Sea Lion Encounter, Seal Island Exhibit Pool, Twilight Cave, Creepy Crawlies, SeaQuarium, Reptile House, Reptile Encounter. You can walk around some of the zoo bits with the safari car based.

The rides in the leisure park are at extra cost but the safari park is more than enough entertainment for a day.

The leisure park operate their own ticket system where you can buy individual tickets for each ride or a wristband for access to all rides as many times as you like:

Adult Wristband (16-64yrs) - £10.25
Child Wristband (3-15yrs) - £9.75
Family Wristband Offer (2 Adults & 2 Children) - £38.00

The whole park is open between February and November, it is a whole day out, and there are restaurants and snack shacks available, (we always take a packed lunch).

You can buy food for the animals on your way in, if I remember correctly it's about £1.50 a box.

The safari is home to:

White Lions
Tigers
Cheetah's
Wild Dogs
Elephants
Hippo's
Camels
Rhino's
Deer
And many more.

Watch out for the camels, you can drive around the open reserve with the windows open and feed the animals but the camels will try and put their heads in your car as far as they can. Not nice.

This safari park is a great day out and unlike Longleat Safari Park, you pay your entry and CAN go round as many times as you like. It is great, if one part is particularly busy drive on and stop next time round.

Opening times vary:

Opening is usually between 9.30am - 10.00am
Reserve closes between 3.00pm - 5.30pm (depending on school holidays etc)
Park closes between 4.00pm - 7.00pm (with bonfire night being different altogether)
Times can be checked on the website www.wmsp.co.uk (please check to avoid disappointment).

If you book your tickets online and in advance you save £1 per ticket, as well as getting a free entry return ticket, to be used within the end of the season.

Sorry to be unhelpful to those who don't drive, I myself do so I have never thought about how you would get around without a car, especially as there are many large animals, all I know is you can not walk around it, I wouldn't advise trying either.

On Saturday 1st August, I went to Hampton Court Palace. I have never been before and it is somewhere I have been very interested in visiting. This is mainly because I love history, monarchs, especially Henry VIII and architecture.

What better place to visit than Henry's house (or one of them) in the lovely area of Surrey. I must admit my ammunition after all this time to finally go was after watching channel 4's Henry - Mind of a Tyrant and a Time Team special on Henry/Hampton Court Palace.


The Location
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Hampton Court Palace is located in Surrey, on the banks of the River Thames. It is within the M25 and not far from the start of M3 and the M4. There are brown attraction signs located from the M25 signposted throughout the route to Hampton Court Palace.

Hampton Court Palace
East Molesey
Surrey
KT8 9AU


Parking
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There is 2 pay and display car parks outside the grounds, within walking distance. Parking costs approximately £0.80 per hour. You must display your ticket in the car in view.

There are 2 car parks within the grounds too. The Green car park costs £0.50 per hour. The Palace car park costs £3.50 for the first 3 hours and then £0.50 per hour after.


Price
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Adult: £14.00 or £13.00 online in advance.

Adult Group 15+: £12.60 (each person)

Children under 16 (over 5): £7.00 or £6.50 online in advance.

Children under 5: Go Free

Concessions (students and over 60's): £11.50 or £10.50 online in advance.

Family ticket (2 adults and 2 children): £38.00 or £35.00 online in advance.


Hampton Court Palace
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Hampton Court Palace offers a lovely historical setting, inside you can see:

Henry VIII Apartments/Accommodations.

Henry VIII Great Hall (The oldest theatre and greatest medieval hall in England today).

Henry VIII: Head and Hearts - watch and be part of the wedding of Henry and sixth wife Kateryn Parr.

Henry VIII Kitchens and Tudor cooking.

Young Henry VIII Exhibition.

Henry's Women Exhibition (this is the reason we went on 1st August, as it closed on the 2nd August and I wanted to see it).

The Gardens and the Maze.

The Royal Chapel.

and more.


Food and Drink
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The Privy Kitchen coffee shop - originally Elizabeth I's private kitchen it is now open to the public offering hot and cold drinks, cakes and pastries, sandwiches and light lunches. There is also a children's menu.

Tiltyard café - originally used by Henry VIII for jousting, it is a large, space with a large choice of food and drink. All food is homemade and changes seasonally. You do not need to buy admission to the palace in order to visit the Tiltyard café.


What I Thought!
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Overall Hampton Court Palace is a grand old house located in a picturesque setting on the bank of the River Thames, I really liked the setting and could see why it's popular and can understand why it is such an in demand wedding venue.

We walked around Henry's apartments, and they are quite eerie, everything is set out like he could still live there, although it does feel like a museum. We also made the mistake of going to the other apartments thinking they were Henry's but in fact they were William III's Apartments, much to our immediate confusion. Admittedly they were a lot quieter than Henry's.

The biggest reason we went the weekend we did was due to the exhibition of Henry's Women. We soon found where this was, and had to join a queue to enter the exhibit.

I must admit the biggest disappointment was the exhibit itself, we entered after a half an hour wait to discover one small room with 6 cabinets in, one for each wife, it gave a brief history of what date Henry and that wife met, married and when they parted ways and by what means. We had queued for half an hour to walk round a room no bigger than my bedroom to read information that is freely available on the internet or in history books. I was thoroughly disappointed.

The Young Henry exhibition was good; it was spread out over many rooms, with snippets of information on placks, projected on the walls and on chairs that were throne imitations. I found this really interesting and although I'd seen Henry: The Mind of a Tyrant on TV, I still learned more and really got a feel for Young Henry.

The maze was included in our ticket, but if you didn't pay to go inside you had to pay for the maze separately, £3.50. The maze was relatively small; it used to be a lot bigger according to the information, which was quite disappointing as I was expecting something like the one in Alice in Wonderland. Perhaps that's my over active imaginations fault.

I enjoyed the day out, and it was good because the sun was out, and a lot of it walk ways and paths are outside, we also got to wander around the gardens and enjoy the gorgeous plants and colours.

This is a nice day out; I just wouldn't get too excited about exhibitions and treat it more like an experience. I am pretty sure you can find 99% of the information out via other means, but it is nice to visit Henry's house!

Background
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Bletchley Park was a station commissioned by MI6 just before the Second World War. It was due for demolition by its current owner Captain Hubert Faulkner but the government stepped in and brought the grounds in 1938 with war on the horizon and Hitler having just invaded Austria. Bletchley Park was brought to house both MI6 and the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS). Being located only 50 miles from London in the Buckinghamshire, the GC&CS had a safer environment from the London grounds they currently had to work on the intelligence they had.

The station was given the code name 'Station X' by Commander Alastair Denniston. After preparations were finished, installation of phone lines etc the 'code breakers' were brought in. Arriving in August 1939 they masked themselves as part of Captain Ridley's shooting party in order to disguise who they really were and what they were doing. People were still not aware of what went on at Bletchley Park even after the war had finished and the truth remained relatively hidden until the mid 1970's.

Today Bletchley Park is open to the public and acts as a museum preserving what happened there during the war. Bletchley Park was actually praised as knocking up to 3 years off the length of the war with the decipher of the German code machine named the 'Enigma cypher'.

The Enigma cypher was invented in Germany in 1918 for secure banking, the German military quickly saw its potential and removed it from circulation. The Poles were ahead of anyone outside Germany and broke Enigma in 1932 whilst it was undergoing trials in the German Army. They reconstructed a machine but with the continuous development in Germany they were soon left behind, and with the imminent threat of invasion Poland soon offered the information and model to the English and French, at the time both declined with England finally taking it in 1939. Now with an Enigma machine in front of the code breakers they could make progress like they hadn't before.


Bletchley Park 2009
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Today, you can visit Bletchley Park not only to visit the site and museums to see the famous machines but you can also hire out the venue for weddings and conferences. The weddings would take place in the mansion in one of the rooms downstairs; there are rooms of different sizes.

Bletchley Park is made up of different areas Block B - The Exhibition Centre is the main entrance, where you buy your ticket and get a map, as the name is quite explanatory it also has an exhibition centre (like a museum) where you can read and see a variety of information and items from the war itself. In Block B, there is also an introductory video that lasts about 10 minutes and tells you about the site.

The Bletchley Park Garage is where some cars were used for the film Enigma plus others from the previous owners.
The Bletchley Park Post Office was believed to be the undercover mailroom with the secret address of PO Box 111 Bletchley. Now the post office has many pieces of art and history inside including some original pieces such as stamps from the war.

The Toy Shop is next to the Post Office and is full of a personal collection of toys, spread across 3 rooms are many toys and games from throughout the war period including many from US soldiers that were brought to the UK.

The Churchill Collection is another personal collection spread out in a larger hanger, having been added to for over 50 years.

Bombe Rebuild Project is a rebuild of the machine that cracked so many of Enigma's codes throughout the war. All the Bombe machines at Bletchley Park were indeed dismantled after the war to keep them remaining a secret (so why they've rebuilt one, I'm not quite sure).

Colossus Rebuild Project is a rebuild project in Block H, of the first semi programmable computer in the world.

The Computer Museum is the only hardware and software computing museum that is hands on. The museum ranges from technology from Colossus to the computers of today.

And so much more. I'm not going to name everything as there is so much.


My Thoughts
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I am a bit of a world war II buff and love going back in time to see what war time in Britain was really like, and this is what Bletchley Park offers, although it is mainly museums and exhibitions now, you really do get a feel for the people based at Bletchley Park in the war.

Bletchley Park is set out on quite a bit of land and even has its own lake, there are some nice walks around the grounds and there is A LOT of stuff to walk around. It can be hard, we went for a full day and still found we didn't see and do everything and will no doubt return at some point this year. The reason we'll return this year is our £10.00 ticket is a season ticket and you can return for free from the date the ticket is purchased. You will just need to pay parking again.

I find this a great incentive to go back, as I definitely need to, after 5 hours of constant reading and taking in so much information I felt overwhelmed and couldn't take in any more information. I would like to go back and refresh myself and start at the end where I finished this time round.

The staff are all volunteers that work for the Bletchley Trust and are so helpful, there are staff member scattered around at every turn and they are more than happy to tell you information about where you are, what happened, and some personal experiences too. Most of the volunteers are on the older side and I would presume most of their parents were in the war and I suppose many were at Bletchley Park, and that is why they feel the alliance.

I'm sure a lot of the information can be found in books and online but it is nice to see it in its natural environment, where it actually happened.

There are many huts as they are called spread out on the grounds where different parts and tasks were undertaken, it is a long walk around every hut and inside them all too. Some huts aren't open at the weekends, some are, some aren't open on bank holidays (which of course is when we went). I would recommend checking this before you go, unless you are going to head back.

Overall the whole experience was a good one, I enjoyed the people there helping and telling stories and information and it made it feel more authentic. I already totally respect the war time generation but find that many, not only those that worked at Bletchley Park, do not want to talk about it, understandably, but in terms of education Bletchley Park offers those of today an opportunity at an insight to what war time life was like, which in all honesty many people can't comprehend due to how readily available everything is today.

I think Bletchley Park should be a must on all school itineraries, I remember going to places that meant nothing at all, this is our history and we should be educated in it. Hopefully it won't be completely lost while the Bletchley Park Trust keeps going.

The prices were beyond reasonable in today's standards and the food and drinks aren't over the top either.

If it's raining take a coat as there is a lot of outside walking between areas.


Food and Drink
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In Hut 4 there is the Galley Bar & Restaurant. They serve both hot and cold meals and sandwiches. You can also get hot and cold drinks. Prices are reasonable, a sandwich can be found between £1.50-£2.00 and they are freshly made.


Opening Times
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Weekdays Winter Opening : 10.30am to 4.00pm
(1st November to 31st March)

Weekdays Summer Opening : 9.30am to 5.00pm
(1st April to 31st October)

Weekends & Bank Holidays Winter Opening : 10.30 am to 4.00pm
(1st November to 31st March)

Weekends & Bank Holidays Summer Opening : 10.30am to 5.00pm
(1st April to 31st October):


Prices
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Adults: £10.00
Concessions: £8.00
Children 12-16: £6.00
Children (under 12): Free
Family Ticket: £22.50
(2 adults & 2 children 12-16)


Parking
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£3 per car on site per visit.


Location
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The Mansion
Bletchley Park
Milton Keynes
MK3 6EB


Website
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www.bletchleypark.org.uk