Tag Archives: Buckingham Palace

Queen Elizabeth’s Quiet Birthday before the Official Celebration in London in June

Posted on April 21, 2013 by | 1 Comment

queenAs Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her 87th birthday today we understand she will be enjoying a quiet celebration with her family at Windsor Castle.

Her Majesty may also be drinking a toast to her horse Sign Manual which she watched win during a private visit to Newbury racecourse yesterday. See the link below for her delighted reaction and spectacular smile! http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2311913/The-Queen-celebrates-visit-Newbury-winner.html

Meanwhile in London today the London Marathon is taking place noisily outside The Queen’s home at Buckingham Palace. This year the start of the race was marked by a 30 second silence in honour of the victims of the bombings at the Boston Marathon earlier in the week. Many of the 35,000 participants chose to wear black ribbons on their vests in front of record crowds. Virgin London Marathon has pledged to donate £2 for every runner who finishes the event to The One Fund Boston set up to raise money for victims of the explosions.

london-marathon

The Mall will also see the Queen’s Official Birthday celebrations in June. She celebrates two birthdays each year: her actual birthday on 21 April and her official birthday which will be celebrated on Saturday 15th June at the spectacular Trooping the Colour parade which goes from Buckingham Palace along The Mall to Horseguards’ Parade.

Trooping the Colour

Meanwhile traditional gun salutes will be fired in London tomorrow – because this year the Queen’s birthday falls on a Sunday.  The salutes will take place at midday with a 41 gun salute in Hyde Park and a 62 gun salute at the Tower of London. There will also be a 21 gun salute in Windsor Great Park.

TowerHillGunSalute

Why do they fire 62 rounds at the Tower and only 41 in Hyde Park? The calculation at the Tower is as follows: 21 (standard Royal) + 20 (it’s a Royal Palace) + 21 for The City of London = 62  - so now you know!

The most rounds fired in a single salute is 124  ie a Double Royal when the Queen’s official birthday coincides with the Duke of Edinburgh’s birthday (June 10th – the day after mine so I always remember that one!). This last occurred in 1967.

Amanda Hutchinson   Amanda sig first name

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Received by Royalty

Posted on December 12, 2012 by | Comments Off

Buckingham PalaceIf you acquired a taste for  English monarchy whilst watching the marvellous Jubilee celebrations earlier this year, then you’ll want to know about a new opportunity to visit the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace in London.

Nearly twenty years ago Her Majesty opened the Palace doors to help pay for the renovations at fire-damaged Windsor Castle – the ‘annus horribilis’ of 1992. Once sufficient funds had been raised, the Palace was to have become private once more, but due to popular demand the tours have continued each year through the summer months. This winter, the Palace is providing on selected dates only  from 22nd December -3rd February 2013, exclusive tours of the majestic State Rooms at the Palace.

The State Rooms are where the Royal Family receives, rewards and entertains important visitors from both home and around the world. So, if you wish to practice your Regal Reception (sorry, no guarantee that HM will be in attendance), then book now as these tickets are bound to go fast.

The 21/2 special tour includes a glass of champagne, a copy of the Palace’s official guidebook and a 20% discount on Palace gift shop purchases.

For information on how to book your tour click on the picture of the Palace.

Have a right royal time!

Blue Badge tourist guide

 

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Many Congratulations to all!

Posted on June 19, 2012 by | Comments Off

The Winners & Runners-Up in the 2012 Group Travel Awards have just been announced. South East Tour Guides are delighted to see so many companies that they already work with have been included – very well deserved to all and we look forward to continuing to do business together!

PLACES YOU VISIT – ATTRACTIONS AND DESTINATIONS

1a) Best Attraction for Group Visits: Long Visit (more than a two hour visit)
WINNER: Buckingham Palace, London
RUNNER-UP: The Tower of London
Mentioned:  Canterbury Cathedral
Dickens World, Kent

1b) Best Attraction for Group Visits: Short Visit (less than two hour visit)
WINNER: EDF Energy London Eye
RUNNER-UP: St Paul’s Cathedral, London
Mentioned:  The Household Calvary Museum, London
The Houses of Parliament, London
Windsor Castle, Berkshire

2) Best Animal or Sea Life Attraction
WINNER: Longleat Safari & Adventure Park, Wiltshire
RUNNER-UP: West Midland Safari & Leisure Park, Worcestershire 
Mentioned: SEA LIFE London Aquarium
3) Best Overseas Attraction for Groups

WINNER: Disneyland Paris, France
RUNNER-UP: Nausicaa, France
4) Best UK Destination for Groups
WINNER: London
RUNNER-UP: Manchester
Mentioned:  Canterbury  Salisbury

5) Best Overseas City or Country for Groups
WINNER: Germany
RUNNER-UP: Belgium

6) Best Shopping Venue for Groups
WINNER: Oswaldtwistle Mills, Lancashire
RUNNER-UP: The Trafford Centre, Manchester
Mentioned: Westfield Shopping Centre, London

7) Best Live Stage / Theatrical Performance
WINNER: War Horse
RUNNER-UP: Les Misérables
GHOST The Musical   Jersey Boys
Mamma Mia!    The Lion King   Wicked

8) Best Event for Groups
WINNER: Royal Ascot
RUNNER-UP: Thursford Christmas Spectacular, Norfolk
Mentioned:
Dickensian Christmas Festival, Rochester
Ideal Home Show, London
RHS Hampton Court Flower Show, London
9) Best Canal or Riverboat Operator for Groups
WINNER: French Brothers, Windsor
RUNNER-UP: City Cruises, London
Mentioned:  Bateaux London
 
10) Best Ocean Cruise Line Operator for Groups
WINNER: Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines
RUNNER-UP: Saga
Mentioned:  Cruise & Maritime Voyages
Cunard  MSC Cruises
Norwegian Cruise Line  P&O Cruises

 11) Best Specialist Cruise Line Operator for Groups

WINNER:Hurtigruten
RUNNER-UP: CroisiEurope

WHERE YOU STAY – ACCOMMODATION

12) Most Group-Friendly Hotel Chain or Group

WINNER: Daish’s Hotels
RUNNER-UP: Britannia Hotels
Best Western
Oceana Hotels & Leisure
Park Inn (Rezidor Hotel Group)
Puma Hotels Collection (formerly Barcélo UK)
Warner Leisure Hotels

13) Best Individual Hotel for Groups

WINNER: St Kilda Hotel, Llandudno
RUNNER-UP: The Rendezvous Hotel, Skipton
Mentioned: The Cumberland Hotel, Eastbourne
The Grand Burstin Hotel, Folkestone

 14) Best All-Inclusive Group Holiday Venue

WINNER: Potters Leisure Resort, Norfolk
RUNNER-UP: Cricket St Thomas Hotel, Somerset (Warner Leisure Hotels)
Mentioned: Butlins Bognor Regis, West Sussex

15) Best University Accommodation for Groups

WINNER: University of Kent
RUNNER-UP: St Aidan’s College at Durham University
Mentioned: Imperial College, London, Kings College, London

HOW YOU GET THERE – TRANSPORT

16a & 16b) Best Coach Operator
There are two awards in this category: Best Coach Operator: Small Fleet and Best Coach Operator: Large Fleet

16a) Best Coach Operator: Small Fleet

WINNER: Brighton & Hove Bus and Coach Company, East Sussex
RUNNER-UP: Chiltern Travel, Ilford
16b) Best Coach Operator: Large Fleet
WINNER: Edwards Coaches, Pontypridd
RUNNER-UP: Epsom Coaches, Surrey
Mentioned: Lucketts Travel, Fareham

17) Best Sea Crossing Operator for Groups

WINNER: Stena Line
RUNNER-UP: Eurotunnel
Condor Ferries,  Eurostar
Irish Ferries,  P&O Ferries
Red Funnel

18 ) Best Airline for Groups

WINNER: Jet2.com
RUNNER-UP: Flybe
British Airways   easyJet
Emirates              Lufthansa
Virgin Atlantic  Singapore Airlines

HELP & ASSISTANCE – GROUP FACILITIES & INFORMATION

19) Best Company or Venue Offering Guided Tours
WINNER: City & Village Tours
RUNNER-UP: Houses of Parliament, London
BBC Television Centre Tour, London
Hampton Court Palace, Surrey
Highclere Castle, Berkshire
Royal Opera House London
Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford-upon-Avon

20) Best Provision of Disabled Facilities

WINNER: Legoland, Windsor
RUNNER-UP: Warwick Castle
Arundel Castle, West Sussex
Cadogan Hall, London
Warner Leisure Hotels

21) Best Group Catering Facilities

WINNER: Planet Hollywood, London
RUNNER-UP: Central Hall Westminster, London
Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire
Denbies Wine Estate, Surrey
Rainforest Café, London
Shaka Zulu, London
The Orangery at Kew Palace, London

22) Best Information Product for Groups website or printed

WINNER: English Heritage Group Visits Guide 2011/12
RUNNER-UP: The National Trust Groups Guide 2011
Encore Advance Groups Bookings Brochure
Historic Royal Palaces http://www.hrp.org.uk
Just for Groups http://www.justforgroups.co.uk
Leeds Castle http://www.leeds-castle.com
Merlin Groups http://www.merlingroups.co.uk (formerly http://www.groupfundays.co.uk)

23) Best Group Ticketing Agency

WINNER: Encore Tickets 
RUNNER-UP: Group Line 
ATG Tickets
Delfont Mackintosh Theatres Groups
See Groups
The Ticket Factory
Ticketmaster Groups

24a and 24b) Best Group Tour Operator
There are two awards in this category reflecting the number of groups carried by each company (not the size of the company):
Best Group Tour Operator: Small Carrier and Best Group Tour Operator: Large Carrier

24a) Best Group Tour Operator: Small Carrier

WINNER: Tailored Travel RUNNER-UP: Diamond Holidays, Leicestershire
23b) Best Group Tour Operator: Large Carrier
WINNER: Airedale Tours, West Yorkshire
RUNNER-UP: InterChoice, Wolverhampton
Mentioned:
JAG Travel, Surrey
Saga, Kent
The Travel Adventure, East Sussex

Best Overall Group Supplier
Airedale Tours

Outstanding Contribution to Group Travel by an Individual
Steve Plummer

Editor’s Award for Innovation in Tourism
CHOCOLATE – York’s Sweet Story

The Little Treasures Award

Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising


Blue Badge tourist guide

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