Car Hire & Rental Blog from VroomVroomVroom

Lakes ramble for Manchester Airport car hire users

admin — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 17:15:18 +0000

Manchester Airport car hire users can enjoy a gentle walk in the heart of the Lake District next month.

Those looking to use Manchester Airport car hire to enjoy some of England’s most popular and attractive scenery may be interested in a guided event run by the Lake District National Park Authority next month.

On August 9th, visitors will be able to take part in the Derwent Water ramble, which starts with a boat trip across the lake and then involves a ten kilometre walk up to Lodore Falls and back again by bus, foot or boat.

The event starts at the tourist information centre at the Moot Hall in the centre of town.

Boots should be worn and a packed lunch brought.

Keswick can offer many attractions for the family, with these including the Cumberland Pencil Museum and the Castlerigg stone circle.

To reach Keswick from Manchester airport, take the M56/A5103 northbound to the M60 orbital route, before travelling westbound to join the M61 heading north.

This in turn continues further north through Lancashire and into Cumbria, before you leave the motorway at Junction 40 for the A66 at Penrith, joining the A591 westbound to Keswick.

A taste of history for Gatwick Airport car hire customers

admin — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 14:08:33 +0000

Those using Gatwick Airport car hire in September do not have far to travel to enjoy a bit of history and culinary excellence.

You and your family can head down to the south coast where the town of Hastings hosts its annual Seafood and Wine Festival on September 18th and 19th.

This will offer a chance to sample lots of regional wine and food, with locally-caught fish and crustaceans offering plenty of chances to tickle the tastebuds.

In addition to this, there is live music and entertainment to help stoke the festival atmosphere.

Visitors to Hastings can also pop over to the nearby village of Battle, where the site of the 1066 Battle of Hastings was fought, the last successful full-scale invasion of Britain.

Getting to Hastings from Gatwick is a short and simple trip, which begins by heading up the M23 northwards to the M25 London orbital motorway.

Having joined the M25 at junction 8, head east to Junction 5 and take the turning for the A21 signposted for Sevenoaks and Hastings, which takes you all the way down to your destination.

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Air and water with Manchester Airport car hire

admin — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 17:18:18 +0000

Those using Manchester Airport car hire can enjoy some spectacular family entertainment by the banks of England’s largest lake, when the Windermere Air Show takes place on the weekend of July 24th and 25th.

If you are flying into Manchester this weekend and looking for a great chance to enjoy some of the best of English culture and scenery, this could be ideal, as the setting means you can enjoy the scenery of the English Lake District.

At the same time, the aircraft on display will include historic planes such as the Spitfire, Hurricane and Lancaster Bomber, which will fly over in the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, marking the 70th anniversary of the event.

Other highlights include the Red Arrows aerobatics team and the RAF Falcons parachute team.

Getting to Windermere from Manchester Airport is simple.

Taking the M56 motorway, head north to the M60 orbital motorway (Junction 5), heading westbound to the M61 (junction 15), which will take you further north to join the M6.

Continue heading north on the M6 up to junction 36, taking the A590 and then A591 signposted to Bowness and Windermere.

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Festival fun with Heathrow Airport car hire

admin — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 16:19:37 +0000

Those using Heathrow Airport car hire to explore the south of England can enjoy some fun on the water if they head across to Bristol at the end of this month.

Bristol Harbour Festival takes place from July 30th to August 1st, with the docks of the city offering free fun with music, markets, fireworks, children’s entertainment and, of course, plenty of chances to see various boats and ships in the harbour.

Visitors can see the historic SS Great Britain, take sailing lessons, see the circus in Castle Park and enjoy folk music on the Cascade Steps.

Bristol also offers a zoo and is close to a range of attractions across the south-west of England, such as Glastonbury Tor and Stonehenge.

A city of over 400,000 inhabitants, Bristol is easy to reach from Heathrow Airport, with the M4 motorway taking you directly westwards until you reach junction 19, from where the M32 leads directly into the heart of the city.

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Wood wonder for Stansted Airport car hire customers

admin — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 17:06:56 +0000

Those making use of Stansted Airport car hire services may wish to take the family on a journey into the heart of England to enjoy some of the best of British woodland.

On August 27th, the National Forest will be holding its wood fair at Beacon Hill Country Park in Leicestershire.

It offers a chance for all the family to find out more about trees and forests, with lots of activities and demonstrations to enjoy.

These include tree climbing, saw milling, chainsaw sculpting, wood carving, basketry and the chance for the kids to enjoy woodland storytelling.

It starts at 10:00 BST and continues until 17:00 BST, with admission being £6 for adults and £4 for children, or you can get a family ticket for £14.

Beacon Hill Country Park lies close to the town of Loughborough and is easy to reach from Stansted.

From the airport, you can drive up the M11 motorway as far as Cambridge before taking the A14 towards Huntingdon.

The road continues through Huntingdon and then Kettering on its way through Northamptonshire into Leicestershire, where it joins the M6 at Junction 19, heading northbound past Leicester.

Exit the motorway at Junction 22, taking the turning towards Ashby, Coalville and Bardon.

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Take a bath with Manchester Airport car hire

admin — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 12:26:39 +0000

Those using Manchester Airport car hire may be interested in visiting an historic Lake District site during National Parks Week, which is being held from July 26th to August 1st.

Tours of historic places in national parks include the old Roman bath house at Ravenglass, a village on the west coast of Cumbria.

Known as Walls Castle, the bath house was used by the Roman military when soldiers marched to the port – used by the empire for 300 years during the occupation of Britain – from the nearby Hardknott Fort.

It is one of the best-preserved Roman bath houses in Britain and visitors can combine the tour of the site with a ride on the narrow gauge Ravenglass to Eskdale steam railway, which pushes inland towards the foot of England’s two highest mountains, Scafell Pike and Sca Fell.

From Manchester Airport, drivers can take the M56 motorway and then the A5103 to join the city’s M60 orbital motorway, heading westbound to join the M61 and then the M6 heading north to Cumbria.

Exiting at junction 36, you can take the A590 westwards before joining the A5092 between Greenodd and Grizebeck, from where the A595 will take you to Ravenglass.

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Bristol balloons beckon for Heathrow Airport car hire users

admin — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 14:34:34 +0000

Those looking to explore the south of England using Heathrow car rental may wish to head across to Bristol in August.

The 2010 Bristol International Balloon Fiesta will take place between Thursday August 12th and 15th, with free entry over the four days, during which 500,000 people attend regularly.

Offering fun for all the family, spectacles at the show include mass ascents of over 100 balloons at 06:00 BST and 18:00 BST, as well as nightglows on the first and third nights, when over 30 vessels will glow in time to music.

There will also be tethered balloons on display and plenty of live entertainment.

As well as the festival, visitors to Bristol can enjoy seeing the city’s zoo, or touring the nearby region with attractions like the Roman baths at Bath, the Cheddar Gorge caves or the beach at Weston-Super-Mare.

From Heathrow, you can reach Bristol by travelling west along the M4 motorway and then the M32 from the edge of the city into the centre.

The festival site lies just west of the city centre via the A370 and the B3128.

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Spend your London trip in a dungeon

admin — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 14:48:14 +0000

Spending some of your visit to London in a prison may not sound like many people’s idea of a great holiday, but this summer sees the London Dungeon providing a festival of gory and ghoulish family entertainment based on the theme of crime and punishment.

Running from July 28th to August 31st, the Summer of Scare is being held to celebrate 35 years since the London Dungeon opened, something those using Gatwick Airport car hire may love.

It includes new scary rides with vertical drops, a trip to the execution site at traitor’s gate and a commemoration of the life and times of Mary Tudor, one of Britain’s most bloodthirsty monarchs.

The gore and spooks on offer will provide plenty of entertainment for all the family and the dungeon’s location near the south bank of the Thames means you can combine the visit with seeing other attractions around the heart of the capital.

From Gatwick, you can reach the attraction by heading north on the M23 as far as the M25, then carrying on through south London on the A23.

At Kennington, take the A3 towards London Bridge and the London Dungeon is on Duke Street Hill.

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Shakespeare awaits for Stansted Airport car hire users

admin — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 13:31:53 +0000

Those using Stansted Airport car hire may wish to pay a visit to Norwich, as the city’s cathedral is hosting a series of performances of Shakespeare plays.

Between July 15th and 18th, the Norwich Shakespeare Festival will feature the Merry Wives of Windsor and As You Like It.

Tickets are priced at £19.50 for adults and £15.50 for under-16s and pensioners.

Visitors will also be able to buy gifts themed around the bard and his life and works, while the 900 year-old cathedral itself and Norwich’s historic city walls can offer another good reason to visit.

Norwich Cathedral hosts theatrical and orchestral performances at various times of the year, so those not able to make the Shakespeare plays may find that there is plenty else going on.

To get to Norwich from Stansted, take the M11 motorway northwards towards Cambridge and then take the Junction nine turning onto the A11, which heads in a north-easterly direction across the flat terrain of East Anglia to Norwich.

The A14 can be used to bypass the centre of Newmarket, rejoining the A11 on the other side of the town.

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Take to the summit with Glasgow Airport car hire

admin — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 16:17:48 +0000

Those looking to explore Scotland using Glasgow Airport car hire can now aim a little higher after Scotland’s only mountain railway launched a new service taking people to the summit of Cairn Gorm.

From July 17th to October 31st, a series of guided walks will be held by rangers at the Cairngorm Mountain resort, taking people from the top station of the funicular railway up to the summit of the 4,084 ft (1,245 m) peak.

The cost of the climb is £13 for adults and £10 for juniors and includes a ride on the railway from the lower station, which has parking for cars.

Until now, no direct access has been permitted from the top station to the summit of the mountain in a bid to preserve its wilderness quality.

Those driving to Cairn Gorm from Glasgow airport should take the M8 motorway eastwards across the city, followed by the M80/A80 until it joins the M9 heading northwards past Stirling as far as Dunblane.

From here, the A9 heads up via Perth through Perthshire and into the Highlands as far as Aviemore, from where signs point the way to Glen More and the road to Cairn Gorm.

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