The Podcast of the Lotus Eaters - Christmas Podcast

00:00:00.000 Hello and welcome to this Christmas pre-recorded segment. Now obviously I am joined today by

00:00:19.000 Brother Stelios. Hello Brother Luca. Winter has come at last. It has indeed. There has been a

00:00:25.480 freeze. Tonight's forecast, a freeze is coming. We're gonna have a cold pill for today. Well we're

00:00:32.660 gonna have a white pill. Yeah but it's gonna be a cold one. It'll be a cold pill but a healthy pill

00:00:37.880 nonetheless. So obviously because we're pre-recording this Stelios and I are not fortune

00:00:43.220 tellers. We don't know what political events are going to be happening in December. So we just

00:00:48.940 wanted to give you actually some content that was a bit evergreen, a bit wholesome and also what's

00:00:54.700 more. Something that you can take with you and you know use for some practical application

00:01:00.520 coming into 2026 as well. And it's evergreen in a metaphorical as well as a literal sense because

00:01:08.320 we are going to talk about a very green land. We are. We're going to talk about the magic of Britain

00:01:12.660 aren't we and how there are just so many places that you know because you and I we are great

00:01:18.700 sages. We are wonderful. We are experienced travelers. You know we've seen a few things around

00:01:24.220 this pleasant time. We travel. We travel. Yeah. Yeah. Let's put it that way. And so we're just going

00:01:29.060 to talk about some of the our favorite places that we found on those travels as well. Perhaps

00:01:34.240 many of them you'll have heard of. Some you won't have done but we all thought we thought that they

00:01:38.900 were all great recommendations. Wonderful things to do with your friends, with your family next year

00:01:44.180 so you can keep discovering so much of this country and why it's worthy of your love.

00:01:50.040 Absolutely. And I want to say that very often when I meet people who tell me that they're

00:01:56.680 very much online and they're very annoyed at what they're seeing I'm telling them always

00:02:02.280 take advantage of your weekends. Yes. Go somewhere else. And I will say from my experience because

00:02:08.140 I do walk the earth quite often the world I'm looking I'm experiencing while traveling and during

00:02:17.500 the weekends has very frequently almost nothing to do with with the world we are frequently reporting

00:02:25.280 about. It's a different planet. It's very different. And this is something that hasn't been taken from

00:02:33.800 from us, from you, however you want to call it. It's still alive. And it's a very good thing for people

00:02:41.000 to see it. Because most of most of the country is like this. Yeah, there are still many wonderful,

00:02:47.560 wonderful places. Yes, many of them have been touched or are beginning to be touched by many

00:02:53.460 of the problems that we here at Lotus Eater's report on, of course. But nonetheless, they're still

00:02:58.940 they're still wonderful in their own right. And so let's begin talking about them, shall we?

00:03:03.040 So I front loaded my suggestions and then we'll discuss with Brother Stelios about his. But let's

00:03:10.580 start with Lincoln, shall we? Because that's where this is. Now, this is a photo that I took back in

00:03:17.140 March. And this is taken from the South Common of Lincoln as well. So it's very, very raised as a hill

00:03:25.020 going over into the horizon. And as you can see there, wonderful view of the entire city of Lincoln,

00:03:32.060 Lincoln, of course, with Lincoln Cathedral, the great, one of the great cathedrals of England,

00:03:38.360 just standing very proudly there on top of the hill. And what's more as well, it used to be taller

00:03:44.100 because actually you can see in the in the central part as well, there used to be a colossal spire

00:03:49.900 that was on the top of that cathedral and it blew off in a storm back in 1547, something like that.

00:03:58.560 But when that spire was atop of the cathedral, it was the tallest man-made building in the world at

00:04:05.480 the time. And so unfortunately, the weather took that title from it. But it is still an absolutely

00:04:13.020 glorious spectacle. And what's more as well, it's been recently renovated, restored on the outside.

00:04:19.480 It looks, it looks wonderful. It looks absolutely wonderful. But what's more as well, another good

00:04:26.180 thing to say about Lincoln as well is that it's still got some advantageous demographics, shall we

00:04:34.480 say. It's beginning to feel the brunt of it. But still, there are many places where you can go there

00:04:41.760 that are very wholesome. And I will say as well that if you haven't been to Lincoln, there is a particular

00:04:48.020 street going up to the cathedral that you can see is obviously raised up on the hill. That entire road

00:04:55.480 where you walk up to the square, and at the square you've got, on the left, you've got Lincoln Castle, and

00:05:02.500 on the right, you've got Lincoln Cathedral. And not only that, I mean, so it's a perfect square, you know,

00:05:08.380 full of Georgian houses and pubs on every corner, cafes, wonderful medieval architecture, but also

00:05:17.680 what's more as well, and this is such an important point, every single shop on that hill is of the

00:05:25.960 highest standard, right? It is just a good quality small business, right? It's not, they're not part of

00:05:34.300 some larger chain of shops or anything. No, they're all just small shopkeepers who have, you know,

00:05:40.920 Victorian suite shops, aircraft models, pie and mash shops, you know, these sorts of things. And

00:05:47.820 they're so individual, they're so special to that particular street. There's also one particular one

00:05:55.040 which I couldn't possibly do without mentioning, which is that there's an old imperial tea shop,

00:06:01.100 which has got, I don't know, 200 different types of tea on it. I've had two of them because I'm a

00:06:09.640 very samey person. I just like what I like, but it's wonderful. Have you ever been to Lincoln?

00:06:15.400 I haven't been to Lincoln, and it seems wonderful. And one thing I will say is that I see that this is

00:06:22.800 a picture taken in March, right? Is it seems like mid-March? Yes. Yeah, 20 of March. One thing that I

00:06:31.720 notice in the land is that right towards the middle of April, and especially in May, the flowers bloom and

00:06:45.340 the trees have, you know, you can see the leaves. And it's a totally different country as well. Yes.

00:06:52.000 You literally feel like you're in another planet. So I want also to see at some point a picture of

00:06:58.940 Lincoln, you know, May, June, July, somewhere there. Well, I'll have to take it and show me.

00:07:05.340 I'll have to go back and do my duty and just suffer a few days in Lincoln, won't I, to take that picture

00:07:10.800 sometime next year? But as I say, Lincoln, I think more than any other city that I've been to

00:07:17.680 personally, I just love it intensely. Especially being, it's a strange one, you know, because being

00:07:24.960 from Scunthorpe myself, which is a town just to the north of Lincoln, I spent very little time

00:07:33.300 in Lincoln growing up. And it's not really until my more recent years that I really began to

00:07:41.740 appreciate this wonderful place that I had on my doorstep. And so, yes, the castle, oh, sorry,

00:07:48.340 couldn't go without mentioning, the castle also happens to contain one of the four surviving copies

00:07:53.860 of Magna Carta. And one thing to show is where is Lincoln on the map? Because people will wonder,

00:08:01.080 where should they visit? Well, it's right here. Would you believe in the heart of Lincolnshire?

00:08:06.540 You see as well, you've got the walls there by its side. So very, very nice. And quite out the way of,

00:08:13.120 yes, funny actually, but wedged between Grantham and Scunthorpe. And then you've just got Lincoln

00:08:18.920 in the middle and in all of its splendor. So let's move on, shall we, to talking about Scarborough.

00:08:26.340 I've been there many times. Right. So you know how wonderful it is. Yes. Right. Okay. So this is an

00:08:33.520 example is the Grand Victorian Hotel, because Scarborough, back during the Victorian era,

00:08:39.940 was one of the chief holiday destinations for Victorians who, you know, you have the burgeoning

00:08:46.600 middle class, and they were able to just have more money in their pockets to spend. And so you could go

00:08:52.200 to the seaside at the summer with your family. And there's loads of wonderful, you go in all sorts

00:08:57.280 of cafes and you find old photographs, black and white photographs of people in the Victorian Edwardian

00:09:04.160 era, you know, down at the beach. But the thing is as well, Scarborough has two sides to it. It has

00:09:11.840 the North Bay and the South Bay. You know this, of course, but I'm explaining it for them. And on the

00:09:18.700 South Bay, you've got more of your sort of quintessential English seaside trappings. You know,

00:09:26.740 you've got arcades, slot machines, fishing chip shops, all those sorts of wonderful things. But

00:09:32.620 then, of course, you also have the North Bay. And if I, oh, no, jumping ahead. Oh, I've got the same

00:09:40.000 picture twice for some reason. All right. Well, over on the, you have the castle over on the top of the

00:09:47.980 hill as well. Absolutely fantastic castle, Norman Castle. I spoke about it at some length, actually,

00:09:54.060 when I covered the Pendragon Foundation that Nathan Hood is working on as well, because Scarborough

00:10:00.800 Castle is one of my favourites just for its history and its story. And so Scarborough is an absolutely

00:10:07.600 wonderful place. What's more as well, very homogenous, very homogenous, very safe. And what's

00:10:14.140 more as well, the greatest spot in the entirety of Scarborough is up on the hill at night, stood by

00:10:22.640 the castle. And you have the South Bay on your left and you have the North Bay on your right. So you get

00:10:27.840 an almost 360 view stood upon the hill of the entire seaside area. And it's genuinely a thing of magic,

00:10:36.900 especially because that particular pocket of the town really blesses you with the best number of

00:10:45.000 stars at night as well. So you get genuinely starry skies as much as you can with the light pollution

00:10:51.500 that obviously plagues England. And so Scarborough, of all of the seaside destinations, I would say is

00:10:57.980 truly one of the superior choices. It's a really great one. I've been there, as I said before,

00:11:04.360 four times. There are bits of it that I like, bits of it I don't like that much. But generally speaking,

00:11:12.080 overall, I think it's a really great place to visit. And one thing I will say, because I like

00:11:18.680 walking the earth. In one day, I walked from Filey to Scarborough. I just walked, it's, I think,

00:11:26.680 17 kilometres. It's a brilliant walk.

00:11:30.180 It is. No, it really, really is. In fact, this entire coastline is absolutely fantastic.

00:11:36.680 I've walked on separate occasions. I've walked from Whitby down to Robin Hood's Bay.

00:11:41.860 Yes. I've also walked from Scarborough to Robin Hood's Bay. That was a very long day. Very

00:11:48.580 exhausting, but greatly fun. And actually, that brings me to my next choice, because this here...

00:11:55.380 Can I say just one thing? I think that the footpath there is called the Cleveland Road.

00:11:59.980 Yes.

00:12:00.560 And it just stretches for miles.

00:12:03.660 It does.

00:12:04.060 And it's hundreds of miles.

00:12:05.300 Oh, yes. Yes, absolutely. It's wonderful. I'd like to dedicate myself to walking more

00:12:11.480 of it in the future.

00:12:12.420 And can I show something before you show this magnificent village that I've been as well,

00:12:17.420 and I have lots of stuff to say. I want to say also that I've done another brilliant footpath

00:12:21.840 here from Bempton to Flamborough Lighthouse.

00:12:27.500 Oh, yes.

00:12:28.160 And back. You walk here along the coastline. It's beautiful. It's absolutely beautiful. There's

00:12:37.220 a lighthouse here. Let me find it. Yeah, somewhere here in Flamborough. Yeah, North Landing. I

00:12:43.900 remember. Yes. And then I did a mistake, because I went from Bempton here to this Bempton Cliffs

00:12:49.980 and here. And then we said, right, we need to cut two miles less. And we went from another

00:12:57.040 road. And for the half road, there was around five kilometers. There was pavement and there

00:13:03.680 was nothing. And then we were zigzagging to the cars.

00:13:06.380 Oh, goodness me.

00:13:07.320 Special ops.

00:13:08.240 Well, you can see from Google Maps, can't you? Just a patchwork of, you know, meadows and

00:13:14.600 fields and things. So let's talk about Robin Hood's Bay. Now, I will just say,

00:13:19.660 I was actually a little bit reluctant to include this one. Not because it doesn't deserve its

00:13:27.160 own mention, but because there are certain, and I'm sure we'll come to this later when we

00:13:32.480 talk about Bybury. But you have examples in the country these days of many smaller places,

00:13:41.760 villages, just being overburdened by tourists, right? And actually, these places weren't meant

00:13:49.460 to be flooded by the entire photography department of Asia, right? Actually, they're supposed to be

00:13:57.880 their own places and not just have people constantly with their cameras out, clogging

00:14:03.000 up the roads, you know, just every day. They just, these are quiet places and they're supposed

00:14:07.780 to be able to exist in that way. So if you do go to Robin Hood's Bay, do be mindful of the

00:14:13.440 people that live there. Because it's a true time capsule of a place. And I have very early

00:14:20.600 childhood memories, actually, of going here, because this was the first place I ever went

00:14:24.920 to on a residential school trip, where we actually stayed over for, I can't remember if it was one

00:14:32.440 night or two, but I'd have been about nine or ten, something like that. Because Robin Hood's Bay is

00:14:38.780 very, very famous, or infamous, I suppose, for back during the 18th century, being a smuggler's

00:14:46.060 cove. It was somewhere where there was a lot of smuggling going on of all sorts of things that

00:14:52.220 were deemed by the populace at the time to be too highly taxed. And so obviously, you're cutting

00:14:57.500 through it on the black market. But we had a great amount of fun. You can see here as well,

00:15:02.740 it's on a slight hill. And what we did was, we went out into the, well, as a child, it felt like

00:15:10.420 the middle of the night. I'm sure it was probably about 8pm or something. But we started down here

00:15:15.840 at the bottom. And half of the class was at the bottom. And half of us were scattered amidst the

00:15:23.280 houses. And you actually had to get to the top of the hill without being, you were a smuggler trying to

00:15:30.700 get to the top of the hill. And you had to get there without being detected by the authorities.

00:15:36.300 And it was a great amount of fun. But what's more, Victorian sweet shops, a wonderful bookshop

00:15:41.960 around here where I found some splendid, you know, old tomes. And just, and also what's more,

00:15:50.080 fantastic pubs. In fact, one of the, my most recent visits last year, I was walking down,

00:15:57.580 I think it was actually after the Whitby, after I'd walked from Whitby. And I got there to find a

00:16:04.420 small folk band, just performing sea shanties in the middle of the street. They also have a

00:16:10.780 Victorian weekends, where you just go dressed in Victorian style. And it really is. It's wonderful.

00:16:19.460 It's just people authentically celebrating their history, just existing. It's a quiet pace of life,

00:16:25.120 but it's, it's a really special place. One thing, several, I have several things to add here, because

00:16:31.480 I've, I've been here, I stayed in Filingdale, which is a bit close. But Robin Hood's Bay is amazing.

00:16:41.500 The hill you're describing is indeed steep. I have dined here in this pub, was really great. And you

00:16:50.500 have windows, and you look outside the sea, it's great. And whether it's sunny or cloudy,

00:16:57.740 you do get this feeling that you're in nature. And my opinion is that basically nature is almost

00:17:03.720 always wonderful. Every landscape has something to show you. It's mostly some cities I don't like,

00:17:09.900 but Robin Hood's Bay is not one of them. And one thing to say is that here, you have lots of people

00:17:14.380 coming with their jet skis and putting them in the water. There is a tide. And the water is going

00:17:24.340 back, it's receding. And you can walk along the beach. And at some point, I don't know what hour,

00:17:31.820 what time it is, I think around 1pm or something. This is all like rocky, a rocky beach. And you can see

00:17:42.200 here in this, in these places here, you have benches, you can get some coffee or something to

00:17:47.460 coffee max, or tea max, whatever. And it feels like you're looking at planet Mars, in some respects,

00:17:56.540 it becomes very otherworldly, in a good sense. It's, you know, yes, it's one of these ways that

00:18:02.940 a landscape captures your attention. It's very great.

00:18:07.240 It is. It really is. So what do we have next? Well, I couldn't not mention...

00:18:12.500 One of my favourites.

00:18:13.380 ...couldn't not mention Whitby, could I? You'll notice a pattern here, ladies and gentlemen,

00:18:18.160 which is that I have basically just gone from Lincoln down here, and then basically Scarborough,

00:18:27.340 Robin Hood's Bay, Whitby. And there's a reason for that, because this, as Stelius and I keep saying,

00:18:33.500 this coastline is just one of the absolute best. And Whitby, of course, is one of the most charming

00:18:39.760 places I've ever been. You can see here, you've got the abbey up on top of the hill, and it gives

00:18:46.840 the entire town this real gothic mystique to it, just having these abbey ruins on top of the hill.

00:18:56.360 And there's something even more to the sort of atmosphere of a town, of course, as well,

00:19:01.900 because you also have the Dracula Museum there as well, which I've never actually been in,

00:19:07.280 but there is another museum in Whitby that I have visited. And that is one where, for research

00:19:15.340 purposes, I had to visit Whitby in order to go to the Captain Cook Museum, because, of course,

00:19:21.240 Whitby is where one of the greatest explorers to ever live, had his training. And actually,

00:19:28.640 the museum itself is the house that Cook would have stayed in when he was a young lad learning

00:19:35.360 the ropes of seafaring. What's more as well, you have the old town across the bridge in Whitby as well,

00:19:44.640 and all of the shops in that old town are just so charmingly English. There's one particular one

00:19:52.280 that deserves mention, a special mention, other than, of course, there being many wonderful pubs,

00:19:58.100 which is just to say that there is a particular pie and mash shop in the old town, and they are so

00:20:04.240 proud of it. It's all done out aesthetically like a 1940s cafe. And you've got 1940s sort of,

00:20:12.820 you know, Ella Fitzgerald, and, you know, many wonderful singers of that era performing on the,

00:20:19.920 I was going to say the wireless then, but on the radio. And you also have, they're very proud of it,

00:20:27.460 because actually, this place has been serving food for over 400 years. They have a particular sign

00:20:34.360 up in it that says, we've been serving food through the reign of King Charles I, King Charles II,

00:20:40.780 and King Charles III, right? And so you really get the sense of longevity, of heritage,

00:20:47.600 of history, of memory in Whitby. And it all comes together with, of course, glorious views

00:20:53.540 out to the North Sea. And as I say, all with this wonderful town by its side. And obviously,

00:21:01.640 Whitby fishing ships are the greatest on earth. Yes. So one thing I will say, I absolutely love

00:21:08.360 Whitby. And I may make a judgment here, a comparative judgment. I think that relative to

00:21:14.640 Scarborough, Whitby has sort of confined the arcade a bit. Yes, you can, you can definitely see a visible

00:21:23.780 difference. Right. So Whitby is absolutely wonderful. I've been to it three times from York,

00:21:31.060 from York to Whitby. And you take a bus, the coastliner, I think it was bus 55, if I'm not

00:21:38.020 mistaken. And you cross this North York Moors National Park. You went to Thornton Liddell, and then you

00:21:46.020 go through this national park, which is stunningly beautiful. And there is a crater here somewhere,

00:21:55.020 don't know exactly where it is, that you can stop and you can walk a circle. Anyway, Whitby is

00:22:02.240 absolutely lovely. I've been to the, to the Abbey. You walk up the hill. And one thing I will say is

00:22:09.500 that it's so jolly. It's simultaneously Gothic and jolly, because I think it's the capital of

00:22:15.400 the Goths. I think they have some Gothic festivals there in August or July. Oh, really? This would

00:22:20.980 not surprise me. I think, if I'm not mistaken, I think they do have some Gothic festivals. But

00:22:25.800 it's so happy as a city. It's just very noticeable. It's, people are having fun. Yes, they are. You see

00:22:34.680 it. And the route, especially, maybe it was the sunny days that I visited. I have heard local

00:22:40.080 rumours from Whitby, actually, that they get very worried during the summer period from people coming

00:22:47.620 from outside of Whitby. And by this, I don't mean foreigners. I mean, Geordies, right? I mean,

00:22:55.300 I mean, they get very worried about people coming down from Newcastle and Sunderland,

00:23:00.340 basically going very heavy in the pubs and causing a local ruckus. So if you are from either of those

00:23:08.280 two places, please behave responsibly, because you have a bad reputation in Whitby.

00:23:14.300 All right. Let's start talking about some places that aren't on my favourite northern coastline,

00:23:19.920 shall we? And I actually wanted, for all it's worth, oh God, no. I actually wanted to give a bit of a nod

00:23:27.780 to some of the perks of London, actually. Because they do still exist, even though London is,

00:23:33.420 obviously, nowhere's favourite, no one's favourite place. Certainly not who works here. However,

00:23:40.100 the Prince Charles Cinema is an absolutely wonderful cinema. I've visited it potentially

00:23:46.440 about five times. And you might think, okay, well, Luca, why are you just giving a shout out to a

00:23:51.800 cinema of all things, right? There's cinemas all over the country. Well, this one is a little bit

00:23:56.000 different. It's a little bit quirky, because actually, you can go and see particular films on

00:24:01.520 35 millimetre reels, right? Actually, it's not, you know, it's not all download software as

00:24:07.980 they have to date. No, it's an actual old time film reel. And so you can see the cigarette burns and

00:24:15.340 things on the film as it's watching. And it just gives it this grainy, just really...

00:24:21.200 Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez feel.

00:24:23.660 You know, I mean, one of the greatest experiences was having this watching Master and Commander

00:24:30.460 at this cinema as well. And often, you know, it's not really a cinema that plays many,

00:24:37.160 many new things. It tends to just play old classics. And it's a cinema that really just deserves your

00:24:43.280 respect. I won't hark on it too much. But if you're ever in Leicester Square, and you fancy a film,

00:24:48.480 they've always got something on, and it's just really, really good.

00:24:53.060 I don't think I've been there, but I will take your advice. Next time I'm in London, I'll be there.

00:24:58.780 One of the things that I don't visit London frequently, but one of the main reasons is that

00:25:04.840 the average speed is 12 miles per hour, wherever you are.

00:25:09.860 This is why I spent five years in London and never learned to drive.

00:25:13.780 Yeah.

00:25:13.960 It's like, why would I want to be on those roads?

00:25:15.580 It's a city designed to hate drivers.

00:25:17.980 Yes.

00:25:18.200 It's a city designed against drivers.

00:25:20.320 Yeah, especially with you, Les.

00:25:22.120 Yes. Yeah, I resent it. But it has its nice places. It has its nice places.

00:25:28.120 It does. So I have another one here, which is the BFI, the British Film Institute.

00:25:33.940 I'm sure it's a total coincidence that the nice places in London that I'm naming are off the streets

00:25:39.180 and indoors. But nonetheless...

00:25:42.860 There are great places.

00:25:43.720 This seems to be the pattern. Now, why have I alerted you to the BFI? Well, though it does

00:25:50.060 have a cinema, that's not actually why I'm pitching it. The BFI has a marvellous archive,

00:25:59.080 which is basically a collection of, as it says here, British lives caught on film and collected

00:26:04.580 online. 120 years of Britain on film. And you can just go there for free, find a booth and just look

00:26:13.800 through the archives. You can get a little headset and you can just pour through hours and hours and

00:26:19.480 hours of British history, old British films, Pather, you know, British Pather, newsreels, anything.

00:26:27.960 Just anything that is of old England and it's on camera, you can find it there. And so it's actually

00:26:35.640 just a really great place to go to reconnect with Britain on film through the ages. But if I dare

00:26:44.020 to venture a single place outdoors in London, it has to be Covent Garden. Are you familiar with...

00:26:52.300 Yes. Yes. You've been there? Yes. Many times. Yes. I really like Covent Garden. When I was living in

00:26:58.720 London for five years for my sins, it got pretty rough at times, right? I didn't enjoy living in

00:27:06.240 London. However, I never had once... It was karma. You did something bad in your previous life.

00:27:13.300 Well, you're saying that, not me. You said for your sins. Yes. These are your words, not mine.

00:27:19.680 Yeah. Well, good point. Good point. Touché. What was I going to say? Yes. I never had a single bad

00:27:26.040 experience at Covent Garden, right? It's a place that is constantly teeming with life and music

00:27:32.900 and joy, right? The shops, of course, very classy, very high society. A particularly wonderful pipe shop

00:27:43.900 that does cigars and pipe tobaccos and things. Socks, if you're interested in that sort of thing.

00:27:50.760 But what's more as well, one of the things that I appreciate most about Covent Garden

00:27:55.080 is the actual street performance, right? I like that because that is exactly the sort of thing you

00:28:02.080 would have gotten, not just around Covent Garden, but more around London, of course, in the Victorian era.

00:28:08.420 The streets would have been awash with street performers and people, entertaining people,

00:28:13.940 street theatre, all these sorts of things. In fact, my final performance when I was at drama school

00:28:20.940 was at the church that is just opposite from this picture. They call it the Actors' Church,

00:28:26.980 and it's just on the opposite side there. And we performed our final exam in that church. It was wonderful.

00:28:33.840 So I do think that if you're ever in London and you're looking around just entirely black-pilled,

00:28:40.540 retreat to Covent Garden, and there you will find some sense of joy in your visit.

00:28:47.820 All right. So now for something completely different. And by the way, I don't feel the need to pull up

00:28:56.080 Google Maps. You all know where London is for those past three things.

00:28:59.520 Yeah. You broke your pattern. From the north, you went south.

00:29:04.940 I did. And now we're going west. Because this here has been one of the...

00:29:10.760 So one of the advantages of moving to Swindon, other than having one of the best jobs in the world,

00:29:17.480 is the fact that actually it allowed me to unlock certain areas of England that I'd never had access

00:29:24.380 to before. And one of the greatest discoveries that I've had since I've been here has been

00:29:30.920 West Kennet Barrows. Now, Kennet is a... I'd hesitate to even call it a village. It seems more like a

00:29:38.940 hamlet, really. But you have to walk some way. I mean, unless, of course, you've got the car.

00:29:44.520 I did it on foot. But eventually you reach these barrows. Now, these are obviously

00:29:49.160 thousands and thousands of years old. And there's not really any barrows up my neck of the woods.

00:29:57.440 So it was a real joy to see them. And you really... It's a place of such strong atmosphere

00:30:04.640 when you go in there as well. And the fact that you can just walk in to these barrows that are,

00:30:11.000 you know, Neolithic, you know, ancient, ancient Britain. It really gives you this sense of

00:30:17.580 connection. And it's all, you know, you've got wonderful countryside around you. There's even a

00:30:23.240 great mound. I was going to say on top of the hill. The mound is a man-made mound that is the hill.

00:30:30.840 And what's more as well, if you have a good old time there, you can walk a little bit further down

00:30:36.080 the road carrying on west and find a pub there called the... I think it was the Wagon and Horses.

00:30:43.680 And this is a wonderful pub that is actually featured in one of Charles Dickens' novels

00:30:50.660 because he stayed at it when he was journeying on his way to Bath. And so a lot of rich history

00:30:58.120 just in this small little vicinity of Kennet alone and well worth your time.

00:31:07.080 Let's get out of England, shall we, for just a second. This is Harlech Castle in Wales.

00:31:15.440 Have you spent much time visiting Wales?

00:31:18.360 Not much, but I have. And I do have a place in Wales that I'm going to end my portion of the

00:31:24.380 segment with.

00:31:25.620 Oh, wonderful. Well, this is Harlech Castle. I visited it for the first time this year.

00:31:31.340 Some of you may know the name of Harlech most famously from the song Men of Harlech as they

00:31:38.580 sing it in Zulu in front of all of the thousands of Zulu warriors. But this is, of course, a typical

00:31:46.340 example of many of the splendid castles that you have around Wales when the English were busy

00:31:55.340 trying to lock it down and bring a bit of Anglo-Saxon order to the place, he said provocatively.

00:32:02.840 But this is, of course, a wonderful castle. Now, despite how formidable it looks, something

00:32:09.520 that I found very interesting when I went there was that Harlech Castle has endured about five

00:32:14.800 or six different sieges. Okay. And it only actually held out once. Die Hard Castle. Yeah. It only held

00:32:22.040 out once. The five other times it was actually conquered. But to say that it's withstood six

00:32:29.620 sieges, it's in pretty good condition, I'd say. Perhaps that's why they won it. Yeah, maybe so.

00:32:37.420 Maybe he had some very distinct witnesses that everyone said, let's focus there. Yeah. And the rest

00:32:44.500 of it stays. I mean, its position is phenomenal. It's not as apparent from the photograph, but it's

00:32:50.860 very, very much raised upon the hill. And all the buildings you can see here are very far down. And so if

00:32:58.520 you stand on the battlements, you get an incredible view, of course, of the sea out into the Irish Sea,

00:33:04.860 but also of the surrounding town of Harlech as well. And of course, all of the many mountain

00:33:11.300 ranges of Wales on the horizon. So, and what's more as well, I've thought that the Welsh locals were

00:33:18.160 very, very friendly, very kind folk. So a nod to them as well. So Harlech Castle is definitely

00:33:26.560 a place to visit. And I just have one more place to mention before we go over to your suggestions as

00:33:36.020 well. And that is that you go and do the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge if you are younger and you

00:33:43.660 feel like your legs can stand it. Now, the Yorkshire Three Peaks are Pennegent, Wernside and

00:33:50.960 Ingleborough. And you can do it informally. You can just do it at your own pace. But there is an

00:33:56.560 actual challenge, which is to do all three peaks in the space of 12 hours. And that's a great

00:34:04.640 challenge for many people. And of course, many people go with a fellowship of friends and attempt

00:34:10.480 to do this. And you can see here the viaducts, how imposing they are on the landscape. It just has

00:34:17.600 such a magic to it as well. And I do believe from this particular, you can see just how atmospheric

00:34:24.880 the landscape is in the Yorkshire Dales. It's really, really splendid. And so if you were looking

00:34:33.460 for a walking holiday, then I would absolutely recommend the Three Peaks. I attempted it some

00:34:40.420 years ago. But due to, there's no other way to put it, bad planning, we only really managed

00:34:48.660 two of them. So it's something that I hope to attempt again.

00:34:52.280 We need to do three of them. Because I love trekking.

00:34:55.540 Yes. Yes. All right. Let's do that sometime. And you should do it too, ladies and gentlemen,

00:35:00.120 because it's wonderful. And what's...

00:35:02.700 Walking with brother Luca and brother Stelios.

00:35:04.860 Yeah. A real pilgrimage. And a northern pilgrimage. And so, yeah, the wonderful, wonderful countryside.

00:35:13.880 Because it's not just a case of one mountain down, next mountain, you know, there are miles

00:35:18.400 and miles between these three peaks as well. And so by the time you've finished this, you

00:35:25.920 really are going to feel like you've experienced the very greatest of what the landscape of Yorkshire

00:35:32.020 has to offer you. So there we go.

00:35:36.500 Oh, sorry. There was one more Stelios, which is also just visit Tewksbury. This is another

00:35:43.160 place like Kennet that I found locally. Well, not so local, of course. This is more towards

00:35:48.640 the Welsh border. But Tewksbury is a magnificent medieval English town. It also has an incredible

00:35:56.440 reenactment of the Battle of Tewksbury. And what's more as well, I will just say some of

00:36:02.340 the best bookshops that I found anywhere in Britain. So I'll just say that quickly. And

00:36:08.980 over to you, sir.

00:36:10.480 And let us just give an idea to people that Tewksbury is down here.

00:36:17.880 Yes, it is. It's if we just pull out. Yep. Phrasing. Yeah, it's over there, Tewksbury. You

00:36:29.600 see it right there above Cheltenham. Here it is. Yep. So it's between Gloucester. It's just

00:36:34.360 north of Gloucester.

00:36:35.800 Great. Right. So we're going to go to the middle of Wiltshire. Actually, not quite the middle.

00:36:43.460 Where is it? We're there in Swindon, obviously. Right. I will say this. I mean, everything

00:36:52.220 around Swindon is magnificent. Swindon has some nice parts. It does. We always say the

00:36:58.940 bad things about it, but it has some nice parts. You must look for the good. Yeah, we

00:37:03.000 must look for the good. And I will say this, and I say so shamelessly, when we have guests

00:37:10.340 here, I take them to the Pyongyang tour. Now, if you're watching the show, this is the tour

00:37:16.540 where we go to some magnificent neighborhoods. And if you just walk in these neighborhoods,

00:37:23.340 it's absolutely lovely. If you zoom out a bit, the surrounding area, not so much.

00:37:28.980 It's just like North Korea.

00:37:32.280 Right. So we're going to go to the next one. Let's put it here to Stonehenge. Right. This

00:37:40.600 is very, it's a classic choice, but I do like it. I do love it. I've never actually been.

00:37:48.280 You have to go there. And also, if you love walking, you have to go there because Stonehenge

00:37:54.620 isn't just this site. It's a massive area where you can just walk footpaths endlessly.

00:38:03.280 And one of the, one of my favorite experiences is just walking there in the surrounding area

00:38:09.520 with full sunshine. You walk, you're surrounded by nature. You're surrounded by rabbits. There

00:38:17.160 are lots of rabbits there. Last time I went there. Do you like rabbits?

00:38:19.680 Right. So this is just something that you have to see at least once. Um, if, even if you're

00:38:27.260 local or, um, or, uh, a tourist, you have to see Stonehenge. It's brilliant. And let me

00:38:35.280 just give you some very basic facts. I have here an AI generated list just to see what the

00:38:42.560 internet says.

00:38:43.520 Okay.

00:38:44.020 Right. Cause it's random facts. Cause we can talk about these sites endlessly. They're saying

00:38:48.920 basically that his purpose was a mystery and it was basically believed to be a religious

00:38:54.940 or ceremonial site.

00:38:56.500 It's not that big a mystery. We do know why it was built and it was built for the greater

00:39:01.480 good.

00:39:02.340 The greater good.

00:39:03.380 Yes.

00:39:03.660 And they say that a key feature that is interesting and spooky and nice is its astronomical alignment.

00:39:12.320 They say the main axis of the monument lines up with a sunrise on the summer solstice and

00:39:19.180 the sunset on the winter solstice. And this suggests that it was an important marker for

00:39:25.360 seasonal events. And also I'm going to break lots of rules here. You know, pro tourist lobby.

00:39:34.340 Oh yeah.

00:39:34.620 It's also Avebury that is great.

00:39:36.860 Yes. I visited Avebury.

00:39:38.360 Yeah.

00:39:38.680 I was there for the summer solstice actually. I was there with Rory.

00:39:42.360 You were there.

00:39:42.900 And lots of people who are saying that Stonehenge is too crowded. They say go to Avebury.

00:39:50.740 And yeah, they say go to Avebury. And I will say one thing. Cause last time I went to Avebury,

00:39:59.280 I was there with a Druid aficionado and she was touching the stones and telling me that

00:40:07.880 she was healing herself.

00:40:10.160 Oh yeah.

00:40:10.820 Yeah. So, you know, there, there is a sort of, you know, Druidic feeling there. So just

00:40:17.780 visit it. I don't know if the stones have magical healing powers or not, but maybe try it.

00:40:24.920 I don't know. Just maybe try it.

00:40:27.140 Many people will tell, will advise you to go and touch grass. Stelios advises you to go and

00:40:32.560 touch the stone.

00:40:34.240 Right. So now I want to take you again up north.

00:40:39.560 Good. I'm glad to hear it. Patriot.

00:40:42.780 Up north. Cause I was there for seven years and I do love York. And this is York here,

00:40:49.380 right here. It has just endless history.

00:40:54.040 I want to show you, I want to show you just some pictures here. This is the shambles.

00:40:59.420 Very famous.

00:41:00.500 This is one of the oldest neighborhoods. I think it's from the 1500s and here you have

00:41:06.560 it by night. And I will say one thing is that this is a lovely place here. I just couldn't

00:41:12.540 have enough of it.

00:41:13.480 No. I'm sure I went for a birthday one year when I was quite young and it being very special.

00:41:21.140 Well, if you were quite young, you wouldn't have noticed some of the things that I did

00:41:25.740 notice in York.

00:41:26.640 Okay.

00:41:27.320 And we will talk about them in a bit, but I will say that the shambles here is one of

00:41:31.160 the best neighborhoods and you have every night a ghost tour. There's a ghost shop, you

00:41:38.020 know, and there are huge queues of people going in and buying ghost figurines. It's really

00:41:45.040 great.

00:41:45.340 That does sound pretty cool.

00:41:46.360 And you have someone dressed with the appropriate dress.

00:41:51.440 Yeah. You.

00:41:52.520 No.

00:41:54.160 The appropriate garments and whatever. And they are giving people a sort of a ghost tour.

00:41:59.880 And there's also a bus in York that you can have a haunted tour of York.

00:42:05.460 Why York specifically? Why is it associated with ghosts?

00:42:09.480 Why not?

00:42:11.720 Point taken.

00:42:12.960 Ghosts are everywhere.

00:42:14.200 Ghosts are everywhere. I should know this by now.

00:42:16.080 Why not?

00:42:16.620 Yeah.

00:42:16.800 Also, there's a Harry Potter shop there that has...

00:42:20.500 Usually you see it full of people. It's not like that.

00:42:24.040 No. I imagine the streets are rarely that quiet.

00:42:26.860 Also, I remember there was a llama figurine somewhere here. And I think here you have an

00:42:32.080 excellent, excellent coffee shop with lovely scones. The scones were huge.

00:42:38.160 Is it scones or scones? Whatever.

00:42:41.060 Well, I'd say scones, but...

00:42:42.920 Let's leave Civil War for later.

00:42:44.540 Now, let's go to the tour.

00:42:46.200 Right. So, York is very wonderful and vibrant. It's also very jolly. You see here that it

00:42:53.520 has kept its character to a surprising extent. See here this lovely... I think this is Micklegate.

00:43:00.260 It doesn't say here. I think this is Micklegate Tower and the Micklegate Road and entry. You

00:43:08.120 had the Micklegate Social here just behind. You have... I think it was Ria's here. The

00:43:13.100 Italian shop. You go down to the cellar.

00:43:15.060 Oh, right.

00:43:15.380 And just at the place where this person is taking the photo, there was a great pub. How

00:43:22.500 was it called? The Windmill, I think. I've dined there many a times. It was one of my favorite

00:43:27.680 pubs. I don't know if it's still there. I think it was. Right. Let me just show you

00:43:33.900 other... Here's your cathedral. Again, very big cathedral.

00:43:38.880 Minster. Minster. Yeah. And you have here the statue of Constantine the Great. Oh, wonderful.

00:43:47.720 So, it's a bit imperial. There are imperial vibes in the city. Here you have, just to the

00:43:55.280 left, you have also a tea shop with hundreds of flavors. You mentioned before when you mentioned

00:44:02.240 Lincoln. I will say I couldn't forget. I had a tea with chocolate and orange.

00:44:08.880 That sounds extraordinary. Extraordinary. And there's also a lovely bookshop just to

00:44:15.300 the left of it. Very peculiar. Yeah. You know, there's also a great bookshop. I think it's

00:44:23.180 called the Minster Bookshop. Definitely give that a visit. Right. So, York is very, very,

00:44:29.160 very full of people. And you have all sorts of tourism. The Minster is great. See here,

00:44:38.460 York, in case you're wondering where you are. In case you're lost. I will say this. I've been

00:44:44.760 inside the Minster several times. And there was a lovely occasion in early December. I think it's

00:44:53.840 every year, early December. So, now, less than a month from now, I think it was a Santa Lucia

00:45:00.260 choir. And they're singing lovely religious music. Oh, heavenly.

00:45:09.500 O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, or Christmas carols and stuff. Right.

00:45:14.100 It's a marvelous experience. So, definitely visit it. If you want to have an idea, just

00:45:20.660 check videos on YouTube, because there are videos of this glorious event. Right. So,

00:45:26.320 what it says here, York is one of the most ancient cities with such a patriotic history.

00:45:30.980 Our city was there in Athelstan, the first king of England, united all Anglo-Saxon and Viking

00:45:36.640 territories, making him the first Anglo-Saxon ruler of all of England. So, it does have rich history.

00:45:43.020 And I will also say something that is, that just comes off the top of my head. I think

00:45:49.400 it was Cardinal Wolsey, who was in York. Yes. And during the period of Henry VIII, where

00:45:57.420 he was trying to get a divorce from Catherine of Aragon. Yeah, he was exiled from power and

00:46:02.500 basically given York. He was like Bishop of York, something like that. It was his last title.

00:46:08.500 Yes. And I think he, did he kill himself before they killed him? Or is that one of the...

00:46:15.160 It's a speculation. It may have been the case. But I think the generally accepted version of

00:46:22.880 history is that he just got ill and died, fortunately, before his trial. He's in trial.

00:46:28.880 Right. And I will say very briefly, we have the two really interesting series. One is a series,

00:46:38.340 the other is a movie. A Man for All Seasons. Oh, I love it. And then we have Tudors, where in

00:46:42.920 Tudors, they have a more sympathetic view of Cardinal Wolsey. I mean, it's Sam Neill. I kind

00:46:48.120 of not like him. Oh, he's... Even when he's playing the villain, I kind of stand for Sam Neill.

00:46:52.880 The thing is, as well, actually, just on that, Sam Neill is the sort of man I'd never have

00:46:57.500 thought to have cast as Wolsey. But he is magnificent. Yes. Every single scene he's in...

00:47:05.760 And the scene where he commits suicide is one of the greatest scenes. I think it was my

00:47:09.800 favourite scene of the series. Very powerful.

00:47:12.480 Man for All Seasons is a wonderful movie, but they did portray him basically like Jabba the

00:47:17.240 Hutt. Well, he was played by Orson Welles.

00:47:19.680 So... Right. Yeah. This is AI generated, but the issue is that it's not that far away from

00:47:28.280 reality. Oh, right. Yeah. Again, Mikkelgate here. It's not just Mikkelgate. Come on. Come

00:47:33.980 on, Twitter. Right here. Again, this may be AI generated, but it's not far from reality. And

00:47:42.400 I will say I have been in this hotel. Occasionally, if you're properly dressed, they do allow you

00:47:51.000 to go in the garden here and... Oh, they actually have a dress code?

00:47:55.800 Baby, basically, you need to not be dressed as a bum. Based? Yeah. So I wasn't. So I was allowed

00:48:04.400 to enter. You may proceed. Yeah. It was just great. And you have... You look at the Minster

00:48:10.860 here from behind. This is like backstage view of the Minster. Not exactly because you have

00:48:17.240 the walls that surround the city. Absolutely stunning views. It's... You have to do it.

00:48:25.840 One... Two of the things you have to do in York are the following. Walk along the... Along

00:48:34.240 the walls and also do the Dame Judi Dench walk. Walk along the river miles and miles and miles.

00:48:41.240 It's absolutely wonderful. Oh, and you also have the Jorvik Centre as well, don't you?

00:48:45.340 Yes. The Viking Centre. With all the Viking history. Yes. Yes. I remember that from a school

00:48:49.200 trip as a young lad. Right. Just... Just look at this. This is behind the Minster. They have

00:48:54.340 here some cafe shops. Now they haven't taken the tables and chairs outside. But you have these

00:49:01.340 three wonderful places here where you can get scones and coffee and tea, whatever. It's just

00:49:08.420 magnificent. Right. Let's exit this. Let's see if we have extra photos here. Again, shambles.

00:49:16.300 Come on. Right. Here. Okay. This is just a look of York without the tables and chairs here

00:49:26.800 of the pubs when... Or a Dutch angle shot. Yeah. For some reason. This is great. I think this

00:49:31.380 is the Centurion place behind. It had the gym I went. But I walk this place all day, you know, and

00:49:38.580 you walk along here. You have the other bridge here. You also have another lovely place here in the...

00:49:45.060 You can... You can... Where is it? Anyway, we left here. Right. So York is amazing. Definitely visit it. And if you

00:49:54.660 love walking, it's one of the best places because you can just walk everywhere. And it has great

00:50:01.140 connection with also public transport to basically all the places in the north. So it's very central

00:50:08.260 and great. Now, York is one of those cities where they say that it's really stunning. And the... I have

00:50:16.660 heard that the York of the south is Bath. Lots of people in Bath may say that York is the Bath of the

00:50:23.220 north. I'm staying out of it. But let me just show you here where we are going. York is here. Both is

00:50:33.140 right here close to Bristol. It's here. Yeah. It's right where the Cotswolds begin, I think. I think the

00:50:44.180 Cotswolds are a massive area here. It's just even more bigger than this. It's just Bath is here. Right.

00:50:51.940 Let us look at some Bath photos. Sir, I've only ever visited Bath once, so I must go again.

00:51:00.500 You have to go there? Well, I mean, it's already convinced me. Yeah. Let's just look at this.

00:51:07.300 Yeah. Extraordinary. You walk here. Here was a place where I will say first time I visited now,

00:51:12.820 because I visited, I think, 20 years ago. You walk here and there are some stairs and you climb down.

00:51:20.100 And I saw some people here eating with their hands. I said, what are they doing? Anyway,

00:51:24.820 I just kept continuing walking along this beautiful... Why do you have to pay for stock photos?

00:51:29.940 What's this nonsense? Very strange. No idea. Right. Let me just show you. Here you have beautiful bridges.

00:51:37.620 Hmm. Just look at that. Yeah, it's extraordinary. And then, of course, as well, isn't it? One of the most

00:51:46.340 important landmarks of it is the old ancient Roman Baths. Yeah. Which I'm sure I must have visited many

00:51:53.700 years ago when I did go, however briefly. Yeah. There are lots of people here who take pictures.

00:52:01.620 I have been one of them. Oh, I thought you might have been. Yes. Right. So this is just a place where you

00:52:10.020 have magnificent view and I never get tired of it. Never get tired of it. Let's look at some other

00:52:15.860 photos from Bath here. Also, it has a great pub. I think the Raven pub. And this is the pub where

00:52:23.220 Keir Starmer was denied entry entrance. Oh, right. Oh, yes. Okay. Yes. So we have to mention this.

00:52:29.220 Shout out to landlord. For people who are also interested in the current affairs. And that was

00:52:33.540 based as well, because that was over the lockdown stuff as well. Yes. Right. Again, here, if you walk

00:52:39.460 down this small path, you see here, this is a great hotel. Yeah, remarkable. You see also, I think

00:52:47.860 this, no, that's not Sydney Gardens. It's called, it has a different name. Sydney Gardens is to the right

00:52:54.900 of it. If you walk here. Sydney Sweeney Gardens. Sydney Sweeney Gardens. Yeah, definitely.

00:53:02.020 Check them out. Check them out. She gave us her endorsement. She did. Didn't she? Right. So you

00:53:09.940 you see here. Right. This is a great place. I do remember this. Yes. How could I forget that? Possibly.

00:53:19.380 Yeah. That was one of the greatest streets I've ever been on. Yeah. And I think this is Bath Regent

00:53:24.580 or Regent's Bath Circus. And close to it has some very posh, but lovely neighborhoods. And I've heard

00:53:32.660 this an anecdote where someone was there in the living there in the door knock and it was Nicolas Cage

00:53:40.020 said, I'm interested in buying your house. Are you interested in selling? But it's just crazily

00:53:45.140 expensive. Bath is crazily expensive. Imagine living in that cove. Yeah. Imagine. Yes. Right. So I'm not

00:53:55.780 so much a city person. I'm more of a nature man. I love, you know, the the great unexplored. And when I

00:54:03.220 named Lincoln, part of the charm of Lincoln is the fact that it is a just a small city. Yeah.

00:54:08.580 But I will mention this city because it's very close to my heart. Edinburgh in Scotland. Always

00:54:16.260 meant to go. Yeah. There is something really lovely about the city for me, which the audience may disagree

00:54:25.060 with me. It's the sound. I love the sound of bagpipes. Oh, the sound of the scots. And you very frequently

00:54:33.540 listen to bagpipes there. Also, you have Edinburgh Castle, which is lovely. And you go through a

00:54:41.300 wonderful tour and you look down the city and it's great. You have, I think, Arthur's Eld or King's Eld.

00:54:48.820 I think Arthur's Eld. Right. It's another beautiful hill that you see the city. But it's just I

00:54:55.220 and you have this great road here. You climb up to the castle. Now we'll say this. I do have

00:55:03.220 a massive issue, possibly with the Scottish government. I think Scotland is one of the

00:55:08.900 most expensive places to have whiskey. Oh, really? Yeah. And I absolutely love whiskey. That should

00:55:15.060 never be the case. And the Scots are, I think, number one in whiskey. I will say this.

00:55:19.220 I happen to agree. I also love Irish whiskey, but I think my favorite are the Scots whiskeys,

00:55:24.820 especially in the Isle of Isle of the smoked ones. More of a smoked whiskey, man. They were

00:55:30.580 crazily expensive there. Now, I have heard the excuse that there's lots of drunken fights and

00:55:39.220 they're trying to contain it. In Scotland. But I think that this is an absolute excuse. I have seen

00:55:44.740 several roles there. People throwing chairs. But let us not mix things. No. Whiskey is whiskey.

00:55:53.460 And this expensive, this tax rate on whiskey is categorically wrong. They don't want you to

00:55:59.860 know this, but you can drink whiskey without throwing chairs. Yes. Again, don't ban whiskey.

00:56:08.180 Right. Look at this. It's just marvelous. That is extraordinary.

00:56:11.620 And one thing I will say, some buildings were a bit grayish or blackish, but this didn't deprive the

00:56:20.020 jolliness of the town. I got a very happy feeling there. Maybe it was the bagpipes.

00:56:25.220 Maybe it was. Maybe it was the bagpipes. But lots of Scots I've met disagree with me. They tell me

00:56:30.580 they can't stand the sound of bagpipes. Oh, I'm glad they're saying it because I do happen to agree

00:56:35.940 with them. No, it's the sound of pride. It's a very sharp sound. It's the sound of pride. All right.

00:56:43.780 I mean, don't go wrong. I'm not saying I wish I didn't exist. It's not one of my favorites.

00:56:47.940 My favorite. You have to love the sound of bagpipes. It's just how it is. Oh, yes. No,

00:56:54.020 I understand. Right. So I like how diplomatically you play. I quite understand. It pierces your ear,

00:57:01.060 but it elevates you. It fills you with pride and joy. I do understand that, actually. Yeah. Okay.

00:57:09.460 I'm a bit more convinced. So here is Tom Roussel, great man, great friend of the show. And he says,

00:57:17.060 my current advice for tourists visiting England is to just visit these three towns,

00:57:23.060 Sarancest of Quaint Town, local Cotswolds Villages, Roman Villa, Treadworth and Roman Museum in town,

00:57:30.340 Bath for Roman Baths, beautiful town, and the nearby stately home. And he has this trajectory here

00:57:38.340 where he goes south. Oh, to Salisbury. Yeah. Right. That's great. But I'm going to break

00:57:46.580 his rule. I will travel along his road, but I will also be very cheeky and tell people to do the

00:57:55.620 exact opposite route as well. Well, to do it in reverse. Do this, but also go to the Cotswolds here,

00:58:03.700 which I happen to love. I do appreciate, I do appreciate the concerns that you have. And I'm

00:58:10.340 sure that they are the concerns Tom has. I do appreciate this, but you have to look at the

00:58:18.340 stunning beauty of the Cotswolds. I'm a Cotswolds aficionado, but I will be diplomatic

00:58:26.900 in that I won't mention all of the Cotswolds. Okay. Because there are many. I mean, there are

00:58:31.620 many. All right, then keep your secrets. The ones that I'm frequenting, I won't say. Good. So they

00:58:36.820 don't get full of other people. But the ones that I, that they, they weren't particularly good to me.

00:58:45.940 They overcharged my coffee and my scones and my fish and chips. And the places where I went and the

00:58:52.740 fish and chips portion wasn't massive. And it was expensive.

00:58:57.940 JMA.

00:58:58.660 No.

00:58:59.540 No.

00:59:02.420 Right. Okay.

00:59:05.380 I'm joking a bit, but we are talking about wholesome places, great places that you have to visit.

00:59:10.740 And not all of them are in the Cotswolds. I will say this. I try to never miss a weekend. I have this

00:59:16.020 right here. This is in Shaftesbury. I was going down to Durdle Door and I had to stop there because

00:59:25.940 a footpath started and I want to do it again. It's wonderful. You just look at the view here.

00:59:33.380 JMA. Oh, it's splendid.

00:59:34.580 JMA. And I want to walk it. Right. And I have here other places. Right. Well, it's in Somerset.

00:59:40.340 That's not Cotswolds. It's, it's not Dorset either. Shaftesbury is in Dorset, but you just look at this.

00:59:48.580 JMA. Yeah, that's astonishing.

00:59:49.780 JMA. This is one of the oldest neighborhoods again.

00:59:52.820 Um, this guy here was messing up with my photo, but still, it's beautiful.

00:59:58.020 JMA. Get out of it.

00:59:58.660 JMA. Um, here you have stunning views. It's just wonderful.

01:00:04.900 JMA. Oh, it's perfect.

01:00:05.780 JMA. Yeah. Just, just look at this. This is beauty.

01:00:08.980 JMA. I do remember Carl saying that Wells Cathedral was one of the greatest places to visit.

01:00:13.940 JMA. Yeah. Now I'm going to attract the hatred of people.

01:00:17.700 JMA. Of me.

01:00:18.100 JMA. Of, yeah, yeah, yeah.

01:00:19.620 JMA. Don't tell them, Stelios.

01:00:21.380 JMA. Don't tell them. Don't tell them. This is a picture I got from Bybury.

01:00:26.500 JMA. When you see AI pictures there, just compare them. You see that it's true.

01:00:31.860 JMA. Also, one thing I want to say is that I think it's a good thing for people to do what

01:00:37.300 this is, by the way, stone the world. This is the doors of Durin. I think it's important for,

01:00:43.220 for people to see it at some point. And I'm talking to our audience, because when you go to some of

01:00:49.860 those beautiful Cotswolds, you see what hasn't been taken away from you.

01:00:54.580 JMA. Yes.

01:00:54.980 JMA. And I will say this, this is why I'm breaking this rule, because I think that it's,

01:01:02.420 it's a massive white pill for people who feel incredibly black-peeled.

01:01:06.820 JMA. Yes.

01:01:07.380 JMA. You have to watch it, because this is something that is, is alive and vibrant.

01:01:14.500 JMA. This is what you're fighting for.

01:01:16.180 JMA. It's going to, yeah, once you see that it hasn't died, it will fill you with joy. It

01:01:23.140 will fill you with pride and it will reinvigorate your patriotic sentiments.

01:01:28.420 JMA. If, um, is that north of Swindon, Stone the World?

01:01:34.980 JMA. Yeah.

01:01:35.300 JMA. Yeah.

01:01:35.700 JMA. Okay.

01:01:36.180 JMA. Let me just show you here where Stone the World is.

01:01:40.020 JMA. So, yeah, I really, that's probably up in my priorities, to be honest with you.

01:01:43.860 JMA. Right.

01:01:44.180 JMA. Oh, I see it.

01:01:45.060 JMA. Siren Sester, also where Tom suggested, is where we've been there.

01:01:49.460 JMA. We have.

01:01:50.020 JMA. You remember once where you stayed at my place?

01:01:52.580 JMA. Yes.

01:01:52.820 JMA. Long time ago, we drove to Siren Sester.

01:01:54.980 JMA. Yeah, it was good night.

01:01:55.940 JMA. Good night. And then the road back closed,

01:01:58.020 and we had to take another road.

01:01:59.940 JMA. Anyway, don't, don't dox me.

01:02:02.020 JMA. Yes.

01:02:02.340 JMA. Don't dox me.

01:02:03.540 JMA. Right.

01:02:04.260 JMA. Here you see Cotswolds Aonb.

01:02:06.660 Aonb is area of outstanding natural beauty.

01:02:10.580 JMA. Here is Stone the World.

01:02:14.020 JMA. Which definitely also has its own beauty.

01:02:16.020 JMA. Yeah.

01:02:16.660 And here is Joshua's favorite place, or not so much.

01:02:20.500 Lately here is where you think it's completely destroyed by tourism burden on the water.

01:02:25.220 I will say, yeah, when it's full of people, it's annoying.

01:02:31.140 You can't park, you can't walk, it's full of people.

01:02:38.100 Lots of them are just walking barefoot, and they're entering the river barefoot.

01:02:43.620 Oh.

01:02:45.540 JMA. It can get full of people.

01:02:47.540 It's not so considerate.

01:02:48.820 JMA. If you pick times where it isn't full of tourism, it's absolutely wonderful.

01:02:55.380 And let me show you some pictures here.

01:02:57.940 Where is it?

01:02:58.820 JMA. Let me show you some pictures that I got.

01:03:02.820 JMA. Sure.

01:03:05.780 Stone hanging ship.

01:03:06.580 JMA. Yeah.

01:03:07.060 Here, I'll show you two pictures.

01:03:09.860 You walk along the river.

01:03:11.380 You see that I picked a good day?

01:03:12.900 JMA. Oh, it's paradise.

01:03:14.580 JMA. If you know how, you can game the system, and you can actually see it in this beauty.

01:03:22.260 Right. So, just look at this. You're walking, and this is just a lovely river. Lots of lovely ducks.

01:03:27.940 Awesome. Just following one another. It's great.

01:03:33.140 Very wholesome. Here, from that ridge, you see it.

01:03:41.700 And it has lots of other lovely pictures. Let me see, where is it?

01:03:45.540 Yeah, but also it has, here is what Maven says. He says, bought on the wall.

01:03:52.420 Yeah, that's grim.

01:03:53.700 He says, he is showing how very bad it can get. Things can get with lots of tourism. Just look at

01:04:01.220 this. This is absolutely unacceptable.

01:04:03.460 Entirely.

01:04:04.100 It's absolutely unacceptable.

01:04:05.460 Well, if you did that, you should just be banned from the village.

01:04:07.860 Yes.

01:04:08.260 And pick up some great days to visit. Again, when you do,

01:04:14.580 it will reinvigorate your sentiments, because the city is lovely.

01:04:18.980 It's not a city. This small Cotswold is absolutely lovely.

01:04:24.500 Right.

01:04:26.660 Are these the pictures of library?

01:04:27.540 We showed library from before.

01:04:28.820 Yeah.

01:04:29.700 Right. Another one, which is one of my absolute favorites,

01:04:34.340 is Broadway, which is really close to Stonewall.

01:04:39.300 You take this road here.

01:04:40.500 Oh, yes.

01:04:41.140 Yeah. And you go here. Also, Chipping Camden is magnificent.

01:04:48.260 Broadway Tower. This is just great.

01:04:52.340 And it has a footpath. You climb down the hill to Broadway.

01:04:57.140 You can just walk and it's absolutely lovely.

01:05:00.180 Broadway is fantastic.

01:05:01.860 It's very expensive, but you understand why.

01:05:06.660 And during the summer, they have something really nice and interesting.

01:05:10.980 They have a contest.

01:05:12.340 No, it's not exactly a contest.

01:05:13.620 I think it's people do it spontaneously.

01:05:16.900 They paint the garden.

01:05:18.740 They just paint in nature.

01:05:19.940 All right.

01:05:20.420 They draw inspiration from the magnificent scenery and they do so.

01:05:27.300 And let me just show you where is it.

01:05:29.860 Yeah.

01:05:30.180 You can have pictures here of Broadway.

01:05:33.860 Broadway Hotel, The Fish, Crown Low and Meal here.

01:05:37.860 And this is Broadway Tower. It's magnificent.

01:05:42.180 It is.

01:05:42.420 And here, if you love footpaths, Broadway can be a great place to start.

01:05:48.900 Here you have Cotswolds Way, Ashmolean Museum Broadway, Upper High Street.

01:05:55.140 You have Whichever Way, which is 40 miles of a footpath, which to me is a challenge.

01:06:02.260 I'm definitely going to walk that at some point.

01:06:04.580 And also Cotswolds Way.

01:06:06.820 Also car park and toilets if you want to relieve yourself.

01:06:11.540 You'd hope so.

01:06:12.660 Right.

01:06:13.140 Now, I want to show you Durdle Door because I will say that people outside of England

01:06:20.100 frequently think that England doesn't have beautiful beaches and waters.

01:06:25.860 This is absolutely a mistake.

01:06:28.820 And there are some areas where, right, the water is not so nice.

01:06:32.740 Sure.

01:06:33.060 Yeah.

01:06:33.620 But there are also some areas where the water is stunning.

01:06:37.140 And one of them is Durdle Door.

01:06:44.740 Is it here?

01:06:45.140 Do you remember which part of the coast it's on?

01:06:46.340 Yeah.

01:06:47.060 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

01:06:47.620 Here.

01:06:48.180 Durdle Door.

01:06:50.260 And Lalworth Cove.

01:06:52.100 So here, let me just show you pictures.

01:06:55.620 Again, also, there were smugglers here and stuff.

01:06:59.860 It's beautiful.

01:07:00.660 And the waters here are magnificent.

01:07:03.540 And you have lots of people swimming.

01:07:05.460 And also, it's just stunningly beautiful.

01:07:08.420 One thing I will say here is that I parked here in Lalworth Cove.

01:07:13.140 I walked here.

01:07:14.260 It was beautiful.

01:07:14.980 And you have magnificent walks.

01:07:17.380 And then I climbed up, I call it the Hill of Sorrows, because it was very steep.

01:07:23.060 Oh, yeah.

01:07:23.940 Yeah.

01:07:24.340 And then you walk to Manowar Beach and Durdle Door.

01:07:30.260 I will show you photos in a bitch.

01:07:32.260 In a bit.

01:07:37.460 We're talking about bitches.

01:07:39.620 Sorry.

01:07:40.020 Beaches.

01:07:40.900 Beaches.

01:07:41.940 Beaches.

01:07:42.420 Sorry.

01:07:42.980 Right.

01:07:43.380 Okay.

01:07:43.620 We'll edit that out.

01:07:44.740 No, we won't.

01:07:45.780 We won't.

01:07:46.660 No.

01:07:47.140 Don't.

01:07:47.540 Don't.

01:07:48.100 It's too funny.

01:07:48.740 Don't stop it having me.

01:07:49.780 Right.

01:07:50.020 Beaches.

01:07:51.620 Great.

01:07:52.420 Okay.

01:07:52.740 So, I climbed up the Hill of Sorrows.

01:07:56.420 It was very steep.

01:07:58.660 The group I was with was very keen on taking photos.

01:08:03.940 It was a bit annoying.

01:08:07.940 Let's just move on.

01:08:10.260 And I just said, right, I'm going to speed up.

01:08:12.500 And I jogged it.

01:08:14.180 It was two or three minutes.

01:08:17.620 I was exhausted.

01:08:18.900 But then I went out and just, I was watching the other ones climbing up slowly.

01:08:23.620 And you felt better watching their struggle.

01:08:25.940 Yes.

01:08:26.180 And then I just chilled.

01:08:27.940 Chill.

01:08:28.260 Chill and watched the beautiful view.

01:08:31.460 And you walk to, where is it?

01:08:34.420 Yeah, here.

01:08:36.340 Manowar Beach and Durdle Door.

01:08:39.380 And let me show you the photos I took.

01:08:44.340 That's down here, I assume.

01:08:45.700 Oh, there you are.

01:08:46.660 This is Lyleworth Cove.

01:08:48.660 This is from my phone.

01:08:50.660 This isn't AI generated.

01:08:52.500 This isn't just, you know, or tinkered or something.

01:08:55.780 These are actual colors.

01:08:57.140 Yeah, it looks extraordinary.

01:08:58.340 Right?

01:08:58.820 It is extraordinary.

01:08:59.860 Is that blue water?

01:09:02.100 It's not even gray.

01:09:03.140 Yeah.

01:09:03.460 I didn't know where to do that.

01:09:04.660 You see how wholesome this is, Lyleworth Cove.

01:09:08.500 Also, I will say this, because I like giving credit where it's due.

01:09:13.940 It had great fish and chips.

01:09:16.420 Well, that's good to hear.

01:09:17.860 Yeah.

01:09:18.260 There was a swarm of seagulls, cheeky bosses.

01:09:20.740 They tried to steal it, but I didn't allow them.

01:09:23.060 They do that.

01:09:23.780 Yeah.

01:09:24.420 And let me just show you also Dirtledore.

01:09:26.660 Good fishing ship should always be commended.

01:09:30.020 Look at that.

01:09:31.460 Yeah.

01:09:31.700 Okay.

01:09:32.180 I must go there.

01:09:33.300 It's great.

01:09:33.860 Yeah.

01:09:34.180 You have to go there.

01:09:35.460 I've heard that.

01:09:36.260 I haven't swum there.

01:09:37.460 I will at some point.

01:09:39.220 I've heard that the rocks there are very sharp.

01:09:42.260 You have to take care, but you have to go there.

01:09:45.940 Also, really fun thing is I was telling one person in the group,

01:09:50.020 you really have to take care of how you be careful, how you walk.

01:09:54.740 It's a steep hill here.

01:09:59.780 What do you mean on those cliffs?

01:10:01.380 They didn't hear and they...

01:10:03.860 Felt to their death?

01:10:04.900 Like, what happened?

01:10:05.620 No, they didn't die.

01:10:08.180 They faced the consequences of not listening to prudent advice.

01:10:12.340 How ominous.

01:10:13.620 Yeah.

01:10:14.340 Right.

01:10:14.580 Here's Winchester, right?

01:10:16.180 Winchester is in Hampshire.

01:10:19.300 King Alfred.

01:10:20.900 King Alfred.

01:10:24.180 Here is just a few pictures.

01:10:26.100 Yes.

01:10:26.580 I was a bit unlucky that day because it was very cloudy.

01:10:29.860 You can't see the majesty of Winchester when it's that cloudy.

01:10:33.620 I mean, you can, but if it were sunny, it would be more glorious.

01:10:39.940 The colors would be more visible.

01:10:42.260 Right.

01:10:42.580 And let's go here to another place.

01:10:46.020 Let me just show you here.

01:10:47.540 Durdle door.

01:10:50.020 Yep.

01:10:51.220 Yeah.

01:10:51.460 No, that looks extraordinary, especially after everyone's left.

01:10:54.500 And well, that's not real.

01:10:58.580 Yeah.

01:10:58.900 Someone would just burst of energy.

01:11:00.340 Yeah.

01:11:00.500 Yeah.

01:11:01.860 I think my photos were better.

01:11:03.540 Ah, here it is.

01:11:04.980 Another one.

01:11:05.620 Yeah.

01:11:06.580 Took a much neater break from politics.

01:11:08.660 They were traveling across Dorset and eventually reaching Durdle door.

01:11:12.660 That was the day.

01:11:13.780 That was the day.

01:11:14.900 Yeah.

01:11:15.140 Yeah.

01:11:15.300 Yeah.

01:11:15.700 And look at just here, the beauty of the place.

01:11:19.380 Here's where I was waiting.

01:11:20.340 The other guys and lasses.

01:11:22.500 It was the lasses who were basically really stalling because they were taking pictures.

01:11:26.740 Just at the beaches.

01:11:31.060 Right.

01:11:31.540 Okay.

01:11:31.860 This is Shaft's Reef before.

01:11:33.620 That's Manowar Beach.

01:11:35.460 Just look at it.

01:11:37.060 Oh, yeah.

01:11:37.460 It was extraordinary.

01:11:38.580 Yeah.

01:11:39.220 Also, I have heard that waters in Cornwall and Devon are great.

01:11:45.940 I'm sure Josh would speak to that with some authority.

01:11:49.540 Yeah.

01:11:50.340 I've only been to Torquay.

01:11:52.180 Mm-hmm.

01:11:53.860 It was nice.

01:11:54.580 I told you that the beach was a bit like being in a Radio Genoa video.

01:12:00.020 Mm-hmm.

01:12:00.900 Yeah, I remember you telling me this.

01:12:01.860 I withheld evidence because I posted it.

01:12:03.620 You did.

01:12:03.940 Everyone just started to pile on me.

01:12:05.620 No, it can't happen.

01:12:06.660 No, it's not true.

01:12:07.540 I strategically withheld evidence and then I did.

01:12:10.580 No.

01:12:11.060 That day, the beach was full on Radio Genoa.

01:12:15.540 But yeah, I have heard great things and I have been told to visit St. Ives.

01:12:20.980 Oh, St. Ives is Splendid.

01:12:22.580 It's one of the few places in Cornwall I've actually visited.

01:12:25.620 Also, one thing, Torquay, I think Torquay is the...

01:12:29.060 Is it also called Torbay?

01:12:31.220 I can't remember.

01:12:32.420 I know it's where Fawlty Towers was set.

01:12:34.820 Yeah.

01:12:35.780 And also, I think, unless I'm hugely mistaken, I think it was where William of Orange landed

01:12:42.100 in 1688 when he was basically told...

01:12:44.820 Right.

01:12:45.140 ...invited.

01:12:46.420 Well, actually, if you just zoom out a little bit, somewhere in there is Newton Abbott.

01:12:52.420 And Newton Abbott, well, it must be near Exeter, but Newton Abbott was...

01:12:57.460 There was a spot where a speech was given to the local populace where they basically announced

01:13:02.100 that William of Orange was their new king.

01:13:05.300 And I can only imagine that the locals were looking around very confused at just suddenly

01:13:09.620 having a new king arrived in that little sleepy village.

01:13:13.300 Yeah.

01:13:13.620 But yeah, all got history.

01:13:16.260 I will say driving in the M5 is just great.

01:13:20.580 Just...

01:13:21.300 Yeah?

01:13:21.620 Yeah, the M5 is great.

01:13:24.340 Newton Abbott, yeah, here it is.

01:13:25.620 Yeah, there it is.

01:13:26.420 Yeah.

01:13:26.820 Yeah, very nice.

01:13:27.620 Great.

01:13:28.180 Also, I've heard great things about all of Devon and all of Cornwall.

01:13:32.180 I mean, Josh has sang its praises.

01:13:34.420 Yes.

01:13:34.820 Well, the Dartmoor in particular is splendid.

01:13:37.780 Yeah.

01:13:38.580 Also, I want to go to Clovelly.

01:13:40.740 That's where I'll go next summer at some point.

01:13:43.380 Where is it?

01:13:44.020 I have a list where, you know, I'm obsessed with, I've been to 82 places in the UK.

01:13:49.780 I want to maximize them, right?

01:13:52.500 Okay.

01:13:53.300 Now, the final place I want to show is in Wales.

01:14:00.580 It's Aberystwyth.

01:14:02.500 And I will say that it's very close to my heart for several reasons.

01:14:06.580 Some of them are very personal.

01:14:08.180 I won't disclose.

01:14:10.180 But it's stunningly beautiful.

01:14:14.100 And it has great view.

01:14:16.740 It's very happy.

01:14:17.700 The seagulls are a bit prejudiced against the houses in the sea, nearby, in the coastline.

01:14:28.740 I'm sure they're very prejudiced against the seagulls.

01:14:30.980 Yeah, they are going a bit IDF on the houses there.

01:14:34.820 And they're just bombarding them with, you know, their, you know, the seagull waste.

01:14:45.860 We got it.

01:14:46.180 But yeah, it was great.

01:14:48.100 And here it has a pier somewhere.

01:14:49.700 I don't know where it is.

01:14:50.740 It was a nice place here to drink beer and something.

01:14:56.580 And yeah, it was great.

01:14:58.900 We had also some good fish and chips.

01:15:01.220 One thing, I think there were lots of stoners there in Aberystwyth.

01:15:05.220 Oh, really?

01:15:05.860 Yeah.

01:15:06.180 Let me just show you how I drove there and where it is.

01:15:09.860 It's right here.

01:15:12.260 I think they say that Snowdonia is a bit to the north.

01:15:16.740 It's where I want to go next.

01:15:17.860 Yeah, that's where I was earlier this year.

01:15:19.220 Yeah.

01:15:19.700 And basically you go, yeah, you cross Bristol here and you just go there.

01:15:26.500 And here it's where Aberystwyth is.

01:15:28.980 Which is a wonderful name as well.

01:15:30.820 There's a nice one to Aberystwyth.

01:15:32.820 Yeah.

01:15:33.140 You have lovely footpaths with brilliant, brilliant, awesome, you know, view.

01:15:42.660 And also you have a very jolly seaside.

01:15:46.020 You occasionally have some stoners here or there.

01:15:51.300 Just some of them walk with a swag and music.

01:15:55.140 That was really fun.

01:15:56.820 Yeah.

01:15:57.300 But it's just, it's a bit contained.

01:16:00.340 Right.

01:16:00.900 Let me show you the containment.

01:16:03.140 Yeah.

01:16:03.780 And again, I will say I experienced a very jolly sentiment there from it.

01:16:11.140 And you have, you know, really bright colored places.

01:16:15.620 You have a, you know, this beautiful landscape.

01:16:17.380 Oh yeah.

01:16:17.540 These photos are astonishing.

01:16:19.140 And here you have Aberystwyth castle, which I think, I think, unless I'm horribly mistaken,

01:16:25.380 was destroyed by Cromwell.

01:16:26.580 Oh really?

01:16:27.380 Civil war.

01:16:28.020 Oh.

01:16:28.580 Yeah.

01:16:29.060 I'm sure he had his reasons.

01:16:30.980 Yeah.

01:16:33.060 Look at this.

01:16:34.180 Just walking along the seaside is great.

01:16:38.660 Reminds me a lot of Scarborough, actually, in its geography.

01:16:41.540 And the way that the houses arc around and you've got the raised hill in the background.

01:16:45.540 Yeah.

01:16:45.940 Yeah.

01:16:46.340 It's really great.

01:16:47.220 And you walk along here.

01:16:49.220 There's also a sauna here if you want to go and chill and then swim in the cold waters.

01:16:56.340 Beautiful seaside road.

01:16:57.860 It covers miles.

01:17:02.020 Definitely visit Aberystwyth.

01:17:03.780 It's just brilliant.

01:17:05.060 And let me just finish with a few other places because I, I mean, I've been to, as I said,

01:17:11.780 to more than 80 places.

01:17:13.060 It's a bit sad that I didn't mention them all.

01:17:16.580 But I will say here, for instance, in, I was in Brighton for some time, which was a bit of a challenge.

01:17:24.100 I can't imagine why.

01:17:25.460 Yeah.

01:17:26.420 But there were great places.

01:17:28.260 I visit Devil's Dyke.

01:17:30.500 Great place.

01:17:31.620 Great pub there.

01:17:32.580 Great.

01:17:34.020 Many devils, many dykes.

01:17:35.540 Yeah.

01:17:36.420 And where is it?

01:17:37.380 It's another extra lovely footpath you can go to is the Seven Sisters footpath.

01:17:47.780 It's the one with the white chalky cliffs that we see in several movies.

01:17:53.940 And there are several stories as to why it was named this way.

01:17:58.260 I think, unless I'm mistaken, one story is that there were seven sisters who committed suicide there.

01:18:04.100 Nasty way to go.

01:18:05.460 Nasty way to go.

01:18:06.340 It does sound like an appropriate origin story for the naming of a place.

01:18:11.700 Yes.

01:18:12.100 There are places that have this sort of namesake.

01:18:16.180 Right.

01:18:16.500 And last, I want to say something about a place I want to visit.

01:18:22.340 I want to visit Oban here.

01:18:27.220 I've heard of Oban.

01:18:28.580 Yes.

01:18:28.820 Yeah, good reputation.

01:18:30.260 I've heard excellent things about it.

01:18:32.260 They told me that, especially if you like the seaside,

01:18:35.620 you have to look at, you have to visit it, especially during summer.

01:18:39.780 And of course, I have to, I am a whiskey lover.

01:18:43.300 I imagine it's quite a harsh environment, to be honest, in a Scottish winter, being in Oban.

01:18:48.820 So yeah, summer will probably be the way.

01:18:51.140 Yeah.

01:18:51.860 And just because I'm a whiskey lover, I have to end with the Isle of Islay.

01:18:57.380 Because that's where, that's the source.

01:18:59.540 That's the fountain where all the smoked ones come from.

01:19:03.380 Not all of them, but the best ones.

01:19:05.220 Yeah, the best smoked whiskey.

01:19:06.980 Yeah, so I have to go there.

01:19:08.740 It's pilgrimage.

01:19:10.260 Northern pilgrimage.

01:19:12.980 Yeah, I'm sure we'll go there one day and clink a glass and get quite squiffy.

01:19:17.780 Anyway, well, all right then.

01:19:19.380 I suppose that concludes just about every recommendation that Stelios and I have had between us for the

01:19:26.180 sake of this hour, however long we've been recording.

01:19:28.820 So we do hope that you found some sort of recommendation in there that's either local

01:19:34.580 to where you live or, you know, that you can see some utility for, you know,

01:19:38.980 you can go and make some great memories with your family, with your loved ones in the next year.

01:19:43.940 So from both Stelios and I, we wish you a very Merry Christmas.

01:19:48.660 We also, of course, wish you a very festive New Year.

01:19:52.100 And we look forward to seeing you in the new one.

01:19:55.060 Until then, take care.

The Podcast of the Lotus Eaters - December 25, 2025

Christmas Podcast ｜ The Magic of Britain

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