Ferne's United Kingdom Travel Blog

Charlyn Keating Chisholm, About.com's Hotel and Resorts Guide asked About.com's travel guides to name their favorite places to stay. The result, Blog Carnival: Hotels We Love is a list of stylish, romantic and very different hotels that have been tried, tested and recommended by About.com's travel experts. One of my favorites, the Ardanaiseig Hotel in Scotland, is included.

• Read a review of the Ardanaiseig Hotel
• Check out About.com Travel Guides' favorite hotels and resorts

_{© Ferne Arfin}

British new music is alive and kicking. Every season sees a crop of new bands with original styles and international staying power coming on the scene. And Britain's northern cities are, lately, real powerhouses of indie and alternative rock.

But, when you're a visitor, it isn't always that easy to figure out where to go to pick up the best local vibe. Sure, most UK cities have big concert venues where you can see the big touring bands - if you plan and book ahead. What if you'd just like to take in a gig when you happen to breeze into town.

One way, if you are a student, is to check out what's happening at the big Student Unions and at the clubs around the University neighborhoods.

But maybe your student days are long over. Not to worry. You need look no further to find some of the coolest places for live music in the UK.

• Ten of the Best Night Clubs for Live Music in the UK
• More of the Best Clubs for Live Music

You've heard about Jurassic Park - now discover the Jurassic Coast. The evidence of 185 million years of earth's titanic birth pangs are written in the rocks and cliffs of Dorset's Jurassic Coast, a 95 mile stretch of protected, UNESCO World Heritage landscape. Walk the South Coast Path, one of the UK's National Trails, to find evidence of the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous eras in the dramatic rock formations and in the fossils - ammonites, belemnites, ichthyosaurus vertebrae, even dinosaur footprints - that you may find along the beach.

• Discover Dorset's Jurassic Coast
• Find Places to Stay in on the Dorset Coast

_{Photo of an ammonite by Albert J. Copley/Getty Images}

I've just heard about the Postbus, a remarkable local bus service provided by the Post Office. Designed to prevent non-drivers in remote areas from becoming isolated, the Postbus is a very good way for hikers and tourists to go deep into the remotest corners of the British countryside without having to rent a car. Wherever the mail is delivered, there is a Postbus you can ride along with. Find out more about the Postbus and then read about UK Bus and Coach Travel, the cheapest way to get around.

_{Photo courtesy of britainonview.com}

Canterbury Cathedral is gearing up for the Canterbury Festival , from October 11 to 25, next month. The extravanganza of theater, art, music, dance, comedy and more virtually takes over the Cathedral precincts in the city center for two weeks every October.

This year, you'd be smart to book early - the organizers are planning a very special event. Between 1928 and 1948 the Cathedral Play was a central feature of the festival. Authors commissioned to write plays for performance in the cathedral included John Masefield, Dorothy Sayers and Christopher Fry. Murder in the Cathedral, T.S. Eliot's classic verse drama about the murder of Thomas à  Becket in Canterbury Cathedral was written for this festival in 1935.

This year, for the first time since 1948, the tradition of the Cathedral Play is being revived and a new work, Dallas Sweetman, by Sebastian Barry, has been specially commissioned. The play is described as an epic about a 16th century pilgrimage to Canterbury Cathedral.

Find out more about the Canterbury Festival and how to book tickets

_{www.britainonview.com}

Wimbledon Fortnight 2009 - the tennis world's greatest Grand Slam tournament, is scheduled for 22 June to 5 July. That may be a nearly a year away, but if you'd like a chance of Centre Court tickets or tickets to Courts 1 and 2 - or any chance at all of seeing the Wimbledon finals - the time to apply is now. Advance tickets for Wimbledon are sold by draw following a public ballot. Applications for the ballot for the 2009 Wimbledon championships are available from the All England Lawn Tennis Club now.

Of course, if you like to wait for the last minute, you could always queue in the rain overnight for the last minute Wimbledon tickets sold on the day. But planning ahead is probably a better way. Here's how:

• How to Apply for Wimbledon Tickets
• Plan Your Visit to Wimbledon Fortnight

  Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

This week I received my absentee ballot for a state primary in the US state where I vote. I quickly filled it out and mailed it yesterday. In this morning's post, I found what looked like my absentee ballot for the US presidential election. Impossible, of course, since both parties have not yet nominated their candidates.

In fact, the UK Post Office had simply delivered the ballot I posted back to me. Even though it had a full address, a city and a Zip Code, I'd forgotten to put USA on the preprinted envelope!

Doh!

It's an easy mistake to make. The envelopes that come with US Absentee Ballots are preprinted with, perhaps, the town and Zip already stamped on. It is easy to just send them off.

Don't make my mistake - remember to write USA on the preprinted envelope you receive with your Absentee ballot. The clerk in your local, foreign, post office may have no idea that Ottuma, Iowa and Kewanee, Illinois are in the USA.

And don't forget to put a stamp on the envelope too. It may look like it is postage paid but that's only if you mail it from within the USA.

• Find out more about Absentee Voting from Abroad
• Keep up with Election 2008 on About.com

Picture the scene. It's 1990 and a bunch of guys who happen to drive Mini Coopers are watching the 1969 Michael Caine classic, "The Italian Job", on the telly. As the movie ends, one of them, in his best Michael Caine accent, declares, "Hang on, lads; I've got a great idea..."

In the UK, where this film is more than just a cult classic and where most people can quote quite a few of the best lines...You're only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!... owning a well maintained Mini Cooper is a mark of distinction. And being able to emulate the madcap driving of "The Italian Job" a kind of dream.

So the Italy to Brighton Rally, The Italian Job, was bound to be a success. This year, the rally leaves Imola, in Italy on October 24 and pulls in to Brighton on November 1.

The drivers, who are sponsored for the trip, load up with local wine in Italy and it's sold at auction in Brighton. All the money raised, by sponsorship and auction, benefits children's charities.

Anyone over 21 years old can participate as long as they drive a Mini or Mini based car (regardless of age, size, colour, variation or shape) or any of the classic cars which featured in The Michael Caine film. Co-drivers must be at least 19 years old, and both must have a valid driving licence.

Registration costs £500 and there is still time to sign up for this year's rally on The Italian Job Website. Even if you don't drive a Mini, or you can't manage to get yours over to Italy in time for the start of the rally, get to Brighton on November 1, in time for the arrival of all the participating cars and for the auction. It is bound to be quite a sight.

Find out more about The Italian Job Imola to Brighton Rally

_{Steve Finn/Getty Images}

...And this time the drinks are free. Thursday night, August 28, the Edinburgh Art Festival joins the Edinburgh Festival spirit with Art Late, a series of parties and late opening events at galleries and venues around town. Along with art, there will be DJs, music, comedy, poetry, curated art tours - a whole range of late events and free booze. To find out what's on, check the Edinburgh Art Festival Website or ring +44 (0)7500 461332.

_{Getty Images}

Have you ever noticed that when you are all alone, watching television or a DVD, the funniest comedy falls flat? Even if it raises a smile, something that might have you rolling in the aisles in company never gets you laughing out loud on your own.

So when a comedian can get me to startle my dog by laughing hysterically when I'm on my own, either that comedian is very good - very very good - or it's time to call for the men in white jackets.

Before you all hit the "comments" button at the bottom of this item at once, let me say that I prefer to think that I'm still relatively sane. It's definitely the talent of some comedians that make me laugh until I cry. So I have no hesitation in suggesting that you get online, this minute, and book tickets for the Reading Comedy Festival in October, where at least four of my favorite, laugh-out-loud comedians are among the headliners.

Dylan Moran and Ed Byrne, both Irish and both currently among the wittiest newer comedians around, Russell Howard and Michael McIntyre, are among the stand-up performers bringing their shows to the festival as part of a line up of nearly three weeks of comedy acts, comedy films and open mic nights. The best shows will sell out fast. If you like standup and you are planning to be in England at the beginning of October, don't wait to book your tickets: Find out more about the Reading Comedy Festival and how to book tickets

_{Dylan Moran by Cate Gillon/Getty Images}