Britain on the Cheap

The Scottish Snowdrop Festival is popping up at more than 50 gardens across Scotland’s mainland now through March 18. You can marvel at more than 300 types of these dainty flowers, including a footpath sprinkled with snowdrops by a waterfall which inspired Robert Burns in Perthshire. There will be carpets of snowdrops at Culzean Castle [...]

The Royal Oak Foundation, the American arm of the National Trust, wishes everyone a happy holiday with a lovely photo gallery of National Trust gardens in the snow and frost. Enjoy 14 images from The Telegraph, sweeping from Kent to Suffolk to Northumberland.

The Great British Heritage Pass offers entrée into 480 properties around the UK, and now you can download a free iPhone app–to use with or without the pass. Check the castles, stately homes and historic sites out on a map, search by castle or garden or try sample itineraries around the UK.    

Not sure if you’ll be springing for tickets to the London Olympics next summer? You can still plan a trip to the games and see a lot of action at free, non-ticketed events. In London: The Olympic and Paralympic Cycling Road Races will run July 28 – Aug. 1, and you can see then at [...]

Thinking about a place to bunk down during the London Olympics next summer? Wicked Campers suggests one of the campsites near Olympic Park, and is offering up to 50% off long-term rentals. Prices start at £80/$131 per day for a two-seater rental van between July 1 and Aug. 15, 2012, minimum 21 days. One-way fees [...]

Now through Aug. 15, you can save 10% on a Great British Heritage Pass, which is available only to international travelers.  The Pass saves a lot of time and money on admissions to nearly 500 of the UK’s most popular castles, stately homes and palaces.

The City of London Festival, June 26-Aug. 12, is going island this year—with an Oceania theme that celebrates Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. There are dozens of free events, including concerts, dance performances and lectures throughout the fest.  

Beat the Olympic rush! Ride the rapids at the Lee Valley White Water Centre in Hertfordshire, opening April 22. This is the only brand new London 2012 venue to be open to the public before the 2012 Olympic Games. Lee Valley Regional Park stretches 26 miles along the banks of the River Lee, from Ware [...]

It may still be dreary winter, but lots of Anglophiles are dreaming of summer—and summer school in Oxford. The 2011 Oxford Experience, a one-week residential course at Christ Church, one of the most prestigious of Oxford colleges, will run July 10-Aug. 13, 2011. Registration is now open, with such courses as The Brontës; Anglo-American Relations [...]

Can’t wait for the 2012 London Olympics? Get a free countdown to the Olympic and Paralympic Games with the Destination Greenwich App. Local actor Nick Day narrates the app highlights. Greenwich is a host borough for London 2012. In addition to sports, the app will provide the latest on the Greenwich Festivals, from street theater [...]