Airbourne

Airbourne is an annual free airshow in Eastbourne. I discovered it by accident at the end of my 1st year at university and have been every year since. It runs every August from a Thursday to a Sunday and if you get good weather, makes for a good day trip. If the weather is cold and cloudy then it can result in restricted displays and  a cold seat on the beach.

Arrival of the Red Arrows

In good weather the beach is packed out, with people bringing their own chairs, blankets and picnics. There is also a market running on the promenade so that buying food, drink and ice cream is easy. If you walk up to the Western Lawns then there is the airshow village, home to a stationary Chinook, military and charity stands, as well as recruitment tents and simulators.

The airplanes fly over the sea, viewed from the beach. The planes tend to use the bandstand as the centre point, but make it quite far out in both directions and can be viewed from Beachy Head. A frequent flier tends to be the red arrows, who either open or close most days, whilst also flying at other airshows around the country. Other regulars are the Breitling Wing Walkers, Battle of Britain Memorial flight (which was unfortunately grounded this year) and some fighter jets, which are my personal favourite.

Airbourne celebrated 25 years this year commemorated by its special programme, although you can buy one every year. You can get daily flight times each day and there is a dedicated radio station for the event.

Shops tend to stay open a bit later for the airshow, or hold raffles and sell more aeroplane related products. The cafes and restaurants fill up with visitors, selling meals or snacks as you wish. For us, a visit always includes a visit to the sweet shop, to buy fudge, honeycomb, rock and other favourites.

Eastbourne is accessible by train from London Victoria, or there is a park and ride for the event operated in a field somewhere. If you want to stay, you need to book your hotel early, as bookings rise during the event and many of Eastbourne's B&B's fill up fast.

During the summer, there are other beach-side airshows, all with similar planes attending, so it is not just restricted to Eastbourne, but for us it is the closest and easiest to get to and I get to visit my friends (occasionally) at the same time.

Eastbourne has a lot of other weekend events throughout the year, so it is worth looking at the tourist website to see what is on next.

'This is Our World' Exhibition

I have been to a free exhibition in London by Art World Conservation which is being held over 3 weeks. It is displaying 11 life sized paintings of endangered animals, providing information about them alongside each picture.

Words and photos cannot truly describe the enormity and detail of these paintings, all painted by the same artist on canvas. Some paintings are so big you can see where 2 pieces of canvas are attached.

Below are a few of the many endangered animals and a little bit of information on them:

Zebra

There are 3 species of Zebra, with the Grevy Zebra being most endangered of the 3. The others being plains and mountain zebra. They are all found in Africa and there are thought to be around 2000 Grevy Zebra left in the wild.

Sloth 

Sloth's are found in the rainforests of South/Central America and eat plants and leaves which provide them with little energy, helping to justify the 20 hours they spend asleep each day and why they move so slowly. They have natural predators, as well as the decline in the rainforest due to deforestation.

African Bull Elephant

Elephants are most often poached for their ivory tusks in Africa which are then sold on. Elephants are killed in order for their tusks and this is cause for the decline of the wild elephant population.

Polar Bears

The melting ice of the Arctic is having an impact on the entirety of its food chain. As the food chain fails, the Polar Bears become malnourished and the population drops.

There are also images and information on Rothschild giraffes, great white sharks, gorillas and a whole host of other animals. Once these animals are lost from the wild, there will be no way to get them back, so conservation has to be part of the way forward.

The exhibition is in London until August 25th 2017, free and open from 10am-8pm. If you have the chance to go and see them, I believe they are being auctioned off at a private event, then I would recommend it. Otherwise, you can see the paintings on their website which there is a link to above. 

Better Known London

Having done a blog post on Lesser Known London, it is only fair that I do one on Better Known London.

There is lots of things to do and places to see in London, some free and others costly.

London Southbank

View from the Shard

The London Eye provides a great view of London as does the restaurant at the Shard. The London eye is best pre-booked to save you joining the ticket line queue and the restaurant at the Shard requires pre-booking too. They are best on sunny days and clear nights, both times of day providing beautiful views out to the horizon.

There is also London Aquarium and the London Dungeons on Southbank, both can have tickets bought at the door. The aquarium is brilliant and makes for a nice trip out, whilst the Dungeons are a great (if not slightly scary) experience that I would highly recommend. I found that Madame Tussauds was slightly over-rated, but the wax works are highly realistic. It is definitely a place to go with a group of people to make the most of the visit.

You may also wish to visit Buckingham Palace, but google the times of the Changing of the Guard as it is something worth going to see. Occasionally there are events at the mall (like the London marathon finish line), but its only really an issue if you are driving. 

Hyde Park is home to lots of events, as well as being a pretty park. It is home to the better of the London Christmas markets: Winter Wonderland and a whole host of events that you can look up online.

If you are so inclined you can go and see the Houses of Parliament and if they are not sitting you can go on tours too, but you would need to look online. It made an interesting day when we went to visit. You can also go down Whitehall and peer through the gates at 10 Downing Street.

If you want somewhere for experiences then I recommend Leicester  Square and Covent Garden. The latter has markets, bars and street entertainers to keep you entertained when you visit.

There are also loads of museums with free entry. To name a few: Victoria and Albert, Natural History, Science, and Imperial War museum are just a few that are worth a visit with free entry. You can also go to Greenwich to see the Royal Observatory and the boat. Museums are a great place to go for a cheap day out and especially good if the weather is not showing you favour.

A sight you won't see anymore in the Natural History Museum

London is full of places to go and makes for a great day out. There is so much to do, but it is also worth looking online to see what events there are when you visit. London is also full of theatres, often with spare seats available for matinees. So, once you have decided what you want to see head to the box office as often their tickets are cheaper than online and they may even give you a discount (I once got a half price ticket for a Thursday lunchtime showing, from the theatres own box office a day or to earlier).

There are also lots of parks, as well as Hyde Park, there is St James' Park and Primrose Hill, which is near London Zoo. These are lovely places to go for a picnic or to enjoy the sunshine. London also has lots of commons and green areas, so you can find some solace while you are in the big city.

London from Primrose Hill