Rick Steves: England (DVD)
New for 2007: For the first time, all 8 half-hour
Rick Steves' Europe TV shows on England and Wales, filmed entirely on location and produced from 2000 to 2007, are together on a single DVD.
Eight Shows: 4 hours, closed captioned, NTSC format, all region compatible. Three newest episodes are widescreen (WS).
Here's where we'll take you...
London: Mod and Trad — London is quintessentially English...yet cosmopolitan. We check out the new — the Millennium Bridge and the British Museum's Great Court, and admire the old — well-wrapped mummies and a rare Leonardo. After bantering with Beefeaters at the Tower of London, we do some riverside beach-combing. Strolling the trendy South Bank of the Thames takes us from the Tate Modern to the dizzying London Eye. (WS)
London: Royal and Rambunctious — We whisper secrets across the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral and eat our way through Soho. Then we check out the treasures of the new British Library, roll with the drums at the Changing of the Guard, and cruise the Thames to Kew Gardens.
Great Side Trips from London — After starting with a double-decker bus tour in London, our camera zooms in on Cabinet War Rooms where Churchill plotted against Hitler, the Tate Gallery and the reconstructed Globe Theatre. With London as home base, Rick and his family take day trips to Stratford — Shakespeare's birthplace — Warwick Castle and Cambridge before moving on to York. Then, Gothic architecture is the topic as we wander through York Cathedral. Along the way, we stop for traditional English tea. After a steam engine trip through the moors, we board the Eurostar to zoom under the Channel.
Northwest England — Rick brings his family along to enjoy the diversity of north England. They visit Ironbridge Gorge — the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution — and Blackpool, a high energy beach town with neon night life, vintage trolly cars, ballroom dancing and a world-class roller coaster. A scenic drive takes us to the calm Cumbrian Lake District where we enjoy B&Bs, Wordsworth's cottage, hearty walks and sheep shearing. Finally, we explore the Norman cathedral at Durham for its magnificent architecture and Evensong service.
South England: Dover to Lands' End — From the white cliffs of Dover to Land's End, we ponder Roman, Norman, and Nazi invasions. After exploring Admiral Nelson's flagship, we chase wild ponies across the moors and discover an ancient stone circle. For refreshment, it's cream tea and Cornish pasties.
Heart of England and South Wales — After King Arthur country at Glastonbury, we go back in time to prehistoric Stonehenge. We sample hard apple cider in Wells, meet an eccentric lord in the Cotswolds, and visit an evocative ruined abbey in South Wales.
North Wales: Feisty and Poetic — From towering Mount Snowdon, to evocative medieval castles, to sweeping Victorian promenades, North Wales is a poem written in landscape. We'll climb a mountain aboard a steam train, learn some Welsh, follow a miner deep into a slate mine, herd sheep with a very clever dog, and work in a pop pilgrimage to the Beatles' Liverpool. (WS)
England’s Bath and York — Medieval York and Georgian Bath — easy side-trips from London — pack an exciting pair of sightseeing punches. We'll explore Roman hot springs, cruise quiet canals, marvel at England's finest Gothic church, and get a surprising dose of Viking history as we enjoy England's easy urban delights. (WS)
"Wild Applause" (highest rating) from the San Francisco Chronicle: "Lately, when I want to relax, I put on slippers and I put on a Rick Steves show. The sameness about the shows is comforting: The theme music, the interplay of voice-over and stand-up narration, the exceptional photography, and the encounters with locals — these elements are consistent. At the same time, the sights and locations change. There's always something new, fascinating and glorious to look at. Without doubt, the shows generate an intense desire to go places. At the same time, they give you some of the benefits of travel without your having to leave your sofa, and that's not bad either. The programs are also a document of what Europe and Europeans look like today, and in the future, the shows will be valuable as history. I find Steves enormously appealing — good-natured, somewhat goofy in manner and yet clearly nobody's fool. If the Europeans he encounters come away believing that all Americans are like Rick, that's OK by me." — Mick LaSalle
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