When antiquing is only part of a visit to England. Tourists visiting Great Britain this summer, who want to browse antique shops as part of their vacation but are unsure where to start, could find that the English West Country is their perfect answer.
News-Antique.com - Nov 30,-0001 - Anyone with more than a passing interest in antiques will tell you that England is the perfect place to buy antiques for the home. So what could be simpler perhaps, that as part of a vacation to dear ‘Old Blighty’ but to stop off at few antiques shops along the way. Easy, you might say. Well yes in theory, but definitely not in practice. So where does the casual buyer start and hope to find what they are really looking for without wasting valuable time. It’s a holiday first after all and there are some fantastic places to visit.
Firstly consider your airport of arrival in the UK, London is perhaps the obvious choice and you will want to visit the Capital of course anyway. Is there an alternative? Yes. Bristol.
Where’s Bristol? Bristol is in the West of England and about 120 miles west of London. What are the advantages? The short answer is many; Bristol is served by direct daily flights from New York and many connecting cities across the USA by Continental Airlines.
What makes this option more interesting and appealing is that Bristol International Airport (BIA) is central to a huge antiques resource that caters for all tastes and budgets and extends some 80 miles in all directions. In addition to this many of the ‘Must See’ British locations for overseas visitors are here as well. For example, the Roman City of Bath is just 15 miles from BIA, Wells and Glastonbury are both close by. Salisbury and Stonehenge (Britain’s biggest and oldest antique) about an hour away. The southern edge of the Cotswolds region is also about an hour away, though in the opposite direction, but it is here where the visitor will find the beauty of the local towns and villages most captivating.
The tourist side apart, the region is well served by the antiques trade and it soon becomes apparent that the two can be easily linked together in a vacation, with a little forward planning and creating an antiques shopping list beforehand much time will be saved and left available to visit other attractions.
But what about value for money and shipping the goods home? Many dealers in the British antiques trade are members of either a specialist body or local or National Association, both in some cases. Traders who are members of such organizations must adhere to strict guidelines and obviously this provides confidence to the casual or novice buyer. Businesses will invariably have contacts with local shippers and be able to arrange delivery of larger items. Alternatively, there are cargo agents at BIA who will accept shipments prior to passenger’s departure home.
For further information on flying New York to Bristol and integrating a mini antiques tour into your vacation, visit - www.gbaw.co.uk/tradepress.htm
Alternatively, enquiries can be made by email directly to The Great British Antiques Web, enquiries@gbaw.co.uk
Or browse through The Great British Antiques Web web site at www.gbaw.co.uk to find the antiques resources you need, advice is freely
