Elizabethan manor houses from England's Golden Age reflect that era of confidence and abundance with the exhuberant ornamentation of the blatantly nouveau riche. Powerful people had plenty of money and plenty of self-confidence in the age of Elizabeth I and they weren't afraid to show it off.

The four houses built by Robert Smythson, Master Builder to the Queen, were among the most advanced and spectacular. One of them, Wollaton Hall, is now Nottingham's Natural History Museum, but three others have been kept as true to their Elizabethan origins as possible and you can visit them, in Wiltshire, Derbyshire and East Yorkshire.

One of them, Longleat House, is home to our all time favorite safari park - where we hear you can now run with cheetahs (well drive with them, actually). But if you visit the safari park, do also make time for the house and its many treasures.

Find out more about Smythson's Elizabethan manor houses, what makes them special and why you should visit them ASAP.

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From Roman times through the Middle Ages, England's important cities were almost always ringed with sturdy walls. Today with a few exceptions, only fragments remain in London, Lincoln, Newcastle, Oxford, Bath and others. Chester has the most complete city walls left in the UK. And the walls and gates, known as "bars" of York are justifiably famous and well worth an afternoon's stroll.

Lois Friedland, About.com's Adventure Travel Guide has put together a must-read list for fans of scenic city walls. Have a ramble through her City Wall Walks for a fascinating glimpse of these fortifications from around the world.

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I can't work out why so many am- bitious chefs around East York- shire this spring seemed to need to plonk a large poached egg on everything.  Navigating my way around menus that weren't too deep fried, too black-puddinged, too goat-cheesed and beet-rooted for my palate was a real challenge last March without having to figure out why every other dish had turned into Eggs Benedict. It's clear that self-taught chef Jason Rowe of Dine on the Rowe in Beverley is aiming for cheffy recognition. The flavors are there but what about finesse.

Worried that I might be too jaded, or that I simply lacked heart for the trencherman's portions dished up in this part of Yorkshire, I passed the task of reviewing this newish restaurant onto my dining companion, local lass Nicola Markham. Read her review and see what she thought.

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Brits taking advantage of the Diamond Jubilee double bank holiday for a quick Continental getaway and Europeans heading to the UK to join the celebrations are set to make the first weekend in June a record breaker for Eurostar for travel in both directions.

The company is reporting a 30% increase in bookings for the Diamond Jubilee weekend, compared with the same period last year. The Royal Fever spreading across Europe has even seen bookings up 18% over the Royal Wedding weekend in 2011.

Eurostar predicts Friday, June 1 will be its busiest day, with more than 30,000 passengers anticipated. Ten extra services will be added, but they are already selling out - so if you're planning a cross-Channel hop, now is the moment to book it.

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