Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
as well as the story for 2012's Superman rebirth
Man of Steel
), Stephen Daldry (
The
Reader
, for which Kate Winslet won the best actress Oscar, and the 2012 drama
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
, starring Sandra Bullock and Tom Hanks), Edgar
Wright (
Shaun of the Dead
,
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
), and Andrea Arnold, whose
2009 movie
Fish Tank
was named Outstanding British Film in the BAFTA awards.
And TV just grows, with perhaps more choice on dozens of cable and satellite
channels than even in the U.S., a far cry from the dark days of 1982 when the coun-
try celebrated the launch of its 4th TV station, Channel 4. Yet still the BBC reigns
supreme, the world's greatest broadcaster, feted for its news reporting, its drama, and
its comedy. And on U.S. TV, the biggest star of the moment is Englishman Hugh
Laurie, for
House
, a veteran of BBC comedy and drama series.
Wales is making its mark in the entertainment world, with BBC Wales making the
revamped
Dr. Who
science fiction series (now becoming a transatlantic hit, filming
in the U.S. and with Neil Gaiman among the writers), along with hard-hitting, alien-
hunting spin-off
Torchwood
. Welsh comedy is on the up, too, with performers such as
Rob Brydon, and the award-winning BBC series
Gavin and Stacey
. Welsh actors Rhys
Ifans (
Notting Hill
,
Enduring Love
,
Mr Nice
,
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
)
and Michael Sheen (
Wilde
,
Frost/Nixon
,
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
, and even
Dr.
Who
) are male leads in the footsteps of Anthony Hopkins and Richard Harris. Even
Mr. Fantastic in the
Fantastic Four
movies is Welshman Ioan Gruffudd.
2
WHEN TO GO
Climate
You don't come to England and Wales for the weather, but it's nowhere near as bad
as many visitors expect. You can't be an island on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean
without experiencing some rain brought over by westerly winds, but while the west
coast of Wales and England get the worst of this you'll enjoy warm, sunny, summer
days all over England and Wales (and mild, wet ones).
Like all countries, mountainous areas can have local cloud and drizzle so North
Wales, the Lake District, and other rugged areas in the north have their own weather
trends. Particularly enjoyable are the light summer evenings, when daytime stretches
until at least 10pm at the summer solstice in June (although in winter it can be dark
before 4pm). Rain is most likely in the latter part of the year, but there's no “dry
season” here, hence Wimbledon's famous tennis in late June and early July being
regularly disrupted.
Daytime temperatures can range from 30° to 95°F (-1° to 35°C), but they rarely
stay below 36°F (2°C) or above 79°F (26°C) for too long. Evenings are usually cool,
even in summer, but hot July and August days can be muggy—particularly on Lon-
don's Tube network (also known as the Underground), which is not air-conditioned.
Note that the British like to keep hotel thermostats about 10°F (6°C) below the
American comfort level.
London's Average Daytime Temperatures & Rainfall
JAN
FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC
TEMP. (°F)
39
39
45
48
55
61
61
64
59
52
46
43
TEMP. (°C)
4
4
7
9
13
16
16
18
15
11
8
6
RAINFALL (IN.)
2.1
1.6
1.5
1.5
1.8
1.8
2.2
2.3
1.9
2.2
2.5
1.9
