The UK Blog

Many citizens of Europe, Asia, North America and the entire world look to move to the United Kingdom. It is seen as a safe haven that is also filled with art, culture, museums, fine dining and high street designer shops and whether you are looking for property in Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham or London you are destined to find a plethora of housing options to choose from.

However moving house at the best of times is an arduous task, but when you combine this with arriving in a new country and adapting to it’s language and traditions you are confronted with a stress filled series of months that you have to focus all of your attention on just so you can get through it. To assist those going through this transition, here is a set of guidelines and tips for those people currently moving to the UK and are looking to buy a house.

Use both Tried and Tested as well as Modern techniques.
With the advance in technology there are now a vast array of avenues to explore when searching for your new home sweet home. Sites like Gumtree, Gartoo and Easy Room Mate offer homes in a variety of shapes, sizes and prices from different sellers who are looking to sell their property directly to the buyer, without any interference from an agent or agency. With each of these sites you have to proceed with a certain level of trepidation but each site is mainly used by reliable owners looking to connect with possible tenants.

Do your homework.
Researching current housing trends and topics will allow you to gain valuable knowledge and ideas in your pursuit for a home. You should also focus your attention on which areas you would like to live in and make sure that they have everything you desire. This kind of information can range from the best time of the year to purchase your house, interest rates and the local schools and shops to your craved abode.

Work out how much you can afford.
Working out how much money you need to spend on a home can be deceiving. Of course you need to consider how much money you are going to put on a down payment and whether your mortgage will leave you in a monthly state of financial peril but there are also extra costs, which you may not have considered. These include furnishing your home, insurance, inflation of property prices and duty land tax, so be sure to make a definitive list of your expenditure so that you are not caught surprised by any of the costs.

View the house with assertion.
When you have finally found a home that you want to view you must make sure that you inspect every little detail of the house, maybe even visiting the property three or four times at different parts of the day, as well as walking around the general area till you know it like the back of your hand.

Enjoy It!
Don’t forget that this a seismic moment in your life and you are looking for a place where you’ll be spending the rest of your life, so make sure that you realise how joyous the occasion should be.

This article was written by Gartoo, an experimental property search engine. Here is an an example page on Gartoo.co.uk: Part Buy Part Rent East London.

There are many former warehouse spaces now being used for a diverse range of alternative buildings. The sheer size of warehouse space means that with a little imagination and renovation the building can be put to many interesting uses. Here are five great examples.

1. The City Art Centre in Edinburgh is a fine example. Originally built between 1899 and 1902 next to Waverley as an extension to the Scotsman newspaper office, the building is basically a nine storey warehouse, consisting of an iron frame in a stone Beaux Arts facade. It eventually became a wholesale fruit and vegetable market, demarking the area in which the Old and New Towns converged. Converted for gallery use in 1980, the City Art Centre now exhibits contemporary art and design and historic and modern photography and is certainly worth a visit should you be in Scotland’s capital: http://www.edinburghguide.com/venue/cityartcentre.

2. The huge interior space of converted factory The Glasshouse, in Candahar Road, Battersea, London raised eyebrows when it was used to house the contestants for The Apprentice in 2008. A stunning house with room to spare, The Glasshouse evoked the yuppy-era of the 80s and its competitive high-flying mega-bucks ethos all the contestants were expected to live by. Luxuriant and at the vanguard of style and design, The Glasshouse certainly was an exquisite setting for Alan Sugar to yell “You’re Fired!”

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/house-and-home/property/seen-on-screen-warehouse-conversions-803411.html.

3. The Warehouse Climbing Centre is a unique example of what a creative mind can do with a converted warehouse space. Featuring over 50 lower off which create more than 120 routes, The Warehouse Climbing centre caters for all levels of climber and has two main areas in which to climb, The Balcony (which is 8m high) and suitable for beginners and The Arena (up to 13m high) which is more suitable for seasoned climbers. There are also over 20 lower offs created specifically for lead climbing. Housed in a huge Victorian Warehouse close to Gloucester’s Historic Docks, The Warehouse Climbing Centre truly is an uplifting experience: http://www.the-warehouse.co.uk/.

4. The MacTaggart Leisure Centre is situated in Bowmore, the capital of Islay “The Queen of the Hebrides”. Sitting next door to the Bowmore Distillery, who bequeathed the converted warehouse building to the people, the MacTaggart Leisure centre consists of a 25 metre swimming pool, fitness studio, launderette, activity room, sauna, sunbed and sports shop. Incredibly, the water in the swimming pool is heated by the excess heat produced by the distillery via an underground network of pipes controlled by a modern computer system. Truly an inspiring example of community enterprise: http://www.islayinfo.com/mactaggart-leisure-centre.html.

5. Ok, not in the UK, but still worth a mention. Noma restaurant in Copenhagen is a small converted warehouse on Copenhagen’s waterfront which in 2010 was voted the world’s best restaurant in the annual S. Pellegrino awards conducted by The Restaurant magazine. Rene Redzepi, the head chef at Noma, actually forages the forests and shores for a lot of his ingredients, which he then cooks in modern interpretations of classic Nordic dishes. Alas, the waiting lists are understandably long, but the wait will certainly be worth it: http://www.noma.dk/.

Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/woolamaloo_gazette/5218666733/sizes/m/in/photostream/.

Oxfordshire has made itself famous for a number of reasons, and chief amongst them is its reputation as one of the leading areas of scientific research in the world. With the abundance of research carried out by the University of Oxford and the activities of the Harwell Oxford Science Park contributing to this reputation, it is no wonder that Oxford is often thought of as science central.

The amount of scientific research within the area is quite astounding, with 1,632 academic staff (both teaching and researching) being involved in the large scale products. Scientific research at the University encompasses the four main scientific disciplines: Humanities, Mathematical, Physical & Life Sciences, Medical Sciences and Social Sciences.

Projects currently being undertaken by the University include the HapMap Project, which is designed to determine the genetic basis of human variability whilst establishing links to health and disease. The research was based on the genotyping of more than 250 individuals from across Europe, Africa and Asia. The information generated proved to be essential for more focused studies to occur whereby the results were analysed for patterns relating to common ailments and diseases, such as coronary heart disease, diabetes and tuberculosis. Further to this, the 1000 Genomes Project was launched in January 2008 following this research, in order to examine human variation in more detail than ever before.

Elsewhere, the research within the Social Sciences sector has focused predominantly on migration, analysing the forces behind this mass movement of people in an attempt to explain continually altering and expanding communities.

Medically, Oxford University has made a number of discoveries and conducted an abundance of research designed to improve our knowledge of one of the most competitive areas. For example, the university has discovered that, thanks to computer simulation, drug testing is much safer than it could be. Research found that as many as forty per cent of drug compounds were not placed on the market due to the potential side effects they would have on the heart. The university’s research has helped to develop computer tools which will simulate the potential effects of drugs on the human heart, making it easier to predict drug safety.

The University of Oxford, is also continuing to conduct research into the causes and treatments of Cancer in order to improve our knowledge of this prevalent and relentless disease. Studies are being undertaken in order to establish trends and what effects certain aspects of our lifestyles have on our chances of developing the disease, looking at such areas as smoking, drinking, obesity, hormone replacement therapy and diet.

Elsewhere, the Harwell Oxford Science Park is also furthering research into Cancer by using its high tech Diamond Synchrotron to investigate the field further. The park itself is home to a number of businesses that span across a vast number of disciplines, including medical companies, nuclear technologies, engineering, space and aeronautics, genetics, biomedical research, biotechnology and even environmental research. Collaborative ventures and joint projects are integral aspects of the Harwell Oxford Science Park and mean that development and innovation are constantly being conducted.

Money is the central driving force of both our economies and our lives. While we all handle notes and coins every day, what do we really know about the money we come into contact with?
Money has been in circulation for as long as we can remember and while a number of changes have occurred (the main one being decimalisation of course), few of us are aware of some of the most basic facts about money.

Fact One: Debt
A recent survey, as reported by the BBC, showed almost two million people in the UK owe as much as £10,000 in debt! This debt has been accumulated on credit cards, overdrafts and unsecured loans. Even more shocking is that as many as 500,000 people owe more than £20,000!
These figures are not merely relevant for the middle-aged population but apply to the younger adult population as well. The same survey revealed that more than 200,000 18-24 year olds owed at least £10,000, a ratio equivalent to about one in twenty.

Fact Two: Debit and Credit Cards
Back in 2009, the UK was thought to have an estimated 80 million debit cards in circulation and over 60 million credit cards – of which 69% had outstanding balances on them. According to data from Shelter Media Centre, one in twelve London households used credit cards to pay their mortgage of rent in January 2010.

Fact Three: Cash Security
We are all aware of some of the basic security features which are embedded in our cash notes – such as the metallic thread and watermark, but there are actually far more measures which have been taken. For example, placing a £5 note under a strong ultra-violet light will allow you to see the value as a bright green and red number, while the background of the paper will remain dull.

Fact Four: Cash Coins
Coins are perhaps the money which we have most regular contact with during our day to day lives. The £1 coin, first issued on 21 April 1983, has a composition of 70% copper, 5.5% nickel and 34.5% zinc. The reverse (tails) design of the pound coins was chosen to represent the United Kingdom and its four parts: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The first series of these used floral emblems (such as the Thistle and Royal Diadem for Scotland or the Leek and Royal Diadem for Wales) while the second series took a heraldic approach (with a Dragon representing Wales and a Celtic Cross representing Northern Ireland etc).

Fact Five: Loans
The number of people borrowing money within the UK has reached astronomical levels and the development of short-term loans, such as those provided by Wonga.com, has increased this number. In fact, over a three year period it was estimated that the number of people with these types of loans had increased by four times! In fact, during 2009 an estimated 1.2 million people took out a total of 4.1 million loans totalling an amount of about £1.2billion.

Today we’d like to put the spotlight on our friends at PortGlasgow.org.uk who run an excellent website on everything Port Glasgow!

Port Glasgow lies on the banks of the River Clyde, in the Inverclyde area of Scotland.

Port Glasgow has long been associated with shipbuilding and international trade. Today it is a great place to stay for exploring Greenock, Helensburgh, Dunoon and the beautiful Isle of Bute, as well as Glasgow, Scotland’s largest and most cosmopolitan city.

There is good estuary fishing to be had near Port Glasgow, and a whole host of recreational activities to be enjoyed in the nearby Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park. Walking, cycling, camping and watersports can all be enjoyed close to Port Glasgow, and there are plenty of wildlife and conservation points of interest to be had along the way, as well as Newark Castle.

This infographic by Gartoo shows the best and worst locations to live in London for commuting. Did you know that on average, the London commuter spends 38 minutes per day commuting, and that the average price of a three-bedroom house in London is £796,000?

Credit: Gartoo, an experimental property search engine. private lettings Kilburn, private lettings swiss cottage.

It happens every year:  the UK is hit by a smattering of snow and the whole country grinds to a halt.  It’s been especially impressive this year, and we’ve doubtless not seen the last of it yet.  But notwithstanding the inconvenience of the snow, our towns and villages certainly look beautiful in a blanket of white, as these places demonstrate…

Conwy, Wales

Our gallery of snowy photos kicks off with a shot of picturesque Conwy on the north coast of Wales.  Its impressive Medieval castle is a UNESCO World Heritage site dating from the 1280s, and it dominates this charming town to this day.  Houses for sale in Conwy are popular with investors because of the tourist appeal of the town, which also has the unusual claim to fame of being home to the smallest house in Britain.

Edinburgh, Scotland

A glorious city regardless of the time of year, Edinburgh, Scotland’s capital, is especially beautiful in the snow.  Like Conwy, it’s dominated by a mighty castle and is enormously popular with tourists, who also enjoy a climb up the extinct volcano known as Arthur’s Seat, which offers spectacular views of the city.  Famous for its beautiful Georgian architecture, you’d be hard-pushed to find a more stylish place to live, and apartments in Edinburgh are highly sought-after.

Goodrich, Herefordshire

From one of the UK’s largest cities to a quaint English village:  Goodrich in Herefordshire.  It may be rather smaller in scale, but it shares in common with the previous two cities the presence of an impressive castle, this time a Norman one.  With its post office, village shop and cricket club, this is quintessential rural England at its best.  Here it is looking pretty in the snow – its cosy cottages and houses must be wonderfully snug in this wintry weather.

Islington, London

The striking red paint of the traditional red phone and post boxes stand out in this snowy view of the inner-city district of Islington in London.  This borough is famous for The Angel, a former coaching inn turned bank, which is featured on the Monopoly board.  Book worms and film fanatics might consider buying a property in Islington:  it was the home of Hitchhiker’s Guide author Douglas Adams, as well as the setting for Nick Hornby’s novel (and the film of the same name) About a Boy and the hugely popular depiction of life in Victorian London, Diary of a Nobody by George and Weedon Grossmith.

Newcastle

This wintry scene was captured in a snow-covered park in the northern city of Newcastle upon Tyne in Northumberland.  Newcastle is well-known for its impressive bridges, notably the Tyne Bridge, Robert Stephenson’s High Level Bridge, and, most recently, the Gateshead Millenium Bridge, which rises like a blinking eye to allow the passage of ships up the river. The building of the Gateshead Millenium Bridge was part of a regeneration project which has seen the transformation of the Quayside into the place to be seen in Newcastle, with Norman Foster’s music centre, The Sage Gateshead, also having opened within the last decade.  The Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, housed in a former flour mill a stone’s throw from The Sage, will play host to the 2011 Turner Prize, one of many indications that buying a property in Newcastle is a wise investment as this city continues to grow in popularity.

About the Author: This post was written by Ruben Martinez, marketing director of Lokku Ltd, owners of property search engine Gartoo. For more information on houses in London, or other UK cities visit Gartoo.co.uk

Being the biggest city in Scotland, Glasgow is often in the limelight, whether it is to do with its ever-growing cultural side or the problems it has faced over the decades. But Glaswegians are never ones to sit back and let things happen to them, and in the last few years the city has regenerated itself to become a force to be reckoned with.

Glasgow University cloister by _skynet on Flickr

Built up around a 6th century church founded by St Mungo that later became the cathedral, Glasgow is on the banks of the River Clyde, a great asset to this colourful place. The University of Glasgow, established in 1451, has also been an important part of shaping the city into what we see today.
Despite its medieval past, virtually nothing from that era remains apart from the cathedral. However, it was during the 18th century that Glasgow really prospered, on wealth created by the tobacco trade between Europe and North America, much of which passed through its docks on the River Clyde.
This fortune continued into the 19th century with the trade of steel, coal, shipbuilding and heavy industry. In its heyday there was barely a ship on the seas that didn’t bear the mark of ‘Clyde-Built’. During the Victorian period, Glasgow was acknowledged as the ‘Second City of the British Empire’ such was its importance.
In the first half of the 20th century, the city was the centre of the munitions industry, supplying arms and ships for both world wars. But after World War II, the city’s fortunes declined due to lack of investment plus competition from overseas from countries like Germany and Japan, where innovation was rife.
By the early 1970s it seemed that Glasgow was in permanent decline. There was urban decay, huge unemployment and lack of good health. But Glaswegians bounce back, and with the news that the city had been awarded European City of Culture in 1990, this triggered a massive investment program into the area.
The award was in part due to the Burrell Collection opening in 1983, a treasure house of art and artefacts collected by wealthy industrialist Sir William Burrell and donated to the city in 1944. Glasgow’s most famous son, Charles Rennie Mackintosh and his quirky building designs, might also have something to do with it! He studied at the Glasgow School of Art and has left architectural legacies throughout the city, many of which are open to the public. In 1999 Glasgow was named UK City of Architecture and Design.
Today, with huge development along the waterfront, and as one of the top 20 financial centres in Europe, Glasgow has opened up again to the world. The opening of Glasgow Central Quay Business Park and Westpoint Business Park are case in point, with businesses vying for space.
Phase One of Central Quay was opened in 2000 on the northern side of the river in a landscaped setting that complements the surrounding area. So close is it to the city centre, that it is one of the first business parks truly be centre-based, covering an area of 3.6 hectares and providing high quality offices in Glasgow.

Are you a Glaswegian?  Do you have any interesting stories to share about life in Glasgow, or perhaps a family history anecdote?  Then we’d love to hear from you!  Please comment on this post and share your tales!

Image credit:  _skynet on Flickr.

Bracknell is a new town created in 1948, situated in the Bracknell forest area, which has been settled since the Iron Age. Evidence of the area’s rich history is abundant: there is a Bronze Age barrow at Bill Hill, and Caesar’s camp is a hillfort which was built by the Celts and pre-dates the Roman invasion.

Bracknell covers the old village of Easthampstead. This was first mentioned in the Domesday book and means “homestead by gate”. This refers to the fact that at the time, this part of Berkshire was all part of the forest of Windsor. The gate referred to allowed deer to move to another part of the forest. Easthampstead Park was a favoured royal hunting lodge in Windsor forest during Tudor times. Catharine of Aragon was banished there until her divorce was finalised.

As urbanisation increased, the forest diminished and new roads were built linking the villages and ultimately London. By 1847 Bracknell had become a small village, which was situated on the main road to the west of England. The railway came to the town in 1856.

In 1948 the decision was made to make Bracknell a new town with a population of 25,000. The original intention was to make it a “self-contained country town combining the amenities of town life with the advantages of the country” and in 1949 it was duly declared a new town. New industry was to be developed to attract people to the town.

Originally the rich farmland around the area was supposed to be protected, but the excellent transport links of the town, with fast access to the M3, M4, M25 and Heathrow Airport as well as train links to London, have meant that the town has expanded far beyond its original boundaries and into the surrounding countryside.

The profile of businesses and industry in the town has changed over the years of its existence. Manufacturing has now all but ceased in Bracknell, and instead the town has concentrated on attracting high tech industries. The fact that it is only an hour from London has meant that blue-chip organisations such as GMAC, Cable & Wireless, Dell, BMW, Fujitsu, 3M, Panasonic and Waitrose have set up their headquarters in the town.

Arlington Square is a business park in Bracknell, where many of the major organisations have their offices. The park was first opened in 1995 and offers modern offices in Bracknell in a landscaped environment. The business park has been specially developed to give a pleasant working environment with plenty of green space.

The park is designed as an out of town Business Park but is actually located in the town, which offers many advantages. There is ample parking but it is only a short walk to all the facilities on offer in the town such as food and other shops, as well as leisure facilities such as a fitness centre and a bowling alley.

The town centre is a 1960s design, which the town council are now working to regenerate with new shops and facilities. This, together with the excellent strategic location and transport links of Bracknell, will make it an even more attractive location for businesses to settle in.

Do you live or work in Bracknell? Do you have any interesting tales to tell about life in Bracknell or its local history? Then we’d love you to get in touch! Please leave a comment and get talking about Bracknell!

Image credit: Ian Hayhurst

Gloucester began life as a Roman settlement for retired soldiers, and has since had its ups and downs, like many small cities. The centre is on the site of an ancient fortress that dates back to about AD60.

The city was given its first charter in 1155 by King Henry II, so it had the same privileges as London. It is renowned as being the place that became the turning point in 1643 during the English Civil War, when King Charles I demanded that the city surrender, having taken nearby Bristol. But Gloucester supported Parliament and its people refused. For nearly a month, the king’s army of 35,000 camped on the outskirts of Gloucester while it was defended by about 1,500 men inside. Finally an army from London relieved the city, and Charles’s hopes of winning the war were dashed.

In the old Welsh language, Gloucester means ‘glowing castle’. Today, alas, there is no castle; but instead there is a magnificent Gothic cathedral, located on the site of a Saxon abbey where a Norman church was built in the 12th century by a group of Benedictine monks.

When King Edward II was murdered in 1327, the church was chosen as his burial place. The tomb proved so popular for pilgrimages that the money generated from them meant that the church could be converted into the stunning building you see today.

Situated on the eastern side of the River Severn, Gloucester built its wealth on profits from the river trade during the Middle Ages. Being a port, the status awarded by Queen Elizabeth I in 1580, held it in good stead during leaner times. The Gloucester and Sharpness Canal, which linked the docks to the Severn Estuary, meant that bigger ships could get to the docks, which otherwise would have been impossible.

During that time, wool was the main export along with iron and leather, and Gloucester also had a thriving fishing industry. The layout of Gloucester’s main streets survives from this period, with Northgate, Southgate, Westgate and Eastgate converging on a cross in the centre.

When trade shifted to Bristol, Gloucester deteriorated with the docks and warehouses falling into disrepair. However, the city is now transforming its fortunes by redeveloping its historic dockyard into trendy apartments and waterside office space. The opening of Gloucester Business Park has also boosted the city’s prospects. Near to the M5 and A417 dual carriageway, the business park is in a perfect location for offices in Gloucester, with easy access to all other parts of the country including Wales, the Midlands, the North, the South East and the South West. It’s an ideal location for this historic city, where many medieval and half-timbered buildings still stand as a reminder of its past.

Do you live in Gloucester? Do you have an interesting story to tell about life in Gloucester, or your ancestors’ past in Gloucester? Then we’d love to hear from you! Please leave a comment and let us know your tales!

Image credit: fmgbain