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Planning a visit to the UK?Here we help with ways to cut your costs.
AVOID BIG EVENTS
Big sporting events,concerts and exhibitions can increase the cost of accommodation and make it harder to find a room.A standard double room at the Thistle Brighton on the final Friday of the Brighton Comedy Festival(19 Oct.)costs ￡118.15 ￡169.15 at Booking.com. A week later,the same room costs ￡118.15.
If you can be flexible and want to know dates to avoid—or you're looking for a big event to pass your time—check out sites such as Whatsonwhen.com,which allow you to search for events in the UK by city,date and category.
STAY AWAY FROM THE STATION
If traveling to your destination by train,you may want to find a good base close to the station,but you could end up paying more for the sake of convenience at the start of your holiday.
Don't be too choosy about the part of town you stay in.Booked two months in advance,the cheapest room at the Travelodge's Central Euston hotel in London for Saturday 22 September is ￡95.95.A room just a tube journey away at its Covent Garden hotel is ￡75.75.And at Farringdon,a double room costs just ￡62.95.
LOOK AFTER YOURSELF
Really central hotels in cities such as London,Edinburgh and Cardiff can cost a fortune,especially at weekends and during big events.As an alternative consider checking into a self-catering flat with its own kitchen.Often these flats are hidden away on the top floors of city centre buildings.A great example is the historic O'Neill Flat on Edinburgh's Royal Mile,available for ￡420 for five days in late September,with the room for four adults.
GET ON A BIKE
London's “Boris bikes”have attracted the most attention,but other cities also have similar programmes that let you rent a bicycle and explore at your own pace,saving on public transport or car parking.
Among the smaller cities with their own programmes are Newcastle(casual members pay around ￡1.50 for two hours)and Cardiff(free for up to 30 minutes,or ￡5 per day).
1.The Brighton Comedy Festival is mentioned mainly to show big events may .
A.help travelers pass time
B.attract lots of travelers to the UK
C.allow travelers to make flexible plans
D.cause travelers to pay more for accommodation
2.“Farringdon” in Paragraph 5 is most probably .
A.a hotel away from the train station
B.the tube to Covent Garden
C.an ideal holiday destination
D.the name of a travel agency
3.The passage shows that the O'Neill Flat .
A.lies on the ground floor
B.is located in central London
C.provides cooking facilities for tourists
D.costs over ￡100 on average per day in late September
