World Tourism Blog

BRITAIN has a new national park, although even the most dedicated lover of the countryside could be forgiven for not having noticed its opening.

The South Downs National Park stretches from St Catherine’s Hill, near Winchester in Hampshire, to Beachy Head in East Sussex.

With an area of around 630 square miles, it is England’s third biggest national park behind the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales.

It was first proposed as a national park more than 60 years ago but only became one in April.

Around 110,000 people live there, making it, by far, Britain’s most populated park. The staff who run it reckon it receives almost 40million visitors a year.

The area is mostly chalkland and its main feature is the South Downs, which run the full length of the park.

National park status won’t make a huge difference to the area for the casual visitor. Life will go on much as before. This month saw the 31st South Downs Way Walk, which covered the 100 miles of the South Downs in nine days.

I went for more modest strolls, basing myself in Midhurst, arguably England’s prettiest town.
I stayed at the Angel Hotel, a 350-year-old former coaching inn which has been smartly refurbished as a modern hotel while keeping its historic charm. From there I caught the No1 bus to Pulborough, a large village that grew up around a Roman ford.

Having previously printed off directions from Google Maps, I walked six miles to join the South Downs Way at Amberley. The route between the villages is mostly by back lanes, which is where Google Maps proved a Godsend.

Not only do you get a map and directions, but key turning points are marked by photos - a good reason for all those Google camera cars that criss-crossed the country.

My original plan was to walk a 12-mile stretch of the South Downs Way east to Cocking.

Instead I became fascinated by Amberley, a picture postcard village of thatched cottages and an impressive 12th Century church. I enjoyed an afternoon strolling round the village before having cream tea at The Sportsman pub.

It was such a balmy evening that back in Midhurst I took the chance to eat outdoors, enjoying tapas washed down with glasses of Rioja at Faustinos wine bar.

But the real highlight of the South Downs Park is, naturally enough, the South Downs Way.

The best known bits are at the eastern end with the unspoilt Seven Sisters chalk cliffs, often used as a stand-in for the White Cliffs of Dover in film and TV shows, and Beachy Head with its uncanny allure for suicides.

But the prettiest parts, at least for me, are around Petersfield in the west and the Singleton and Cocking areas of West Sussex.

By TIM SPANTON

Scenic ... South Downs National Park.

British Airways PLC began a charm offensive about its proposed merger with Spain’s Iberia SA Friday, dismissing suggestions the deal would increase fares or reduce standards at Britain’s flagship carrier.

BA Chief Executive Willie Walsh, who will take the same position at the combined company, stressed that each airline would keep their individual identities and brand images while allowing for massive cost savings.

BA shares were trading 1.9 percent higher at 219 pence, while Iberia’s stock slipped 2.3 percent to ⁈fter the two airlines revealed late Thursday that they had reached a preliminary agreement on a tie-up.

The combined company would consolidate BA’s rank as Europe’s third largest airline behind Germany’s Lufthansa and Air-France KLM with anticipated annual revenues of ⁈lion ($22.5 billion) — at a time the industry is struggling with falling demand.

“This is good news for BA, our customers and our shareholders,” BA Chief Executive Willie Walsh. “We recognize we have strong brands and these will be retained.”

BA will have a majority 55 percent stake in the ‘TopCo’ company with Iberia holding the remaining 45 percent. The group will be incorporated in Spain, while the main operational and financial functions and the stock market listing will remain in Britain. Iberia CEO Antonio Vazquez will become chairman.

Analysts said the deal — along with a proposed tie-up with American Airlines that is still facing regulatory hurdles — was a positive step for the two loss-making airlines.

“The revenue environment appears to have stabilized and both management teams have plans in place to cut costs,” said Collins Stewart analyst Andrew Fitchie. “To turbo-charge a return to economic returns we have long held that BA and Iberia both need this merger and need the antitrust immunity with American Airlines.”

Walsh dismissed suggestions that fares would increase on some routes as “total nonsense.”

BA is currently strong on North American routes and Iberia on Latin American destinations while both operate on shorter-haul European routes such as London to Madrid.

BA and Iberia are also waiting on regulatory approval for a proposed revenue-sharing deal with AMR Corp.’s American that — if approved by U.S. and European authorities — will see the trio set prices together and share seat capacity on trans-Atlantic flights.

The deal would form an alliance on a combined route network serving 443 destinations in 106 countries with 6,200 daily departures.

Trans-Atlantic rival Virgin Atlantic Airways has bitterly opposed that alliance, with boss Richard Branson arguing that the union between BA and American would lead to price-fixing and force travel agents to send business to the pair.

BA last week reported a net loss of 208 million pounds ($346 million) for the six months ending in September, its first-ever loss in the period, as revenue fell 13.7 percent because of the recession.

The airline has begun drastic cost-cutting, axing meals on short-haul flights and announcing sweeping job cuts and pay curbs that have raised the threat of strike action by its 14,000 cabin crew. It has already slashed 2,500 positions between June 2008 and March 2009 and plans to cut another 1,700, freeze pay for current staff and offer lower wages for new hires. Hard money training