Alt Albion: Hidden Britain

The UK is well known for Big Ben, the London Eye and Buckingham Palace, but this Kiwi team got to experience the underground scenes where Britpop culture, UK art, fashion and so much more were created.

They were accompanied on the trip by UK guides. Below are a few edited blog posts, written by participants Kiwi Amber Parkin and Londoner Jade Adnett, courtesy of the website www.altalbion.co.nz

Off the wall

This has been a trip of visual firsts: my first beautiful Blake prints at Tate Liverpool, the first much-lauded Picasso, a few cheeky Warhols and my favourite to date, a piece by modern Brit icon Mr. Banksy.

We found it off Oxford Street; the ‘discovery' felt pretty excellent, tucked in behind a Royal Mail Depot. You can't see it in my picture, sorry, but there's also a bobby taking a photo of the kid. It's all very metaphysical - like recording a television and playing it on the television. Someone out there is always watching you in London.

Also, hilariously, a guy yelled at me that I "was adding to the camera problem".

Vintage shopping in Manchester

Vintage shopping in new cities is always a lot of fun, especially when you are given a personalised itinerary complete with coffee breaks. These shops are in the Northern Quarter of the city - the creative ‘indie' hub of Manchester.

Retro Rehab: reworked vintage pretties in a cute little shop with flamingo wallpaper.

Bread & Butter Teashop: refreshments in the cutest pink wonderland. "Chintzy" - as my gracious guide described it.

Blue Rinse: for retro t-shirts and good clothes for dudes. On Tib Street across the road from Bread & Butter.

Too much goodness in one city block! You could seriously spend around two hours trying everything on and supping mint tea with the locals. At Retro Rehab I bought a beautiful reworked lace dress, a memento of a great morning out.

Amber Parkin (aged 23)

Loch Lomond

This day was supposed to be a rest day for the Kiwis I was travelling with. But seeing as we were booked into the Drovers Inn, a 17th century inn on the misty banks of Loch Lomond, and it was Friday 13, we threw ourselves into the spirit of all things highland and ghostly.

Everyone was still getting to know each other so to break the ice (literally) TV3's David Farrier and Real Groove magazine's Duncan Greive decided to prove their Kiwi manliness by taking a dip in the frozen loch. It must have seemed like a good idea at the time and it certainly got the locals talking to us.

The explanation "We're from New Zealand" seemed to clarify everything, and we were made welcome with a dinner of giant haggis and a dram of local whiskey.

Later we decided to go ghost hunting, but never found anything other than some broken ghostly shortbread.

Edinburgh

Edinburgh is a beautiful place, all old buildings, big castles and stylish people. The centre of town was built on top of an even more ancient city called the Vaults which was covered over because of an outburst of the plague. This was the Edinburgh I wanted to see.

Now, you can't just go adventuring in the Vaults - you need a guide to show you around. So we went on a ‘tourist walk' hosted by our guide, Bryan. It could be Brian but something about him made me think he must have a silly spelling of his name to go along with the quirky acting and too many teeth.

Bryan was wearing a black cape when we first met him, and for a moment I thought, "Wow, this might be OK, he's kind of cool in an über-cheesy way." But I was mistaken. It was cold and dark already and we'd been dancing until early this morning up at Loch Lomond. As we walked round the city being told tales of this murder and that scandal, my mind wandered to thoughts of Chinese takeaways and hot water bottles.

The Vaults are well worth seeing. This series of underground caves started off as a really well-to-do part of the city, but when the plague hit it quickly became the home of the debauched and destitute. I'm sure these walls have some incredible stories to tell, but by the time we made it down the Vault stairs I was hallucinating from the cold.

London: "Honey I'm Home!"

I grew up in London and I was so happy to be able to show my Kiwi travelling mates a few of the places in London that I don't think I could live without: London markets.

There are dozens of vibrant markets happening all over London with all kinds of bargains to be had. Food, music, literature, fashion or even just obscure and interesting trinkets - these places offer a wonderful alternative to traipsing the high street. These are a few of my favourites.

Camden market: Located in the infamous centre for alternative culture in North London. There's a vast selection of things you can pick up here, but it's particularly good for clothes, jewellery and collector's items.

Covent Garden: Located in the bustling centre of London. Street entertainers are a common attraction, as well as the ‘indoor' market, covered by a glass roof, which houses boutiques, cafes, and arts and crafts stalls.

Spitalfields/Sunday Up market: Located in the East End of London between the vintage shops. Spitfires market is a great place to pick up antiques and collectables of all kinds, while Sunday Up market offers wonderful food amongst a regular clothing bonanza.

Brixton Market: Set in South London, the heart of Caribbean London, Brixton market is a regular event for the local community and a truly organic cultural experience. For any foodies, the breathtaking selection of fresh exotic produce on offer should be a particularly exciting prospect.

Jade Adnett (aged 18)