VIDEOS : England Without London? Film Focuses on Countryside

THE ENGLISH COUNTRYSIDE (Travelview International, 30 minutes, 1992) .

Bypassing London completely, this video concentrates on the English countryside, providing brief, well-photographed views of quaint villages, lofty cathedrals and ancient ruins.

Beginning in the south, viewers first visit Canterbury, its cathedral and the ruins of St. Augustine’s Abbey; Portsmouth’s naval base, including Admiral Horatio Nelson’s ship Victory; the cathedrals at Winchester and Salisbury, and mysterious Stonehenge.

A tour of Bath and its springs is followed by visits to the nearby neolithic ruins of Avebury, the Longleat House and park, and Glastonbury, home of the ruins of St. Michael’s Chapel and the Chalice Well. Glastonbury is rumored to be the site of the Holy Grail.

In the Oxford area, there are scenes of the university and of students punting on the Thames, plus Blenheim Palace and the Cotswolds town of Cirencester, site of an early Roman settlement. Also visited are the villages of Bourton-on-the-Water and Stow-on-the-Wold.

Then there’s Shakespeare’s home in Stratford-on-Avon, Warwick Castle and its collection of medieval arms, Cambridge and its university, and Nottingham, the heart of Robin Hood country.

Farther north there are visits to the Lake Country and the town of Windemere, the Yorkshire moors, the city of York and York Minster Cathedral, the picturesque Shambles area, and the seaside resort town of Whitby.

This video is available on loan from some travel agencies, and may be purchased from Travelview International, 10370 Richmond St., Suite 550, Houston, Tex. 77042, (800) 862-1305. Price: $24.95.

ISRAEL (Worldwide Travel Films, 60 minutes, 1991) .

There’s much to see and absorb in this ancient land, a holy place to three of the world’s great religions--Christianity, Judaism and Islam. This video does a first-rate job of covering the significant sites, while the narration provides early as well as modern history, sometimes illustrated with old newsreel footage.

The tour begins in the cosmopolitan city of Tel Aviv with scenes of beaches, high-rises, the busy shopping area of Dizengoff Street and its square, plus sidewalk cafes, markets and museums. Included is a tour of old Jaffa’s colorful winding streets and seaport.

Viewers visit the ruins in Caesarea, the walled city of Akko, the bustling city and seaport of Haifa, and the shopping bazaar in the Druze city of Deliyat el Karmel.

In crowded, tourist-filled Nazareth, there are visits to such holy sites as Mary’s Well and the Basilica of the Annunciation. At the Sea of Galilee, there’s a visit to the Jewish holy city of Tiberius and side trips to Capernum, the orchards and nature reserve of the Hula Valley, and the town of Metulla on the Lebanon border.

At the southern tip of the Negev Desert, there’s a stop at the beach resort of Eilat on the Red Sea. Scenes in the Negev include old copper mines, Bedouin camps at Beersheba and the kibbutz home and burial site of former Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion.

In the northern Negev on the Jordan border, the video explores the Dead Sea area, including film and history of Masada.

The narration refers only briefly to the recurring political disturbances on the West Bank. In Bethlehem, it focuses on the beauty of the city and its importance to Christians as the birthplace of Christ.

And in the neighboring capital city of Jerusalem, where soldiers patrol the alleyways of the Old City, an extensive tour concentrates on the many sacred sites and the contrasts between them and the more contemporary buildings outside the Old City walls.

Tapes are available from Worldwide Travel Films, P.O. Box 601, Grayling, Mich. 49738, (517) 348-4227. Price: $29.95.

FLORIDA (American Automobile Assn., 56 minutes, 1991).

Tourist attractions, not cities, are the main focus of this video that travels from northern Florida to the Keys, visiting museums, theme parks, gardens and nature preserves.

Beginning with a tour of historic St. Augustine, viewers visit Jacksonville and the adjacent Mayport fishing village; Tallahassee and the Wakulla Springs wildlife sanctuary, and the aviation museum in Pensacola.

In Central Florida, there are stops at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach and the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral. Inland near Ocala, viewers visit the Appleton Museum of Art, take a glass-bottom boat ride and visit Deer Park in Silver Springs. Highlights in the Orlando area include Disney World, Epcot Center, MGM Studios and theme park, Universal’s working studio, Sea World and the nearby Morse Museum of American Art.

Stops are also made at Cypress Gardens in Winter Haven, the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Busch Gardens in Tampa, the Ringling museums and estate in Sarasota, and the tranquil Bok Tower Gardens with its “singing” carillon and forest of hammock oaks near Lake Wales.

A tour of South Florida, which was filmed before the devastation caused by Hurricane Andrew in late August, includes major sites in Palm Beach, Ft. Lauderdale and Miami, then takes a side trip on the Overseas Highway for a brief visit to Key West before returning to Everglades Park and its fragile ecosystem. Also visited are Naples, Ft. Myers and Sanibel Island, a popular place for shell collectors.

Tapes are available from AAA Video Service, 200 Fillmore, Suite 106, Denver, Colo. 80206, (800) 875-5000. Price: $19.95 for association members, $24.95 for non-members.