All posts by Benjamin Welby

About Benjamin Welby

I’m Benjamin Welby. I live in Croydon with my wife and two children. I church at Croydon Vineyard. We’ve had season tickets for Bradford City since 2007. I’ve got degrees in History, Post-War Recovery and Public Administration and have spent the last 15+ years working at the intersection of digital transformation and good governance. I began my career in local government, went on to help launch GOV.UK and most recently worked on defining global standards for digital government at the OECD. I'm currently currently co-authoring a book integrating biblical values with civic life, encouraging Christians to adopt a hope-filled, faith-inspired perspective on democracy and how we are governed. I’m interested in too many things: being a good husband and father, following Jesus, the theology of governing well, a warm welcome for refugees and asylum seekers, that ‘digital’ leads to fair, inclusive and equitable transformation, exploring the world, League Two football, Pantomime, various England sports teams and Team GB… View all posts by Benjamin Welby →

On to Sweden! Next stop, Liseberg

July 28, 2024Denmark, Summer 2023, SwedenAmager, American Express, Bron Broen, Copenhagen, Drogden Tunnel, Göteborg, Gothenburg, Grano, Henrik Sabroe, Lagkagehuset, Liseberg, Lisebergsbyn, Martin Rohde, Ole & Steen, Øresund Bridge, Peberholm, Road trip, Saga Norén, Theme parkBenjamin Welby

This is the fifth in a series of blog posts documenting our 2023 summer holiday: a wonderful road-trip around Denmark, Sweden and Norway.

Day 5: July 28, 2023

Today we said farvel to Denmark (for now) with a 315km road trip to Gothenburg (Göteborg).

But before we could leave Denmark we needed to get some more Danish pastries for the road. And where better than at a Lagkagehuset? For we Brits that’s the chain of bakeries that we are more familiar with as Ole & Steen.

Pastries procured we started our drive towards another landmark of Danish culture – the Øresund Bridge. This crossing had been firmly embedded in my consciousness after my very first visit to the Government Digital Service offices and a pub conversation about this incredible new Danish-Swedish thriller. Suffice to say Christine and I absolutely loved Bron/Broen and here we were with our opportunity to follow in the wheel tracks of Saga, Martin and Henrik.

Aerial view of the 8km Øresund Bridge taken from a plane. The artificial island of Peberholm is visible in the foreground where the road disappears into the 4km Drogden Tunnel. The sea is bright and blue and the sky is clear with a few scattered clouds. — A photo of the Øresund crossing taken by my pilot friend Chris from the cockpit of his Easyjet

I had forgotten that as well as being an 8km long road and railway bridge, that the Øresund crossing starts with a 4km tunnel (the Drogden Tunnel) linking the Danish island of Amager with the artificial island of Peberholm. I also hadn’t realised that every time that olive green Porsche did the crossing that it would take a good half an hour and cost £55 (maybe the police have an exemption).

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Experimenting at the Experimentarium

July 28, 2024Denmark, Summer 2023Bubbles, Copenhagen, Experimentarium, Global Trade, Ice cream, Inside Out, Isoteket, Natural History Museum, Physics, Playground, The Laundromat Cafe Copenhagen, The Science MuseumBenjamin Welby

This is the fourth in a series of blog posts documenting our 2023 summer holiday: a wonderful road-trip around Denmark, Sweden and Norway.

Day 4: July 27, 2023

The Experimentarium

A core memory of mine (to use Inside Out speak) is the one or two occasions spent in the basement of the Science Museum playing with all sorts of amazing interactive exhibits. It’s planted deep in my mind this idea of the Science Museum as a fun and interactive place where you not only see exhibits but touch and feel science as well. Unfortunately, having returned to the Science Museum with both Ezra and Eleanor in more recent times it doesn’t have the same sense of magic¹.

But Copenhagen’s Experimentarium does. Originally something we had intended to cover with the cost of the Copenhagen Card part of our decision to buy the tickets individually was our use of the hire car to travel around Copenhagen and get out to this museum rather than using public transport (parking cost us about £8 for the day). And it was another highlight (every day has been a highlight so is that idea getting devalued?)

For the family it cost us 776 DKK for entry and made me pause to think about how my expectation of some of the most famous British attractions is for them to be free (and full of requests for donations). When I go to the Science Museum or the Natural History Museum it is fantastic to find that they are free of charge (we do have paid for membership of the Natural History Museum). However, charging entrance is obviously a factor in how the Experimentarium to refresh and reimagine and invest in the experience they offer in a way that was refreshing and impressive.

The Experimentarium is everything I want The Science Museum to be.

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Fun at Tivoli Gardens

July 26, 2024Denmark, Summer 2023Copenhagen, Copenhagen Card, Ice cream, Jonas Vingegaard, July 26, Pantomime, Theme park, Tiqets, Tivoli Gardens, Tour de FranceBenjamin Welby

This is the third in a series of blog posts documenting our 2023 summer holiday: a wonderful road-trip around Denmark, Sweden and Norway.

Day 3: July 26, 2023

The third day of our holiday was one we were all very excited for – the first theme park of the trip as we planned to spend the day at the iconic Tivoli Gardens.

A scenic view of a tree-lined sidewalk beside a decorative iron fence adorned with blooming flowers. In the background, there is a historic building with a tall spire visible against a clear blue sky. People can be seen walking in the distance along the pathway.

A child in blue shorts stands next to a large bronze sculpture of two lions engaged in a fierce pose. The sculpture is located on a grassy area near a road, with trees and buildings visible in the background. The sky is partly cloudy.

After making sure we stocked up with a hearty breakfast at Cabinn we walked into the centre of Copenhagen.

A city scene featuring a large historic building with a tall spire, set against a blue sky filled with fluffy white clouds. In the foreground, there are bike lanes marked with symbols, and a street populated with various vehicles, including a bus. The scene captures the vibrant urban atmosphere.

A vibrant outdoor stage is seen in a park, with people walking along a pathway and gathering on the grass. The sky is partly cloudy, and trees surround the area. Several steps lead up to the stage, which is decorated with banners.

Our visit coincided with the culmination of the 110th Tour de France, which had been won by Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard. This meant that the centre of Copenhagen was buzzing with cycling fans. We were in the queue for Tivoli before the majority of people had arrived but it was still getting busy enough. And as we made our way into the park we found that a special stage had been set up inside in his honour.

There is a dizzying array of ticketing options for Tivoli Gardens. At its most basic you can buy a ticket to enter the gardens and have pay per use access to the rides and amenities. And then there were various ticket passes and packages that included food and drink and photos.

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Exploring the Heart of Copenhagen

July 25, 2024Denmark, Summer 2023Agnete and the Merman, Bishop Absalon, Blox, Børsen, Børsgade, Broens Street Fod, Butterfly Bridge, Changing of the Guard, Christiansborg Palace, Christiansborg Slotskirke, Christiansborg Slotsplads, Christianshavns Kanal, Church of Our Saviour Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Danish Architecture Center, Flying Tiger, Gefionspringvandet, Hans Christian Andersen, Højbro Plads, Ice cream, July 25, Knippelsbro, Langelinieparken, Ludoquist, Netto, Nyhavn, Playground, Restaurant Kanalen, Seek and See, Søren Georg Jensen, Stork Fountain, Storkespringvandet, The Bastard Cafe, The Little Mermaid, Wilders Kanal, Wilders Plads MarinaBenjamin Welby

This is the second in a series of blog posts documenting our 2023 summer holiday: a wonderful road-trip around Denmark, Sweden and Norway.

Day 2: July 25, 2023

We did a lot with our first full day in Copenhagen!

First, a Copenhagen Treasure Hunt

When I visit somewhere new I love the experience of getting out on foot and orienting myself somewhere. But self-guided walking tours aren’t always that much fun, especially for children, so it was brilliant to discover Seek and See.

For less than £20 we got a route that introduced us to Skyla and helped her build a new spaceship so that she could return to save her home planet.

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We’re all going on a Summer Holiday

July 24, 2024Denmark, Summer 2023Avis, Billund, Cabinn, Cabinn Scandinavia, Copenhagen, EasyPark, Holiday Extras, July 24, London Heathrow, Maple Parking, WaddonBenjamin Welby

This is the first in a series of blog posts documenting our 2023 summer holiday: a wonderful road-trip around Denmark, Sweden and Norway.

Day 1: July 24 2023

Today was the day we set off on our exciting journey across Scandinavia as we left Waddon and flew, via London Heathrow, to Billund in Denmark.

We weighed up all the options about how to get from our pocket of London to Heathrow and in the end decided to drive and leave our car with Maple Parking Meet and Greet, booked via Holiday Extras for about £150. Services like this come with pretty bad reputations but despite that we figured our 19 year old Focus would be safe enough. And thankfully it was.

We were flying to Billund because the starting point for our decision to go to Scandinavia for our holiday was to visit OG Legoland in Billund. So our round trip starts and ends in Billund – with Legoland as the grand finale.

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Ben’s AV weekend in Bristol

April 18, 2024WeekendsAV, Breakfast, Bristol, Brunch, Indian restaurants, Shirehampton, Weekend, World BuffetBenjamin Welby

21 years ago I was fortunate enough to spend a few months in Kenya on a gap year with Africa and Asia Venture.

I have a complicated relationship with the gap year concept but wouldn’t swap the relationships from that experience for anything. I leap at any chance to meet up with my fellow AVs. And on this occasion in a city I was visiting for the first time in years and years: Bristol.

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Hamilton Chiefs vs Canterbury Crusaders

May 26, 2014New ZealandCanterbury Crusaders, Hamilton Chiefs, Hamilton Gardens, Shand family, Super XVBenjamin Welby

Friday 24th May 2013

We had originally planned to be in Taupo by now, and had thought today would have been a good day for the Tongariro Crossing but last week we discovered that we could get tickets for one of the marquee fixtures in the Super XV competition: Hamilton Chiefs versus Canterbury Crusaders.

After a lovely lazy morning we visited the Hamilton Gardens for lunch. The public gardens are owned and managed by the council and attract 600,000 people a year (not surprising given that it’s also free). The gardens were first developed on the city’s waste disposal site in the 1960s and since then they’ve got bigger and better. Continue reading Hamilton Chiefs vs Canterbury Crusaders →

Tauranga and Mount Maunganui

May 26, 2014New Zealand3rd place cafe, Bay of Plenty, Mount Maunganui, Red Cherry Cafe, Rotorua, Shand family, Tauranga, WaikatoBenjamin Welby

Thursday 23rd May 2013

We started the day with breakfast at 3rd Place, which had come highly recommended by the Lonely Planet. Christine had a light breakfast, which was delicious but left her wanting more; I didn’t make such a novice mistake and enjoyed my larger breakfast.

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Rotorua day 4 – water, water everywhere

May 26, 2014New ZealandBlue Lake, Crash Palace Backpackers, Fat Dog Cafe, Green Lake, Lake Rotokakahi, Lake Tarawera, Lake Tikitapu, Mount TaraweraBenjamin Welby

Wednesday 22nd May 2013

In the morning we drove up and around Lake Tarawera – it was a lovely sunny morning to watch the clouds roll over Mount Tarawera (the volcano that erupted in 1886).

On the way we had stopped at Lake Tikitapu, also known as the Blue Lake.

Lake Tikitapu - the Blue Lake — Lake Tikitapu – the Blue Lake

It is the sister lake to Lake Rotokakahi, or the Green lake. One has a very sandy bottom, so should look very blue and the other doesn’t so looks greener. However, when we stopped at the viewpoint where you can compare them side by side we weren’t really able to see the difference…

Back in Rotorua we had lunch at the amazing Fat Dog Cafe, where Jim made a new friend and spent the rest of our final day in Rotorua doing very little else.

Distance travelled: 45km

Total distance travelled: 21,579km

Rotorua day 3 – Whakarewarewa Thermal Village and Rainbow Springs

May 21, 2014New Zealandconservation, Crash Palace Backpackers, Department of Conservation, kiwi, Kiwi Encounter, Operation Nest Egg, Pohutu, Rainbow Springs, Save the Kiwi, Te Puia, Te Tohu, Whakarewarewa, Whakarewarewa Thermal VillageBenjamin Welby

Tuesday 21st May 2013

Whakarewarewa Thermal Village

In the morning we visited the community at Whakarewarewa, a Maori village that demonstrates how geothermal energy can be used in daily life. We took a guided tour of the village and saw how steam from the ground is used to cook food in oven-like wooden boxes (hangi), create hot pools used for cooking as well as more temperate pools for washing and relaxation.

Just next to Whakarewarewa is Te Puia. Te Puia is the competing cultural experience and the precise location for impressive geysers such as Pohutu and Te Tohu (Prince of Wales Feathers). However, from the viewing platform at Whakarewarewa we were still able to get a good view of some boiling hot water shooting towards the sky. Continue reading Rotorua day 3 – Whakarewarewa Thermal Village and Rainbow Springs →

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The Welby Family on their travels

All posts by Benjamin Welby

About Benjamin Welby

On to Sweden! Next stop, Liseberg

Day 5: July 28, 2023

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Experimenting at the Experimentarium