Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Archive for united kingdom
Color Me Scotch
By Linda Tancs
The Scottish Colourists, generally recognized as Cadell, Fergusson, Hunter and Peploe, were a group of post-Impressionist painters from Scotland. Their use of vivid color defined the modern art movement in the country. A dedicated gallery to the Colourists is now open at Glasgow’s Kelvingove Art Galley and Museum. Like all of their permanent displays, it’s free to visit!
Share this:
Crocodile Rock
By Linda Tancs
There’s this thing called the Crocodile Rock. No, not the dance immortalized in Elton John’s song. It’s a painted rock on the Isle of Cumbrae in Scotland. You’ll find it in Millport, the only town there, reachable by car ferry from Largs on the west coast. Of course, there’s more to do than just look at a painted rock. This accessible island, inhabited since the end of the last Ice Age, also boasts Britain’s smallest cathedral with incredible acoustics. Now that’s something to sing about.
Share this:
The Remotest Part of Great Britain
By Linda Tancs
Forty-one miles west of Benbecula in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides is the archipelago of Saint Kilda, the remotest part of the British Isles. Of its four islands, Hirta boasts the highest sea cliffs in the country. Its natural beauty earned it a World Heritage Site designation, an appellation enjoyed these days by its permanent residents consisting of puffins, gannets and other seabirds and wildlife. The human population long ago moved to the mainland to escape its isolation. If its sounds difficult to visit this place, you’d be right–but perseverance is rewarded. Try a cruise ship, charter or yacht, for starters. You should know that the only accommodation on Saint Kilda for visitors is a small camp site, with room for a maximum of six people. Visitors may stay for up to five nights.
Share this:
Cowes Still Thrills
By Linda Tancs
Cowes Week is a highlight of the British summer, one of the longest running and most successful sporting events in the country. For the uninitiated, it’s one of the oldest and most prestigious regattas in the world on the Isle of Wight, having officially begun in 1826 with just seven yachts. Today, 1,000 boats in up to 40 different handicap, one-design and multihull classes race every day for eight days. This year’s event takes place between 11 and 18 August. If you’d like a close-up view of the battle in the Solent, consider booking a place on the the official event spectator boat, which will run from Trinity Landing on Cowes Parade. 12 August is Family Day, and the price for a family of 4 (2 adults and 2 children under 16) will be at a special rate of £20, a savings of £5.
Share this:
London’s Cultural Olympiad
By Linda Tancs
The party has gone on for four years now, commencing with the announcement of London’s acquisition of the 2012 Summer Olympics. Since 2008, the Cultural Olympiad has featured programs and projects inspired by London 2012. The culmination of the Cultural Olympiad is the London 2012 Festival, providing over 10 million chances to see free world-class events throughout the UK until the Paralympics end on 9 September. Don’t miss today’s premiere London 2012 event, the world premiere of Lakes Alive, a spectacular new show by Les Commandos Percu. It will follow the arrival of the Olympic Torch at Lake Windermere earlier in the evening and will feature musical rhythms and amazing effects as fireworks dance to a thumping soundtrack. Get the party started!
Share this:
Winging It in the Falklands
By Linda Tancs
The black-browed albatross has the largest wingspan of any flying bird. You’ll find two-thirds of the world’s population in the Falkland Islands, a compact group of more than 740 islands approximately 400 miles off the southeastern tip of South America. Rendered an endangered species by BirdLife International, this majestic bird breeds on Steeple Jason and Beauchêne Island. Perhaps one of nature’s best kept secrets, the unspoiled terrain of this UK Overseas Territory draws visitors from around the world, particularly in conjunction with cruise tours of Antarctica via the Drake Passage. There are also scheduled flights from Europe or other parts of the world with LAN Chile via Santiago de Chile and Punta Arenas. Not up for a commercial flight? Consider hitching a ride with the RAF via Brize Norton in Oxfordshire. It won’t be cheap, but it will certainly be adventurous–as will ground travel. The Falklands has the greatest number of four-wheel drive vehicles per capita in the world thanks to, shall we say, choppy road conditions.
Share this:
600 Years in the Making
By Linda Tancs
Golf is a 600-year-old sport. Hard to believe that it’s taken that long to get a golf festival going where it all began. The St Andrews Golf Festival is the first-ever celebration of golf at its birthplace in St Andrews, Scotland. Today through 1 April, the free calendar of events includes the Seve exhibition at The Scores Hotel, an exclusive talk by Mungo Park (grandson of the first winner of the Open Championship in 1860), the Bobby Jones exhibition and golf correspondent Lewine Mair’s talk on the history of women’s golf.
Share this:
A Celtic Celebration
By Linda Tancs
The Festival of Imbolc is an ancient Celtic tradition celebrated with fire, commemorating the holy day of Brigid, the goddess of fire, healing and fertility. The fire symbolizes the increasing power of the light over the darkened winter months. Other world festivals likewise celebrate the coming of the change in seasons (albeit a bit later), like Las Fallas in Valencia, Spain. It’s a time of purification–so think about that spring cleaning!
Share this:
A Welsh Valentine
By Linda Tancs
Spooning your sweetie has a meaning all its own, particularly today, the Welsh equivalent to Valentine’s Day. Saint Dwynwen’s Day celebrates the patron saint of Welsh lovers. Like its 14 February equivalent, it’s a day for gift giving. And what better gift could there be than a Welsh lovespoon, handcarved in wood with symbols of love like interlocking hearts and wedding bells. Wishing you all love and friendship.
Share this:
New Nutcracker Debuts in London
By Linda Tancs
The English National Ballet celebrates 60 years of artistry this year. And what better way to mark the occasion than to produce a new version of the holiday classic Nutcracker, appearing seasonally for all those 60 years. This year’s tenth new production will appear at the London Coliseum for the first time from 10 – 30 December. At a family friendly matinee, up to two children go free with one full-paying adult. Children under five are admitted to these performances without charge. Clara and her Nutcracker await you.
Travelrific® Travel Journal 