Theme Week Scotland – Kirkcaldy

13 September 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

Kirkcaldy Museum and Art Gallery © Kilnburn/cc-by-sa-3.0

Kirkcaldy Museum and Art Gallery © Kilnburn/cc-by-sa-3.0

Kirkcaldy (Scottish Gaelic: Cair Chaladain) is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It is approximately 11.6 miles (19 km) north of Edinburgh and 27.6 miles (44 km) south-southwest of Dundee. The town had an estimated population of 49,560 in 2010, making it the biggest settlement in Fife. Kirkcaldy has long been nicknamed the Lang Toun (Scots for “long town”) in reference to the 0.9-mile (1.4 km) early town’s main street, as indicated on maps of the 16th and 17th centuries. The street later reached a length of nearly 4 miles (6.4 km) connecting the burgh to neighbouring settlements of Linktown, Pathhead, Sinclairtown and Gallatown. These settlements would later merge into the town in 1876.   read more…

Theme Week Scotland – Paisley

10 September 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

The Paisley Cenotaph and war memorial © geograph.org.uk - Stephen Sweeney/cc-by-sa-2.0

The Paisley Cenotaph and war memorial © geograph.org.uk – Stephen Sweeney/cc-by-sa-2.0

Paisley (Scottish Gaelic: Pàislig) is the largest town in the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland and serves as the administrative centre for the Renfrewshire council area. The town is situated on the northern edge of the Gleniffer Braes, straddling the banks of the White Cart Water, a tributary of the River Clyde. The town, a former burgh, forms part of a contiguous urban area with Glasgow, Glasgow City Centre being 6.9 miles (11.1 km) to the east. The town came to prominence with the establishment of Paisley Abbey in the 12th century, an important religious hub in mediaeval Scotland which formerly had control over the other churches in the local area.   read more…

Aberystwyth in Wales

30 July 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

National Library of Wales © Rhyshuw1/cc-by-sa-3.0

National Library of Wales © Rhyshuw1/cc-by-sa-3.0

Aberystwyth (English: Mouth of the Ystwyth) is a historic market town, administrative centre and holiday resort within Ceredigion, Wales. Often colloquially known as Aber, it is located near the confluence of the rivers Ystwyth and Rheidol. Since the late 19th century, Aberystwyth has also been a major Welsh educational centre, with the establishment of a university college there in 1872. At the 2001 census, the town’s population was 16,000. During nine months of the year, there is an influx of students – to a total number of 10,400 as of September 2012 – but there is no reliable measure of the number of those students whose family residence is outside Aberystwyth.   read more…

Chester in North West England

23 July 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

Northgate Street © geograph.org.uk - John Firth/cc-by-sa-2.0

Northgate Street © geograph.org.uk – John Firth/cc-by-sa-2.0

Chester, is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 119,000 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100. Chester was granted city status in 1541.   read more…

The London Stone

6 July 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, London Reading Time:  7 minutes

London Stone © englishhistoryauthors.blogspot.com

London Stone © englishhistoryauthors.blogspot.com

London Stone is a historic stone that is now set within a Portland stone surround and iron grille on Cannon Street, in the City of London.   read more…

The Sherlock Holmes Museum in London

29 June 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, London, Museums, Exhibitions Reading Time:  4 minutes

Sherlock Homes Museum © Jordan 1972

Sherlock Holmes Museum © Jordan 1972

The Sherlock Holmes Museum is a privately run museum in London, dedicated to the famous fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. It opened in 1990 and is situated in Baker Street, bearing the number 221B by permission of the City of Westminster, although it lies between numbers 237 and 241, near the north end of Baker Street in central London close to Regent’s Park.   read more…

Dunvegan Castle, seat of the chief of the Clan MacLeod

15 June 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks Reading Time:  6 minutes

Dunvegan Castle and Gardens, home to the MacLeod family for over 800 years © Dunvegancastle/cc-by-sa-3.0

Dunvegan Castle and Gardens, home to the MacLeod family for over 800 years
© Dunvegancastle/cc-by-sa-3.0

Dunvegan Castle is a castle a mile and a half to the north of Dunvegan on the Isle of Skye, situated off the West coast of Scotland. It is the seat of the MacLeod of MacLeod, chief of the Clan MacLeod. Dunvegan Castle is the oldest continuously inhabited castle in Scotland.   read more…

Theme Week Wales – Swansea

8 June 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  8 minutes

Swansea Harbour Trust Building © jrw/cc-by-sa-3.0

Swansea Harbour Trust Building © jrw/cc-by-sa-3.0

Swansea, officially the City and County of Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. It is Wales’s second largest city. Swansea lies within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands. The City and County of Swansea had a population of 239,000 in 2011, making it the second most populous local authority area in Wales after Cardiff. During its 19th-century industrial heyday, Swansea was a key centre of the copper industry, earning the nickname ‘Copperopolis’. Swansea can be roughly divided into four physical areas. To the north are the Lliw uplands which are mainly open moorland, reaching the foothills of the Black Mountain. To the west is the Gower Peninsula with its rural landscape dotted with small villages. To the east is the coastal strip around Swansea Bay. Cutting though the middle from the south-east to the north-west is the urban and suburban zone stretching from the Swansea city centre to the towns of Gorseinon and Pontarddulais.   read more…

Theme Week Wales – Barry

7 June 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

Barry Waterfront © Cane Giapponese

Barry Waterfront © Cane Giapponese

Barry is a town and community in the Vale of Glamorgan in Wales. Located along the northern coast of the Bristol Channel less than 7 miles (11 km) south-southwest of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales, Barry is a seaside resort, with attractions including several beaches and the Barry Island Pleasure Park. Once a small village, Barry has absorbed its larger neighbouring villages of Cadoxton and Barry Island.   read more…

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