Fishguard in Pembrokeshire

2 January 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

High Tide © geograph.org.uk - Pauline Eccles/cc-by-sa-2.0

High Tide © geograph.org.uk – Pauline Eccles/cc-by-sa-2.0

Fishguard (Welsh: Abergwaun, meaning “Mouth of the River Gwaun“) is a coastal town in Pembrokeshire, south-west Wales, with a population of 3,300. The community of Fishguard and Goodwick has a population of 5,000.   read more…

Lüderitz in Namibia

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

Lüderitz, seen from Nautilusberg (Mount Nautilus) © Peter Stenglein/cc-by-sa-2.5

Lüderitz, seen from Nautilusberg (Mount Nautilus) © Peter Stenglein/cc-by-sa-2.5

Lüderitz is a harbour town in south-west Namibia, lying on one of the least hospitable coasts in Africa. It is a port developed around Robert Harbour and Shark Island. The town is known for its colonial architecture, including some Art Nouveau work, and for wildlife including seals, penguins, flamingos and ostriches. It is also home to a museum, and lies at the end of a currently decommissioned railway line to Keetmanshoop.   read more…

Theme Week Cornwall – St Ives

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

St Ives harbour front © flickr.com - Char/cc-by-sa-2.0

St Ives harbour front © flickr.com – Char/cc-by-sa-2.0

St Ives is a seaside town, civil parish and port. The town lies north of Penzance and west of Camborne on the coast of the Celtic Sea. In former times it was commercially dependent on fishing. The decline in fishing, however, caused a shift in commercial emphasis and the town is now primarily a popular holiday resort, notably achieving the award ‘Best UK Seaside Town’ from the British Travel Awards in both 2010 and 2011. St Ives was incorporated by Royal Charter in 1639. St Ives has become renowned for its number of artists. It was named best seaside town of 2007 by the Guardian newspaper. For local information for visitors, holiday makers and local residents, St Ives Town Council opened the St Ives Visitor & Information Centre in June 2011.   read more…

Theme Week Cornwall – Port Isaac

19 December 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

© Sbeech

© Sbeech

Port Isaac is a small and picturesque fishing village on the Atlantic Coast of north Cornwall. The nearest towns are Wadebridge and Camelford, both ten miles away. Port Gaverne, commonly mistaken to be part of Port Isaac, is a nearby hamlet that has its own history. The meaning of the Cornish name is “corn port”, indicating a trade in corn from the arable inland district. Since the 1980s the village has served as backdrop to various television productions, including the ITV series Doc Martin.   read more…

Theme Week Cornwall – Zennor

18 December 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

Zennor from Trewey Hill © Jim Champion/cc-by-sa-3.0

Zennor from Trewey Hill © Jim Champion/cc-by-sa-3.0

Zennor is a village and civil parish. The parish includes the villages of Zennor, Boswednack and Porthmeor and the hamlet of Treen. It is located on the north coast, about 6 miles (10 km) north of Penzance. It lies along the B3306 road which connects St Ives to the A30 road. Alphabetically, the parish is the last in Britain. Its name comes from the Cornish for the local saint, St Senara. Zennor Head is a coastal promontory north of the village. The cliffs rise over 200 feet (60 m) from the sea and the highest point of the headland is 314 feet (96 m) above sea level. The village itself is at a height of around 360 feet (110 m).   read more…

Theme Week Cornwall

16 December 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon voyage, Theme Weeks Reading Time:  7 minutes

Remains of Tintagel Castle, legendary birthplace of mythical King Arthur © Maniple

Remains of Tintagel Castle, legendary birthplace of mythical King Arthur © Maniple

Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. Cornwall is a peninsula bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of 536,000 and covers an area of 3,563 km2 (1,376 sq mi). The administrative centre, and only city in Cornwall, is Truro, although the town of St Austell has a larger population.   read more…

Liberty Island

14 December 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, New York City, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  7 minutes

Statue of Liberty © flickr.com - Koshy Koshy/cc-by-2.0

Statue of Liberty © flickr.com – Koshy Koshy/cc-by-2.0

Liberty Island is a small uninhabited island in New York Harbor in the United States, best known as the location of the Statue of Liberty. Though so called since the start of the 20th century, the name did not become official until 1956. In 1937, by proclamation 2250, President Franklin D. Roosevelt expanded the Statue of Liberty National Monument to include all of Bedloe’s Island, and in 1956, an act of Congress officially renamed it. It became part of the National Register of Historic Places site Statue of Liberty National Monument, Ellis Island and Liberty Island in 1966. The island was closed to the public after Hurricane Sandy in October 2012 until reopening on July 4, 2013.   read more…

Oban on the west coast of Scotland

7 December 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

North Pier Ferry Terminal at night © Emil Goldberg/cc-by-sa-3.0

North Pier Ferry Terminal at night © Emil Goldberg/cc-by-sa-3.0

Oban (Scottish Gaelic meaning The Little Bay) is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. It has a total resident population of 8,000. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William and during the tourist season the town can play host to up to 25,000 people. Oban occupies a beautiful setting in the Firth of Lorn. The bay is a near perfect horseshoe, protected by the island of Kerrera, and beyond Kerrera the Isle of Mull. To the north is the long low island of Lismore, and the mountains of Morvern and Ardgour.   read more…

The Wales Coast Path

9 November 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Museums, Exhibitions Reading Time:  5 minutes

Wales Coast Path logo © Hogyn Lleol/cc-by-sa-3.0

Wales Coast Path logo © Hogyn Lleol/cc-by-sa-3.0

The Wales Coast Path (Welsh: Llwybr Arfordir Cymru) is a long-distance footpath which follows the whole of the coastline of Wales. It opened on 5 May 2012, and offers a 870 miles (1,400 km) walking route from Chepstow, in the south, to Queensferry, in the north. Wales is the first country in the world to provide a dedicated footpath along its entire coastline. The Path runs through eleven National Nature Reserves and other nature reserves, including those managed by The Wildlife Trusts or Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). Lonely Planet rated the coast of Wales first in its Best in Travel: top 10 regions for 2012.   read more…

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