The port city of Portsmouth

3 December 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

Old Portsmouth © flickr.com - eNil

Old Portsmouth © flickr.com – eNil

Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom’s only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island. It is situated 64 miles (103 km) south west from London and 19 miles (31 km) south east from Southampton.   read more…

Bath on River Avon

23 November 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  7 minutes

Abbey of Bath © Nikater

Abbey of Bath © Nikater

Bath is a city in the ceremonial county of Somerset in South West England. It is situated 97 miles (156 km) west of London and 13 miles (21 km) south-east of Bristol. The population of the city is 83,992. It was granted city status by Royal Charter by Queen Elizabeth I in 1590, and was made a county borough in 1889 which gave it administrative independence from its county, Somerset. The city became part of Avon when that county was created in 1974. Since 1996, when Avon was abolished, Bath has been the principal centre of the unitary authority of Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES).   read more…

Derry in Londonderry

15 November 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

River Foyle © Sean McClean

River Foyle © Sean McClean

Derry or Londonderry is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Daire or Doire meaning “oak grove”. In 1613, the city was granted a Royal Charter by King James I and the “London” prefix was added, changing the name of the city to Londonderry. While the city is more usually known as Derry, Londonderry is also used and remains the legal name.   read more…

Ipswich in East Anglia

2 November 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

Cornhill © geograph.org.uk - Michael Wade

Cornhill © geograph.org.uk – Michael Wade

Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell. Nearby towns are Felixstowe, Needham Market and Stowmarket in Suffolk and Harwich and Colchester in Essex.   read more…

The Independence of the Seas

1 November 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Cruise Ships, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  6 minutes

in Southampton/UK © Aztec06

in Southampton/UK © Aztec06

MS Independence of the Seas is a Freedom-class cruise ship operated by the Royal Caribbean cruise line that entered service in April 2008. The 15-deck ship can accommodate 4,370 passengers and is served by 1,360 crew. She was built in the Aker Finnyards drydock in Turku, Finland, builder of Freedom of the Seas and Liberty of the Seas, her sister ships of the Freedom class. At 154,407 gross tons, she joined Freedom of the Seas and Liberty of the Seas as the largest cruise ships and passenger vessels yet built. She is 1,112 feet (339 m) long, and typically cruises at 21.6 knots (40.0 km/h; 24.9 mph). The vessel operates from Southampton, England and Fort Lauderdale, Florida.   read more…

The Shard in London

1 November 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, House of the Month, Hotels, London Reading Time:  8 minutes

The Shard in April 2012 © Cmglee/cc-by-sa-3.0

The Shard in April 2012 © Cmglee/cc-by-sa-3.0

The Shard (also referred to as the Shard of Glass, Shard London Bridge or the London Bridge Tower) is a skyscraper in London. Standing 309.6 metres (1,016 ft) high, it was topped out on 30 March 2012 and opened on 5 July 2012. The Shard is the tallest completed building in Europe, and is also the tallest free-standing structure in London, after the 330-metre (1,083 ft) concrete tower at the Emley Moor transmitting station.   read more…

Winchester in the south of England

20 October 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  8 minutes

Cheyney Court © geograph.org.uk - Stephen McKay

Cheyney Court © geograph.org.uk – Stephen McKay

Winchester is a historic cathedral city and former capital city of England. It is the county town of Hampshire, in South East England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, and is located at the western end of the South Downs, along the course of the River Itchen. Winchester has a population of 40,000.   read more…

Parks and Gardens

17 October 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks, Environment Reading Time:  8 minutes

Hannover - Great Garden in Herrenhausen Gardens © Arabsalam

Hannover – Great Garden in Herrenhausen Gardens © Arabsalam

A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form today is known as a residential garden, but the term garden has traditionally been a more general one. Zoos, which display wild animals in simulated natural habitats, were formerly called zoological gardens. Western gardens are almost universally based on plants, with garden often signifying a shortened form of botanical garden.   read more…

Glastonbury in Somerset

17 October 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

Glastonbury from the Tor © Adrian Pingstone

Glastonbury from the Tor © Adrian Pingstone

Glastonbury is a small town in Somerset, situated at a dry point on the low lying Somerset Levels, 23 miles (37 km) south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,784 in the 2001 census. Glastonbury is less than 1 mile (2 km) across the River Brue from Street, which is now larger than Glastonbury.   read more…

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