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…

Wolverhampton in the West Midlands

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

Art Gallery © G-Man

Art Gallery © G-Man

Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands. In 2004, the local government district had an estimated population of 239,100. Wolverhampton is part of the West Midlands Urban Area which had a population of 2.3 million in the 2001 census which makes it part of the second largest urban area in the United Kingdom. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region (code UKG35) and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the “West Midlands” NUTS 2 region. The West Midlands County is one of the most heavily urbanised counties in the UK. Birmingham, Wolverhampton, the Black Country and Solihull together form the most populous conurbation in the United Kingdom outside London, with a combined population of around 2.27 million.   read more…

The city of Aberdeen in Scotland

28 September 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  8 minutes

Belmont Street Farmers Market © Peter Ward

Belmont Street Farmers Market © Peter Ward

Aberdeen is Scotland’s third most populous city, one of Scotland’s 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom’s 29th most populous city, with an official population estimate of 220,420. Nicknames include the Granite City, the Grey City and the Silver City with the Golden Sands. During the mid-18th to mid-20th centuries, Aberdeen’s buildings incorporated locally quarried grey granite, which can sparkle like silver due to their high mica contents. The city has a long, sandy coastline. Since the discovery of North Sea oil in the 1970s, other nicknames have been the Oil Capital of Europe or the Energy Capital of Europe. The area around Aberdeen has been settled since at least 8,000 years ago, when prehistoric villages lay around the mouths of the rivers Dee and Don. Aberdeen received Royal Burgh status from King David I (1124–53), transforming the city economically. The city’s two universities, the University of Aberdeen, founded in 1495, and The Robert Gordon University, which was awarded university status in 1992, make Aberdeen the educational centre of the north-east. The traditional industries of fishing, paper-making, shipbuilding, and textiles have been overtaken by the oil industry and Aberdeen’s seaport. Aberdeen Heliport is one of the busiest commercial heliports in the world and the seaport is the largest in the north-east of Scotland. Aberdeen has won the Britain in Bloom competition a record-breaking ten times, and hosts the Aberdeen International Youth Festival, a major international event which attracts up to 1000 of the most talented young performing arts companies. It was named the 54th most liveable city in the World.   read more…

The Cinque Ports in Kent and Sussex

24 September 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  8 minutes

Cinque Ports map © Clem Rutter

Cinque Ports map © Clem Rutter

The Confederation of Cinque Ports (pronounced “sink” ports, not as the French “cinq”) is a historic series of coastal towns in Kent and Sussex. It was originally formed for military and trade purposes, but is now entirely ceremonial. It lies at the eastern end of the English Channel, where the crossing to the continent is narrowest. The name originates in Norman French, meaning “five ports”, which are: Hastings, New Romney, Hythe, Dover and Sandwich.   read more…

Lincoln, the county town of Lincolnshire

20 September 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

Jew's House © Jungpionier

Jew’s House © Jungpionier

Lincoln is a cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England. The non-metropolitan district of Lincoln has a population of 85,595; the 2001 census gave the entire urban area of Lincoln (which includes North Hykeham, Waddington and Birchwood) a population of 104,000.   read more…

The Kinema in the Woods and Petwood House

12 September 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Hotels, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks Reading Time:  5 minutes

Kinema in the Woods © geograph.org.uk/Rodney Burton

Kinema in the Woods © geograph.org.uk/Rodney Burton

The Kinema in the Woods is a cinema in the village of Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire. It dates from 1922, and it is the only fully functioning cinema in the UK to employ back projection.   read more…

Colchester in Essex is UK’s oldest city

30 August 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

High Street © colchesterguide.co.uk

High Street © colchesterguide.co.uk

Colchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England. At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain’s fastest growing towns. As the oldest recorded Roman town in Britain, Colchester claims to be the oldest town in Britain. It was for a time the capital of Roman Britain and also claims to have the United Kingdom’s oldest recorded market. The town is a member of the Most Ancient European Towns Network.   read more…

The Highland Games

25 August 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Sport Reading Time:  4 minutes

Braemar - General Games Day © TheCreator

Braemar - General Games Day © TheCreator

Taking place around Scotland during the summer months, Highland games provide a unique combination of culture, sport and social entertainment.   read more…

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