Today’s picture of the day is of Skiddaw in Cumbria. Skiddaw is known as the easiest peak to climb in the picturesque Lake District. Climbers can reach the summit in around 2 hours and enjoy magnificent views of Keswick , the Pennines, Irish sea and the Isle of Man. It can become extremely crowded during peak times such as Bank Holidays.
Running from 3rd to 6th December 2009, the Medieval Christmas ‘bash’ in Lincoln is one not to be missed. Packed with around 300 stalls, it’s a Christmas market on the cobbled streets of Lincoln’s cathedral quarter. Now in its 27th year, it has a dedicated medieval zone outside the Bishop’s Palace, where you can taste mead, purchase pewter gifts and just generally get into the festive spirit.
Dunster by Candlelight takes place every year on the first Friday and Saturday in December when this remarkably preserved medieval village turns its back on the present and lights its streets with candles.
To mark the beginning of the festival on Friday at 5.30pm, there is the Lantern Lighting Procession that starts on the Steep and continues through the village until all the lanterns in the streets have been lit. The procession of children and their families is accompanied by colourful (and tall!) stiltwalkers in fantastic costumes who put up the lanterns. Visit the website to learn more.
Today’s picture of the day is of Beeston Castle in Cheshire. It stands proudly on picturesque rocky crags and enjoys breathtaking views. It dates back 4,000 years and was once a Bronze Age hill fort. The castle was built in 1226 b y Earl Ranulf of Chester and centuries later fell during the English Civil War. It provides a fascinating and educational day out for the whole family.
Winchester Cathedral opened its ice rink at the foot of the Cathedral today, in the historic Inner Close, and it will remain open until 3rd January 2010. Surrounded by one of the country’s finest German-style Christmas Markets (until 20th December 2009) this large real open-air ice rink couldn’t be in a more atmospheric and striking setting. Go on 2nd December and you’ll be able to take in the Festival of Carols, too.
Top tourism businesses in Bristol are celebrating a haul of Gold awards in the South West Tourism Excellence Awards 2009/10. The awards celebrate the best in the South West and aim to promote and reward excellence in the tourism industry.
Bristol scooped four Gold Awards at a ceremony at Saunton Sands Hotel in Devon and they will go on to represent the region at the National Enjoy England Awards for Excellence in 2010. The Bristol Gold Award winners were as follows:
Bordeaux Quay (Sustainable Tourism Award)
Brunel’s SS Great Britain (Business Tourism Award)
Oakham Treasures (Small Visitor Attraction of the Year Award)
Ben Wookey, The Bristol Packet (Outstanding Customer Service Award)
Holker Hall & Gardens, which re-opens to the public on 14th March 2010 (Mothering Sunday) celebrates its 60th season this year. To start the season off with a flourish, the gardens are showcasing a magnificent spring floral display.
Head Gardener, Yvonne Cannon and her gardeners, have put in over 1500 hours of work, planting over 38,000 bulbs, using over 120 tonnes of compost and tending to 25 acres of public gardens. Over 40 tonnes of compost have been handmade by Yvonne herself including leaf mould and garden compost. Additionally, 80 tonnes of mushroom compost is used on the box hedging and kitchen garden. All of this work and more goes on behind the scenes to prepare a magnificent spring display for everyone to enjoy.
The Holker Gardens will awaken with an array of spring flowering bulbs, including early, mid and late-flowering tulips and 7,500 thickly-planted primulas and primroses, through which the tulips appear, all designed to begin the season with style! Carpets of daffodils add a burst of colour in the woodland garden and on the main lawn.
In addition to the traditional planting the gardens are also home to a number of unusual, exotic and in some instances rare plants, which although sourced from warmer climates are surprisingly at home at Holker. Seasonal walks and immaculately kept gardens have been designed for visitors of all ages. Even Holker Hall itself receives a splash of spring colour with 3000 bulbs grown by Yvonne and her gardeners for display in the house, from hyacinths to highly fragrant, paper-white narcissus.
Make the most of the arrival of spring and experience a day with friends and family. Take a stroll around the magnificent hall or surrounding gardens and deer park. The hall is open from 11.00-4pm and the gardens from 10.30am-5.30pm. Both the hall and gardens are closed on Saturdays. Entrance to the Hall & Gardens is £10.00 for adults, £9.00 for concessions and £5.50 for children (6-15), and a family ticket costs £27.50.
Today’s picture of the day is of Buckinghamshire Railway Centre in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. Visitors are taken back in time with a ride on a vintage steam locomotive. The railway centre houses over 30 locomotives, carriages and wagons. The station states back 150 years and is now an award winning visitor centre. Onsite there is also a bookshop, cafe, picnic area and free parking.
Winter is an inviting time to visit Scotland and discover the country’s famous ptarmigans as they turn from autumn brown to winter white. The ptarmigan is found in the very highest mountains of Scotland and changes colour when winter sets in, transforming from their autumn colours of grey and brown to plumage of a brilliant winter white. The Cairngorms is one of the best places to view these magnificent birds, where visitors have the opportunity to ride to the top of Cairngorm Mountain on the funicular railway and experience the stunning views, search for ptarmigan, or dine at the Ptarmigan Restaurant, the highest restaurant in the UK. To find out more about Scotland’s winter white wildlife visit www.visitscotland.com/whiteinvite
Unless you’ve had your head buried in the sand this past week, you’ll know that there have been some dramatic scenes in the UK, particularly in Cumbria where the UKseries.com team is based. It’s been quite tragic really and, for many, as the clean-up operation gets underway, it’s going to be a long time before normal life resumes.
Cockermouth was among the worst hit towns and the follow video shows footage of the town and the surrounding area, taken from a helicopter, and demonstrates just how wide an area it covered.
Less publicised in the media was the South Lakes. Bowness-on-Windermere experienced flooding to levels that I had not previously seen. The footage that follows shows the devastation around the ticket office area for the Windermere Steamers, but please note that this is shot some time after as the lake level got significantly higher than is shown.
And one of the areas that shocked me most and doesn’t seem to have been featured much at all excepted by Granada TV is the Backbarrow/Newby Bridge near the southern tip of Windermere. Just look at this scene taking place right next to the Whitewater Hotel.
Hopefully all the residents and business affected will get all the support that they need and will be able to return to some degree of normality as soon as possible.
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