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Monthly Archives: August 2011

Have you been to Blackpool lately?

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Posted by admin on August 16, 2011 – 12:42 am
Filed under Attractions

Have you been to Blackpoool lately?

If you haven’t, you might not be aware that Blackpool Pleasure Beach is now home to ‘Nickelodeonland’, a new division of the world-famous Blackpool Pleasure Beach theme park that caters specifically for younger children.  It consists of twelve fabulous new rides and 6 more acres of fun, and is the UK’s only Nickelodeonland.

Not only that, but there are also new rides – Aztec Falls and Montazooma – coming to The Sandcastle indoor water park next month.

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Grasmere Sports and Show 2011

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Posted by admin on August 15, 2011 – 9:26 pm
Filed under Attractions, Events

Grasmere is a favourite with many visitors to the Lake District and Grasmere Sports and Show is arguably the highlight of the Lake District agricultural calendar. It’s a major country show with all the trimmings – Cumberland and Westmorland Wrestling, fell races, hound trailing, dog shows, Jesters, children’s storyteller Taffy Thomas and tug-o’-war all set in the stunning surroundings of the Grasmere Showfield on Stock Lane. There’s more marquees, beer tents and food stalls than you’ll know what to do with. A “don’t miss” insight into Lake District life.

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Five star status for Edinburgh attraction

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Posted by admin on August 13, 2011 – 3:13 pm
Filed under Attractions

Scotland’s oldest purpose-built visitor attraction, Camera Obscura and World of Illusions, is celebrating yet again after receiving VisitScotland’s sought-after five-star status.

Since opening the doors to its £1.2m expansion less than a year ago, the team has enjoyed countless reasons to crack open the champers from record breaking visitor numbers including the busiest month in its 175 year history and a 45% revenue increase, to being named ‘best family attraction in Britain’ by the Telegraph and rating as TripAdvisor’s top Edinburgh attraction.

In July last year, Camera Obscura and World of Illusions unveiled its ambitious renovation, which featured two new floors, a spectacular glass walkway and a host of brand new immersive exhibits, including a number of firsts for Scotland and the UK.

By the end of 2010, the attraction had achieved its busiest ever month in history with over 24,500 visitors through the door. It also smashed its all-time record of daily admissions with 1,200 visitors – 60% above the expected average. Since the launch, almost every month has been a record breaker with visitor numbers up as much as 62%. The success story looks set to continue throughout 2011 with visitor numbers already up by 32% on the previous year, and revenue up a massive 45%.

Get yourself along and see why it’s proving so popular. The newly styled attraction is not only proving a hit with visitors, but is also causing quite a stir in showbiz circles. It recently played host to celebrity guests, including Hollyoaks actors, Carley Stenson and Ricky Whittle, and has even managed to inspire legendary illusionist Derren Brown to pay a visit on more than one occasion.

Camera Obscura and World of Illusions is located on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, next to the Castle, and is open seven days a week from 9.30am until 6pm, 7pm on Saturday and Sunday.

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Herne Bay Festival

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Posted by admin on August 13, 2011 – 8:41 am
Filed under Events

The Herne Bay Festival is once again set to bring the seaside to life, with a nine day celebration running from Saturday 20th to Sunday 28th August.

Now in its 19th year, the festival is packed with live music, street theatre, dancing, workshops, walking, family events and children’s competitions as well as an opening parade and grand firework displays on each Saturday evening. Many activities and events are free of charge or have a nominal charge, making this festival affordable for all the family.

Highlights for 2011 will include:

Bollybay Parade- the opening parade will be bursting with vibrant colour and sound, as the Bollywood themed parade moves throughout the town. Workshops are being held in days prior to the parade for children who would like to take part and a Bhangra workshop will take place after the event for anyone who would like to learn more.

Street Theatre

There will be innovative new performances from dynamic street theatre companies across both weekends. The widely acclaimed ‘Granny Turismo’ act from Fool’s Paradise will also be making an appearance on Saturday 27 August, and will be a guaranteed hit.  Entrance FREE.

Live Music

The Herne Bay Festival opens its doors to celebrate local music and will have FREE performances from over 50 bands throughout the festival. The annual Herne Bay Rocks competition offers establishing bands the opportunity to compete for a slot on the main stage. This year’s main stage headliner will be Rubber Biscuit, one of Kent’s biggest professional bands. The Central Bandstand will stage alternative folk singer songwriters on the afternoon of Saturday 20.

Family Events

  • FREE  A kite-flying event on Beacon Hill slopes, overlooking the sea, on Sunday 21 August. Children will be able to make their own kite at a workshop, or bring their own. Demonstrations and tricks will be taught by a team of professionals.
  • FREE  Hundreds of children clamour to find the largest crab in the sea at the Monster Crab Catching Competition on Sunday 21 August. There are prizes for the winners at the big weigh-in.
  • FREE  Coastal Walks and Beach Explorations are led by the Kent Wildlife Trust and Foreshore team. Children can learn about sea-life and the local ecology, as well as getting some good sea air!
  • FREE  The ever popular Punch and Judy shows are back to tickle audiences with racy humour and farcial activity. Traditional entertainment will be taking place at the Central Bandstand on Tuesday 23 and Saturday 27.
  • FREE  Classic Car and Motor Show featuring the best of classic cars and bikes and a selection of military vehicles.  Including a variety of live music.
  • FREE  One of the most popular festival events, the Giant Sandcastle Competition will be taking place on Wednesday 24 August. Over 150 children compete to build the best sandcastle, which is then judged by a panel with prizes for the winners.
  • Numerous workshops including dancing, costume making (for the parade), boat making, weaving, circus skills and singing.
  • FREE  A huge family picnic will be taking place on Sunday 28 August. The aim of the  picnic is to have fun and join in on activities such as rounders, arts and craft and music. There will be street theatre, face painting and live music.
  • FREE  Our annual talent contest, Herne Bay’s Got Talent is a showground for all weird and wonderful skills! All abilities and ages are able to take part, the audience get involved with the interactive clap-o-meter and prizes go to the winners!
  • £6 family roller skating sessions at the Pier Sports Centre

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The 6th Hastings Seafood & Wine Festival

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Posted by admin on August 12, 2011 – 12:38 pm
Filed under Eating & Drinking, Events

A world’s first, award-winning deckchairs – not a stripe in sight – and fish filleting demos by the experts:  just three of the delights on offer at this year’s Hastings Seafood & Wine Festival which takes place on the 17th and 18th September 2011.

This year’s festival welcomes on board some exciting newcomers. Hastings’ very own Classroom on the Coast, situated alongside the brand new Stade Hall; Billingsgate Seafood Training School, a partner of Classroom on the Coast; winning deckchair designs;  the crew from The Ship at Winchelsea Beach. They’re all getting ready to welcoming a bumper crowd of visitors this year.

Classroom on the Coast, a project of Hastings Fishermens Local Action Group (FLAG), is to be the world’s first teaching kitchen and classroom at the heart of an MSC Fishery*. Not to be missed are the free ticketed events on offer which include: a fish filleting demonstration by CJ Jackson, director of Billingsgate Seafood Training School; a talk on the thorny issue of fish quotas by Paul Joy, Hastings fisherman and Chair of the Hastings Fishermen’s Protection Society; a showing of ‘Shingle Film’, a short film about beach-launched fishing fleets.

Judging is now over of the immensely successful ‘Design a Deckchair’ competition, the winning designs have now been made up and will be proudly on display in the VIP area of the Stade Open Space. If one takes your fancy, you can place an order too!

A welcome arrival in beautiful Winchelsea Beach is the stunningly refurbished restaurant/deli ‘The Ship’, incorporating Rick Stein food hero, Jamie Wickens’ butcher’s. Come and see what they have to offer during their first foray into the Seafood & Wine festival.

Back by popular demand are some old favourites. The festival opens with ‘Walking the Fish’, a colourful, musical parade of paper and withy fish sculptures created by local school children; fish cookery demonstrations by acclaimed local chef, teacher and restaurateur Paul Webbe; net making and Stade guided walks; cookery demo and talk by Tom Kime, internationally renowned chef and staunch supporter of the MSC accredited Hastings Fishery, and co-author of ‘Fish Tales’; a different kind of Fishy Tales and seaside songs with master storyteller Kevin Graal in the Children’s Tent; fantastic live musicin the entertainment marquee with great beers served there from Hastings Old Town’s First In Last Out micro brewery; the Sunday morning Jazz Breakfast, with Glastonbury and Ronnie Scott’s headliner Liane Carroll.

Then there’s the wine. Sussex has the highest concentration of vineyards in the UK, the soil being similar to that of the Champagne region. Sedlescombe Organic vineyard is the UK’s first established organic vineyard and ‘eco-hero’ Roy Cooke is an advocate and practitioner of biodynamic cultivation. Sedlescombe Organic will be back, alongside other local vineyards, to demonstrate how justifiable is the growing reputation of English wine – and just how good a companion it is to the fantastic food on offer during the weekend.

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Kids bored already? Try something out of the ordinary…

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Posted by admin on August 11, 2011 – 2:09 pm
Filed under Attractions

With several weeks of the Summer holidays still to go, are the kids bored already?  Give them a day out that will really take their breath away with a trip to one of London’s most extraordinary attraction – Ripley’s Believe it or Not! London.

Home to the weird, wonderful and just plain bizarre, there are more than 700 curiosities from all around the world to marvel at.  Check your weight against the world’s fattest man, take a peek at the 75 million year old dinosaur eggs or even threaten the young ones with the ultimate sanction – behave or risk ending up like one of the real Amazonian shrunken heads!

It’s open seven days a week, 365 days a year from 10am until midnight. Tickets to thisworld of wonders situated in the heart of London’s West End start from £22.95 per adult and £18.95 per child. Family tickets are available from £73.95 based on two adults and two children.

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The Outdoor Capital of the UK takes mountain biking back to the mountains

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Posted by admin on August 11, 2011 – 10:27 am
Filed under Attractions, Events, Miscellaneous, Transport

The Outdoor Capital of the UK, which encompasses Fort William and Lochaber, has long been a Mecca for mountain bikers and cyclists. With thousands of square miles of hills, glens and forests, the Outdoor Capital of the UK attracts a huge number of mountain bikers and cyclists each year and it’s easy to see why. From flat forest tracks providing great views and gentle exercise for beginners, to all day epics through remote highland glens designed for fit, experienced and skilful riders, the Outdoor Capital of the UK has got it all.

The Outdoor Capital of the UK’s fame in downhill biking circles has undoubtedly been enhanced since it began hosting the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup at Nevis Range ten years ago. Whilst this event is undoubtedly the pinnacle of The Outdoor Capital of the UK’s mountain bike calendar, it certainly isn’t the only highlight.

The forthcoming Tour de Ben Nevis, which takes place on 24th September 2011, is considered to be “the race that took mountain biking back to the mountains” and the ultimate MTB challenge for endurance athletes and people with a sense of adventure.

Run by the highly acclaimed and extremely passionate team at No Fuss Events, the Tour de Ben Nevis entails a 72km circumnavigation around Ben Nevis – the UK’s highest mountain. Starting out at Fort William, it is an arduous journey of discovery which travels down the spectacular south side of Kinlochleven before heading back up towards Spean Bridge over some of the most dramatic scenery in the UK.

In addition to the numerous mountain bike events that the Outdoor Capital of the UK hosts during the summer months, there are hundreds of routes for cyclists and mountain bikers to undertake at their own pace.

At the centre of mountain biking in the Outdoor Capital of the UK is the Nevis Range, the venue for the annual UCI Mountain Bike World Cup, one of the best mountain bike trail centres in the country and the only course in the UK with gondola access. Given that the downhill course is designed to challenge the world’s best mountain bikers, it goes without saying that Nevis Range’s downhill course is a testing one. With a vertical drop of 525m and a length of 2.66km, it is regarded as an expert level track which fast riders can complete in four to five minutes.

Meanwhile, the Glencoe Mountain Resort, which is situated in an area of outstanding natural beauty on Rannoch Moor, is also fast becoming a high profile cycling destination and is soon to host the Scottish Downhill Series (13th and 14th August 2011), proving its position within the cycling world.  Glencoe Mountain Resort’s black graded downhill track has quickly built up a reputation as one of the toughest, steepest and most technical tracks in the UK. Yet, in a similar fashion to the Nevis Range, the Glencoe Mountain Resort also offers riders access to a variety of trails for those with a higher sense of self preservation!

Whilst the area certainly has some outstanding mountain biking credentials, it isn’t just about the longest downhill or the most challenging cross country. Within the Outdoor Capital of the UK, there is easy access to a variety of trails for those with a higher sense of self preservation!

Both the aforementioned Nevis Range and the Glencoe Mountain Resort offer a variety of beginner, intermediate, advanced and family trails in addition to their downhill routes. There are also gentle, flat trails along the Caledonian Canal; cycle trails around Glen Nevis, which follow the base of Britain’s highest mountain; family friendly routes that pass through friendly crofting townships; lengthier ones which travel out to the Ardnamurchan Peninsula and many more.

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Ilkley Moor Baht’at

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Posted by admin on August 11, 2011 – 9:53 am
Filed under Attractions, Eating & Drinking, Events

Visit Bradford is inviting you to take a trip to Ilkley, one of Yorkshire’s most beautiful and picturesque locations. This charming town has long been a favoured destination amongst local tourists and seasoned walkers, but is now starting to gain the national recognition it thoroughly deserves.

Located on the banks of the River Wharfe, this genteel Victorian spa town offers a wide array of tourist attractions. Whether it’s rest and relaxation you’re looking for or something altogether more energetic, one thing’s for certain: Ilkley can offer it all. Here are just a few ideas of what your trip could include.

Taking a stroll

Ilkley is within easy reach of the celebrated Yorkshire Dales and blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful walking country. The town has been awarded coveted ‘Walkers are Welcome’ status as a result of the warm reception it is well-known for giving walkers.

Walks can be found for all abilities, ranging from rigorous hikes over Ilkley Moor to strolls around the nearby Middleton Woods and along the banks of the River Wharfe. For the really adventurous, there is the Dales Way trail, an 80-mile trek from Ilkley to the banks of Lake Windermere in the Lake District.

A bite to eat or a relaxing drink

Ilkley has plenty of choice when it comes to offering friendly and relaxed bars, restaurants and accommodation. Try tasting some of the region’s famous real ales and home-cooked food at Bar t’at, the town’s popular ale and wine bar that cleverly takes its name from the Yorkshire folk song, ‘On Ilkley Moor Baht ‘at’. Alternatively, you might like to try the culinary delights of The Box Tree, the Michelin starred restaurant where celebrity chef Marco Pierre White began his career.

If it’s just a refreshing cup of tea you’re looking for after a long day of rambling, the region’s famous Bettys Cafe Tea Rooms will more than likely be the place for you. This distinctive outlet is renowned for serving high quality, locally sourced food and beverages, which it has done since 1919, when the first of the chain was established in the neighbouring town of Harrogate.

A natural playground

The town and its surrounding area have much to offer in terms of natural and cultural history: not least the Hangingstone Rocks, known locally as ‘Cow and Calf Rocks’. According to local legend, the calf was split from its mother when Rombald, the town’s giant, leapt across the valley as he attempted to escape his angry wife. The stones held in her skirt were dropped during the pursuit which led to the formation of another local rock formation: The Skirtful of Stones.

Ilkley is also within a stone’s throw of the Yorkshire Dales and its famed National Park, widely recognised as being among the most breathtaking areas of natural beauty in the UK.

Fine Attractions

The Manor House is one of the oldest buildings in the area and has become one of Ilkley’s finest attractions since being converted into a museum and art gallery. The exquisite building itself stands on the remains of the Roman fort of Olicana and many of the Roman artefacts found within the fort and the surrounding area remain on permanent display inside the Manor House Museum.

While you’re in and around Ilkley, you may want to hop on board the nearby Bolton Abbey Steam Railway, which takes you on a journey through picturesque Yorkshire Dales scenery. Bolton Abbey station itself is the ideal stopping off point for a pleasant one and a half mile walk to the ruins of the 12th Century Priory. Explore the splendid ruins and discover a landscape full of history and legend, wander along the riverside, woodland and moorland paths, and enjoy local produce in the excellent nearby restaurants, tea rooms and cafes.

Unmissable events

Ilkley, famously, is home to the Ilkley Literature Festival, the North of England’s liveliest, most prestigious Literature Festival.

The festival features over 200 events over seventeen days throughout October and draws thousands of people from across the UK and Europe eager to listen to and interact with some of the best authors and literary figures around today.

Combining the great outdoors with the comforts of a spa town and the elegance of a Michelin starred restaurant, Ilkley has it all.

For further information on what a trip to Ilkley and the surrounding region could include visit www.visitilkley.com

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Rioters strike in Edinburgh [video footage]

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Posted by admin on August 10, 2011 – 10:30 pm
Filed under Events, Miscellaneous

It’s hard to make sense of the needless violence and disgrace behaviour of certain individuals across some cities in England over the past few days. Hopefully we have seen the last of it now and there will not be lasting effects upon the tourist industry. Not only will the cities involved bounce back fairly quickly, I’m sure, but it should perhaps also be remembered that vast swathes of the UK have thankfully experienced no bother whatsoever. In short, there really is no reason not to visit.

The video below has only had a few hundred views at the time of writing but we have a suspicion that this footage from Edinburgh could be one of those videos that goes viral. Enjoy.

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Bristol iPhone app is now free

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Posted by admin on August 9, 2011 – 6:16 pm
Filed under Miscellaneous

Following the successful launch of Bristol’s official visitor iPhone app in the Spring, city tourism body Destination Bristol is welcoming visitors this Summer by making the app free to download.

The iPhone app serves as an official guide to Bristol, highlighting a comprehensive directory of the best sights, attractions, events, accommodation, food, drink, and shopping, offering inspiration as visitors explore the historic city. The app also allows users to search the directory and plots all business listings directly onto a Google map, making travel easier for those visiting Bristol.

Each business listing in the iPhone app includes directions and a map with GPS integration so that users can easily find their way around Bristol. Visitors can also browse places nearby and save favourite items into a personal itinerary. The business listings offer quick links to websites and enable visitors to email the business with questions.

To download the free iPhone app, click here.

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