Posted by admin on July 9, 2010 – 1:08 pm
It must take a certain character to want to climb a mountain and then swim in a freezing cold mountain pool in the north west of Scotland, but that’s exactly what Kate Rew did for the Guardian in a recently video posted to the newspaper site.
There are of course a number of advantages to this kind of adventure such as the rugged beauty of the Cuillin Mountain range on the Isle of Skye and the spectacular crystal clear waters of the fresh mountain pools. Don’t be fooled into thinking these are little foot dipping type pools – as the video shows, some have significant depth and a magnificence all of their own.
If you don’t really fancy packing your walking boots and hiking up the Cuillin Mountains, just click the link below, sit back and enjoy the views courtesy of Kate Rew and the Guardian.
Swimming in Skye Fairy Pools video.
(first 10 seconds are an advert pre-the main video)
If after watching this you are inspired to visit the Isles of Skye there are a whole range of Isle of Skye Hotels available.
Posted by admin on July 9, 2010 – 10:21 am
The Lake District has been short-listed by the UK government this week as one of 38 proposed sites around the UK which can be put forward for World Heritage Site status. The current list also includes names such as Jodrell Bank, the Forth Bridge and Blackpool as possible competing candidates.
Now that the list has been published, it will be further scrutinised by a panel of experts and the remaining candidates will then be submitted for review by UNESCO during which further groups including the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and the World Conservation Union (IUCN) will be consulted during what can be a 5 to 10 year process.
If however UNESCO agree at the end of this process that our own English Lake District is worthy of this prized status it will join the likes of the Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China and The Statue of Liberty.
The proposals to UNESCO are expected to be made sometime in 2011.
Posted by admin on July 8, 2010 – 8:01 pm
Originally the village of Mardale was a thriving community in Cumbria, that all changed in 1935 when the area was flooded and the village submerged to make the new Haweswater reservoir which feeds much of the Manchester area’s water needs.
75 years on the remains of the village once are once again beginning to emerge as the area basks in record sunshine and the lowest rainfall since 1929. Currently only parts of the village are visible such as a farm track and the tops of some buildings, but if as predicted the drought carries on the village may once again emerge complete as it did once before in 1985.
Such a rare event is also expected to start drawing large crowds which could be good for the areas tourism, although the current predictions suggest that it will take a dry spell at least to August for this to happen.
Posted by admin on July 8, 2010 – 2:14 pm
Since Victorian times, every seaside town worth mentioning had a pier, but in the latter years with the decline of the traditional seaside holiday many have simply disappeared into the sea. However Weston-super-Mare on the Somerset coast is hoping that a £50m rebuilding of it’s fire damaged pier might help the resort carry on bucking the trend.
The restored Grand Pier brings the pier into the 21st-century with numerous modern attractions including a laser maze, an aerial assault course, and a 4D cinema where the seats move and the audience gets sprayed with water.
Whether this will bring back the visitors to the town will remain to be seen, but it might depend partly on the attractions and partly on the family holidays which are the main-stay of these seaside towns. The new pier opens at the end of July 2010.
Useful links:
Hotels in Weston-Super-Mare
Self-catering around Weston-Super-Mare
Weston-Super-Mare attractions
(Picture shows the pier before the 2008 fire).
Posted by admin on July 8, 2010 – 12:59 pm
Originally only seen in the US and made famous by numerous documentaries and reality type shows, the concept of the weight loss and fitness boot camp has now arrived in the UK.
No1 Boot Camp are planning to introduce boot camps in Norfolk this summer with fitness training by Royal Marine and Royal Navy instructors providing games, exercises and motivational talks to help teenagers and their parents understand healthy eating and how to keep in shape.
The courses run over three, five or seven days and start on the 17th July 2010. The full week’s course currently costs £1,450 for one adult and one child. Children must be 14 and over.
More information on the No 1 Bootcamp web site.
Posted by Paul on July 3, 2010 – 3:59 pm
A new batch of sea eagles has arrived in Scotland. It’s the largest batch to arrive in Scotland since a new programme to re-introduce the species commenced four years ago. The programme is not without controversy with farmers in Wester Ross claiming to have lost both chickens and lambs to the birds with a re-introduction scheme back in the 1970s and 1980s.
The birds will no doubt come as a welcome site to twitchers living in and visiting this part of the UK. Do you support such a programme or do you think nature should be left to take its course?
Posted by Paul on June 30, 2010 – 2:51 pm
Few Brits need reminding that, much like England and the World Cup, you have to dig out the history books to find the last British men’s singles winner at Wimbledon. In fact, you have to go much further back than 1966 – Fred Perry last won it in 1936. He also won it in 1934 and 1935 – perhaps he was trying to make up for the drought that was about to follow!
Andy Murray made the semi-finals in last year’s Championship and is currently looking to equal that feat this year as he takes on Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in this year’s quarter final.
Murray is in great form – 4th in the world and is the only player to have won all his games in straight sets thus far. Will the 75-year duck finally be broken?
Want to catch one of the games in the closing stages of the tournament. Find hotels near Wimbledon here!
Britain’s seaside industry supports 210,000 jobs, including 19,000 people in Blackpool alone. No less than 58 towns have at least 1,000 jobs in seaside tourism and interestingly, overall employment in seaside tourism – a part of the UK travel industry that’s often perceived to be in a state of continuous decline – has increased by about 1% a year since the late 1990s, representing an overall growth of 20,000 jobs. In fact, the seaside tourism industry in England and Wales employs as many people as the whole telecommunications sector.
Why don’t you give a seaside holiday in the UK a try? Follow our links for hotels in Blackpool, hotels in Brighton, hotels in Eastbourne, hotels in Newquay, hotels in Tenby, and hotels in Whitby, to name just a few fantastic UK seaside resorts.
(In case you’re curious, the picture is of West Wittering beach near Chichester, West Sussex.)
Posted by Paul on June 30, 2010 – 12:09 pm
A bird that hasn’t been seen wild in the Lake District for some 160 years is set to make a return. Conservationists have re-introduced the first 30 of 90 red kites to Grizedale Forest in the Lake District. They have been transported from Rockingham Forest in Northamptonshire as the Forestry Commission seeks to re-populate the area by releasing the kites over the next three years. Many birders will be delighted with the news but not everyone is happy: Cumbrian pigeon fanciers – who have already seen their flocks decimated by the expanding numbers of peregrine falcon – are expressing their discontent, pointing out that the site of the re-introduction co-incides with the main pigeon flight-path into Cumbria.
Posted by Paul on June 30, 2010 – 10:51 am
Nearly 200 crop circles have appeared in just one formation not far from Warminster, Wiltshire, known as the UFO capital of Britain. The circular 90m (300ft) design, believed to represent the passage of the Moon and Sun, contains 193 rings, including six key circles and a seventh in the centre. Crop circle expert Karen Alexander said: “This is the most complex circle so far this year.” The formation, near the village of Mere, is the first in the area since 1997.
