Feb 11th, 2012 at 8:00AM:
Thanks to the London Olympics, which will open on July 27, and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, 2012 is expected to be a boom year for tourism in Great Britain. In the hopes of capitalizing on this trend, six historic cities have teamed up to get noticed by travelers intent on venturing beyond the English capital.
Bath, Carlisle, Chester, Oxford, Stratford-Upon-Avon, and York, Britain's ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
Scotland posts
Britain's Heritage Cities are ready for visitors
Feb 11th, 2012 at 8:00AM:
Thanks to the London Olympics, which will open on July 27, and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, 2012 is expected to be a boom year for tourism in Great Britain. In the hopes of capitalizing on this trend, six historic cities have teamed up to get noticed by travelers intent on venturing beyond the English capital.
Bath, Carlisle, Chester, Oxford, Stratford-Upon-Avon, and York, Britain's ...Scotland's Balmoral Hotel now offers offers a "Tartan Butler"
Jan 11th, 2012 at 2:00PM:
Curious about your Scottish ancestry? Think you can pull of the tartan? Perhaps you should hie thyself to Scotland and embrace your heritage with the new "Tartan Butler" at Rocco Forte's Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh to guide you.
Andy Fraser, aka the "Tartan Butler" is a master at tracing Scottish heritage, having successfully traced his own clan as far back as the early 13th Century by ...Faroe Islands photo set
Jan 7th, 2012 at 10:00AM: The Faroe Islands is a country tucked away in the Norwegian Sea. Located about halfway between Scotland and Iceland, this country is beautiful, but small. With only 540 square miles and a population of nearly 50,000, this self-governing Danish destination is thick with history and easy on the eyes. I haven't been to this country nor do I currently have plans to go--but I hope that changes soon. ...Scottish National Portrait Gallery to reopen after major renovation
Nov 29th, 2011 at 4:30PM: After more than two years and £17.6 million ($27.4 million), the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh will reopen on December 1.
The remodel opens up more of the Victorian building to public view, adds more than 60% to the public space, and introduces several themed galleries, including Blazing with Crimson--a collection of full-length portraits of men in kilts.
The ...5 train trips everyone should experience
Oct 29th, 2011 at 10:00AM: While some train routes can seem long and boring, there are many that allow for great views of unique landscape or luxury service. Still, there are some train rides that go above and beyond your wildest imagination. Check out these five train trips that everyone should experience in their lifetime.
The Blue Train
South Africa
The Blue Train travels approximately 1,000 miles between Pretoria ...MegaBus introduces sleeper bus overnight Glasgow-London
Oct 26th, 2011 at 12:00PM: Ever wanted to travel like a rock star? Now in the UK, you can travel on a sleeper bus between Scotland and England and pretend you're on tour. This week, while budget transportation company MegaBus announced new routes in the southern United States, with free tickets to celebrate), they also introduced a new sleeper bus service between Glasgow and London.
The 400-mile journey is a bit slower ...Historic stretch of Hadrian's Wall repaired
Oct 15th, 2011 at 2:00PM:
A stretch of Hadrian's Wall, the famous fortification in northern England that for centuries marked the northernmost boundary of the Roman Empire, has been repaired.
After 2,000 years, parts of the fortification meant to keep out northern barbarians are in pretty bad shape. People have stolen stones over the past several centuries and you can see parts of the wall in local farmhouses and ...New exhibit sheds light on Antonine Wall, the Roman Empire's northernmost border
Sep 22nd, 2011 at 11:30AM: There's not much left of it now, just a deep swale in the earth and a few stones jutting out of the grass. Almost two thousand years ago, though, it was the northernmost boundary of the Roman Empire.
The Antonine Wall protected a narrow part of Scotland between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde, from the 140s to 160s AD. After the Emperor Hadrian built Hadrian's Wall across what is now ...Fish farmer snaps photo of Nessie
Sep 17th, 2011 at 11:00AM: Loch Ness has been getting into the news a lot lately. There's been a rise in sightings this year, Nessie was photographed in July, and a UFO was spotted over Loch Ness last month.
Now a new photo of Nessie has emerged. You'll have to go to the link to see it because we don't get a photo budget here at Gadling and Nessie photos don't come cheap. Instead you get to marvel at this fine Lego ...Naked hiker jailed for 21 months
Aug 25th, 2011 at 12:30PM: Nudist activist Steven Gough has been given 657 days in a Scottish prison only a minute after finishing his previous sentence.
The BBC reports that the naked hiker has served numerous terms in jail for public nudity and appearing in court nude. He insists it's his right to bare all wherever and whenever he wants. His refusal to wear clothes has led to an epic fight with the legal system in ...United Kingdom: 3G service survey crowdsourced
Aug 24th, 2011 at 1:30PM: This morning, the BBC released a survey regarding the reach of 3G service across the United Kingdom. The BBC obtained its data the newfangled way, via crowdsourcing. In July, almost 45,000 people downloaded an Android app that allowed their mobile phones to be tracked for the survey.
And the outcome of the survey? The BBC found that about three-quarters of the time people in the UK appear to be ...Unidentified Falling Object seen over Loch Ness
Aug 22nd, 2011 at 2:00PM: Scottish police are scratching their heads over a mysterious occurrence at Loch Ness this weekend, The Scotsman newspaper reports.
On Saturday night several eyewitnesses saw an object falling into or near the loch. Some describe it as a white light, others as a blue light. People said it was a balloon, or an ultralight, or a parachute. Some people said it didn't fall at all, merely passed over ...Brochs: the prehistoric castles of Scotland
Aug 5th, 2011 at 12:00PM:
In Scotland, the past is still very much present. In rural areas you can hear people speaking Scots Gaelic or Lowland Scots like their forefathers did. There are castles and stone circles all over the region. The most enigmatic remains from the past are the brochs.
Brochs are mysterious drystone towers dating to around two thousand years ago. Built without mortar or nails, they're ...UK strike slows down ports and airports
Jun 30th, 2011 at 8:30AM: UK airports and ports are experiencing delays as many customs and immigration officials are on a one-day strike.
The UK Border Agency is one of several UK public sector unions on strike over plans to change pensions, a move they say will have employees working longer, paying more into the system, and getting less out of it when they retire.
Some Border Agency workers started early, at 6pm ...Budget Edinburgh: Navigating Scotland's capital on a shoestring
Jun 23rd, 2011 at 9:30AM:
Great Britain isn't at the top of many budget travelers' lists due to the sheer insanity of the exchange rate. Today's dollar gets the American traveler only 0.62 pounds, and for those working on a ramen and couch-surfing budget, that unfavorable ratio can cause a great deal of hardship.
With that said, Scotland and Edinburgh are a world away from the star studded and action packed streets ...New discoveries reveal life and times of the Roman Emperor Hadrian
Jun 19th, 2011 at 3:00PM: The Emperor Hadrian is one of Rome's most famous emperors, ruling at the height of the Empire from 117-138 AD. His villa just north of Rome is a popular tourist attraction, yet some Italian researchers have discovered what countless visitors never noticed: the buildings are aligned with astronomical events.
On the summer solstice (June 21 this year) light passes through an opening above a ...Edinburgh through the wide angle lens
Jun 8th, 2011 at 3:00PM:
Spring is ebbing in the Scottish capital of Edinburgh, the best time of the year in northern Great Britain. This historical city blossoms with opportunity as the season changes; green spaces tumble through the city like unrolling bolts of cloth, the castle and the Holyrood Palace glisten with visitors and sleepy residents begin to emerge from the shadows of winter to bustle about the public ...Skeletons at royal castle in Scotland killed in battle, experts say
May 29th, 2011 at 10:00AM:
Stirling Castle in Scotland was the scene of several brutal sieges and battles in its violent history. Now a new exhibition looks at the castle's past and the grim discovery of several skeletons in the Royal Chapel showing signs of violent death.
One man had 44 skull fractures from repeated blows with a blunt object, and up to 60 more over the rest of his body. The Middle Ages were a pitiless ...Some German airports shut because of Iceland volcano
May 25th, 2011 at 7:30AM: Ash from the Icelandic volcano Grimsvötn that caused hundreds of flight cancellations in the UK, Denmark, and Norway yesterday has now moved over Germany, shutting down airports in the north of the country.
Hamburg and Bremen airports are closed. Berlin airport will probably close this morning as well. At least 600 flights are expected to be affected.
Poland may also be affected today ...Travel Read: The East Highland Way hiking guide
May 24th, 2011 at 1:00PM:
Last year for my annual "Oh crap another birthday I need to prove my youth" long-distance hiking adventure, I chose Scotland's East Highland Way. It runs 78 miles from Ft. William through some beautiful countryside to Aviemore. The route had just been created by hiker Kevin Langan, and was so new there wasn't a guidebook. Kevin was kind enough to send me maps and a summary preprint of his book ...
