Aug 6th, 2012 at 1:00PM:
A week in Orkney was not enough. These 70+ islands just north of Scotland have a rich history and vibrant natural life. In a week my family and I explored stone circles, spotted seals on the beach, climbed cliffs to see nesting birds, and walked on uninhabited islands. Despite a very full seven days, we saw less than a tenth of the Orkney Islands and I have a feeling less than one percent of ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
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Visiting Orkney: The Practicalities
Aug 6th, 2012 at 1:00PM:
A week in Orkney was not enough. These 70+ islands just north of Scotland have a rich history and vibrant natural life. In a week my family and I explored stone circles, spotted seals on the beach, climbed cliffs to see nesting birds, and walked on uninhabited islands. Despite a very full seven days, we saw less than a tenth of the Orkney Islands and I have a feeling less than one percent of ...My First Experience Driving On The Left Side Of The Road
Aug 4th, 2012 at 10:00AM:
The best way to see the Orkney Islands in Scotland is by car. The buses don't go to many of the most important attractions and don't correspond well to the ferry schedule. On the other hand, distances are fairly short, so I decided to rent a car for a couple of days.
The only problem was, I had never driven on the left side of the road.
That fact and my Arizona driver's license didn't faze ...A Look Inside A Scotch Whisky Distillery
Aug 1st, 2012 at 10:00AM: I must admit that despite my name I've never been much into whiskey. Rum? Yes. Beer? Yes. Wine? Yes. Absinthe? Yes. Mead? Oh yes! But whiskey has never really been on my radar.
A taste of 25-year-old Scapa whiskey changed all that.
Scapa prides itself as being the second northernmost Scotch whisky distillery in the world. Highland Park Distillery beats it by less than a mile. There are more ...Beauty In Wartime: The Italian Chapel In Orkney
Jul 30th, 2012 at 11:30AM:
The remote Orkney Islands north of Scotland became important during both world wars. With German U-boats prowling the Atlantic, shipping between the United Kingdom and North America was diverted as far north as possible and passed by Orkney. The islands were protected by a series of bunkers and forts that can still be seen today.
The remote islands also proved to be a good place to put ...Eynhallow: Visiting Orkney's Haunted Isle
Jul 29th, 2012 at 9:00AM:
Orkney is an ancient land where prehistoric monuments still dominate the landscape, along with the wide sky and surrounding sea. Plenty of strange stories have grown up about certain places. Some of the strangest have to do with a little island called Eynhallow.
Eynhallow has been deserted since 1851. Considering that it's a little less than 200 acres of treeless grass and rocky cliffs ...The Heart Of Neolithic Orkney
Jul 25th, 2012 at 12:00PM:
For reasons that aren't very clear, the Orkney Islands just north of Scotland were the happening place to be 5000 years ago.
The temperature was warmer in Orkney back then, with forest and deer in addition to the abundant bird and marine life that still mark Orkney out as a natural wonderland. The Neolithic (Late Stone Age) people farmed the land and hunted game. They also built some of the ...British Museum Highlights Strange Money From Around The World
Jun 29th, 2012 at 3:00PM:
What's this? A knife? A razor? Actually, it's Chinese currency dating back to the 5th-3rd century B.C. It's one of the many rare and unusual pieces on display in the newly reopened money gallery at the British Museum in London.
The Citi Money Gallery looks at world history through money, starting with the Bronze Age and going right up to the Age of the Credit Card. This has always been one of ...London's Most Famous Landmark Gets A New Name
Jun 27th, 2012 at 1:00PM:
Pop Quiz: what's this called?
Undoubtedly, 99% of people will immediately answer, "Big Ben." Actually, only the clock's bell is called Big Ben. The tower as a whole is called Clock Tower. Everybody knows this iconic sight in London but nearly everyone misidentifies it.
Now the name is getting changed. In honor of the Queen Elizabeth II's Jubilee, the UK government has decided to honor her ...60 Years Of Royal Travel: Queen Elizabeth II's State Visits
Jun 7th, 2012 at 2:00PM: This week, the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries are celebrating the Diamond Jubilee, commemorating 60 years of Queen Elizabeth II on the royal throne. The Times has an interactive, multimedia infographic detailing six decades of royal travel. Each decade details her Commonwealth and international trips with video and photographs from some of her most important visits. The 1970s-'90s ...Demolition Derby In The United Kingdom: A Little Bit Different
Jun 3rd, 2012 at 12:00PM:
Traveling through Europe you'll notice that many things are just a little bit different from the United States. Like the Royale with Cheese (actually the Cheese Royal, Tarantino got it wrong), Europe has many slightly different takes on American icons.
Demolition derby, for example is huge in the United Kingdom, but it's called banger racing. Cars race around a track while smashing into each ...
Four UK Museums On Shortlist For Art Fund Prize
May 17th, 2012 at 1:30PM: Four UK museums have made the shortlist for the Annual Art Fund Prize. The winner will get a hefty £100,000 ($161,000) donation, most welcome in these times of economic austerity.
One of the museums, the Hepworth Wakefield, only opened a year ago and has already smashed attendance expectations by attracting half a million visitors. Located in Yorkshire, it focuses on contemporary art and ...Overlooked London: Saint Bartholomew The Great Church
Apr 25th, 2012 at 9:00AM: London is a city full of historic churches. Some can be a bit hard to find and get missed by the casual visitor. One of these is Saint Bartholomew the Great in West Smithfield.
Built by a courtier of King Henry I, it has been open for worship since 1143 and was the center of a large complex of church buildings before the Dissolution of Henry VIII took away most of its lands and two-thirds of ...Cutty Sark Reopens After Disastrous Fire
Apr 24th, 2012 at 7:00PM:
The famous tea clipper Cutty Sark will be once again open to the public this Thursday after years of restoration work to repair damage from a fire in 2007. The Queen will perform an official reopening ceremony on Wednesday.
Located in Greenwich, London, this beautiful ship has been a longtime favorite of Londoners. It went on its maiden voyage in 1870 and is the last surviving tea clipper in ...Carlisle Castle Celebrates 1000th Birthday
Apr 24th, 2012 at 10:00AM:
One of England's most besieged castles has turned the ripe old age of 1000 this year.
A new exhibition at Carlisle Castle in Carlisle, England, tells its thousand-year history. Well, approximately a thousand years, since nobody actually knows when the first castle was built here. Like with many great English castles, it got its start with a Roman fort. This fell to ruins and was replaced in ...Nudists Cause Controversy On Welsh Beach
Apr 17th, 2012 at 3:00PM: Cefn Sidan beach in Pembrey, Wales, is the latest flashpoint in an ongoing controversy over nudists in the UK.
The local government says it has received numerous complaints about bathers baring all at the eight-mile-long beach. The spot is a favorite for families and attracts more than a million visitors a year, most of who wear bathing suits. There have been complaints about nudists ...London Tube 'Ghost Station' May Be Brought Back From The Dead
Apr 16th, 2012 at 9:00AM:
A London Tube station that hasn't been used for more than half a century may become the city's newest attraction, the BBC reports.
Brompton Road station on the Piccadilly Line closed in 1934 because it was underused. During World War II, it served as the headquarters of the Royal Artillery's anti-aircraft operations. The station has changed little since then, with much of the wartime ...New Ancient Egypt And Nubia Galleries At Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
Apr 14th, 2012 at 2:30PM:
The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford has always been famous for its collection of art from Ancient Egypt and Nubia (Sudan). It recently revamped these galleries as part of a major remodel.
While the new galleries reopened in November, I didn't want to write it up until I got to see it for myself. The old galleries were dark, cramped and had endless cases crammed with artifacts. In other words, they ...Visiting The Royal Geographical Society, London
Apr 8th, 2012 at 10:00AM: While London isn't exactly known as an adventure travel destination, unless you're crossing Elephant and Castle late at night, it is a place where adventure travelers gather. The British are some of the best explorers in the world and their Royal Geographical Society is a meeting place and resource for those who want more out of travel than a cruise to the Bahamas.
The society was founded in ...What Is Art? I Don't Know And Neither Does Damien Hirst
Apr 4th, 2012 at 2:00PM:
One of the perks of being a travel writer is you get to go to press viewings for upcoming exhibitions. While you don't beat the crowds (hordes of journalists and hangers-on attend these things) you do get to see some great art for free. And if a show is disappointing, at least you didn't have to pay for it.
I just went to the press viewing at the Tate Modern in London for "Damien Hirst," a ...Marilyn Monroe exhibit opening in London
Mar 9th, 2012 at 5:00PM: A new exhibit in London is dedicated to Marilyn Monroe, the icon of beauty from an era when "beauty" meant something other than "built like a fourteen-year-old anorexic junkie."
Marilyn opens today at the Getty Images Gallery and will feature iconic photographs and original dresses from Monroe's many films. It also tells the story of how she rose as an aspiring actress to become one of ...
