Posts tagged "United Kingdom"

Scottish Vacations And Three Worthy Places To Visit Close To Dundee

As far back as the time of the Picts there has been a settlement on the site of Dundee. Dundee, the 4th largest city in the whole country, has long been associated with trade and commerce. The 3 main industries, in the city, were “jam, jute and journalism”.  Even though the city of Dundee could be described as a post-industrial city it has an economy which is mixed and it still has a large proportion of its population employed in the manufacturing industry (compared to the rest of Scotland), about thirteen and a half percent. Over recent years tourism has begun to become a rather important element of the local economy and there are an increasing number of guest houses and hotels providing Dundee bed and breakfast accommodation and in the following text I discuss the reader to three visitor attractions in Dundee; Verdant Works, Discover Point Visitor Centre and Sensation Science Centre:

The Discover Point Visitor Centre

Discovery Point is a highly interesting and award-winning Dundee tourist attraction which explains the tale of one of the most adventurous  voyages of exploration in history, the tale of the world famous Antarctic explorer, Captain Robert Falcon Scott, and the famous ship used,  the RRS Discovery. On the 21st of March, 1901, the Discovery was launched from the Panmure Shipyard, Dundee. Captain Scott and his crew set sail for Antarctica on August the 6th 1901, reaching there in January nineteen hundred and two. The RRS Discovery is a major part of the centre having been fully renovated from the top to the bottom. Steep stairs and narrow passageways can create problems for some, fortunately, you will discover there is an audio visual presentation on the dockside.

The Sensation Science Centre

If you are searching for an attraction that will provide entertainment for all the family, then Dundee’s Sensation Science Centre is the perfect solution. Sensation Dundee is the only UK science centre that focuses on the body’s five senses. You can discover the miracles of sciences  through use of the body’s senses with the aid of over 80 interactive exhibits. Visitors will also discover live scientific experiments and on the spot demonstrations, which demonstrate how everyday household ingredients can be utilised to incredible effect. Budding surgeons are able to have an attempt at keyhole surgery. Sensation brings science to life in many of incredibly interesting ways.

The Verdant Works

Verdant Works  was, in the past, a working jute mill. At it’s height, in the 1860′s and 1870′s, the jute industry in Dundee employed around fifty thousand people in over 60 factories spread across Dundee. Today,  Verdant Works brings the industry to life, by utilising a range of displays including, interactive computers, film shows and original machinery. This remarkable museum once housed three incredibly large steam engines which powered 70 looms and nearly 3 thousand spindles.  There was also a workforce of five hundred workers, preparing and spinning jute for it to be weaved across the road in a different factory. Restoration of the building commenced in nineteen ninety two and it first opened to the public the 16th of September nineteen ninety six.

If you are thinking about a city vacation in Dundee you will find a large amount of online hotels and guest houses offering Dundee bed and breakfast. You will discover a massive selection of Dundee hotels and guest houses at http://dundee.hotelreservationhelper.com/

Posted by holiday_travel - June 7, 2009 at 9:05 am

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An Artistic Eye On The Scottish City Of Glasgow

Glasgow is Scotland’s largest, and most vibrant, city with wonderful opportunities for shopping and an incredible night scene. For the more bohemian tourist there are countless places to sit and relax in the West End which features boutiques, cafés, bars, tea rooms, clubs and restaurants as well as some excellent Glasgow bed and breakfast. In the following article I will give details of three Glasgow tourist attractions which will be of special interest to those folk who have an interest in all things artistic; the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, the Burrell Collection and the House For An Art Lover:

Burrell Collection

In 1944, The Burrel Collection was gifted to the city of Glasgow by Sir william and Lady Burrell and the collection can be found at Pollok Country Park which is found in the south of the city This beautiful collection of works of art consists of more than nine thousand items. The collection is incredibly diverse containing a selection of modern sculptures and even some Islamic art. Visitors can view works of art by the likes of Degas, Cezanne and other European artists. As well as sculptures and paintings one can enjoy the beautiful collections of English furniture, stained glass, tapestries and alabasters. On top of all this, the Burrell Collection also exhibits a most important collection of medieval art plus collections from ancient China and Egypt.

The House For An Art Lover

House For An Art Lover is one of the most popular visitor attractions in Glasgow. The house is of an Art Nouveau design designed, originally, by Charles Rennie Mackintosh (with the help of his wife), Glasgow’s most famous architect.

Originally the design was made for a competition of 1901 to create plans for a ‘House for an Art Lover’, however, the entry by Charles and his wife was disqualified from the competition on the grounds that it was submitted too late. Luckily, more than 100 years later the house stands completed in Bellahouston Park thanks to the hard work of the architect Professor Andy Macmillan and the engineer Graham Roxburgh. Building began in 1989, halted for a short amount of time but resumed again in nineteen ninety four due to a collaboration between the Glasgow City Council and Glasgow School of Art.

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum

The Kelvingrove Art Gallery is Glasgow and Scotland’s premier museum and art gallery, and it houses one of Europe’s great civic art collections, but also it has been voted one of the most popular free to enter visitor attractions in Scotland.

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum can be found on the banks of the River Kelvin,  in the West End of Glasgow, on Argyle Street. The gallery was built in a Spanish Baroque style following the Glaswegian tradition of using red sandstone. It was designed by E.J. Milner Allen and Sir John W. Simpson and first opened to the public in the year nineteen hundred and one. The museum’s collections originally came from the old Kelvingrove House Museum and the McLellan Galleries.

If you are thinking about having a weekend break in Glasgow, Scotland you will find a large amount of online hotels and guest houses providing Glasgow bed and breakfast. You will discover a comprehensive listing of hotel accommodation in Glasgow at http://www.glasgowhotelscotland.com/

Posted by holiday_travel - May 31, 2009 at 2:34 am

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Spending Time In Cardiff And Facts You Need To Know

The city of Cardiff is not only the capital city of Wales, bit also it is the most popular tourist destination in Great Britain other than England’s capital city of London. Cardiff is also the largest Welsh city, however the city was only but a small town until the time of the early 19C. It was in the early eighteen hundreds when the small Welsh town developed into a considerably busy port involved in the transportation of local coal, plus other industries. It was not until 28th October 1905 that King Edward VII of England granted the small town of Cardiff city status, however, weirdly, the city only became the capital of Wales on 20th December nineteen fifty five. Soon after this Cardiff quickly became the place of choice for most national institutions, for example the National Museum of Wales, the Welsh National War Memorial and the University of Wales Registry Building. Through the last few decades the companies involved in Information and Technology have seen incredible expansion rates as well as, to a lesser degree various other areas of business, most noticeably in service industries. Tourism has also grown dramatically and there are now surprising numbers of places offering Cardiff bed and breakfast accommodation.

Places To See In Cardiff

Although Cardiff has had city status for only one hundred years, surprisingly there has been a castle in existence there for an estimated 2,000 years. The present  Cardiff Castle is, most likely, the city’s most popular attraction which can be located in the very middle of the city centre. One can partake in a guided tour exploring the castle’s interior, and/or, enjoy a pleasant walk around and about the breathtakingly picturesque castle gardens. At the castle you will also find a new Interpretation Centre which displays the differing stages of development, of the castle,  through the ages from the Roman period through to modern times.

The city of Cardiff also has a fair number of modern tourist attractions including the incredibly interesting Techniquest, one of Great Britain’s finest Science Discovery centres. At the centre you will be presented with in excess of 100 hands on exhibits, designed especially both to entertain and educate groups of all ages. There’s also a laboratory, a hi-tech Science Theatre, a Discovery Room and a planetarium.

There are a great many more visitor attractions to see in the Welsh capital, Cardiff, so, if you and your family are currently considering taking a break there it is incredibly important that you reserve your  room at the earliest moment because, unfortunately Cardiff hotels tend to be surprisingly busy and are frequently fully booked for a long period in advance. If you are travelling in a large group you might find that Cardiff serviced apartments proves to be a less expensive option by comparison with bed and breakfast accommodation.

Posted by holiday_travel - May 25, 2009 at 12:07 pm

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