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I'm a huge fan of Stonehenge, but much prefer Avebury for a day out as you are still allowed to touch the stones. Although it was all but destroyed in the 17th century by local farmers encouraged by the church, Alexander Keiller the marmalade magnate, used much of his money to resurrect many of the stones during the 1930s. He also left an interesting museum, just outside the stone circle, which is well situated as a starting point for an informed day out. Various skeletons maintain enough interest for the ghoulishly inclined, particularly the one of a mediaeval barber, replete with scissors, who must have been crushed by a falling stone. Avebury village lies at the centre of the site so after a mystical hour or two spent walking and touching stones, it's possible to buy sandwiches and snacks from Avebury Village Post Office if you forgot your packed lunch, or there are several places to purchase an indoor meal. The Red Lion is at the heart of the village and is reported to be the most haunted pub in England according to Wikipedia, largely due to the well in the middle where several murders are alleged to have taken place. People in fine walking fettle may also like to venture further afield to climb the nearby Silbury Hill (at 130ft it's the largest man-made hill in Europe) or walk to West Kennett Long Barrow where it is now possible to access the chambers. The entire area is National Trust owned. This trip provides an energetic day's walking, historical interest as well as food for the imagination.
The clearest route to Avebury is by car. It is easily accessible from the M4 motorway, located along the A4 (Bath Road) at the junction of the A4361 and B4003, about 6 miles west of Marlborough. There is local signposting to a tourist car park situated just off the A4361 a little south of the circle. It is worth accepting the tourist car park as the parking which is available in the village has restrictions for non-residents.
The nearest train stations are 10 miles away in Pewsey or in Swindon which is 11 miles away. Avebury is on many bus routes going out of Swindon the number 5 Wilts and Dorset and the number 6 Salisbury-Swindon, amongst others.
Google map: bit.ly/b3dSnA
An old favourite of ours and a fantastic day out in the north west is a visit to the terraced gardens at Rivington. Stroll around all the way up to Rivington Pike, if you have the energy. See if you can find the ornamental Japanese pool and the old tower for Pidgeons and Doves. Spot the remains of Lord Lever's grand mansion. The views across the reservoir to Liverpool are always enjoyable and if its clear you can see further to North Wales and the Lake District; we always try to be the first one to spot Blackpool Tower. On a good day, take a picnic or eat in the cafe in the splendid Great Barn. A grand day out!
www.bolton.org.uk/rivington.html. Rivington Lane, Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, BL6 7SB
Read more: www.gardenvisit.com/garden/rivington_terraced_gardens#ixzz0vdMYwOxp
Google map: bit.ly/aafjce
The cities of Vietnam, especially in the south, are fast, furious and in your face. The world heritage site at My Son (Me son(g)) is a tranquil place set in the jungle not far from Hoi An.
Be prepared to get up early if you want to miss the busses and catch the magical sunrise over the ruins. Birds and butterflies a plenty, but don't expect the ruins to rival Angor Wat in size or splendour. These monuments seem much more intimate and simply rise out of the jungle mist in an almost mystical manner.
As in a number of places close to the old demilitarised zone, it is best to use a guide as there may still be unexploded ordnance off the paths.
whc.unesco.org/en/list/949
Google map: bit.ly/bmvbeU
Start at the Porta Santa Maria in the late afternoon. Bikes and tandems are available from local rental agents. Ride round the city on the ancient walls; join the locals of all ages cycling, talking, phoning, promenading round their wonderful city. Cut down into the town and cycle through the plazas, past the cathedrals and stop for some local sangiovese. It's the best way to combine culture and exercise for all the family.
Lucca, Tuscany
Google map: bit.ly/apBU5g
Bakewell Old House Museum is a facinating, small and quirky museum of local and social history.
Explore the nooks and crannies of the atmospheric Tudor building, and discover the secrets of historic Bakewell via the Museum's trail. This museum is family friendly, with hands-on activities for children, a superb Tudor Dressing-up box and much more. It's 100% recommended for a great addition to a day out in Bakewell. Well worth the wander up the hill!
The Old House Museum, Cunningham Place, Off North Church Street, Bakewell.
01629 813642, oldhousemuseum.hammerdesign.co.uk
Google map: tinyurl.com/2u7vmpj
• Cities are always best seen on foot, and Cape Town is no exception - enjoy modern creative Cape Town or an historical City tour.
• Enjoy a local theatre production with music ranging from opera, to swing, jazz, kwaito and hip-hop.
• With the Cape Town Design Route guide you can explore the city’s top design shops and art galleries.
• A Cape Malay Cooking Safari involves a visit to the Bo-Kaap museum, a tour through this historical area and cooking course and lunch in a local resident’s home.
• Get into the groove on a Cape Town Jazz Safari.
• Abseil off the top of Table Mountain.
• Party the night away at a shebeen and stay over in a local bed and breakfast in the townships.
• Shriek all the way to the bottom when you go sand-boarding.
• Take in the breath-taking views from the top of Table Mountain (weather permitting).
• Visit the District Six Museum and immerse yourself in the memories of what was one of Cape Town’s most colourful communities before residents were subjected to forced removals during the Apartheid era.
• Stop, shop, have a bite to eat or explore the Two Oceans Aquarium at the V&A Waterfront.
• Begin your evening with sundowners on the Camps Bay strip or at the fireside at one of the city’s award winning restaurants and end off by catching some live music on Long Street in the City Centre
www.CapeTown.Travel
In the middle of the beautiful North Yorkshire countryside, the twin attractions of this world heritage site are the perfect day out. The beautiful ruins of the cistercian abbey are a lovely walk from the lake and gardens of Studley Royal with its rolling deer park. Indulge your inner Regency bourgeois.
Fountain's Abbey, Studley Royal, North Yorkshire. A few miles west of Ripon, or 10 miles north of Harrogate (30 from Leeds). Off the B6265 and close to the A61.
You want drama? You got it. Dunnottar Castle in Aberdeenshire is about as dramatic as it gets. An ancient ruined castle sitting precariously on the edge of a cliff, overlooking the ragged North Sea - it has been home to some of Scotland's best history, from William Wallace to the siege of Cromwell's army.
You can explore both inside and out, and then take a run along the coastal path and a peek among the rockpools down on the little beach. A perfect day out for both boys and girls! Also a good spot for budding photographers too - you can't fail to take a great pic here.
www.dunnottarcastle.co.uk/ nearest town is Stonehaven.
The area has some outstanding scenery, very well established mountain biking routes, then tucked away in a tiny churchyard in Keir, is the grave of the inventor of the bicycle.
While passing through Penpont on your way to visit it, stop at the tea room for a decent cup of tea and reasonably priced food, then pass by the old smithy, which was where Kirkpatrick MacMillan lived and worked, then on to the parish church to visit his grave (which you will eventually find has a plaque next to it).
There's lots more to see and do in the area. For example, Joseph Thomson a native of the village of Penpont was a world famous explorer of the African continent. There is a monument to him in the nearby town of Thornhill.
Just took a trip to Extremadura to look at some property and ended up falling in love with this amazing and almost unknown region of Spain.
Gorgeous unspoilt scenery, unbelievable historical sites, Merida is the best preserved Roman town in Iberia! Could not have enjoyed the exploration without the help of the guys at La Sierra agency, they not only sell property but can arrange cycling and hiking expeditions, accommodation etc.
Based in the mountain town of Montánchez, right in the middle of the triangle of three world heritage towns, Caceres, Merida and Trujillo.
www.la-sierra-properties.com
www.finca-al-manzil.com
tel. 0034 678447876
I visited Northumberland as I have an interest in Christian history and I know this place has over a thousand years of it. I was keen to visit castles and other ancient monuments, and Northumberland was recently awarded top 10 tourist destination in the world which it deserves.
The religious history of the place, particularly around Holy Island was spectacular and thoroughly recommended.
If you visit Dresden you must go to The Green Vault. It is, simply, the most stunning collection of treasures, mainly collected by Augustus the Strong in the early 18th century.
The range, number and quality of objects on display is simply breathtaking. There are objects in ivory, rock crystal and coral. There are ornate, amazing clocks and caskets. It is difficult to pick out one highlight, but I would suggest that the Throne of the Grand Mogul Aurangzeb is the star.
In many other museums you might find one piece like this among some really rather dull stuff. In The Green Vault it is but one of a constellation, even galaxy, of star pieces. It is the best museum/gallery I have ever seen. Be prepared to spend a long time here.
The New Grunes Gewolbe (Green Vault)
Residenzschloss, Sophienstrasse.
Near The Zwinger and Semper Opera House.
Tourists to Egypt hear much of Akhenaten, the probable father of Tutankhamun, who tried to replace worship of the traditional Egyptian gods with a sort of monotheism devoted to the sun-disk.
Objects from his reign form one of the most spectacular displays in the Cairo Museum but few ever visit his short lived capital city at Tell el-Amarna (which gives its name to the period and the artistic style of the times). Little remains of the city itself (although the setting is highly atmospheric) but the tombs of the king and his courtiers in the cliffs and wadis to the east are among the finest in the country, and mercifully free of marauding tourists – I was the only person at the site the day I visited.
A visit requires several hours and is probably best arranged as part of a stop-over in the nearby city of el-Minya (150 miles south of Cairo) which has several comfortable hotels. A military escort is required to travel through this part of the country although there is no real threat – it’s more like getting the VIP treatment.
For non-beach orientated things to do, the size and decoration of the Kom el-Shuqafa catacombs will remind you of a Spielberg film.
As for food, the Kadora (pronounced A-Dora) and the fish market offer some of the best seafood in Egypt.
A pleasant way to end a day's exploring is to take a calèch ride from near the Cecil Hotel, along the Western harbour, and then retrace your route on foot for a bite to eat at the fish market.
Giza can be a nightmare. Its atmosphere has been ruined by the road, the coaches, the thousands of tourists and a seemingly equal number of Egyptians offering tacky souvenirs and camel rides at inflated prices. This is no coincidence however, it being the site at which the pharaohs of the Fourth Dynasty at last nailed the art of pyramid building.
One of their predecessors, Sneferu, did much of the ground work however. He erected two monuments of his own at the much quieter site of Dahshur, a few miles south of Giza.
The earlier of the two is the ‘bent’ pyramid, so-named because the king’s architect got his sums wrong and had to change the angle of incline halfway up. The second, the ‘red’ pyramid was an unqualified success: a straight sided pyramid, smaller only than the great pyramid itself.
The interior of the red pyramid with its corbel vaulted ceiling is well worth a look, and the bent-pyramid preserves much of the outer casing that was stripped from the Giza pyramids centuries ago. The lack of tourists gives you a chance to take in the immensity of these monuments.
Although you kind of have to go to Giza, I highly recommend seeing Dahshur as well – it’s what Giza ought to be like.
Although millions of tourists visit the west bank at Luxor every year the area is so rich in archaeology that it is not difficult to find quiet and equally spectacular monuments away from the hordes.
Just across the road from the bazaars and the coach-park at the Hatshepsut temple a jumble of mud-brick remains marks the cemetery of el-Asasif, site of some of the largest and most spectacular tombs anywhere in the country.
Three of its tombs are open to the public: that of Kheruef of the 18th Dynasty, and those of Pabasa and Ankh-hor of the 26th. Their subterranean ‘sun-courts’ are unique to this area, and each of the tombs preserves beautiful relief decoration of varying styles.
I would highly recommend taking a walk from here back to the road through the crumbling remains of tombs yet to be investigated; at the road I recommend hailing one of the local service taxis and riding back to the river with the locals for a few piasters, rather than taking a private car for 100 times the price.
Travelling through the Nile delta from Cairo gives a very different perspective on the country from the usual boat trip down the Nile.
Arriving at Tell Basta, now a suburb of Zagazig) provides an idea of how the ruins across the whole country may once have looked (a true Ozymandias moment). This monumental site (once the home of a huge temple structure dedicated to the cat goddess Bastet) accommodated religious festivals that numbered hundreds of thousands of participants, now it is little more than a field of rubble.
However, if you have been to any of the great temple structures (Luxor, Karnak etc) you will be able to see the layout and structure of the site through the debris. The lack of tourists, combined with the thrill of identifying key elements within the site, as well as coming across the scattered remains of monumental statues, secured this as one of the most unique parts of our Egyptian trip. There is also an interesting cat necropolis on the site.
The Ramses Wissa Wassef Art Centre is absolutely amazing. When you see the tapestries and the batik you will not believe that it's all created from the mind, no pictures at all. Truly amazing. They also have wonderful pottery.
The old town is a beautiful reminder of the 2000 year history of Lagos. Although most of it was destroyed in the tsunami and earthquake of 1755, there are still old buildings from the 16th century and the governor's castle.
There is a marina for boats from all over the world, dolphin watching by experts, coastal cave exploring in small boats with guides, and some of the best golf courses in Portugal nearby.
Shopping is a delight, with leather goods on every street corner and craft stalls, manned by the friendliest people anywhere.
The province of Pontevedra is full of various legends related with different characters: from witches to werewolfs or "mouras".
Most of these legends come from the inlands, telling us magic stories that, sometimes, will scare us and others will fascinate us. For example, there are legends related with petroglyphs where women went to conceive babies, or with the "mouras" (bewitched, very beautiful character) who appeared to men who felt in love with them.
There are also legends in the coast, so some women went to a specific beach to get pregnant.
There are many others, do not hesitate to look for them. There is a magic world beyond our own.
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