London – The Tower of
London, The London Eye, The Changing of the Guards at Buckingham
Palace, Westminster Abbey, etc. Windsor Castle, which is outside
London, should be included. (You need a minimum of 3 days to see
London. There is just so much!)
The West Coast of Ireland
– From the Ring of Kerry in the Southwest to Donegal in the
Northwest there is so much rugged beauty you will need an inhaler to
keep your breath. Then there’s the castles, cathedrals,
fishing villages and thousands of genuinely friendly Irish people
waiting to greet you…not to mention the pubs, the music and
the craic (pronounced ‘crack’, it means
‘spirited social interaction’)
The Scottish Highlands & Islands
– Only minimally behind the West of Ireland. If you have time
to take in some of the Western Isles you can move this up to #2.
Edinburgh at Festival Time
– The place to be! Edinburgh can stand alone without the
festival but it comes alive for 2 weeks in a way that has to be
experienced first-hand.
Other Cities – I
group these together and will let you take your pick. Many of these
have seen major clean-ups in recent years and are picking up awards
left and right as centres of culture, history, architecture,
entertainment and scenic beauty. Starting in the
north…Glasgow, Newcastle, York, Liverpool, Manchester,
Chester, Birmingham, Nottingham, Oxford, Cambridge, Cardiff and
Southampton. (If I’ve omitted your
favourite…sorry, please add it yourself!)
Scenic Areas - Apart from those
already mentioned, I can only say that wherever you go in UK &
Ireland you will find areas of outstanding beauty and interest. I am
going to shortlist them to a ‘top 5’ which is a
challenge(!) The Peak District of Derbyshire. The Yorkshire Dales and
Moors. The Lake District. Dartmoor and Exmoor. The Shannon River Basin
and the Lakes of Fermanagh. Close runner-ups for me are the areas
around Bath and the Cotswolds, but there are so many others as well.
Hadrian’s Wall
- The Roman wall is not only interesting of itself but it is set in
beautiful scenery.
The Falkirk Wheel –
This wonder of the modern world is worth a visit. They have done an
excellent job of the visitor centre and you can take a barge trip up or
down the rise from one canal level to another.
Bath – For history
buffs and their kin, Bath is a must with its Roman ruins, Georgian
architecture and general ethos.
Wales – I have saved
this for the last for two reasons. Wales was the last area I personally
discovered, during a familiarisation trip put on by Visitwales. I was
more than pleasantly surprised! There is much to see and do in Wales.
Mountains, castles, cathedrals, beautiful beaches, narrow-gauge
railways, coastal scenery rivalling that of Ireland and Scotland and
much culture/history. Even Cardiff now boasts of an exciting nightlife
comparable to better known places like Manchester and Liverpool.
P.S. Making a list like this is not without risk. I could make
another tomorrow and it would probably be quite different. Some places
I have left out are equally beautiful and/or interesting. Some of this
depends on personal interest. For example…if you are
interested in history, there is Stonehenge and Avebury with
Salisbury’s impressive cathedral nearby. If you are
interested in ecclesiastical history, there are places like
Lindisfarne and Holy Isle, Iona, Tara and Armagh. Golfers will have
their minds blown by St. Andrew’s, Turnberry, Royal Down,
Royal Portrush and the many courses in Donegal. Hill walkers can go
virtually anywhere on the extensive network of bridle-paths and signed
walks that covers most of Britain. Special mention should be made of
the canals and waterways that also cover most of the scenic areas and
are a unique feature of these fascinating islands. Speaking of
islands…don’t forget The Channel Islands, Isle of
Wight, Scilly Isles, Isle of Man, The Orkney & Shetland Islands
and the islands off the west coast of Ireland.
P.P.S. After all of the above, I want to say something about the
‘UK/Ireland Experience’ that is close to my heart.
PLEASE don’t try to do too much, and do take time to just
enjoy things like the many quaint villages in rural Britain/Ireland.
Get off the beaten track now and again and soak up the local
atmosphere. Instead of eating at a motorway rest stop, pull off the
motorway and have a pub-lunch with the locals. Talk to people wherever
you go and hear the sounds of the many dialects. Walk in the woods or
along the beaches or cliff walks. Am I rambling? Of course I
am…but isn’t that what the UK/Ireland experience
is all about?
