Jewels of The British Isles & Solar Eclipse

Crossing the English Channel from continental Europe to Great Britain, the first view of England is the milky-white strip of land called the White Cliffs of Dover. As you get closer, the coastline unfolds before you in all its striking beauty. White chalk cliffs with streaks of black flint rise straight from the sea to a height of 350’ (110 m).

Numerous archaeological finds reveal people were present in the area during the Stone Age. Yet the first record of Dover is from Romans, who valued its close proximity to the mainland. A mere 21 miles (33 km) separate Dover from the closest point in France. A Roman-built lighthouse in the area is the tallest Roman structure still standing in Britain. The remains of a Roman villa with the only preserved Roman wall mural outside of Italy are another unique survivor from ancient times which make Dover one of a kind.

Portland Island and the resort town of Weymouth are connected by a 5-mile (8 km) long neck of white sand known as Chesil Beach. Renowned as the finest example of a barrier-type beach in Europe, Chesil Beach was formed 10,000 years ago as glaciers receded and sea levels rose.

The rugged coastline of Dorset and the many attractions in the area are what make Weymouth such a popular vacation destination. The Old Harbour of Weymouth is an excellent Georgian-style harbor and one of the prettiest in Europe. It bustles with activity from large catamarans, fishing boats and yachts. Weymouth Sea Life Adventure Park displays over 1,000 incredible sea creatures including sea turtles, crabs, octopuses and sharks. The nearby Abbotsbury Sub-Tropical Gardens is an impressive walled garden set in 20 acres (8 hectares) of woodland. Portland Island offers stunning views across the Chesil Beach, Portland Harbour, Fleet Lagoon and Weymouth. The little egret, once a rare bird in Britain, is now regularly seen along these shores.

The port town of Cobh is located just 15 miles from Cork, the capital of Ireland’s southern region. Some of Ireland’s more famous landmarks are located in this part of the country, including Blarney Castle, famous for many legends, most notably the magical Blarney Stone. Some of the most beautiful and dramatic scenery in Europe is found west of Cork, with lyrical names to match the picturesque valleys, mountains and coasts.Cork, a city with a heritage reaching into antiquity, is nevertheless modern, well-organized, and well aware of its role as the second city of the Irish Republic. Built on a marsh, and interlaced with winding canals and rivers, the city is divided into two parts, with well-patterned architectural development incorporating the best of the old with the new.

Fishguard’s name in Welsh is Abergwaun, meaning the mouth of the River Gwaun. The English name comes from an Old Norse word for a fish trap, and indeed the community has profited from catching and drying herring for centuries. It has remained remarkably unchanged physically over the years. The waterfront has a traditional feel like many others in Pembrokeshire. At first glance, nothing would indicate that this is the site of the last invasion of Britain by a foreign power. But a bicentenary stone recalls the day in 1797 when 1400 French revolutionary troops landed here, only to be routed by the local folk, including a heroic woman shoemaker named Jemima Nicholas, who rounded up more than a dozen dismayed invaders while armed with a pitchfork. A large tapestry depicting the struggle is on display in the Fishguard Town Hall. The surrounding South Wales countryside is dotted with medieval castles, some impressive, such as Pembroke and Picton Castles, and others little more than scenically sited ruins. Cardigan also has a notable garden called Dyffryn Fernant, and St. David’s boasts an impressive early cathedral and a Bishop’s Palace. Prehistoric Pembrokeshire is represented by the Pentre Ifan Burial Chamber, a massive dolmen with an intact 15-ton capstone made of the same type of rock that formed the inner sanctum of Stonehenge.

Douglas is the capital of the Isle of Man. Mann, as it is also called, is a British Crown Dependency, with its own parliament and postage stamps (a popular souvenir). Here visitors can sample means of transport ranging from horse-drawn trams, to steam trains and the high-speed motorcycles that compete in the renowned Isle of Man TT races. In summer the town maintains much of the seaside resort charm of an earlier period, including the Victorian-era Grand Union Camera Obscura, now restored for your amusement.

Rothesay, standing along the Firth of Clyde, presents the visitor with a combination of illustrious gardens and grand architecture. The magnificent ruins of Rothesay Castle, which date from the 13th century, are what most people visualize when they think of a medieval castle. With a drawbridge, encircling moat, immense circular curtain wall and tall stone towers, Rothesay is unique in Scotland for its circular plan. The ruins of St Blane’s Chapel, a 6th century monastery, sit atop a hill with views over the Sound of Bute. For true elegance, visit the country estate of Mount Stuart House with its colonnaded Marble Hall and extraordinary Marble Chapel. Built in the late 1870’s in the Gothic Revivalist style, it was constructed of reddish-brown stone and houses a library of 25,000 books.

The Ardencraig Gardens, sitting atop Canada Hill, feature a walled garden and exotic aviary. Ascog Hall Fernery, located on the grounds of a baronial-style house from 1844, is a beautiful garden with the oldest ferns in Britain.

Hard by the banks of the Clyde, Greenock is a port for Scotland’s largest city, Glasgow. There are numerous attractions to visit, including a treasury of architectural masterpieces from the Italian renaissance-style City Chambers, to the austere University buildings and the ultra-modern Clyde Auditorium, whose nested ship-hull sections have inspired the locals to dub it “The Armadillo.” Entertainment is found in trying to understand the deeply inflected Glaswegian brogue.

Belfast, Northern Ireland’s largest urban area is situated on Ireland’s eastern coast. To the northwest, the city is flanked by hills, including Cavehill, thought to be Jonathan Swift’s inspiration for his novel, “Gulliver’s Travels.” Belfast’s location is ideal for the shipbuilding industry that once made it famous. The Titanic was built here in 1912, at the largest shipyard in the world. Until the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 was reached, the worst of Ireland’s “troubles” was experienced in Belfast, which suffered almost half the conflict’s resulting deaths. Since that time, however, Belfast’s city center has emerged into an attractive pedestrian-oriented environment with street musicians and the like, and a revitalized river front.

Oban is a small town on the west coast of Scotland. The site began as a small fishing outpost and has been occupied as such for literally thousands of years. Rural in its roots, the modern-day village of Oban grew around the famed whisky distillery founded in 1794. Renowned for its 14-year-old malt whisky, the Oban distillery has become a tourist attraction, drawing many visitors to the area. The quiet, rural feel of Oban is responsible for the abundance of wildlife within the town boundaries. Here grey seals can be spotted swimming in the harbor or resting along the shore. A wide variety of land and seabirds are found throughout the area. On occasion dolphins and river otters also visit. A beautiful balance exists between this small town and the natural environment surrounding it, where the sounds of nature mingle with the melody of the streets.

Two miles distant from its ancient seaport of Leith lies Edinburgh, Scotland’s national capital. The Scottish capital since the 15th century, Edinburgh is comprised of two distinct areas – the Old Town, dominated by a medieval fortress, and the neoclassical New Town, whose development from the 18th century onwards had a far-reaching influence on European urban planning. The harmonious juxtaposition of these two contrasting historic areas, each with many important buildings, is what gives the city its unique character.
Always favored by geography, Edinburgh is ideally situated on the Firth of Forth, an inlet from the North Sea, and built on extinct volcanoes surrounded by woods, rolling hills and lakes. On a clear day, there are glorious vistas from each of these hilltops. Looming above the city is the striking fairy tale castle built on the site of a 7th-century fortress. Towards the Middle Ages life within the fortress spilled onto the long ridge running to the foot of Arthur’s Seat, which crowns Holyrood Park. The city’s most legendary citizens are the arch Presbyterian John Knox and Mary Queen of Scots, who dominated the Edinburgh of the late 16th century. Edinburgh’s delightful city center is a joy to explore on foot. Every alley reveals impressive steeples, jagged, chimney-potted skylines, or lovely rotund domes.

Newcastle upon Tyne, clinging to the north bank of the River Tyne, grew around the Roman settlement Pons Aelius and was named after the castle built here in 1080 by William the Conqueror’s eldest son, Robert Curthose. The port developed in the 16th century, quickly becoming one of the world’s largest shipbuilding centers. Newcastle harbors a spirited mix of heritage and urban sophistication.

Among its ultra-modern structures, is the beautiful refined curve of the Gateshead Millennium suspension bridge, one of seven major bridges that cross The Tyne. The modern reflective, spherical-profile of the Sage Gateshead Concert Hall contrasts greatly with the distinguished vertical columns of the traditional-style Theatre Royal, located in Grainger Town, the historic center of Newcastle.

Crossing the English Channel from continental Europe to Great Britain, the first view of England is the milky-white strip of land called the White Cliffs of Dover. As you get closer, the coastline unfolds before you in all its striking beauty. White chalk cliffs with streaks of black flint rise straight from the sea to a height of 350’ (110 m).

Numerous archaeological finds reveal people were present in the area during the Stone Age. Yet the first record of Dover is from Romans, who valued its close proximity to the mainland. A mere 21 miles (33 km) separate Dover from the closest point in France. A Roman-built lighthouse in the area is the tallest Roman structure still standing in Britain. The remains of a Roman villa with the only preserved Roman wall mural outside of Italy are another unique survivor from ancient times which make Dover one of a kind.

Cowes is an English seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina, facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east bank. The two towns are linked by the Cowes Floating Bridge, a chain ferry.

An historic Irish castle built along the River Corrib in 1121 grew rapidly into the city of Galway. There are two main squares in the city, Eyre Square and the Spanish Parade. At the center of Eyre Square is John F. Kennedy Park, erected in honor of U.S. President Kennedy’s visit here in 1963. A carved bust of the president was affectionately placed by the people of Galway at the exact spot where Kennedy stood to deliver his speech. Spanish Parade is the site of the Spanish Arches, two stone arches that made up the historic wall that once surrounded Galway. Remnants of medieval town walls lie between shops selling handcrafted rings, books and musical instruments. In addition to the many traditional Irish pubs, are the picturesque ancient neighborhoods of The Claddagh and Salthill. The Cathedral of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven, built in 1965 in the Renaissance-style, is the last great stone-walled cathedral to be built in Europe, while Galway Cathedral is much older, dating back to 1320.

Karlskrona is a locality and the seat of Karlskrona Municipality, Blekinge County, Sweden with 66,675 inhabitants in 2018. It is also the capital of Blekinge County. Karlskrona is known as Sweden’s only baroque city and is host to Sweden’s only remaining naval base and the headquarters of the Swedish Coast Guard.

Oban is a small town on the west coast of Scotland. The site began as a small fishing outpost and has been occupied as such for literally thousands of years. Rural in its roots, the modern-day village of Oban grew around the famed whisky distillery founded in 1794. Renowned for its 14-year-old malt whisky, the Oban distillery has become a tourist attraction, drawing many visitors to the area. The quiet, rural feel of Oban is responsible for the abundance of wildlife within the town boundaries. Here grey seals can be spotted swimming in the harbor or resting along the shore. A wide variety of land and seabirds are found throughout the area. On occasion dolphins and river otters also visit. A beautiful balance exists between this small town and the natural environment surrounding it, where the sounds of nature mingle with the melody of the streets.

Ullapool is a village of around 1,500 inhabitants in Ross and Cromarty, Scottish Highlands, located around 45 miles north-west of Inverness. Despite its small size it is the largest settlement for many miles around, and an important port and tourist destination.

A distant outpost of Denmark, the Faroe Islands suddenly appear out of the misty North Atlantic, nearly 200 miles from the nearest landfall. Of the twenty-two islands in the group, seventeen are inhabited, with a population of 17,000 residing in the capital city of Torshavn. Irish monks discovered the islands in the 8th century and became the first settlers, only to be driven out by Viking explorers a century later. The traditions and legends of their Viking forefathers are kept alive in a language so close to old Norse that Faroe Islanders can still read the ancient texts inscribed centuries ago. The name Faroe comes from faereyjar, the Old Norse word meaning “Sheep Islands.” With thousands of sheep dotting the hillsides, the name remains apt today. While sheep are important to the economy, the real wealth of the islands comes from the fishing industry. A fleet of over 300 trawlers and line-fishing boats bring in an average annual haul of 245,000 tons of cod and herring. Ultra-modern processing and freezing plants do the job of getting the product to market in the most efficient manner.

Warmed by the Gulf Stream as well as by highly active thermal hot springs and volcanoes, Iceland is somewhat misnamed. While it is a stark and barren country with three huge areas of glaciers, one theory is that early Norsemen sought to mislead other potential settlers by giving a pleasant name to fierce, inhospitable Greenland, and a forbidding name to the imminently habitable Iceland. Irish monks and hermits established themselves here in the 8th century, but left a century later when the pagan Norsemen arrived. Europe’s first Parliament of General Assembly, the Althing, was established in the year 930 and still functions as the legislative body, although it was suspended by the Danes at the end of the 18th century and not reconvened until 1843. Reykjavik was the site picked by the island’s first permanent resident, Ingolfur Arnarson in 874, and is home to more than half of the island’s total population. The world’s northernmost capital, Reykjavik is proud of its virtual lack of air pollution. Both electrical power and home heating are derived from the geothermal activity on the island. The city’s large swimming pools are always warm, and in the countryside exotic fruits such as grapes and bananas are cultivated in greenhouses made cozy with the help of underground hot springs.