Discovering the Tarns One November day in 1959, two men shivering in a bitingly cold shower of hail, scrambled out of a Lake District tarn near Scafell Pike, England’s highest mountain. They had just finished a remarkable venture that had taken them over eight years. Nobody had done it before and it may not have been done since. These two resilient gentlemen had succeeded in bathing in every one of the National Park’s tarns – all 463 of them. Nobody ever saw them bathing and they never used swimming costumes. This was ‘extreme skinny dipping’! A tarn is a small mountain lake and, like many other local words e.g.beck (stream), fell (mountain), thwaite (clearing), gill (ravine) and holme (island), has its origins in Scandinavia. The Vikings arrived in N.W. England, probably from Ireland, in the 10th century and maybe half Lakeland’s place names can be traced back to Norse languages. Tarns can be found on almost every mountain hike, some hardly bigger … [Read more...] about The Lakes and Tarns of England’s largest National Park || Part 2
Ireland national parks
Livestream: Ireland’s National Ploughing Championships at Tullamore
Livestream: Ireland's National Ploughing Championships at Tullamore BelfastTelegraph.co.uk Thousands of people are expected to descend on Tullamore today to attend Europe's largest outdoor event, the National Ploughing Championships. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/business/agri/livestream-irelands-national-ploughing-championships-at-tullamore-37328799.html https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/incoming/article37328825.ece/f77dd/AUTOCROP/h342/JS4038946Cecil%20Wray%20from%20K.jpg Email Thousands of people are expected to descend on Tullamore today to attend Europe's largest outdoor event, the National Ploughing Championships. Some 300,000 people expected to attend the event which is in its 87th year over the course of the week. Entering the site, traffic is slow exiting the M6 westbound at J5 Tullamore and there are delays on the N52 towards Tullamore itself. Traffic is also busy on approaching the site from Blue Ball on the Birr side, as well as the approach from Clonmich Road. … [Read more...] about Livestream: Ireland’s National Ploughing Championships at Tullamore
Special report: Authorities scale new heights in €257m bid to protect Ireland’s national parks
A €257m, 10-year tourism masterplan for our national parks has been a long time coming, writes Caroline O’Doherty.THEIR iconic features have graced countless postcards, tourist brochures, and Instagram accounts, and time in their company makes memories for a lifetime so it seems only right that our national parks should be treated as national treasures.But do they get the appreciation — and protection — they deserve?The six parks — Killarney, Wicklow Mountains, The Burren, Connemara, Glenveagh, and Ballycroy — between them cover around 68,700 hectares of mountains, lakes, woodland, bogs, walking trails, archaeological sites, and historical houses, attracting 3m-4m visitors a year.Accurate counts are hard to obtain because not everyone enters the parks through a visitor centre, where their presence can be registered, and besides, some of the visitor centres only open for part of the year.Suffice to say they are a big draw for overseas tourists, … [Read more...] about Special report: Authorities scale new heights in €257m bid to protect Ireland’s national parks
Special report: Authorities scale new heights in bid to protect Ireland’s national parks
A €257m, 10-year tourism masterplan for our national parks has been a long time coming, writes Caroline O’Doherty.THEIR iconic features have graced countless postcards, tourist brochures, and Instagram accounts, and time in their company makes memories for a lifetime so it seems only right that our national parks should be treated as national treasures.But do they get the appreciation — and protection — they deserve?The six parks — Killarney, Wicklow Mountains, The Burren, Connemara, Glenveagh, and Ballycroy — between them cover around 68,700 hectares of mountains, lakes, woodland, bogs, walking trails, archaeological sites, and historical houses, attracting 3m-4m visitors a year.Accurate counts are hard to obtain because not everyone enters the parks through a visitor centre, where their presence can be registered, and besides, some of the visitor centres only open for part of the year.Suffice to say they are a big draw for overseas tourists, … [Read more...] about Special report: Authorities scale new heights in bid to protect Ireland’s national parks
Best afternoon teas for 2018 across the UK for National Cream Tea Day
Afternoon tea is one of Britain's greatest pleasures, and there's no better excuse for treating yourself or a special someone to an elegant day out - especially now that it's National Cream Tea Day. The good news is that you won't need to break the bank for a seriously decadent tea time, as you can easily find package deals that are not as pricey as you would expect. Rather than sipping an overly brewed cuppa in a Sports Direct mug with skimmed milk, amp up your tea game by indulging in luxury scones and the perfect cuppa at one of these top afternoon tea packages all over the UK. From Cloud 23 in Manchester, to a castle in Scotland, to an Alice and Wonderland themed day out, we've rounded up some of our favourite ones of the lot. Best afternoon teas in the UK for National Cream Tea Day Most prices are for two people, unless specified. London Sanderson hotel, £58 The ever-unique Sanderson hotel has its own iconic Mad Hatters afternoon tea, an out of the box experience that lets … [Read more...] about Best afternoon teas for 2018 across the UK for National Cream Tea Day