The weather-beaten curves of a battered stone wall guide me out of Langholm, an idyllic old textile town tucked between the hills of the Esk valley, eight miles north of the English border.
29.07.2023 - 08:09 / nationalgeographic.com
They call us the Honest Men, which makes me laugh every time the team gets caught cheating. Ayr United takes its moniker from a 1791 Robert Burns line: ‘Auld Ayr, wham ne’er a toun surpasses, for honest men, and bonnie lasses.’ I often wonder if those things were true then; I know they aren’t now.
My hometown is one of those Victorian seaside spots that’s faded like an old photograph as time has passed and holidaymakers have sought sunnier climes in the Costa del Wherever. We still do ice cream, though, and we still have our beach — three miles long, golden, vast at low tide.
When I visit home, as a tourist as much as a son of Ayrshire, I see the place in a different light. Travelling south from Glasgow — Ayr in the sun with the Firth of Clyde behind, and the Isle of Arran more distant still — I realise that to drive our eclectic coast is something special, no matter where you’re from.
Immediately south from Ayr there are ruined castles at Greenan and the ultra-quaint fishing village of Dunure. For something more complete, the National Trust-backed Culzean Castle has been kept in remarkable condition since it was built in the late 1700s. As much a splendid country manor as a castle, its ornamental gardens and forest trails are, by turns, beautiful and labyrinthine — the sort of place a child’s imagination can run wild. The cliffs below the castle look defensive, but in truth, the Earl of Cassilis built up here because he wanted a home with a view more than a fortress. As a child, from its lofty ramparts I’d spot basking sharks swimming in the sea and, on the clearest days, could see a black line on the horizon that adults told me was Northern Ireland.
The roads in this part of Scotland are so beautiful and full of distractions as to be almost dangerous. Perhaps the most hazardous spot is near Culzean, high on a coastal route where vehicles are likely to stop with little warning. It would be easy to mock or chastise this behaviour, but the drivers are seeking magic at the Electric Brae. Bores may tell you that a conspiracy of perspective and landscape is responsible for an optical illusion that gives the impression that a vehicle in neutral will roll up hill, but I — a trusted local — would tell you that it’s pure witchcraft. In any case, stop at the Electric Brae, put your hazard lights on and see what happens.
South of here, Girvan is worth visiting for ice cream and for crystal-clear views of Ailsa Craig, a prehistoric volcanic plug that doubles as a vast bird sanctuary and a quarry for almost all the green granite used to make the world’s competitive curling stones. Inexplicably underused as a tourist destination, only Ailsa Craig Trips runs tours out to what’s one of Scotland’s least-visited large
The weather-beaten curves of a battered stone wall guide me out of Langholm, an idyllic old textile town tucked between the hills of the Esk valley, eight miles north of the English border.
In the basement of a granite townhouse in the centre of Aberdeen, my guide Calum Lockerbie’s voice becomes hushed, bordering on conspiratorial. We’re awaiting the main courses in Amuse, a new fine-dining restaurant by chef Kevin Dalgleish, when Calum leans in and says: “Everyone in here has, is or will work in the oil industry.”
Landscapes as green and lovely as everyone says. Literary giants in Dublin; Titanic history in Belfast. A pint and good craic in a traditional pub. The lure of Celtic legends.
Nestled in the north-west corner of Ireland, the city of Derry-Londonderry (Northern Ireland) and the county of Donegal (Republic of Ireland) sit snugly side by side. Taken together, this pair have every ingredient you could want from a short break: a dollop of history, a splash of culture and immeasurable quantities of nature and adventure. Better yet, it’s a combination that few have yet to put together.
Northern Ireland's second city and Ireland's northern-most county sit rather snug together in the corner of the island of Ireland. But many are yet to discover the two make a fantastic combination for a twin break. Blending thought-provoking history, striking landmarks and an incredible natural world, Derry~Londonderry and County Donegal's Inishowen Peninsula offer everything you could wish for in a short, action-packed getaway.
Get ready for a 30-mile drive that will take you thousands of years back in time. Starting in Killala, on the River Moy estuary, grab your morning cuppa in The Kiosk Café on Market Street, before exploring the fifth-century Round Tower, a 75ft limestone icon, which you might expect Rapunzel’s hair to tumble down from at any minute. Note the doorway set 11 feet above ground — access ladders would have been pulled inside to protect against marauders.
Enter the Conde Nast “Readers’ Choice Awards” sweepstakes by June 1, 2016, for a chance to win the grand prize: a 15-day Viking River Cruises trip for two from Amsterdam to Budapest, including air and transfers.
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I'm no contender for summiting Everest, but I've done quite a bit of hiking in my day, both as a solo hiker and as part of guided group hikes.
Here at Rough Guides, our sanctioned daily walks have become a firm highlight of coronavirus lockdown. Watching the spring blossom burst into being, feeling the sun on our faces, actually seeing other people (from a safe distance, of course)… it’s been a crash course in taking pleasure in the simple things. To help put a spring in your step, we’ve collated 10 less-visited trails and national parks in the UK and the US, ripe for the walking – now, if you live locally, or as soon as it’s safe to do so.
Most people come to Swakopmund, a Bavarian-style town surreally out of place on the edge of the Namib Desert, to explore the vast dunes. Few who visit know that the sandy Atlantic shallows of nearby Walvis Bay are also home to 2500 cape fur seals – one of the country’s last remaining colonies – as well as a resident population of diminutive benguela dolphins.