Vacation Home Rentals

posted by Vacation Home Rentals on Mar 31

Canada’s previous good snow was not evident this year after and very poor conditions left some people calling it the worst season in 10 years. People taking holidays in Canada this year got something of let down.

Canada is world renowned for provided plentiful snowfall and top class conditions for those seeking the white rush.Most resorts are house hold names and places like Whistler usually deliver year on year to the masses of skiers and snowboarders who descend on the Rockies each season. However, this season just gone did not delivery quite as much magic as people were expecting.

A freak -30 degrees high pressure period just before the Christmas period left the slopes wanting and the usual low pressure snow drop never really materialised.Drops of around 4cm happened occasionally but this barely covered the slopes and melted before to long.One man interviewed as he left a resort states “it’s been borderline terrible”. Castle was the resort he had been to the previous week but upon his arrival he was greeted by zero cover and exposed slopes.“I maybe got 4 days of riding out of 14, that’s not good”.  Another visitor said that she decided to ditch the skiing in favour of doing some sightseeing on one of the local company’s polar bear holidays.

The unreliable temperatures and pressures that caused the lack of snow have been blamed by many of the effects of global warming.This argument is brought into question however when you consider that many of the American resorts and most of those in Europe have just had one of the best seasons in their history.  Most believe it simply bad luck and hope that their fortunes change next year

posted by Vacation Home Rentals on Mar 30

Inverness, widely called the capital of the Highlands, was ceremoniously granted city status in the year two thousand and one and at this moment in time is the only city to be found in the Scottish Highlands. Uniquely (in Britain) Inverness has no statutory boundaries which causes problems with people estimating population. The estimations are distorted further because of the fact that the population of the city is increasing at a dramatic rate, the city has the UK’s highest growth rate. One thing we know for certain is that the city has a fairly content population, in 2008 the city of Inverness came 5th in a survey taken, by the Telegraph.co.uk, of 189 British cities for quality of life. From this we can state that Inverness is a pretty alright city in which to spend some time and this is most probably one of the facts which make the city immensely popular with tourists. Luckily there is plenty of Inverness bed & breakfasts with the majority of it being available to book online.

Inverness is also referred to as being the gateway to the Highlands of Scotland for the obvious fact that it is best placed to get the most out of the Highland public transport system and a large number of tourist attractions are relatively easy to get to. Possibly the best way to see them is via an official tour or day trip. There are a few tour companies visiting places such as, Loch Ness, Urquart Castle or Culloden or for the more adventurous tourist it is possible to visit Orkney or John O’Groats in a single day. You can also go on a small selection of city tours, such as the Terror Tour.

A small percentage of visitors decide to stay in two places in the Highlands such as Inverness & Fort William. The town of Fort William is incredibly popular with sports men and women especially mountaineers, hill walkers and ramblers who take their chances reaching the summit of Ben Nevis which towers above the town. In a similar way to Inverness Fort William bed & breakfast accommodation and like all Scotland bed & breakfast it is most often not too expensive, very good value for money and very tidy, clean and comfortable with unbeatable hospitality.

An important thing to remember is that Inverness Airport is, near enough, seven miles east of the city at Dalcross. It is easy to hail a cab to the busy but small airport which is quite reasonable. If you require maps of the area then you will find them free at the tourist office, on Castle Wynd in the town center. While you are in the city you should make a note to visit Inverness Castle, Inverness Museum and Art Gallery, the ‘stone of tubs’ and Mercat Cross especially the Castle Garrison Encounter, an interactive experience which is immensely enjoyable.

posted by Vacation Home Rentals on Mar 29

Once the British Empire’s second city, Liverpool has, since World War Two been in decline. In recent years there has been a dramatic increase in investment with the centre of the city undergoing regeneration. Liverpool was the European Capital of Culture for 2008 throughout the full twelve months there were countless events ranging from music concerts featuring world renowned artists to exciting exhibitions of art. With the European Capital of Culture year over what is there to attract tourists to this exciting city? Well there are many new Liverpool hotels which cater for all tastes. In the article below I take a close look at three tourist attractions in Liverpool.

Tate Liverpool

Located at the Liverpool’s waterfromt, as part of the Albert Dock complex, is Tate Liverpool. Since opening in 1988, the Tate, for a short time, was the largest gallery of contemporary and modern art in the United Kingdom, besides London. The Tate is a very popular tourist attraction in Liverpool, seeing over 600,000 visitors through its’ doors every year. The gallery is in one of the 5 converted warehouses orignally converted by James Stirling. However, the building had to undergo further refurbishment in1988 to create more gallery space. In 2007 the foyer was redesigned, giving the gallery a  more modern appearance and better proportions in the reception area.

Albert Dock

Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg, whom the docks were named after, opened the docks in 1846. The docks were extremely busy over the years,, but eventually had to close to shipping in 1972. For many years the docks lay derelict and quiet, until the 1980′s when they were redeveloped with funding from the Merseyside Development Corporation. The dock consisted of five warehouse buildings, all of which are Grade I listed, making the Albert Dock complex the largest set of Grade I listed building in the United Kingdom. The docks are now home to a selection of tourist attractions, including the Merseyside Maritime Museum and the Tate Liverpool.

Liverpool Anglican Cathedral

Liverpool is renowned for having two cathedrals: the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral and the Roman Catholic Metropolitan Cathedral. When John Charles Rye was assigned Bishop of Liverpool in 1880, ironically Liverpool did not have a cathedral at that time. Whereupon, after a lot of discussion, the powers that be decided that a cathedral was required. In 1902, they chose to hold an open competition for the design of the cathedral. The winning design was chosen in 1903, and astonishingly, was a design by student Giles Gilbert Scott, who had no previous construction experience. Another architect, George F. Bodley, was appointed to work with Scott, and oversee all construction works and designs. King Edward VII laid the foundation stone in 1904, and in 1910, the first part of the cathedral, the Lady Chapel, was finished.

Besides the 3 tourist attractions examined above Liverpool has a great many more. Not only this there are a great many more not too far away, perfect for a day visit. If you are planning to spend time in Liverpool you may wish to take a look at our web site which has a comprehensive list of Liverpool hotels and accommodation as well as a selection of unserviced and services apartments in Liverpool.