Vacation Home Rentals

posted by Vacation Home Rentals on May 9

The nation of Scotland is a outstanding destination in which to take a vacation. Scotland is suitable for an extensive selection of diverse vacations, featuring extensive regions of attractive countryside with excellent amounts of sites of outstanding natural beauty (perfect for hill-walkers, mountain climbers, ramblers, hikers and the likes). Scotland also features some of the smartest attractions, including, some of the most highly interesting museums and galleries in the British Isles, majestic beauty spots, fortified houses, historical buildings, stately homes and castles plus much more. Below I discuss the port of Stranraer.

The town of Stranraer is located in the district of Dumfries & Galloway in southerly Scotland, it is renowned for being the place where people can sail to Northern Ireland. Regrettably overwhelmingly tourists do not get to visit the local attractions in and around Stranraer. This fact is a bit of an enigma, if you get to the town, and reserve yourself a room in a bed & breakfast in Stranraer, a couple of days early you could see a selection of the local attractions prior to sailing to Belfast.

There are a selection of things to see and do in the port including the medieval town house known as the Castle of St John situated in the heart of Stranraer. The Castle of St John was constructed in the year fifteen ten as a residence for Ninian Adair of Kilhurst, the Laird of Wigtownshire. The castle was restored, in the years 1988/89, by the district council of Wigtown who opened it to the public in nineteen ninety.

Another place to visit close to the town of Stranraer is Castle Kennedy Gardens. The castle acts as the centrepiece of the garden which are situatedon a hill between 2 lochs (it is important to know that access to the ruined castle is no longer allowed. Castle Kennedy’s Gardens extend across 75 acres. If you want you can buy plants from a shop which has reared them from seeds gathered from the garden.

A further attractive tourist attraction to visit is Glenluce Abbey, about 7 miles from Stranraer. Even though it is in ruins (in truth the most ruined of three of Cistercian monasteries found in this region of Scotland) it has a superb 15th Chapter House. Other places worth visiting include, the Mull of Galloway, the Machars, Port Logan and Portpatrick.

If you are considering taking a Stranraer vacation you will be pleased to discover that there are a fair few Stranraer hotels. Please take a look at our comprehensive listings of hotels in Stranraer and guest house accommodation.

posted by Vacation Home Rentals on Nov 24

Increasing numbers of folk are deciding to take vacations closer to home this coming year. For the majority of us it is to save money but is this the correct decision or a dreadful error? Often most of us overlook the large number of local attractions but they are frequently brilliant and much better than those we would see elsewhere. People living in the United Kingdom have an enormous choice of vacation destinations each having a huge collection of first class tourist attractions to visit. In the following article I describe the English city of York and hotels in York.

York is found in the far north of England and was, once, the capital city of a huge kingdom covering most of northern England. With such an ancient city you will not be surprised to discover a large collection of incredibly historic buildings, but you may not expect the astounding sight of the 12th century Gothic York Minster.

The first York Minster was a small construction made of wood in which the Northumbrian King Edwin was, in the 7th century, baptised. It wasn’t until the time of the Normans that the first substantial building made of stone appeared on the site. Built by Thomas of Bayeux it was added to by Archbishop Roger who added a a south transept and a north transept. After many additions and alterations it was said to be complete and consecrated in 1472. Inside has the the world’s largest medieval stained glass window. York has other places to visit including; Barley Hall, the Jorvik Viking Centre, the National Railway Museum, the Roman Bath Museum and Fairfax House.

As well as all of the fantastic historic attractions mentioned earlier, the city of York is a superb place to spend an evening partying or enjoy the opera, theatre or live music. It that doesn’t excite you then you could visit a pub instead there are certainly plenty to choose from, to name but a few; The Royal Oak, The Snickleway Inn, Slug and Lettuce, the Old Star Inn and The Bluebell Inn, and, lastly, the Black Swan. Of all of them the Black Swan is most probably the best with an excellent atmosphere and sometimes having live music.

York Hotels

Like many other cities in the UK you will discover a massive variety of B&B accommodation in York ranging from cheap and cheerful guest houses to five star hotels. The Middlethorpe Hall hotel is a mere 2 miles from the city centre of York but provides superb accommodation with private gardens, gym, steam room and sauna, and it also offers massages. Other superb York hotels include; Bishops at 135 Holgate Road, Burn Hall Hotel, Parsonage Country House Hotel, Hotel du Vin and Bistro and the Marriott on Tadcaster Road and one of the finest guest houses is Crossways, or if you are looking for something different why not consider Marmadukes Boutique Hotel.

posted by Vacation Home Rentals on Oct 30

Think of Nottingham and nearly all people think of the legend of Robin Hood, his merry men and Sherwood Forest and even though the legend attracts many visitors annually there is much more to the city of Nottingham than your would think. Infact Nottingham is home to a respectable selection of super local attractions and it makes it a superb base for a vacation and the following article examines the city and a few of tourist attractions in and around Nottingham, as well as some guest houses offering Nottingham B&B accommodation.

Nottingham is Nottinghamshire, in the East Midlands, England. As well as the legend of Robin Hood, his band of merry men  and the Sheriff of Nottingham, the city is also widely known for lace making especially during the Industrial Revolution when it gained a worldwide reputation for excellence.

The Lace Market

At one time the heart of the worldwide lace industry, at the time of the British Empire, Nottingham’s Lace Market is, today, a protected heritage area. It  has a great many incredible examples of industrial architecture of the Nineteenth Century. The Lace Market was not like a normal market, as such, rather than featuring stalls and salespersons, the market was more a number of warehouses and salesrooms displaying and selling lace. After the collapse in the lace industry the Lace Market suffered terribly but, nowadays, most of the fine warehouses have been renovated for other purposes for example photographic studios and the likes. The Nottingham Lace Market is a popular tourist attraction.

Shire Hall & Galleries of Justice

Near to the Lace Market can be found the Galleries of Justice found in Shire Hall. The Hall is a Georgian-built building which features Neoclassical pilasters, columns and dome. The front of Shire Hall has, if you examine it carefully, a spelling error Goal instead of Gaol. Shire Hall has 2 excellently preserved courtrooms from the Victorian period plus old cells, a women’s prison, bath house, an Edwardian police station and a prisoner’s exercise yard.

Nottingham is a perfect place to have a short city break. You will find plenty to see and do within the city and a massive number of visitor attractions which are readily accessible. Places to visit include; Hardwick Hall, Newstead Abbey and Wollaton Hall.

As is common in all bed & breakfast accommodation in England, Nottingham accommodation is commonly top class at a fair price and many people choose to stay in Nottingham for only part of their break and then somewhere else for the remainder.