Holiday Attractions & Events

With a long and ghoulish history of body snatchers, witches, Jekyll and Hyde and things going bump in the night, Edinburgh is one of the ghostliest cities in the world. And with Halloween’s roots lying in the Celtic New Year festival of Samhain, where better to enjoy some truly blood-curling All Hallows fun?

Museums, galleries and historic sites in Scotland’s Forth Valley are providing a new way for visitors to explore the region with the launch of a free project called Forth’s Timeline.

The golden age of rugby is being celebrated in Bermuda. The 21st World Rugby Classic will take place on the idyllic island of Bermuda, 8 – 15 November 2008, featuring former top players once again representing their countries in an international competition.

From 16 to 19 October the Algarve will host the Portugal Masters, one the most important golf tournaments in the PGA European Tour. The tournament will be held in the prestigious Ocêanico Victoria Golf Course in Vilamoura.

Fans of Twiggles, Boggles and ThornyClods are filling their appetites for the mythical creatures after the launch of “The BeWILDerbats,” the sequel to “A Boggle at BeWILDerwood”, from Norfolk’s bestselling children’s author, Tom Blofeld and creator of Norfolk’s award winning adventure park, BeWILDerwood.

Glasgow’s newest and freshest food festival, OctoberFeast, launched in style this week with the city’s Lord Provost, Cllr Bob Winter, and Scotland’s very own celebrity chef, John Quigley, dining alfresco on Buchanan Street.

A 16th century Lake District camping barn has been given a new lease of life thanks to the Forestry Commission, YHA and a team of local craftsmen. The popular High Gillerthwaite Camping Barn in the Ennerdale valley has reopened to the public following a six month overhaul, which included a whole new timber roof donated by the Forestry Commission.

Explore England’s England and enjoy a number of wonderful celebrations taking place in Shakespeare Country in 2009. Celebrated for its unique heritage, great theatre and culture, glorious gardens, family activities, fantastic shopping and a variety of restaurants, tea rooms and pubs, Shakespeare Country provides the perfect destination for a short break or longer holiday. Detailed below are just some of the celebrations to be enjoyed.

Hadrian’s Wall Heritage Ltd has welcomed a £4 million* Stage One grant award from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to help the Vindolanda Trust transform the central section of Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland. The grant will enable the Trust to transform both Roman Vindolanda near Bardon Mill and the Roman Army Museum near Greenhead.

Shakespeare Country has raised over £250 as part of the 18th ‘World’s Biggest Coffee Morning’ held on Friday 26 September. All proceeds raised from the coffee morning have been donated to Macmillan Cancer Support which is hoping to raise £8.5 million nationally to help support more people living with cancer.

The world’s largest collection of whiskies arrived safely in Scotland this week and will soon be moved to its new home in Edinburgh. A specially designed vault is being created at the Scotch Whisky Experience to display the Diageo Claive Vidiz Scotch Whisky Collection. The vault is part of a £2million investment at the five-star tourist attraction on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile.

Frontier City, now celebrating its 50th Anniversary, has made AOL travel’s list of 10 Unique Theme Parks. Noting that “sometimes, the best surprises come in the most unexpected places,” the site highlights a number of these hidden gem locations that offer tons of family fun and unique attractions.

Film fanatics can experience the highlight of Holland’s autumn calendar, the Cinekid Festival, from just £49 with Stena Line this autumn. Every autumn over 35,000 children descend on Amsterdam for this annual film, television and new media festival, which takes place from 19 to 26 October 2008. Over the eight-day festival families will gather together to watch international films, child-friendly documentaries, animations and cross-media productions.

What better way to keep the kids occupied during Half Term than a visit to BeWILDerwood, the curious treehouse adventure park, in Norfolk? The Twiggles and Boggles have an inspired ‘Giggling Pumpkin Parade’ event from October 27th to 31st October 2008 and everyone is invited to come and giggle! And to top the spooks and goolies over Halloween, Tom Blofeld is launching his latest children’s book – BeWILDerBats!

Visits to visitor attractions in Britain have grown a further 3% in the last year, according to the 2007 Visitor Attractions survey from VisitBritain, the national tourism agency.

The arrival of a pair of twins at the Lakes Aquarium, near Newby Bridge, has caused a real stir amongst delighted visitors and members of the Aquarium's displays team, who just can't get enough glimpses of the fluffy, furry new additions to the Aquarium's 'family'.

The Festival of Music and Sacred Art in Rome aims at presenting the Foundation’s institutional activities which are the restoration of precious works of religious art housed in the patriarchal Roman basilicas where the concerts take place.

The St Lucia Food & Rum Festival 2009 – set to be a truly tantilising taste sensation – is back by popular demand for a third consecutive year, from Thursday 15th to Sunday 18th January 2009. The Festival is a four day Caribbean culinary experience, attracting some of the best chefs, wine and rum connoisseurs, mixologists, food critics and music fans from across the Caribbean and the globe.

VisitWiltshire Tourism Partnership officially launched this autumn to bring together accommodation providers, attractions, pubs, restaurants, event organisers, local food producers and all other authorities under one umbrella brand dedicated to promoting tourism to the county.

This autumn, see Iceland’s night sky light up with the natural phenomenon of the Northern Lights and the Imagine Peace Tower. And if you are very lucky – witness both the same time! Yoko Ono will return to Reykjavik on October 9 to relight her Imagine Peace Tower on Videy Island for its second year.

As the 2008 Noosa Triathlon Multi Sport Festival approaches, thousands of Australians and International visitors are about to gear up for the race known as the triathlon mecca. For some it will be their first race for others their annual journey they simply must take. Each year the Noosa Triathlon Multi Sport Festival sets new benchmarks and 2008 will be no different with triathlon entries already at capacity. With 6000 plus athletes having booked their places the event holds title as the second largest in the world.

Time magazine selected the Dodge City Roundup Rodeo, the "Greatest Show on Dirt," as the most authentic American experience in the whole state of Kansas. As part of the 50 most authentic experiences in the country, the Dodge City Roundup Rodeo was chosen to represent the state, joining attractions such as the Aurora Ice Museum in Alaska, Yellowstone in Montana and the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.

The arrival of autumn presents a new season of opportunity to visit and enjoy Britain's public gardens and in particular the spectacular displays of autumn colours. With this in mind TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel community, today announced the top 10 public gardens in Britain, according to traveller popularity and TripAdvisor editors.

Tickets to Alfred Brendel's concerts, scheduled in November during the Lucerne International Piano Festival, promise to be among the most sought-after ever. The renowned pianist will be making his final appearances before the public and European Rail guarantees an inside track to a block of the best seats in the building, Lucerne’s spectacular concert hall.

To celebrate the 10th Anniversary of BridgeClimb Sydney, on Wednesday 1st October 2008, 137 Climbers each carried a flag onto the arch of the world famous Sydney Harbour Bridge to represent every part of the world that Climbers have hailed from since BridgeClimb opened ten years ago.

With the world famous Oktoberfest beer festival in full swing and Britain a confirmed nation of beer lovers, Flight Centre’s expert travel consultants have put together a selection of packages to alternative beer and ale celebrations across the globe.

Moto, the UK's largest provider of Motorway Service Areas, has again teamed up with The National Forest to create a second gateway to this forest in the making. Visitors to Moto’s Tamworth Service Area at Junction 10 of the M42 can discover more about this bold environmental project that spans 200 square miles of Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Staffordshire.

Bristol, the largest city and regional capital of the South West of England, has in recent years undergone a renaissance, finding its heart and soul as never before. Yesterday, Bristol's transformation took another giant leap forward following the official unveiling of its latest development Cabot Circus.

Record breaking sportsman, Lance Armstrong, is to return to competitive racing, and in a colossal coup for South Australia, has announced that his first race will be “Tour Down Under” (Adelaide 18-25 January 2009), the first Pro Tour event on the world cycling calendar (tourdownunder.com.au).