Tag: UK holidays

A slow-travel journey along the North Wales Way reveals hidden gems

 

 

A summer assignment for Wanderlust Magazine took me on a slow-travel odyssey along the North Wales Way.

It’s one of three new routes devised by Visit Wales to look afresh at regions most people think they already know.

In terms of North Wales, visitors often drive from the North Wales border outside Chester to the tip of Anglesey in a day. But they’re missing out.

Here’s a flavour of my feature:

Unesco-listed castles and picture-postcard villages; stone-skimming beaches and ancient Celtic sites; plus, some of the best in local produce from independent food champions proud of their region’s natural bounty. It’s time to look afresh at North Wales.

The journey took in the new interpretation at Caernarfon Castle [pictured above], Plas Newydd on Anglesey and Beddglert before heading onto Conwy and Llandudno.

My trip ended with a preview of Skyflier, the much-anticipated new attraction in Rhyl from the Zip World group.

Over coffee pre departure. founder Sean Taylor enthused:

“Rhyl is a sleeping giant. It was the bucket-and-spade seaside town of my childhood but could become North Wales’ answer to New Zealand’s South Island.”

Read the full feature, Waking a Sleeping Giant, in the new issue of Wanderlust Magazine here.

How to explore the traditional seaside town of Criccieth in Wales

A trip to Criccieth, the old-school seaside town in North Wales, earlier in the summer.

The assignment for the i Newspaper formed part of a summer series about classic British resorts.

The story was published last weekend and outlines ideas for a weekend away by the seaside, including a visit to Criccieth’s historic castle [pictured above] and dining at Dylan’s restaurant.

Plus, I popped into nearby Portmeirion, the fairytale village that will celebrate its centenary in 2026.

Read the full story via the i Newspaper Criccieth: the North Wales seaside town with a craggy castle

Why the Chester Mystery Plays should be on your cultural radar this summer

Players, makers and stitchers of the 2023 Chester Mystery Plays Company (image: Chester Mystery Plays).

The Chester Mystery Plays return to Chester Cathedral this summer, the season coinciding with the Chester Heritage Festival.

The production comprises a huge cast of professional and non-professional performers (pictured above), many volunteering for roles on stage, in the choir, or behind the scenes.

I wrote a preview of the production, based around an interview with the actor Nick Fry, who shares the role of God with a female actor this summer.

The 24 plays, based on Bible stories, form an overarching narrative from The Creation to The Last Judgement, and are performed on a five-year cycle in Chester.

They originated in the city in 1300s, with small-scale church productions and a script in Latin. By the 1400s, the plays had been adopted by the Crafts Guilds, bodies of local tradesmen like a modern-day trade union, to be staged and performed in Middle English.

The plays formed part of the three-day Feast of Corpus Christi Fair with the players performing on pageant carts and the audience standing at fixed points around the city, such as The Cross and Abbey Gateway — locations still there today.

The Plays became associated with bawdy crowd behaviour and were banned after the Reformation, with last performance in Chester in 1578; making Chester home to the longest-running cycle in medieval times.

But the plays returned to the city as part of the 1951 Festival of Britain, and have been performed at Chester Cathedral since 2013.

Nick Fry, says:

“The Chester Mystery Plays reflect the history of both the cathedral and the city. And it’s a living history. The plays are steeped in history, yet remain of the community and for the community.”

Read the full article via The Church Times, The play that unites the city of Chester.

More info and booking: Chester Mystery Plays.

Why boutique Shrewsbury should be on your UK-staycation radar this year

A winter weekend in Shrewsbury? No, really.

My first assignment of the new year took me to the Shropshire market town for a UK staycation.

The town is closely associated with the story of the naturalist Charles Darwen, Shrewsbury’s most famous son [pictured above].

It hosts an annual festival of natural sciences, coinciding with the February 12 birthday of man whose 1859 book, On the Origin of Species, forms the basis of our understanding of evolution.

“Darwen was a human being with human failings, but he simply couldn’t stop himself asking questions all his life,” says Jon King, whose book, Charles Darwin in Shrewsbury – The Making of a Marvellous Mind was recently published by Amberley Publishing.

But the town is also booming as a hub for independent businesses with boutique galleries, cafes and shops doing a busy trade, notably along historic Wyle Cop.

The historic market town, set within a loop of the River Severn, first made its money from the wool industry in Tudor times.

Today the half-timbered shopfronts of Wyle Cop, said to be the street with the longest uninterrupted row of independent shops in the country, are again alive with home-grown businesses.

“Shrewsbury is booming with quirky, independent businesses,” says local shopkeeper, Simon Perks. “Like a rubber band, it keeps bouncing back.”

Read the full story via Telegraph Travel, Visitors Thought Shrewsbury was like Middle Earth for years