Holidays in Scotland: escorted tailor-made tours

Recommended driver with large vehicle for touring Scotland: Unique Tours Scotland

Every now and again I come across people or companies I would selfishly like to keep to myself (because they are good!)… but I won’t, I’ll share them with you.

One is one small company in Scotland called Unique Tours Scotland, run by Lindsay Mann: he organises tailor-made tours around Scotland, plus B&B accommodation if required.

Lindsay knows Scotland like the back of his hand so if you want to discover ‘hidden’ Scotland, get away from the crowds, find the best scenery, enjoy being driven around Scottish whisky distilleries, or go golfing with your mates, contact Lindsay Mann on +44 (0)7790 399 350.

For more information about touring Scotland on a tailor-made tour, visit www.uniquetoursscotland.com.

Discover the alternative Caribbean

Active Caribbean – an online guide to the adventure and action side of the Caribbean

Did you know I am developing a website on the ‘alternative’ Caribbean? It’s coming along nicely, thank you… lots of interest being shown.

A walk on the wild side! (Image copyright Linda Jackson)

Editorial content is being prepared and uploaded on a daily basis so bear with me while this is happening!

Fun in the sun (Image copyright Linda Jackson)

There’s so much more to the Caribbean than sun, sea, sand, rum punches and sun loungers. Why not explore it by taking an adventure vacation in the hidden Caribbean?

Time has little importance in the Exumas (Image copyright Linda Jackson)

Forget the beaches, it’s time to check out the alternative adventure side of the Caribbean – so get active now with Active Caribbean >>

Great Golf Magazine

Appointment as Associate Editor

Having just joined the Team of Great Golf Magazine, I should introduce you to the publication…

Great Golf Magazine - 1st issue

This glossy upmarket golf & lifestyle magazine is a quality perfect-bound consumer publication and, believe it or not, it’s free. You’ll find it hard to believe when you see the quality.

Great Golf Magazine - 2nd issue

You’ll find the next issue of the magazine (due out at the beginning of May) in such places as British Airways and Virgin Atlantic VIP lounges, at top golf resorts, in P&O Ferries and at exclusive golf clubs… to name but a few of the prestigious venues on our distribution list.

For more information on Great Golf Magazine check out the website here >>

Photography holiday in Scotland

Want a creative, inspirational and motivational reason to take a break in Scotland? How about a photography holiday in Scotland – the spectacular Scottish landscapes and awesome views are hard to beat.

If only the renowned Scottish mathematician and physicist James Clerk Maxwell, who presented some of the first permanent colour photographs back in 1861, could see colour photography as it is today he’d be in his element.

A splash of Scottish colour (Image copyright Linda Jackson)

Just imagine the delight of the Scottish pioneering photographer-geographer John Thomson if, back in the late 1800s/early 1900s, he’d been given the advantages of digital photography when he first visited the Far East, an exotic destination where very few photographers had travelled before him.

Kitesurfing, East Lothian (Image copyright Linda Jackson)

Times have certainly changed since the 19th century, yet still today Scotland can boast of its famous photographers, two in particular: Harry Benson CBE, a Glasgow born photographer famous for his photographs of U.S. Presidents, The Beatles, Elizabeth Taylor, the Clintons, and Michael Jackson.

Castles galore in Scotland (Image copyright Linda Jackson)

Fellow Scot Albert Watson, born in Edinburgh, is also an influential Scottish photographer, renowned for his cover images on Vogue magazine as well as for stunning fashion, art and celebrity photographs; his creative work is found in galleries worldwide.

Capturing the beauty of people on camera is one angle that not many will achieve with such outstanding success as Benson and Watson, but capturing the beauty of Scotland’s landscapes on camera is achievable, promising rich rewards and considerable pleasure to amateur photographers amongst us.

Read the full article about taking a photographic break in Scotland here >>

Recipes for Christmas Cava cocktails

Cava, Champagne and sparkling wine cocktails for Christmas festivities, birthday celebrations and special occasions

Check out my website – www.linda-jackson.co.uk – for 20 cool recipes for Cava cocktails for your Christmas celebrations. They’ll add a touch of fizz to your festivities and are great Christmas cocktails whether using Cava, Champagne or sparkling wine. Enjoy!

Click here to go direct to the page containing 20 Cava cocktails recipes >>

Christmas & Hogmanay in Scotland

Start Christmas festivities in Scotland with a pop and Hogmanay celebrations with a bang this year and take a break in Scotland for Christmas and the New Year to find out just how much fun you’ll be missing if you don’t…

Inverlochy, a member hotel of Luxury Scotland

The hype is building. Christmas decorations have been glistening in the shops for a month or two, Christmas wish lists are being drafted, enchanting Christmas shows are selling out fast, and festive fairs in Scotland are promising to sparkle even more this year.

Marcliffe Hotel & Spa, a member of Luxury Scotland

Skating rinks, Christmas markets, Ferris wheels and fairground rides are coming out of mothballs.

Santa – who strangely seems to be everywhere at once these days – is getting prepared for all those spellbound children he’ll have sitting on his knee at countless ‘visit Santa’ appearances in Scotland.

Christmas winter wonderland in Scotland is undeniably nigh.

Read the full article written by Travel Writer Linda Jackson as published in www.luxuryscotland.co.uk by clicking here >>

Caribbean rib boat tours & adventure in Grenada

Diving with the she-devil is not an activity anyone would expect to take on during a visit to an exotic island in the Caribbean. But what the hell, sometimes you have no alternative but to go with the flow – in this case underwater.

Twin-engine rib boat rides in the Caribbean

Getting to the sculpture park diving site and speeding through the water like a bat out of hell in a powerful twin-engine rib boat adds to the thrill as passengers clutch tightly to the handlebars of their jockey seat. It’s hellishly fast.

What a surreal experience it is when the Devil Woman’s face, hidden beneath the wide brim of a hat, is a skeleton that can only be observed by literally getting up-front-and-personal.

Grenada sculpture park diving/snorkelling site

Exploring the Underwater Sculpture Park in Grenada, home to 65 sculptures in all, is mesmerising. Either diving or snorkelling the sculpture park is totally surreal: it was created by sculptor Jason Taylor from England whose ocean floor works of art depict the island’s colourful history and folklore.

A line of heads sit on the coral here, a large circle of life-sized people holding hands there. A man sits at a desk typing and, of course, there’s that cloven-hoofed she-devil who is despised by women but enchanting to men. According to Grenada folklore that is.

Caribbean adventure vacations & activity holidays

Diving and snorkelling in the sculpture park is just one adventure vacation option in Grenada, there are plenty more adventure travel options if you’re planning to take an active holiday on the Caribbean island of Grenada.

Find out more about adventure holidays in Grenada and read the full article on adventure holidays in Grenada here >> 

For more information about active Caribbean adventure travel and activity holidays go to this Active Caribbean website >>

Visit Scotland’s historic castles

Boasting more than its fair share of castles, thanks to a turbulent past, Scotland today can offer rich historical pickings to its many visitors. Dotted around the country are formidable strongholds set atop dramatic cliffs, tower houses in varying states of ruin, ancient artillery fortifications, moated bastions, and well preserved medieval castles.

Tantallon Castle, Bass Rock in background - Image copyright Linda Jackson

Yes…  Scotland’s castles were undoubtedly well worth a tussle or two in days gone by. Today the castles in Scotland are well worth a somewhat more welcomed visit.

Edinburgh Castle, Image copyright Linda Jackson

Just choose any region in Scotland and within a few miles you can bet your bottom dollar that you’ll come across the remains of a stronghold still clinging to the cliff edge, a medieval castle ruin perched atop a hill, a tower house not quite as towering as it was in its glory days, a well-preserved fortress sitting on a loch-side, or a magnificent castle fully intact and open to visitors year-round.

St Andrews Castle, Image copyright Linda Jackson

Read this article (October 2011 newsletter) in full on the Luxury Scotland website – http://www.luxuryscotland.co.uk/newsletter/index.html – and discover excellent reasons why you should delve further into Scotland’s captivating past…

Culzean Castle, Image copyright Linda Jackson

Family Holidays in Florida

Swimming with dolphins at Discovery Cove

You’d think swimming with dolphins was just for little kids wouldn’t you?

Wrong!

I couldn’t wait to be kissed by the dolphins; they all seemed to be smiling and loving what they did. I prefer seeing them in the wild I confess, but what a treat for a day out if you’re taking the family on a holiday in Florida.

Theme park family vacations at Universal Studios Orlando

Stay at Universal Studios Orlando - the theme park at Universal is AMAZING, the hotels are geared up to families of course, and now Harry Potter has come onto the scene. Take a day trip out of the resort to swim with the dolphins at Discovery Cove.

It’s not cheap but worth every penny… and every kiss.

Find out more about swimming with dolphins at Discovery Cove >>

Find out more about family holidays at Universal Studios Orlando >>

Nature trails & natural parks in Scotland

There’s no better way to enjoy the sights, sounds and smells of Scotland than to escape to the country and explore Scotland’s National Nature Reserves and National Parks – a veritable feast for your senses. That’s a promise.

Discover undisturbed wildernesses, waddling puffins, seabirds and seals, and carpets of wildflowers on woodland floors.

There are crags and gorges, glens and Bens, plus marshes, bogs, lochs and sand dunes to explore when you take a Scottish nature break or eco-holiday in Scotland. What could be better than spending days exploring Scotland’s wilderness, and nights  wallowing in the wide range of luxury boutique hotels that Scotland boasts.

You’ll be spoiled for choice.

Read this full article on the Luxury Scotland website - www.luxuryscotland.co.uk – see GOING GREEN newsletter >>

Adventure travel holidays in Oman

She looked mysterious and intriguing, her hair and face hidden from view by the burqa which many Omani women wear. Gold bracelets jingled on her wrists and her dark brown eyes smiled from behind the traditional black mask as she gently placed a similar one over my face hoping I would buy one.

Gul village

Batgirl gone wrong?

Now I come to think about it – having seen the photograph – rather than giving me a demure smile I’m convinced she was trying hard to muffle a hearty laugh as, instead of looking mysterious and exciting, I looked like Batgirl gone wrong.

Silver Omani khanjars

Camel train, Wahiba Sands

How strange it is to mingle in the narrow streets of the ancient souk (market) with men in their long white dishdashas (long white robes worn by Muslim men) and walk alongside women draped in their jet black abbayas and shielding burqas (a long cloak-like garment and a mask that covers nose and mouth); to hear the dulcet tones of the muadhdhin calling worshippers to the mosque to pray, to listen to the bubble of sheesha pipes being puffed in quiet corners, and to smell burning frankincense wafting through the maze of alleyways.

Hotels are chic in Oman

Sophisticated piano bar

…And then to return to a modern sumptuous hotel oozing luxury from every nook and cranny – rich Persian carpets and shimmering marble under foot, twinkling crystal chandeliers above; to savour canapés and cocktails in the trendy Piano Bar, and to see bikini-clad women fooling around on the beach or laying prostrate on poolside sun-beds topping up tans which had overflowed days before.

Dhow boat building yard

Bilad Sayt

But how enjoyable it is… to soak up the sun especially in January and February when it hibernates in the UK but is in full bloom in the Sultanate of Oman – a fascinating country which only opened its doors to the West after the present ruler, Qaboos bin Said Al Said, overthrew his tyrannical father in a bloodless palace coup in 1970.

Explore Oman… it’s a country so diverse it is likely to captivate you - as it has me.

For more information on Oman click here >>

For details of adventure holidays in Oman and adventure travel in Oman click here >>

Harry Potter steam train to Hogwarts

We all know where Platform 9 3/4 is don’t we? But where exactly is the famous train that Harry Potter and his school friends get to Hogwarts… well, it’s in Scotland and the Jacobite steam train (aka Hogwarts Express) will take you over the much-viewed viaduct seen in Harry Potter films.

Hogwarts train in Harry Potter films

The line from Fort William in Scotland to Mallaig on the west coast has become famous since the Harry Potter films.

If you want to travel on the steam train yourself and enjoy views of the famous ‘Harry Potter’ viaduct, then make sure you travel First Class to make the most of your trip down Harry Potter’s memory lane.

First Class means little lamps on tables, coffee cups on the ready, a little bit of pampering - all rather refined and memorable.

Not so in 2nd Class! Whatever the extra cost to travel First…. it’s worth it so as not to shatter your Harry Potter dreams.

Book well in advance, it’s a popular route. Don’t do as I did and take the scheduled train from Fort William to Mallaig one-way (although it’s a fraction of the cost of the Jacobite and far less crowded) as times do not fit in with the ‘Harry Potter train’ and means hours of time wasting in not-very-much-to-do-Mallaig before the return trip on the HP steam train.

The Hogwarts ‘Express’ takes its time; stopping off at a couple of places to add to the scenic enjoyment of the day… all very nice if the weather is fine. But it ‘s likely only to stop on the outward bound journey. Most people book the return trip so no matter.

Viaduct frequented by Harry Potter train to Hogwarts

If it’s blowing a gale and the rain is lashing down (as it was when I was on the Jacobite train recently) then be prepared for a long journey… on my Harry Potter ‘experience’ the steam train could not get up the hill and took hours to get back from Mallaig to Fort William.

Everyone on board was wishing that Harry Potter would come up with a spell to end the prolonged journey. No such luck (even Harry Potter didn’t have a spell against alien wet leaves on rail tracks).

Nevertheless, all quite magical really – at least for those passengers lucky enough to travel in First Class I should imagine!

For more information on the steam train known as Hogwarts Express, featured in Harry Potter films, click here >>