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I live near Nottingham and travel extensively in the UK (both work and leisure). My first love has always been the Lake District. I'm a hillwalker and love the Lakeland fells as well as the Scottish hills. My passion is for grand glaciated scenery - after these sort of mountains a lot of landscapes seem lacking in wow factor.
As well as enjoying independent travel I like (informal, budget) cruises and think they're a good way to see a lot of places with a minimum of exhaustion. Don't necessarily dismiss cruises - there's a certain appeal to waking up in a new place without having to pack or sit on a plane/bus/train for hours. Admittedly you don't get to immerse yourself in the local culture, but there are some parts of the world where a quick look is enough and you'd be happy to return to a decent bed and safe food. ...But I wouldn't want to see the whole world that way.
I know the Lake District and Scotland well. Post any questions at my talk page.
Lakeland Top Ten: stroll by the lake at sunset at Keswick, climb Great Gable on Remembrance Sunday, enter the Cathedral Cave at Little Langdale, ride the lake steamer on Ullswater, walk round Crummock Water for lunch at the Fish Hotel in Buttermere, walk the sculpture trails in Grisedale Forest, explore industrial architecture in the Coniston Coppermines, walk up a thirst and enjoy a lunchtime drink in the Britannia at Elterwater, enjoy the leaf-dappled light along the River Derwent in summertime, get a Wainwright book and walk a ridge-walk for that "on top of the world" feeling.
Scotland Top Ten: take a boat trip to Staffa, drive through Glencoe, walk the West Highland Way, ride the Corryvreckan Whirlpool, climb the Sgurr of Eigg, tour the Speyside distilleries, visit Kinloch Castle on the Isle of Rum, tour Balmoral Castle, see the eco-architecture at the Findhorn Foundation, and ride the scenic West Highland Railway.
Andy's List
editA work in progress, this is my list of places I think you should see in your lifetime.
? means I've not yet been there to check if it's worthy of inclusion!
In no particular order:
- Glencoe
- Staffa
- Orkney - the Ring of Brodgar and Skara Brae
- The English Lake District - ridgewalking on the fells
- Portmeirion
- Iceland - the Golden Circle and the Blue Lagoon spa
- Venice
- Rome
- London
- Paris
- Hong Kong
- Chichen Itza
- Queenstown - the Remarkables
- Mount Ruapehu
- St Petersburg
- Sigiriya, Sri Lanka
- The Pyramids
- The Temple of the Tooth, Kandy, Sri Lanka
- Swim in a Yucatan Cenote
- Sail down the Norwegian fjords
- Stingray City, Grand Cayman
- Fox & Franz Josef Glaciers, NZ
- Chernobyl
- St Basil's Cathedral, Moscow
- Dubai?
- Rio de Janeiro?
- Machu Picchu?
- Stromboli?
- Piz Gloria & the Schilthorn?
- The Nazca Lines?
- The Taj Mahal?
- The Golden Temple of Amritsar?
- Pulpit Rock, Norway?
- The Lofoten Islands?
Worth Seeing, Perhaps Not Worth Going To See
editA lesser list but still good!
- San Francisco
- The Grand Canyon
- Oslo
- Stockholm
- Stonehenge
- Helsinki
- Tallinn
- Riga
- Copenhagen
- Edinburgh
- Loch Lomond
- Isle of Eigg
- Luxembourg City & catacombs
- Monte Carlo
- Lucerne
- Amsterdam
- Trondheim
- Bay of Islands
- Macau
- Bangkok
- Rocky Mountain National Park
- Christchurch, NZ
- Rotorua
- Barcelona - Gaudi architecture
- Glasgow - Charles Rennie Mackintosh architecture
- Napier, NZ - art deco architecture
- Plitvice Lakes NP, Croatia
- Budapest
- Angkor Wat