Von Portsmouth nach Dublin

Portsmouth is a port city and naval base on England’s south coast, mostly spread across Portsea Island. It’s known for its maritime heritage and Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. The dockyard is home to the interactive National Museum of the Royal Navy, the wooden warship HMS Victory, where Nelson died in the Battle of Trafalgar, and HMS Warrior 1860. The Tudor ship Mary Rose is also conserved in a dockyard museum.

Sark is a part of the Channel Islands in the southwestern English Channel, off the coast of Normandy, France. It is a royal fief, which forms part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, with its own set of laws based on Norman law and its own parliament. It has a population of about 500. Sark has an area of 2.10 square miles.

For many visitors Tresco is the most attractive of the Isles of Scilly. This is especially due to its Abbey Garden, which is home to thousands of exotic plant species from around 80 different countries. Plant collector Augustus Smith began the gardens in the 1830s on the site of an old Benedictine Abbey by channelling the weather up and over a network of walled enclosures built around the Priory ruins. He had three terraces carved from the rocky south slope and maximised Tresco’s mild Gulf Stream climate. View less Even in mid-winter there still are hundreds of plants flowering here. Another surprising attraction at the Abbey Garden is the collection of figureheads from ships that wrecked among the Isles of Scilly.

Scattered 30 miles offshore from England’s most south-westerly point – Land’s End – the Isles of Scilly are home to rich wildlife, and green land sloping to powdery white beaches. The Isles of Scilly’s biggest island harbours around 1,600 people – roughly three-quarters of the total population – and is one of five occupied islands. Isolated and serene, life here hums along at its own pace in this archipelago’s bubble, which enjoys the UK’s mildest climate, and some of its most spectacular beaches. View less

Hugh Town is the centre of St Mary’s, and you’ll be warmly welcomed by the incredibly tight-knit local community. A peaceful place, watch out when the waters are suddenly parted by the competition of gig racing – the island’s sporting pride and joy – which sees teams competing in colourful rowboats. Elsewhere, catch sight of Atlantic seals and seabirds like puffins and fulmars, along nine miles of coastline. You can also spot the ghostly shipwrecks strewn around the island’s waters, and the 140 islands and skerries that have made treacherous sailing historically. There’s a dense collection of historical sites that belies the islands’ small size – from a former prime minster’s grave to star-shaped fortresses. Tresco Abbey Garden is one of the UK’s most vibrant gardens, with diverse plants bathing in the warmer climate and over 300 species on display. Taste the rewards of the mild weather with a glass of wine from England’s most south-westerly vineyard.

Kinsale is a town on the southern coast of Ireland, in County Cork. Two 17th-century fortresses overlook the River Bandon: the vast, star-shaped Charles Fort to the southeast, and the smaller James Fort on the river’s opposite bank. The 16th-century courthouse building houses the Kinsale Regional Museum, with a variety of displays on local history and information about the 1915 sinking of the RMS Lusitania

If you have ever wanted to imbibe in the Celtic legends of your past, then Kilronan is the answer to your prayers. Situated on the isle of Inishmore in the Aran Islands in County Galway, Cill Rónáin – the official Gaelic spelling – is all about history, spirituality and the kind of rejuvenation that can only be found on Irish soil. The first thing you should know about the Aran Isles is that they are exceptionally beautiful. View less National Geographic called them “one of the world’s top island destinations” and they are universally recognised as being the “islands of saints and scholars”. Windswept moors and craggy cliffs akin to a Victorian novel flank rolling seas that are Dantesque in their raw power. This is where nature comes home to roost (not to mention the 60,000 seabirds that call the islands their home). Inishmore (Inis Mor) is the biggest island of the archipelago, and as such has the most interesting Celtic history. Over 50 Celtic, Christian and pre-Christian sites are on Inishmore alone (with others on the other two islands that make up the rest of the archipelago). The most important of these site is perhaps the prehistoric fort of Dún Aonghasa, “the most magnificent barbaric monument extant in Europe”. Perched precariously on a 100-metre-high cliff, the fort dates back 3,000 years and is one of Ireland’s most ancient and sacred sites. Little is known of the history of Dún Aonghasa, not who Dún Aonghasa may have been, but a placing so close to the sea edge suggests ritualistic significance.

“They go to the cliffs of Moher rising out of the mist” … these words, written by great American poet Wallace Stevens, immortalised the cliffs of Moher in the best way imaginable. Romantic, wild, mysterious and beautiful, the cliffs of Moher are to Ireland what poetry is to prose. Located at the south western edge of County Clare, the 300-million-year-old cliffs stretch for 14 km. They are by far the country’s most visited landmark, welcoming an astonishing 1.5 million visitors annually.

The vistas are exceptional, and understandably the pride of Ireland. On a good day you can see for miles: all the way to the Aran Islands, Galway Bay, the caves, O’Brien’s tower and of course the many miles of cliffs themselves. Birdwatchers will be doubly blessed, as Moher is designated as a UNESCO Geo Park and enjoys a Special Protection status. Get your binoculars at the ready as the cliffs are filled with thousands of Guillemots, Razorbills, Fulmars and Kittiwakes, as well as the largest mainland colony of Puffins. The beautiful cliffs are rich with history and legend. Two theories surround why Irish Politician Sir Cornelius O’Brien commissioned his eponymous tower in 1835. The most common belief is that so he (and others) could benefit from the stunning views the cliffs have to offer. The more salacious believe that the tower was a place away from prying eyes for O’Brien to bring his lady friends! Whatever the reason, today the viewing platform on the roof still offers one of the best coastal views there is.

Großbritannien

Inveraray is a town in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is on the western shore of Loch Fyne, near its head, and on the A83 road. It is a former royal burgh, the traditional county town of Argyll, and ancestral home to the Duke of Argyll.

Großbritannien

Die Highlands im nördlichen Teil von Schottland sind für ihre traumhafte Szenerie bekannt, die aus einer Landschaft voller dramatischer Bergketten und bewaldeten Hügeln besteht. Diese Region ist auch von großer historischer Bedeutung und voller Legenden, wie zum Beispiel das sagenumwobene Ungeheuer von Loch Ness. Jahrhunderte lang war Schottland der Erzfeind Englands. Dann, im Jahre 1603, wurde James VI von Schottland zu James I von England gekrönt, womit die erste politische Vereinigung der zwei Länder vonstatten ging. Trotz dieser Verbindungen konnte sich der schottische Nationalismus erhalten. Der Widerstand wurde erst im Jahre 1746 beendet, als Bonnie Prince Charlie in einem traurigen, aber heroischen Versuch die Krone zurückzufordern, in der Schlacht von Culloden besiegt wurde. Dies änderte die Struktur der Highlands für immer. Die mächtigen Clans wurden entwaffnet; viele Jahre lang war es verboten einen Kilt zu tragen, da der Kilt als Symbol für den schottischen Stolz gesehen wurde. Seit dem wird Schottland von London aus regiert. Die Hebriden, oder auch Western Isles genannt, sind eine Inselgruppe bestehend aus 500 kleinen und größeren Inseln vor der Westküste Schottlands im Atlantischen Ozean gelegen, von denen nur ungefähr einhundert bewohnt werden. Sie werden in die Inneren und die Äußeren Hebriden unterteilt. Die Inneren Hebriden bestehen aus Skye, Mull, Islay und Jura. Die Äußeren Hebriden beinhalten Lewis und Harris, North und South Uist, Benbecula, Barra, Saint Kilda und die Flannan Islands. Das Archipel überspannt ein Gebiet von ungefähr 7,200 Quadratmetern. Die meisten der Inseln werden von einer spärlichen Vegetation bedeckt und können sich mit einem mehr oder weniger milden Klima rühmen. Der Tourismus, die Schaf- und die Rinderzucht und auch die Herstellung von Textilien sind die wichtigsten Einkommensquellen. Das berühmteste Exportgut ist ohne Zweifel der wundervolle Harris Tweed.

Reborn as a cool, modern city, Belfast has successfully left its troubles behind, emerging as a hotbed of culture and architecture, where the comfort of a cosy pub is never far away. Take a voyage of discovery in its maritime quarter, home to a celebrated museum dedicated to the most famous ship ever built, which was constructed right here in the city’s shipyards. A walk across the Lagan Weir Footbridge brings you to Belfast’s fascinating Titanic District – an area of the city devoted to its rich ship-building heritage. The state-of-the-art Titanic Museum brings the story of the doomed vessel to life, and is the largest museum dedicated to the infamously ‘unsinkable’ ship. Wind up a nautical-themed ramble along the Maritime Mile with a visit to SS Nomadic, the smaller cousin of the Titanic, and a ship which serves as a fascinating time capsule back to the pomp and grandeur of the Titanic, while also telling its own stories of service in both World Wars. There’s just enough time to give the 10-metre long Salmon of Knowledge sculpture a quick peck for luck, before continuing to explore. A stark barbed wire and graffitied sheet metal barrier marks an abrupt scar through the city’s residential areas. The Peace Line was constructed during the height of the Troubles, when Belfast was plagued by sectarian divisions between Protestants and Catholics. Nowadays, you can jump in a black taxi tour to see the colourful murals and living history of the walls, which stand as a stark reminder of the fragility of peace. After exploring the city’s historic divisions, a reminder of Belfast’s uniting creativity can be found at the Metropolitan Arts Centre – a seven-storey tall building, which invites light to gloriously cascade inside. The Cathedral Quarter is a cobbled blend of flower-adorned pubs, restaurants and theatres, and venues where music spills out onto the streets at night, and many a pint is cheerily shared.

Dublin, die Hauptstadt der Republik Irland, kann sich mit einer der reizendsten Landschaften ganz Europas rühmen. Die Stadt liegt an der weitläufigen Dublin Bay und wird im Norden von der Felserhebung Howth Head geschützt. Der Fluss Liffey fließt direkt durch das Zentrum der Stadt und kann aufgrund der vielen Brücken, die einen einzigartigen Stil vorweisen können, an unzähligen Stellen überquert werden.