Set against the backdrop of the beautiful Cotswold Hills in rural Gloucestershire, Sudeley Castle incorporates the ruins of a medieval castle where only the banqueting hall, the tithe barn and the dungeon tower remain intact.

The castle we see today owes its existence to Emma, wife of John Coucher Dent. With the help of the famous architect Sir George Gilbert Scott, she restored the house and gardens to create a true reflection of their former glory.

When King Ethelred the Unready gave the manor house and estate at Sudeleagh to his daughter Goda, the sister of King Edward the Confessor, he started an association with the royal families of England that was to last until the end of the English Civil War.

During the War of the Roses, Sudeley became the property of the Crown when Edward IV granted the estate to his brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester who held the estate until 1478. When he acceded to the throne, as Richard III, in 1483, Richard took ownership of Sudeley for a second time. It was during this period that the magnificent Banqueting Hall and the now ruined State Rooms were built.

When Richard III was defeated and killed at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, the new King Henry VII granted the Sudeley estate to his uncle, Jasper Tudor, Duke of Bedford. When Jasper died in 1495 the property reverted back to the crown.

The Diamond Jubilee takes place in 2012 and marks 60 years of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. The Queen came to the throne on 6th February 1952 although her Coronation did not take place until 2nd June 1953.

To mark this unique occasion, a full programme of activities has been planned throughout the length and breadth of the United Kingdom.

There are several major events taking place in the early part of summer 2012.
 
The first is the Diamond Jubilee Pageant. In the presence of the Queen and other members of the Royal Family, this event takes place on the 10-13 May 2012 in the private grounds of Windsor Castle. Over the three nights over 800 international performers and 500 horses will provide dancing, music, military and equestrian displays to pay tribute to a very special anniversary.

Situated in the South of the Minho Region, Guimarães sees itself as the cradle of the nation of Portugal. It was the birthplace of the first king, Alfonso Henriques, in 1110 and first capital of the kingdom, then known as ‘Portucale’.
 
Although, it lost its position as capital to Coimbra, in 1143, its wealth of medieval monuments and attractive narrow streets has earned it UNESCO World Heritage status.

Guimarães can be reached by bus, car or train from Porto. When planning our visit, we found that there was a direct train but it stopped at every station enroute and we decided that car was the best travel option for us.

In 2012, Guimarães will be European Capital of Culture and it was clear when we arrived that every effort is being made to live up to the accolade. The roads were being repaired and building work was being carried out everywhere.

The Old Royal Naval College is the centrepiece of Maritime Greenwich a UNESCO World Heritage site, on the River Thames just downstream of the centre of London. It has been described as the finest and most dramatically sited group of buildings in the whole of the UK.
 
The current buildings were originally constructed to serve as the Royal Hospital for Seamen, which was designed by Christopher Wren, and built between 1696 and 1712. The hospital closed in 1869. In 1873 the complex became the Royal Naval College when the facility was moved from Portsmouth. It retained that role until 1998. The buildings are today occupied by the University of Greenwich and Trinity College of Music.

However, the Greenwich site was historically important well before Wren’s masterpiece was constructed because it was built on the site of the Royal Palace of Placentia.

About five years ago, I visited Porto on a business trip and promised to return and see exactly what it had to offer as a tourist destination. I have visited Portugal on numerous occasions since then but the closest I got to fulfilling my ambition was collecting a hire car at Porto Airport and crossing the River Douro on my way further south.

In June of this year, I booked a week’s holiday in Portugal with the aim of visiting Porto as part of a tour of the north of the country.  Rather than use a hotel in the centre of the city, we decided to stay at the Hotel Solverde Spa & Wellness Center at Sao Felix Da Marinha. I had visited the hotel before and knew that we would enjoy excellent facilities, service and good food.

The only 5 star Hotel by the beachfront in the North of Portugal, the Solverde is just 2 minutes by car from Espinho City, a bustling seaside resort, 15 minutes from the centre of Porto and only 30 km from the airport.

Like most visitors, we hired a car at the airport thinking that this was the easiest and most convenient way of getting around. We had under-estimate the excellence of the Portuguese public transport infrastructure and the difficulties of congestion, and parking, in a large city.

Ludlow Castle can be found in the heart of a bustling market town of Ludlow that owes its very existence to the magnificent structure. In the heart of the beautiful Shropshire countryside, the town boasts nearly 500 listed buildings and the original medieval street layout still survives to this day.

The title of Duke of Cambridge, gifted by Queen Elizabeth II to Prince William on his wedding day, was first officially recognised in 1664, when James Stuart, son of the Duke of York by his first wife, was granted the title. It is named after the English University city of Cambridge.

The city has a long connection with royalty. In 1068, only 2 years after his successful invasion, William the Conqueror visited and ordered a castle to be built. The original wooden structure was rebuilt in stone in the 12th century.

Nearly everyone knows the story of how, in 1599, Sir Francis Drake famously completed his game of bowls on Plymouth Hoe before engaging the Spanish Armada, but his connection with Devon goes back much further.

He was born in the county, near Tavistock, in around 1544 and it was from Plymouth that he sailed on the 13 December 1577 on a three year voyage to circumnavigate the world. During his journey he amassed great treasures for Queen Elizabeth I and she rewarded him with a knighthood and with gifts that made him extremely wealthy. This enabled him to buy a large house befitting his new found status. His choice was Buckland Abbey, near Yelverton around 11 miles from Plymouth.

A visit to Burghley House is a must for anybody who is interested in the Elizabethan period loves fine buildings, world renowned art collections, beautiful gardens and sweeping parkland.

Burghley delivers them all in one superb location in rural Lincolnshire.

The house was designed and built under the watchful eye of William Cecil, Lord High Treasurer to Queen Elizabeth I and arguably one of the most powerful men of the first Elizabethan era. 

UK based, Ambient Tours, has announced the launch of a ‘3 Cities Tour of Portugal’ as a major addition to its portfolio of cultural and heritage tours designed exclusively for the groups market. The seven day tour, that includes visits to the key cities Lisbon, Coimbra and Porto, will start in September 2011.

The cultural and heritage experience begins in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal which sits atop seven hills and faces the majestic Tagus River. It is a city of contrasts combining modern architecture with richly decorated palaces, picturesque renaissance churches, castles, monasteries, convents and impressive 18th century buildings and avenues. . The package includes visits to the main cultural and heritage sites in Lisbon and the surrounding area.

Malta’s Gargoyles & Gifts
What if a demon were to creep after you one night,
in your loneliest loneliness, and say,
“This life which you live must be lived by you
once again and innumerable times more,
and every pain and joy and thought and sigh
must come again to you, all in the same sequence.
Would you throw yourself down and gnash your teeth and curse that demon?
Or would you answer, “Never have I heard anything more divine?

Friedrich Nietzsche, 1844-1900

A little over two years ago, the management team of the Ambient Tours, a division of UK based Ambient Events Limited, decided to develop a range of tours to cater for the growing market of older, more affluent consumers.

Research indicated that these ‘Baby Boomers’ had both the time and the money to indulge themselves and were looking for activities to fulfil a requirement for real cultural and heritage experiences.