Scotland’s “RockNess 2012″ to rock with Popular Artists!
This year, Scotland will witness the famous artists playing the rhythm of their music talents. Biffy Clyro, Mumford & Sons and singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran are to appear at this summer’s RockNess music festival.
Others popular ones for the Highlands music event include electronic act Deadmau5 and dance music act Justice. RockNess will be held from 8 to 10 June 2012.
Sheeran is nominated for best male, breakthrough act, best single and best album at next month’s Brit Awards. Biffy Clyro were at RockNess in 2009 and the Scottish band will headline June’s festival at Dores, close to the shores of Loch Ness.
Band members Simon Neil, Ben Johnston and James Johnston were looking forward to perform again at the site near Inverness.
The festival’s organisers expect to make further announcements on other bands and singers to appear.
Scotland Cities rated high for Overseas Visitors
Britain’s big industrial towns, including Glasgow and Edinburgh, are becoming tourist magnets for overseas visitors, according to a survey.
Edinburgh topped along with London in the list of UK cities most visited by overnight-staying foreign residents. Glasgow lags not behind but among cities proving popular destinations. This is found out according to the latest survey by an organisation called VisitBritain.
Based on average annual figures for city visits from 2006 to 2009, the statistics showed that Edinburgh has 1.3 million visits from overseas residents a year and Glasgow with a figure of 687,000.
For visits purely for holiday purposes, London topped the list with 6.65 million overnight-stay visits, followed by Edinburgh with 771,000, Glasgow with 312,000, Inverness with 180,000 and other cities followed.
Patricia Yates, VisitBritain strategy and communications director, said that the survey confirms an astonishing transformation of the country’s industrial heartlands has taken place. They have become dynamic, stylish international destinations that are increasingly beloved of foreign visitors. She also added that each city has its own speciality that attracts the visitors. Glasgow is famous with its unique architecture. While, countryside and coastal views has become Scotland’s style capital-Edinburgh.”
VisitBritain based its figures on Office for National Statistics’ international passenger survey figures in which around 200,000 travellers were questioned between 2006 and 2009.
Exciting Coach Holiday options in Scotland
If you are planning to take a well deserved Scottish break, think beyond the lochs, the skiing and the mountains for a change this holiday. Coach holidays in Scotland would be a refreshingly new experience. The interesting things to do in Scotland, spectacular sights around and not even a single moment to get bored, coach holidays have evolved to be one of the most popular attractions in Scotland itineraries.
There are many packages on offer including 1 day to 2 or 3 day coach tours from various parts of Scotland. You can choose the one that suits your tastes. Enjoy a leisurely stroll through the vast expanses of sandy beaches of Aberdeen, soak up the hustle and the bustle of Union street or take a cultural sojourn to discover the architectural marvel of some of the well preserved castles and mansions including the Edinburgh castle, the most notable feature of Scotland.
Scotland is a thoroughbred family holiday spot and a sports holiday destination alike. There are many fantastic amusement park with fun rides and adventure rides and lot of outdoor leisure options like golf, skiing and nature trails.
The bucolic hinterlands of Aberdeen has many activities that you can indulge in. the adrenalin buffs would find the extreme sporting options such as rock climbing, canoeing, kayaking, yachting and surfing truly irresistible. Even the uninitiated can pick up the threads of this exciting sporting events as there are guides for teaching activity sports. Scotland has history, culture, fashion and cuisine in abundance and Edinburgh has many fabulous dining options and watering holes that pour out some of the finest spirits on earth!
Inverness is north of Scotland with post card pretty settings is another must see spot. Famous for its hiking options and nature trails, this is just right to take a break from the fast paced life and to chill out. This city in the Highlands has everything you could ask for including white water rafting, surfing, racing, quad biking and dolphin spotting among others; not to forget the exceptional highland games, bagpipes , kilts and more!
A coach holiday is a great way to see and visit new places such as Scotland and Shearings. These offer great value for your money and a perfect holiday idea for families, corporate groups or even the fun loving stag and hen groups who are in quest of something new!
Aberdeen’s youth festival-a veritable attraction of any Scottish holiday
In case you are planning a summer getaway to Scotland sometime soon, then check out the Aberdeen youth festival, which is a major cultural event in this part of the world. Aberdeen is a well bred tourist destination that is well suited for family vacations, romantic holidays and adventure holidays alike. From top of the crop bars , restaurants , galleries and museums, Aberdeen will leave you spoilt for choices.
There are over 15 castles in and around Aberdeen, which would take you on a nostalgic sojourn to its impressive past. Kids would enjoy the Storybook Glen, just 5 miles from the city centre where the children can get to know their favorite characters or enjoy the adventurous activities around. There are comedy clubs, museums and theater performances. The Whisky lovers can head straight for Moray to explore the unique taste of the famous Scottish drink.
The 2010 Aberdeen International Youth Festival, which is scheduled to be held at various venues around the city from July 28th to August 7th will draw various young performers and companies from around the world take part in various events including modern dance, classical music and many other art forms. This year’s specialty is the Rhythms of Africa, a spectacular show of dance, music and story telling featuring artists from Africa, which will be held at the Beach Ballroom on July 30th.
The festival parade which will be paint the streets of Aberdeen in a riot of colors will be held ob July 31st, which will have a pipe band and a parade by youth belonging to different communities of the region. The festival will also be held in various other destinations including Peterhead, Montrose, Inverness and other locations.
The Scotsman who devised the first ATM passes away
John Shepherd-Barron , the father of the modern automated teller machine, passed away at the age of 84 at a hospital in Inverness, Scotland.
I would always take money out of my bank on a Saturday morning. However, one Saturday I was one minute late and it was closed,” he told the London Guardian in 2007. “That night I started thinking there must be a better way to get cash when I wanted it.
The innovative thought of a workable cash vending machine struck him while taking a bath! He modeled his dream machine on a chocolate vending machine which dispenses bar chocolates when money is put. After two years his idea took shape when the first ATM devised by him was installed at a branch of Barclays in a north London suburb on June 27, 1967. As plastic bank cards had not been invented then, special chemically coded checks were used in this machine. Customers needed to place the checks in a drawer and on entering a personal identification number, a 10 Pound note would come out of a second drawer.
It is interesting to note that though Mr. Shepherd-Barron had originally planned to have a six digit personal identification number, it was cut short to 4 digit after his wife, Caroline, complained that she was finding it difficult to remember six digits.
According to the London Daily Telegraph, Mr. Shepherd-Barron did not patent his system and did not profited from his path breaking invention. However in the year 2004, he was awarded an Officer of the Order of the British Empire decoration for his services to banking. At present there are over 1.7 million ATMs around the world, which has made banking services a lot more simpler and enjoyable to millions of customers all over the world.