The Abel Tasman Coast Track is a spectacular 60 km coastal hike in Abel Tasman National Park on the north coast of New Zealand's South Island.
Join some Canadian hikers on the track:
Join Ryan and Rachel for a three day, two night hike:
We start our hike at the southern end of the track near the town of Marahau:
Trail head for the Abel Tasman Coast Track
You can also take an exciting boat ride up the coast paralleling the trail:
Start of the Coastal Boat Ride
Framlingham Castle is located in Suffolk, northeast of London.
The English Heritage site provides an excellent aerial overview of the castle:
The Tudor Travel Guide provides an excellent history of the castle as well as a reconstruction of how the castle looked in the 16th century:
In WWII there was an important RAF air base near Framlingham and the castle provided an invaluable navigation point for returning aircraft.
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| Flying Fortresses of the 95th Bomb Group pass over Framlingham on their return from a mission. Picture: Horham 95th Bomb Group Heritage Association. Colour by colouriser.co.uk |
The 95th Bomb Group (pictured above) arrived in England in the spring of 1943 and stayed briefly in Framlingham. They entered combat on 13 May 1943 by attacking an airfield at Saint-Omer. After suffering disastrous losses in its daylight air attacks on the Continent, the 95th was transferred to nearby RAF Horham on 15 June to regroup.
The Memorials Foundation provides an excellent website about...
The East Anglian Daily Times provides a fascinating article on WWII in Framlingham:
Framlingham Castle was used by the British military as part of the regional defenses against a potential German invasion.
We begin our trek by entering the castle through the main gate:
Or we can walk the picturesque trail around the outer walls:
The shelters on the island have a wonderful set of map and information boards:
BBC Scotland presents an excellent overview video:
View Iona from above:
The light and colors of Iona are magical in any weather, and the following documentary tours the island to show the colors that inspired the local creation of the Sound of Iona tartan:
Historic UK presents some History of Iona and St Columba
Electric Scotland presents a more detailed History of Iona
A history video set to the Mike Scott and Waterboys song Peace of Iona:
Many believe that the famous illuminated manuscript the Book of Kells was begun or even completed at the monastery on Iona.
Join us for an exploration of...
The Beautiful and Mysterious Book of Kells
We begin our trek on the road leading up from the dock:
From here you can follow a circuit trail passing the famous abbey and continuing around the island:
A 360 degree view of the abbey and surrounding area:
See inside the abbey with another 360 degree view:
Pitcairn Island, final destination of the Bounty mutineers, and sometimes called the remotest place on earth. The mutineers burned the Bounty when they reached the island.
We head to Pitcairn Island from our expedition ship:
We land on the sea battered pier:
And begin our trek with a climb, retracing the route of the Bounty mutineers:
On the strenuous way up, we can pause to look back down at the pier far below:
And there are lots of interesting trails to explore on the island. Just click on the yellow peg man to view and access the streetview trails:
Chillon Castle is at the eastern end of Lake Geneva, near Montreux, Switzerland:
Video Fly Over of the Castle:
Chillon Castle Official Website - History of the Castle
From the Exploring Castles Website:
The poets Shelley and Byron sailed up Lake Geneva and visited the castle. Byron was inspired to write his famous poem:
We begin our trek through the castle at the main gate at the bottom left of the above plan:
Or enjoy spectacular views from the battlements:
Or explore the famous dungeons that inspired the poet Byron:
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| Wiki Media Commons |
Orava Castle is located in northern Slovakia on a hilltop overlooking the Orava River.
The Orava Castle Official Website provides an overview video with special guest appearances by Nosferatu:
Castle Layout
We begin our trek at the First Gate (17 in the above plan):
Magnificent views from the battlements:
The castle was one of the settings used in the ground breaking 1922 vampire film: Nosferatu
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| Flybyzion on Dronestagram |
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| Daniel Feliciano, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons |
Almourol Castle, Portugal is located on an island in the Tagus River northeast of Lisbon in the very heart of Portugal.
Panoramic Overview Video:
Some history and description:
We begin our trek at the imposing main gate:
From high up on the battlements enjoy some panoramic views of the Tagus River and surrounding countryside:
And after a climb up to the top of the highest tower, the view is even more stunning:
Official Pacific Crest Trail Website : A good overview of the entire Pacific Crest Trail: This Pacific Crest Trail thru hike documentary ...
