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Make holiday plans to include a World Heritage Site
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A walking tour of Hadrian's Wall begins in Carlisle/North Umbria UK
Trip Advisor recently asked me to share insights about the World Heritage Sites that I have visited (it was fun to learn just how many of their 890 sites could be checked off my list ~ HINT: While I've completely covered the sites of a few countries, I still have a long way to go).
Trip Advisor is inviting everyone to join their campaign to help protect the places you love in support of UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre (as well as enter to win a trip for two to Paris, with VIP access to its World Heritage Sites).
The World Heritage Centre is at the forefront of the international community’s efforts to protect and preserve. From emergency assistance to safeguard properties in danger, long term conservation, management planning, technical assistance, professional training, public and youth education, and awareness-building, the World Heritage Centre and its partners have developed a series of initiatives and have been actively involved in the implementation of projects, participatory workshops, seminars and training courses.
Whether your plans involve an adventure within our United States, Canada, Europe, Mexico, Central or South America, Asia, Caribbean, Africa & the Middle East this winter holiday season, make sure to also incorporate a few of the World Heritage Sites. This month, I will be featuring a few ideas at select countries to help get you started.
Thanksgiving in the UK:
Every virgin trip to the UK usually includes visits to the World Heritage Sites of Bath, Stonehenge, the Tower of London, Canterbury and Maritime Greenwich. Here’s three more from my list that take you deeper into the country, as well as history:
- Dorset’s Mesozoic Era: The Jurassic Coast ~ The cliff exposures along the Dorset and East Devon coast provide a sequence of rock formations that spans the Mesozoic Era. Named the Jurassic Coast, it reveals 185 million years of Earth's history: a 'walk through time' that includes the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. The varied geology provides a spectacular laboratory of coastal change, and supports rare and important plants and animals. This World Heritage Site stretches 95 miles (155km) from Swanage in the East to Exmouth in the West where one can take a fossil hunting walk and discover the fossilized remains of giant ichthyosaur, plesiosaur, belemnites and ammonites that can be found on the beach.
2. Hadrian’s Wall : North Umbria ~The 118-km-long Hadrian’s Wall (UK) was built on the orders of the Emperor Hadrian c. AD 122 at the northernmost limits of the Roman province of Britannia. It is a striking example of the organization of a military zone and illustrates the defensive techniques and geopolitical strategies of ancient Rome. The Antonine Wall, a 60-km long fortification in Scotland was started by Emperor Antonius Pius in 142 AD as a defense against the “barbarians” of the north. It constitutes the northwestern-most portion of the Roman Limes.
3. Giant’s Causeway: Northern Ireland ~ The Giant's Causeway lies at the foot of the basalt cliffs along the sea coast on the edge of the Antrim plateau in Northern Ireland. It is made up of some 40,000 massive black basalt columns sticking out of the sea. The dramatic sight has inspired legends of giants striding over the sea to Scotland. Geological studies of these formations over the last 300 years have greatly contributed to the development of the earth sciences, and show that this striking landscape was caused by volcanic activity during the Tertiary, some 50–60 million years ago.
