Unique UK Holidays

The city is also gearing up for the 2012 Olympics, so expect to find new facilities. Old favourites include Kensington Gardens, with its commemorative statue immortalizing fantasy icon Peter Pan. Westminster Abbey is a church, shrine and mausoleum not unlike the fictional Castle Gormenghast. A spookier place to explore is the Tower of London, an ancient castle and the former prison for royal detainees like Ann Boleyn and anarchists like Guy Fawkes.

Dublin is another fine holiday jig. This former Viking settlement is famous for the Temple Bar Area where everyone parties till the wee hours of the morning, chugging stout and partaking of fine food. The city also breeds fine musicians ranging from U2 to Boyzone. Mark a spot on your calendar for March 17 — Saint Patrick’s Day, a feast day of parades celebrating everything Irish, from leprechauns to Irish coffee and food and Ireland’s patron saint.

Time your UK holiday in May and visit Brighton to enjoy the the largest multi-art form festival in England, with over 200 events held in a span of more than 20 days. You’ll see the Children’s Parade, outdoor fireworks displays, theatre, music, poetry and book readings and visual arts exhibits in different venues around Brighton. A unique feature of the festival is the Artists Open House gallery where Brighton’s talented and creative people literally open their doors to the public to view or purchase their creative work.

Manchester, is the UK’s music and sports haven. The ‘Capital of the North’ has the Manchester Evening News Arena, which seats over 21,000, the largest arena of its type in Europe. Concerts make it the busiest indoor arena in the world; ahead of New York’s Madison Square Garden and the O2 Arena in London. The more than 500 licensed, night-time pubs and clubs and breweries in Manchester can accommodate up to 250,000 revelers a night. The city is also home to the ultra popular football club, Manchester United, consistent champions in the UEFA football league.

A visit to the UK would be incomplete without checking out Liverpool. Renowned as the birthplace of the Beatles and for popular arts and literary festivals, the city has been honored as European Capital of Culture for 2008. You can check out the Liverpool Biennial Festival of arts that runs from mid-September to late November and see three different groups, from the International category—where 30-40 art commisions are exhibited in public spaces, the Independent umbrella, where independent artist-led groups hold their exhibits; and the New Contemporaries, where new work by graduates from Fine Art schools are shown, plus lots of fringe events coinciding with the festival.