Weird and Wonderful

The abiding influence of the Vikings, who arrived in Shetland just over 1000 years ago, is celebrated on the last Tuesday of January every year, by the largest fire festival in Europe, 'Up Helly Aa'. After a torch-light procession of up to a thousand 'guizers' through the streets of Lerwick a full-size replica Viking longship is ceremonially burned. The 'guizers' and onlookers then repair to local halls for a night of revelry, dancing and partying.

Orford Ness is a 7 mile long spit of land and shingle, which has separated the village of Orford from the sea since Tudor times. The Ness is an internationally important nature reserve, with a fascinating 20th-century military history. Rare flora and fauna fight to survive on this wild and remote extremity of eastern England. Orford Ness was also the site of secret military testing, from the early experiments with RADAR to munitions in WWII and missiles and communications during the cold war.

Architect Sir John Soane was born in 1753, the son of a bricklayer, and died after a long and distinguished career, in 1837. He designed this house to live in, but also as a setting for his antiquities and his works of art. After the death of his wife he lived here alone, constantly adding to and rearranging his collections. Deeply disappointed by the conduct of his two sons, he determined to establish the house as a museum to which 'amateurs and students' should have access.

Tyrone is peppered with thousands of archaeological sites, and the most impressive are the Bronze Age Beaghmore Stone Circles, in the southeast of the Sperrin Mountains. There are seven stone circles, ten stone rows and a dozen round cairns, some containing human remains. All of the circles stand in pairs, except for one, which is filled with over eight hundred upright stones known as Dragon's Teeth. The alignments correlate to the movements of the sun, moon and stars, and two of the rows point to sunrise in the summer.

The Andrew Logan Museum of Sculpture is a unique art collection in the heart of Wales, and the only museum in Europe dedicated to a living artist. Within the museum you will find pieces of sculpture, mirrored portraits and jewellery from the mid sixties to the present day. Andrew loves to give enjoyment and pleasure to others through quirky and humorous mementoes of his life, and to show that art does not have to be pretentious but can be fun. Facilities include a cafe and gift shop.

Dickinson and Morris have been baking pork pies at Ye Olde Pork Pie Shop in Melton Mowbray since 1851. They are firmly established as one of Leicestershire's favourite tourist attractions and are the oldest pork pie bakery and last remaining producer of authentic Melton Mowbray pork pies based in the town centre. Why not try a 'Pork Pie Evening Experience" where groups can try for themselves the art of 'hand raising' a pork pie. Demonstrations of how pies are made can also be arranged at the shop.