Dreamscapes Travel & Lifestyle

CasTlEs: ThE Good, ThE Bad aNd ThE uGlY however it's the remains of York Castle built by William the Conqueror that are most intriguing. sitting outside our hilton hotel, the castle looms over York from atop a high grassy knoll, set against a brilliant blue sky. It has served as a prison, a royal mint and, most impressively, a display case for henry the VIII's dead enemies. Better known as Hogwarts from the first two Harry Potter films than the current residence of the Duke of Northumberland and family, alnwick Castle, second in size only to Windsor, receives more than 800,000 visitors a year. The pastoral surroundings feature sheep grazing on rolling hills and stately gardens including the popular poison Garden. Further north, Edinburgh Castle dominates the city— itself a World heritage site—from atop an extinct volcano. Mary Queen of scots, unfortunate prisoners of war and hundreds of burnt "witches" along with the scottish crown jewels all lay claim to the site. Three days in scotland's second-largest city allow us time to explore the hilly, twisted streets filled with secret passageways and Georgian architecture; taste and stockpile single malts; and share a meal of mutton with Fergus and Gregor Wood, sheep farmers and bagpipers working out of a 17 th -century barn on the beautiful shores of loch ard. at the farewell dinner and tour aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia, we marvel at the Queen's tiny onboard bed, prompting a New Yorker to quip, "I was expecting a California king." loNdoN CallING alas, not even at Buckingham palace, if reports of a "dou- ble bed with curtains" by Michael Fagan, the Queen's bed- room intruder, are true. The palace, a scenic walk through hyde park to our london base at Marble arch, usually opens 19 staterooms to summer visitors when the Queen departs for scotland. other notable stops near Marble arch include the diana Memorial Fountain where visitors are invited to sit and dip their feet, the serpentine Galleries in Kensington park and lively oxford street for power shopping. In stark contrast to central London and Mayfair (the Beatles' first London home) where we enjoy high tea at the Chesterfield Hotel, a walking tour of the east end, led by Mary, a long-time resident, illustrates how the city reinvents itself. Former working-class neighbourhoods such as Shoreditch and Spitalfields have turned into hip creative hubs reflected in an endless array of street art, public sculp- tures and contemporary art galleries including Whitechapel. specialized boutiques, vintage shops and colourful carts of Indian, Moroccan and Turkish food dot the landscape around Brick lane, not far from where movies and televi- sion shows such as Downton abbey are shot. Chefs, TV per- sonalities and artists such as damien hirst and Tracy Emin call the area home as well as musicians, most notably, Roger daltrey. But it was Beatlemania that rocked the area 50 years ago when the Fab Four first performed at the Granada Cinema at nearby East ham. travel planner For more information, visit: Trafalgar Tours: trafalgar.com/can visit Britain: visitbritain.com/en/Ca visit Scotland: visitscotland.com/en-ca opposite, top: An orphanage in Liverpool dating back to 1870 inspired the Beatles' 1967 song Strawberry Fields Forever. sherel purcell opposite, bottom: A statue of John Lennon stands outside the Cavern Pub on Mathew Street in Liverpool. sherel purcell top: London tourists explore the boutiques and galleries on Brick Lane on a busy summer after- noon. Nigelspiers/shutterstock left: Viewed from Heriot Place in Edinburgh, Scotland, Edinburgh Castle dominates the city's sky- line. Nataliya hora/shutterstock S p r i n g 2 0 1 4 35

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