Picture yourself slipping your hand in to your partner’s as you stand at the head of a deserted loch whilst a gentle breeze rustles the heather on the glen…

A perfect destination for your honeymoon vacation, Scotland holds an air of romance just waiting to be absorbed. Perhaps it comes from the historic tradition when young English lovers would elope across the border to Scotland’s Gretna Green, declaring their love in marriage. Or perhaps it simply comes from the ruggedly beautiful scenery and Scotland’s rich history and tradtions. Either way, Scotland boasts an array of destinations where you can share new experiences and create perfect memories which will last your entire married life. In Scotland you will walk in the footsteps of Kings and Queens at the nations ancient castles, see rare wildlife thriving in its natural habitat along the coastlines, experience ultimate tranquility on the deserted Scottish Isles and sample the rich flavours of traditional food and drink.

Britain is home to an endless history of myths, legends and unexplained tales.  From the famous standing stones of Stonehenge to the murky depths of Loch Ness to the gruesome lives of our  murderous monarchs throughout the middle-ages, there are ghost stories and mysteries to be unraveled in every corner of Britain.  At this time of year, in the run up to Halloween (Oct 31st) the paranormal is ever nearer so where did this ancient festival come from and how do we celebrate here in the UK?

The newspapers here in Britain make for a depressing read at the moment. They are all doom and gloom with regard to the state of the British economy and the fact that the value of the British Pound (£) has been falling considerably against other currencies, particularly the Euro and the Dollar. Whilst this is indeed bad news for me as I try to organize my own holiday abroad this summer, I have noticed that many of my guests are, to the contrary, very happy! And they are happy to rub it in too. It seems for the first time in several years the exchange rates have swung in your favour and our international guests are now, to coin a classsic American phrase, “getting even more bang for their buck!”

August in Edinburgh means one thing – the Edinburgh Festival. And Scotland’s historic capital enters festival frenzy with a wealth of events ranging from the cultured to the mad-cap.

Edinburgh in fact hosts several festivals throughout the month that merge into one big explosion of culture that hits the city each August. The Edinburgh Festival is a generic term for this variety of events which includes the Edinburgh International Festival, The Fringe, The Book Festival, the Edinburgh Art Festival and the world famous Edinburgh Military Tattoo. It’s a month packed with colourful events and a visit to the Edinburgh Festival should be on everyone’s list of things to do before you die!

As some of you will know, I was recently in Boston. Not Boston, Lincolnshire here in the UK but Boston MA where the Spring weather was frosty and the temperatures around a cool 0° C (32 degree fahrenheit). At times like these there is one thing that is sure to warm you up; a good cup of tea! Boston is renowned, of course, for the Boston Tea Party of 1773 where riots erupted due to disagreements over the taxation of tea, so I was sure to find a good cup of the stuff in Boston! Or so one would think. As I wandered the city, every corner I turned seemed to be home to another Starbucks or coffee house but alas, there was not a good tea shop to be found… I was horrified. A city with no tea!? So I got to thinking about the English obsession with tea (we have our own tea council!) and where the tradition comes from and thought I would share with you some places in the UK you can find a guaranteed quality “cuppa” when you visit.

“Why should you never swerve your car to hit a Scouser on a bike…?” I was about to start this Blog with a joke about Liverpool as on Friday night the city celebrated the opening ceremony of its year as European Capital of Culture 2008. This nomination and accolade has been for me both a surprise and a delight. As many of you will know, if you have spoken with me or read our team profiles on the website, I studied and lived for 3 years of my life in Liverpool and therefore, for me, this magnificent city will always hold many special memories (and a few hazy ones). However, Liverpool does seem to take a good verbal bashing from the peoples of most other areas of Britain. So why has Liverpool been given such a prestigeous title? What is the culture of Liverpool? And what on earth is a Scouser?

A young cousin of mine recently introduced me to the Harry Potter phenomenon and since then I have rapidly worked my through the first few books in the series and watched a couple of the movies along the way. Needless to say I am now hooked. So when it came to planning this years annual November familiarization trip decided that it was vital for the team to head north of the English border to Scotland’s Capital city. Although Edinburgh doesn’t feature in the Harry Potter movies as do so many sights closer to home (Gloucester Cathedral, Oxford’s colleges and many sights in London), it is in the city’s cafes and coffee shops where Joanne Rowling first began scribbling down her notes on the young wizard called Harry and the magical world of Hogwarts. We would take this opportunity to remind ourselves just why Edinburgh is so inspiring.

Having spent the last few weeks in recovery from my adventure break around Wales, last weekend Keith pointed out that it was high-time I got back out on the road to do some exploring and gave me my next assignment. I found myself slightly disappointed to discover that I was to be visiting a museum; I love to learn but after battling the Atlantic Ocean in the name of myguideBritain I thought that peering at fossils in a glass cabinet would be a bit of a let down. Of course, I was over-looking the fact that St Fagans Welsh National History Museum is a very unique museum indeed.

Hello again from Wales and a big thank you to all those who read our first blog installment. I think that launching this blog was more nerve racking for me than hurtling across a field on a quad-bike and thus I was very grateful for the positive feedback. I thoroughly enjoyed reading all of your comments.

We have had an exciting week again here in the UK, as I am sure many of you will know we Brits are big fans of the sport of Rugby and this week has seen England reach the finals of the Rugby World Cup! Although England are reigning world champions this achievement seemed almost impossible based on form leading up to the tournament. Needless to say we are all very excited about it, however I finished last time telling you about my recent adventure trip around Wales as part of the “Showcase Wales” tourism convention and promised that I would continue…

Hello and welcome to the myguideBritain Blog. My name is Darryl and I am the manager of the US and Canadian markets here with myguideBritain. For those of you not familiar with the site we are an online tour operator specializing in customized tours to the UK. What makes us unique is that we are based here in Blaenavon, South Wales within the UK and therefore we see, experience, live and breathe this amazing destination every day of our lives.