A round practically every corner in Ireland’s Ancient East you can discover fascinating echoes of the past. This region holds some of the world’s finest examples of prehistoric ingenuity, a wealth of early Christian monasteries, massive medieval castles and sprawling abbeys, and great landed estates. A new guidebook by archaeologist Neil Jackman helps people to discover 100 incredible places, with directions and maps to help you explore the story of Ireland. Here, Jackman gives 10 of his p… (View original article)

The immediate aftermath of June’s shock Brexit result saw the pound crash to lows not seen in 30 years against the dollar, which means investing in prime pieces of Scotland’s history just got that much more affordable (for Americans, at least). 

Although the prospect of a second Scottish referendum on independence may temper the future, here are seven castles to dream on now.

Earlshall Castle, Fife
Earlshall Castle, FifeImage: Savills/bloomberg Price upon request 10 Bedroom… (View original article)

After 30 years of planning and three years of building,
Dot Smith’s castle north of Oamaru is nearing completion.
North Otago reporter Shannon Gillies caught up with Mrs Smith
for a look inside a dream. 

Little touches of glamour and grandeur lace the hallways of
Dot Smith’s personal castle.

They can be seen in the gold tiling grout in the main
entrance, the wooden front doors, the central stained glass
window carrying the family crest, and the moat.
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Côr Meibion Colwyn pictured at a concert at Conwy Castle on the north coast of Wales.

• Over the Labour Day weekend (September 1-4) the multi-award-winning male choir, Côr Meibion Colwyn from North Wales, will be the featured choir at the North American Festival of Wales, held in Calgary this year.

Music director Tudur Eames conducts Colwyn in the Saturday Concert and also the Cymanfa Ganu (congregational hymn singing). Both events will have audiences … (View original article)

Belvedere Castle in Central Park needs major upgrades, according to the Central Park Conservancy. View Full Caption
Flickr/massmatt

CENTRAL PARK – New York’s most iconic park may be beautiful and verdant, but behind the scenes it needs a lot of work to keep it that way with roughly 42 million annual visitors.

That’s why on Wednesday, the Central Park Conservancy kicked off a 10-year, $300 million fundraising campaign called “Forever Green: Ensuring the Futu… (View original article)