Fighting Deadlines Since 2003

College holidays are wonderful times to explore. Travel need not be super-expensive, because there are hostels in most cities and students may qualify for discounted train passes. Here are some more ideas of fun, inspiring and even educational, places to see.

Stonehenge
Everyone needs to see this before anything happens to it, although getting close is increasingly difficult unless one is a neo-pagan or a movie crew. Tours from London often combine this with destinations such as Stratford-upon-Avon. Alternatively, inquiring visitors who get there independently will find plenty to intrigue beyond the famous circle of stones. This is truly Neolithic Central, boasting the densest concentration of prehistoric monuments in Britain.

Whether it marked the sun’s return after winter, or acted as an agricultural calendar, a headstone for heroes, temple to the gods, or healing spa, Stonehenge exhausts the vocabulary needed to describe it. It makes the term ‘awe-inspiring’ seem pedestrian. While archeologists debate the rocks’ physical origin, moving them at all is ludicrous without either contemporary technology or ancient arts of cooperation and engineering.
Read more

When term breaks arrive for college students, there is often a last-minute flurry of planning to arrange what to do. With the pressure of papers and exams, it is tough to make firm plans before the day arrives. The following suggestions may help in choosing where to go and avoiding the waste of precious vacation time.

York and Environs
Malhamdale is the name of the very exotic-looking, but very real, place where Harry Potter and Hermione Granger camp in their flight from Lord Voldemort.

The giant vertical blocks of rock riven with threatening fissures are called the Limestone Pavements of Malhamdale. They are just one of many beauties around York. This scenic region far to the north of England has inspired many writers as well as moviemakers.

Fans of Harry Potter will immediately recognize the exotic geology. This formation, known as the Limestone Pavements, is in the southern end of the Yorkshire Dales national park. The rock was brutally scoured by glacial action, and subsequently eroded by water infiltrating the cracks thereby exposed. This peculiarity creates more than a picturesque effect. A stream at Malham Tarn disappears between the rocks, only to erupt elsewhere at Airehead Springs.
Read more

Vacations for college students can be mixed blessing. Sticking around an empty campus can be depressing, and travel home can be prohibitively expensive. Students in the UK may find that holidays are not long enough to justify taking a job, even if employment laws and opportunities allowed, so…where to go and what to do? Here are some fun ideas.

Iron Bridge
A pleasant day of train travel west from London is the great Iron Bridge over the Severn River. This relic of the Industrial Revolution anchors a sort of living history outdoor museum center. The Coalbrookdale part of Shropshire has ten museums and historic sites. All offer compelling glimpses of the birth of the modern world.

The Iron Bridge itself is lovely to look at. The first of its kind, it was opened in 1781, and, as a practical experiment in material science, it was literally a jump into the unknown. The graceful bridge is constructed with carpentry techniques used to connect wooden elements (dovetail joints, mortise and tenon, for example), rather than the way we see contemporary bridges today.
Read more

Vacation time is a chance to do something different, get a new perspective, and clear the cobwebs out of one’s head. Travel is a great way to accomplish this goal. Although the distances are a bit overwhelming, the end result is well worth it.

Cooperstown, NY

People who never go anywhere and certainly never visit museums actually drag themselves and their kids to Cooperstown. Sports fans, history buffs, rod and gun enthusiasts, railroaders, hikers, fishers, and devotees of the arts can all find something to enjoy.

The location is beautiful, and can be appreciated in Glimmerglass State Park. However, the big draw for many is the Baseball Hall of Fame and Doubleday Field. These are located in Cooperstown because native son Abner Doubleday claimed to have invented the game. There is actually a baseball wax museum as well.
Read more

In spite of its size, the USA is hardly monolithic. It is really a mosaic of interesting places that deserve to be appreciated up close. As students, it may seem daunting to rent a car and set out over the distances that are involved, but it is worth it. Take a schoolmate, and make a road trip to some of the following locations.

Thousand Islands, NY

The St. Lawrence River is one of North America’s major rivers, and has beautiful spots all along its length. One of the most dramatic areas is the area where Lake Ontario empties into it.

The unique geology of the area has created the (literal) Thousand Islands, ranging from tiny to sizable, which dot the water like jewels. While it does require a car to see the area fully, the gorgeous scenery and history of the region make it well worth the investment of effort.
Read more