A blog about independent travel by broadcaster Simon Clark
New Year Fire Festival
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To celebrate its Viking heritage, the Yorkshire village of Flamborough has inaugurated a fire festival to welcome in the new year. Here is a video showing part of that celebration plus some still images.
Viking Fire Festival
Fire parade around Main Street, Flamborough
The Nordic vessel paraded in Yorkshire
In Norse times, Flamborough, with its distinctive white headland and beach at Thronwich Bay, would have been an ideal landmark for Scandinavian raiders to use as a navigation aid and landing site. They went on to settle Jorvik which became York and Wyke which is present day Kingston-upon-Hull.
The island of Bali has been attracting holidaymakers for decades. Now, thanks to competitive air fares from budget airlines such as Air Asia, it is popular stop for those tourists visiting other parts of Asia. Its proximity to Australia has always meant that Bali is a leading destination from there. I've posted some airline links at the foot of the page. Bali is not a huge island but its relatively undeveloped road network means it takes far longer to get anywhere than a simple glance at a map would suggest. Most of the modern development has taken place around the airport at Denpasar in the eat, primarily in the town of Kuta. The surf shops as big as supermarkets are a clear indication of an advanced tourist economy. That is why I chose to investigate the the east of the island. I started in the resort of Candidasa, some 64 km or 45 miles from the airport. In most countries that would mean a journey of around an hour but on the day I arrive it is festial day for Bali...
It is quite some time since I was last in the largest of the Balearic islands, Mallorca. There are so many places in the world to visit I had left it alone after spending so many of my holidays there 20-30 years ago. I was interested to discover how the island had changed and whether it had kept some of the charms which so appealed to me all those years ago. My destination was a farmhouse in Son Carrio close to Manacor abd the holiday resorts which cluster around Cala Millor. Sa Riba, Son Carrio . A wise choice as it transpired. The farmhouse catered for two people (a third if needed) comfortably. It was well equipped and even had a well. I have never had that before. It was well situated for the unfinished railway line which these days offers a perfect route to run or cycle towards Manacor or Arte. I did both but not to the full extent of the track. One of my desires for this trip though was to complete a journey I had hitherto failed to accomplish...
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