7-Day Scottish Isles, Irish Coasts & Wales

Most famously known for its dramatic white-chalk towering cliffs, Dover is the nearest city to France across the English Channel. Its strategic location as a doorway into England has earned it the moniker “Key to England.” As the port was under constant threat because of its location, the massive Dover Castle overlooking the channel grew over the centuries to become the nation’s largest edifice and remains so today. Dover also served as a bastion and command center during World War II.

The Isle of Portland is a tied island, 6 kilometres long by 2.7 kilometres wide, in the English Channel. The southern tip, Portland Bill lies 8 kilometres south of the resort of Weymouth, forming the southernmost point of the county of Dorset, England. A barrier beach called Chesil Beach joins it to the mainland.

Cork City received its first charter in 1185 from Prince John of Norman England, and it takes its name from the Irish word corcaigh, meaning "marshy place." The original 6th-century settlement was spread over 13 small islands in the River Lee. Major development occurred during the 17th and 18th centuries with the expansion of the butter trade, and many attractive Georgian-design buildings with wide bowfront windows were constructed during this time. As late as 1770 Cork's present-day main streets—Grand Parade, Patrick Street, and the South Mall—were submerged under the Lee. Around 1800, when the Lee was partially dammed, the river divided into two streams that now flow through the city, leaving the main business and commercial center on an island, not unlike Paris's Île de la Cité. As a result, the city has a number of bridges and quays, which, although initially confusing, add greatly to the port's unique character. Cork can be very "Irish" (hurling, Gaelic football, televised plowing contests, music pubs, and peat smoke). But depending on what part of town you're in, Cork can also be distinctly un-Irish—the sort of place where hippies, gays, and farmers drink at the same pub.

Perched on a clifftop and stunningly picturesque, Fishguard is considered the very heart of North Pembrokeshire. A small market town that almost seems untouched by time, you'll find clusters of quayside cottages, family businesses selling local produce, and plenty of Gaelic charm! Market day falls on a Saturday and although principally food, there are some stalls selling local arts and crafts too. If you are not lucky enough to be visiting on market day, the pretty high street has some lovely shops where you can easily while away a couple of hours. Known internationally as the place of the last invasion of Britain when the French landed in 1797, the village heaves with history. Historians will of course already know that the two-day invasion soon failed and the peace treaty was signed in the Royal Oak pub in the market square. Over 200 years later the pub still stands and is perhaps one of the best places to soak up the local charm! The real stars of the show here however are the lovely surroundings. The calm waters are perfect for kayaking while walkers will love the national parks that are filled with signposted trails for all levels of ability. Cyclists of all levels will also be pleased; Fishguard and its surroundings do have a few hills, but also lots of straight roads that offer a gentle visit to the stunning landscape. If staying on the water is more your style, then boat trips to see the rest of the lovely coastline can be easily organized in port. If all the activity gets too much for you then why not enjoy a delicious local Welsh cake in one of the pretty cafes or head to the town hall and have a look at the 100-foot-long Last Invasion Tapestry, a humorous and entertaining story in a Bayeux tapestry style of the 1797 invasion of mainland Britain.

The Isle of Man, situated in the Irish Sea off the west coast of England, is a mountainous, cliff-fringed island and one of Britain’s most beautiful spots. Measuring just 30 miles by 13 miles, the Isle of Man remains semi-autonomous. With its own postage stamps, laws, currency, and the Court of Tynwald (the world’s oldest democratic parliament), the Isle of Man is rich with history and lore.Inhabited from Neolithic times, the island became a refuge for Irish missionaries after the 5th Century. Norsemen took the island during the 9th Century and sold it to Scotland in 1266. However, since the 14th Century, it has been held by England. Manx, the indigenous Celtic language, is still spoken by a small minority. The Isle of Man has no income tax, which has encouraged many Britains to regard the island as a refuge. Otherwise, it is populated by Gaelic farmers, fishermen, and the famous tailless manx cats. The varied landscape features austere moorlands and wooded glens, interspersed by fine castles, narrow-gauge railways, and scores of standing stones with Celtic crosses. The hilly terrain rises to a height of 2,036 feet at Mount Snaefell, which dominates the center of the island.

Rothesay is an elegant seaside resort and the main town on the Isle of Bute, a Scottish island bathed by the Firth of Clyde, a vast expanse of coastal water sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre Peninsular. The town has some remarkable monuments, including its castle, a 13th-century building modified several times over its turbulent history between Norwegian attacks and English invasion. You will also discover the Victorian architecture of the houses overlooking the romantic Rothesay Bay, as well as the Isle of Bute Discovery Centre, a unique circular structure from the 1920s constructed of cast iron and glass. Make sure you visit Mount Stuart House, an incredible 19th-century manor house built in the Georgian architectural style, with an interior that was modern for the time, and its magnificent wild and landscaped gardens.

Trendy stores, a booming cultural life, fascinating architecture, and stylish restaurants reinforce Glasgow's claim to being Scotland's most exciting city. After decades of decline, it has experienced an urban renaissance uniquely its own. The city’s grand architecture reflects a prosperous past built on trade and shipbuilding. Today buildings by Charles Rennie Mackintosh hold pride of place along with the Zaha Hadid–designed Riverside Museum.Glasgow (the "dear green place," as it was known) was founded some 1,500 years ago. Legend has it that the king of Strathclyde, irate about his wife's infidelity, had a ring he had given her thrown into the river Clyde. (Apparently she had passed it on to an admirer.) When the king demanded to know where the ring had gone, the distraught queen asked the advice of her confessor, St. Mungo. He suggested fishing for it—and the first salmon to emerge had the ring in its mouth. The moment is commemorated on the city's coat of arms.The medieval city expanded when it was given a royal license to trade; the current High Street was the main thoroughfare at the time. The vast profits from American cotton and tobacco built the grand mansions of the Merchant City in the 18th century. In the 19th century the river Clyde became the center of a vibrant shipbuilding industry, fed by the city’s iron and steel works. The city grew again, but its internal divisions grew at the same time. The West End harbored the elegant homes of the newly rich shipyard owners. Down by the river, areas like the infamous Gorbals, with its crowded slums, sheltered the laborers who built the ships. They came from the Highlands, expelled to make way for sheep, or from Ireland, where the potato famines drove thousands from their homes.During the 19th century the population grew from 80,000 to more than a million. And the new prosperity gave Glasgow its grand neoclassical buildings, such as those built by Alexander "Greek" Thomson, as well as the adventurous visionary buildings designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh and others who produced Glasgow’s Arts and Crafts movement. The City Chambers, built in 1888, are a proud statement in marble and gold sandstone, a clear symbol of the wealthy and powerful Victorian industrialists' hopes for the future.The decline of shipbuilding and the closure of the factories led to much speculation as to what direction the city would take now. The curious thing is that, at least in part, the past gave the city a new lease of life. It was as if people looked at their city and saw Glasgow’s beauty for the first time: its extraordinarily rich architectural heritage, its leafy parks, its artistic heritage, and its complex social history. Today Glasgow is a vibrant cultural center and a commercial hub, as well as a launching pad from which to explore the rest of Scotland, which, as it turns out, is not so far away. In fact, it takes only 40 minutes to reach Loch Lomond, where the other Scotland begins.