and the beach. Margate has it all. Teir clock tower was built for Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee (but finished two years later in 1889) and includes a ball that drops at on the hour at 1pm. It was out of commission until a few years ago and so even today you can enjoy the mechanism that marveled the Victorian seaside visi- tors. Margate had a Victorian pier until 1978 when it was destroyed in a storm. In places like Brighton, the pier holds the rollercoasters. Luckily for Margate, the rollercoasters are still there in a place called Dreamland. You may have seen the adver- tisements for it recently, as it was just reno- vated and reopened in 2015. It’s a vintage ride park, with one of the oldest roller- coasters on the sea  the Scenic Railway  dating from 1920. Now Grade II listed, it gives riders a thrilling view as they whiz around the bends and turns. But England isn’t just seaside towns. It’s tiny villages and shires that hold true to traditions and routines. One of the more


delicious routines is a scone. You may be familiar with the scone from afternoon tea, which can be quite a lavish affair in a posh hotel in London. Yet, all around England, you can find cups of tea aside delicious scones in cafe windows that are larger and heartier compared with their overpriced and small- sized hotel compatriots. A scone is simply a quick bread, made from wheat flour, sugar, baking powder or baking soda, but- ter, milk and eggs, and baked in the oven. Tere is a controversy on how to pro- nounce it: (rhyme with ‘cone’ or ‘gone’) and even more debate on whether to put your jam or clotted cream on it first. However you do it, eating a scone is some- thing you should accomplish while visiting a small English town or village. If we are going more regional, then we also should mention the Eccles cake. So, if your visit to an English village takes you north and through Manchester, you’ll need to stop in Eccles for a traditional cake. Each year, the town celebrated the con- struction of its church and at this event there was cake. Today you can pick up an Eccles cake and feel the weight of the rich


ingredients like butter, butter, and but- ter. (Tey warn you not to microwave them for fear of an explosion!) Tere is a bakery in Eccles today that claims to have been baking these beauties for three centuries, so you should definitely taste a bit of history while passing through.


Scotland


We go back to the 11th century where King Malcolm III summoned contest- ants to a foot race to the summit of a mountain to find the fastest runner to be his royal messenger. Ten, we skip to 1703 when Laird of Grant summoned his clan, requiring them to wear a gun, sword, pistol and dirk – a traditional Scottish sidearm. Finally, we time travel to the Victorian times, when the Highland Games took the form that we know today. Events take place between


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