Category

Literary Places

May 4, 2017
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Take a Stroll Through the Abandoned Wizard of Oz Theme Park

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In 1970s North Carolina, USA, two bright sparks, brothers Grover and Harry Robbins, dreamed up the ultimate Wizard of Oz theme park. Sadly, just prior to the park’s opening, Grover passed away, and he never got to see its initial success. The park was popular at first, however after a decade of waning visitor numbers the project had to be abandoned.

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April 5, 2017
3

Macbeth Witches Appear at Glamis Castle

By | Inspired by Literature, Literary Places | 2 Comments
Glamis Castle is situated in the stunning valley of Strathmore, only 12 miles from Dundee, Scotland. It is a truly royal and magical place; owned today by Simon Patrick Bowes Lyon, 19th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, the castle was also notably the childhood home of Her Majesty The Queen Mother, and birthplace of Her Royal Highness Princess Margaret.

Many of you may also recognise the name Glamis Castle as the setting for Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’…

“First Witch: All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, Thane of Glamis!

Second Witch: All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor!

Third Witch: All hail, Macbeth! that shalt be king hereafter.”

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March 17, 2017
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8 Fictional Literary Destinations You Can Visit in Real Life

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We get lost among the pages of our favourite novels, happily so, and those fictional worlds become our own. However, many of us still dream of visiting the imaginary places in our favourite novels, and while we can’t walk the halls of Hogwarts, or visit Middle Earth, we can look at places that inspired our favourite books, or the filming locations of adaptations for some inspiration for a literary holiday!

Today we have ten fictional destinations that you can – kind of – visit in real life, bringing your fictional worlds to life. Read More

March 4, 2017
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Hay Anniversary Marked by Searching for 30 Best Books (and we have the first 15 here!)

By | Literary Events, Literary Places, News | No Comments
The Hay Festival is probably the most famous literary festival in the world, and is held at the ‘town of books’ every single year. This year the festival celebrates its 30th year and to celebrate it’s ‘crowd sourcing’ a list of the best books of all time!

The #Hay30Books movement has chosen fifteen books from recent years that they think start the list of the world’s most essential books, those books are below, the final fifteen books will be chosen by you.

People can pick their favourite book of the last 30 years – and say why in under 30 words – via Twitter, Facebook or Instagram using the hashtag #Hay30Books. If you’d like to join in, get choosing but for now here are the first fifteen books of the #Hay30Books selection. Read More

January 17, 2017
1

Japan’s Alice in Wonderland Inspired Restaurants.

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Lewis Carrol’s Alice in Wonderland is loved all over the world for its escapism and fantasy. The people of Japan, in particular, have embraced the land of talking white rabbits and playing card men with the country boasting 7 restaurants dedicated to Alice and her friends. 5 of which are in Tokyo alone! After digging through their sumptuous websites, and much use of a popular translation app, here is an insight for our Reading Addicts… Another adventure for the bucket list!

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December 15, 2016
3

This Library/Hotel Is Every Bibliophile’s Dream

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Any book lovers out there who are planning on taking a trip to Wales should definitely book a room in this beautiful old hotel located in the quiet Welsh village of Hawarden, just a stone’s throw from the Welsh border. Called the Gladstone Library, this imposing building is home to over 250,000 books and allows guests to get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life in order to do some serious reading. Read More

September 15, 2016
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UNESCO World Book Capital 2018 Announced

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Every year, UNESCO names one city as the ‘World Book Capital’ for that year, the chosen city picks up the torch on World Book and Copyright Day on 23rd April, and them commits to promote books and reading for the whole year. Last year it was announced that Conakry, Guinea would take the honour from the current city Wroclaw, and now Athens has been named as World Book Capital for 2018. Read More

September 8, 2016
2

A Glimpse of Tudor Life Aboard the Mary Rose.

By | Authors, Culture, Guest Blogs, Inspired by Literature, Literary Places, Literature, Reading Habits, Uncategorized | No Comments
As an end-of-the-summer-holiday treat my little family and I went on a road-trip from Devon to Portsmouth to visit the Mary Rose Museum. I would highly recommend you to visit if you are nearby, or are particularly interested in Tudor life or the famous ship that was brought back to the surface in the 1970s. Read More