In many parts of the world the day of the summer solstice (21 June in the Northern Hemisphere) is special. Besides being the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and the shortest in the Southern, this is also the day which marks the link between people, the Earth, and the Sun, and is celebrated with dances, bonfire, making wreaths, gathering healing plants and herbs, performing magic and mystical rituals…

Create a special celebration for the Summer Solstice this year, whether it be a traditional ritual or one you made up yourself.

Here are several unusual and fun summer solstice ideas:

Escape the city to greet the sun

Use every occasion to fill your smog-clogged lungs with fresh air. Choose a nature spot with a spectacular sunrise view to greet the first rays of the sun. Breathe in the smell of wild flowers, feel the warmth of the sun on your skin, hear the birds’ songs. This is more practicing mindfulness than a ritual but still counts.

Sunrise © Nishan Joomun

Gather medicinal plants for their healing powers like a Bulgarian

In many places, the night of St. John (June 24) is considered a magical one when the medicinal plants double their power. Women wake up before the rooster crows to gather plants and hang them over the doorstep of their home to keep witches away (in case you have had any problematic witches in your life recently, now you know the remedy!). In Bulgaria, for example, the plants have to be 77. Additionally, a small flower bunch is left in a container of water to spend the night under the stars. This bouquet is kept throughout the year as a personal talisman.

Summer solstice medicinal plants © Maria Angelova/www.203challenges.com

Celebrate New Year like the Mapuche people in Chile

At these latitudes, the June solstice marks the shortest day of the year called We Tripantu. Eating, drinking, telling traditional stories and playing Mapuche folklore instruments is part of the party. Well, it sounds like a normal party but you can also counter any distrust pointing out that if someone doesn’t respect the Mapuche traditions, this is none of your business.

Four Mapuche kids to distract you from the drinking and eating topic.

Join thousands of sun worshippers at Stonehenge

Stonehenge is one of the places where the largest number of sun worshippers gather from all over the world. The monument was designed for summer solstice celebrations more than 1,000 years ago, plus you can join the event for free on the morning of June 21.

Summer Solstice at Stonehenge

Make flower wreaths like a Swedish

The Swedish express their summer joy by dancing around a high stake, adorned with flowers. They make wreaths, which the girls wear on their heads.

Burn a huge scarecrow like a Danish

In the whole of Scandinavia there is a tradition of making a huge bonfire during the night of the summer solstice. The Danish go to extremes as they burn up scarecrows.

Danish MIdsommer fire

Complete 108 sun salutations like the yogis

Enrich your yoga practice with a ritual observed in many places around the globe – completing 108 (1+8=9, a sacred number) sun salutations (surya namaskar) in a row.

Complete 108 salutations

Make up your own sun ritual

Maybe you feel like indulging in sun salutations while you burn your flower wreath in a New-Year bonfire near Stonehenge? It doesn’t really matter what you are doing as long as you put all your passion in it. If you have a fun summer solstice tradition, feel free to share it in the comment.

One more idea: Get dressed and watch the sunrise on the day of the Winter Solstice (between 21 and 23 December in the northern hemisphere) or right now if you are in the Southern Hemisphere.

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The bumps (England and Ireland)

If you happen to celebrate your birthday in the company of some English and Irish friends, don’t get surprised when the moment comes for them to take you by the hands and legs and “bump” you up into the air and back to the floor – and then again, and again until the number of “bumps” reaches the age you are turning.

Beating with belts (Poland)

Turning 18 is a big thing in Europe – you suddenly find yourself with a lot of exciting new opportunities, you don’t need mom and dad’s permission to do anything and you are no longer a child. And to welcome you to adulthood, Poles will slap you 18 times on the ass with a belt in front of all your guests in the middle of your birthday party. I am not quite sure how to comment on this, so let’s just leave it here and move a bit north to…

Decapitating the cake (Denmark)

…where the roles swap.  The birthday person is no longer being tortured but rather turns into the torturer – over their birthday cake. In Denmark it is common for the birthday cake (called Kagemand) to be shaped and decorated to look like a man (if it’s a boy’s birthday) or woman (if it’s a girl’s birthday). After the kid has finished blowing out the candles, they cut off the head of the cake-person while all the other kids around are screaming their own heads off.

A cute one to restore your faith in humanity (Ukraine)

We are finishing the list of bizarre birthday customs in Ukraine, with one that (thankfully) doesn’t hurt anyone. Ukrainians draw a circle on a piece of paper, which they cut into eight slices like pizza. On each of them they write something bad that happened in the last year and then burn that “slice”. When the bad things are all burned and buried in the past, the same “pizza” is made – this time with the positive changes in the past year of one’s life.

Ear pulling (Hungary, Italy, Brazil, Argentina…)

The idea of showing the birthday person that you are happy they were born and you wish them a happy and long life by actually causing them physical discomfort is not foreign to Hungarians or Italians either – they will pull your earlobes, once again the same number of times as the age you are turning. This practice is also common in Brazil and Argentina.

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Whether you’re thinking of booking an action-packed family holiday or a romantic retreat, choosing a location for your getaway is the most critical step. Below, we’ve listed some of the best destinations for UK city breaks with a difference.

Top 5 UK urban staycations

1. Cambridge

Thanks to its central position in the East Midlands, Cambridge is one of the easiest cities to reach from anywhere in the UK. Just as taking the train from Peterborough to Cambridge promises an easy, direct journey, using the Park & Ride service is fast and convenient for families.

Along with being home to one of the most prestigious and world-renowned universities, the town offers ample opportunities for shopping, eating, and drinking, with a lively culture to boot.

One of the main attractions is the opportunity to go punting along the river Cam. Visitors can choose whether to do the ‘punting’ themselves or sit back, relax, and take in the views while a helpful guide does the hard work.

• Bath

If tranquillity and luxury are high up on your list, a weekend trip to Bath shouldn’t disappoint. The city itself is a UNESCO World Heritage Centre, and nestled amongst the streets you’ll find some incredibly well preserved, original Roman baths. This rare opportunity to bathe in ancient, naturally heated waters at the Thermae Bath Spa attracts visitors from across the continent.

Bath is also jam-packed with bookshops, quaint guest houses, and a magnificent array of local cafés, bistro pubs, and top-rated restaurants.

• Edinburgh

Edinburgh frequently tops the lists of UK city sightseers – and it’s not difficult to see why. Scotland’s capital is teeming with some of the best pub grub, afternoon teas, Michelin star restaurants and fine whiskies in the UK. Along with its strong standing on the culinary front, Edinburgh is known for its cultural and touristic appeal too.

Popular attractions include its 13^th-century castle, an ancient fortress build upon an extinct volcano called Castle Rock, and the highest point in Holyrood Park. The world-famous Arthur’s Seat is popular with tourists, taking approximately two hours on foot to reach the top.

• Durham

Perfect for those seeking a slightly more cultural UK break, Durham is dominated by its world-renowned Romanesque cathedral. The city’s lively university culture gives it a relaxed, youthful feel despite being steeped in centuries’ worth of history.

Cobbled shopping lanes lead straight onto the university campus, which offers the solitude of its own 25-acre botanical garden just south of the main university gardens. And from posh brunch cafés to artisan bakeries and top-rated restaurants, Durham is certainly one for the foodies too.

• Liverpool

Lastly, Liverpool might not be the first city that springs to mind when you’re planning a staycation – but there’s much to be said about this trendy destination. Not only is it home to the legendary Liverpool FC and the Royal Albert Dock, but Liverpool boasts an unrivalled musical heritage.

The Beatles shape much of Liverpool’s music tourism. You can visit the Beatles Story Exhibition, take a special Beatles-themed tour of the city, or even call in to the Casbah Coffee Club where it all started. Whatever the purpose of your stay, all you need is love for adventure – and an umbrella too!

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Skip breakfast on the day you decide to squeeze through some of the narrowest streets across Europe because most of them look like a crevice rather than something that is supposed to have an official name on the city’s map. Well, some are in fact deprived of a name but this doesn’t make the effort to visit them worthless. Here they are, the narrowest streets in Europe.

#1 Spreuerhofstraße

Spreuerhofstraße, the narrowest street in the world

Where: the Old Town of Reutlingen, Germany

At its narrowest point, it is only 31 cm (12.2 in) wide. This is, in fact, the world’s narrowest street according to the Guinness World Records. Spreuerhofstraße was built in 1727.

#2 The narrowest street in Italy

The narrowest street in Italy, in Ripatransone | marino cortolezzis/Flickr

Where: Ripatransone, Italy

This alley in the province of Ascoli Piceno, Le Marche, doesn’t even have a name. When you arrive in the medieval town of Ripatransone, ask the locals or follow the signs to the alley, which is only 43 cm (17 in) at its narrowest part. You can get a certificate from the tourist office as proof that you have walked along the street.

#3 The narrowest street in Prague

The narrowest street in Prague

Where: Prague, Czech Republic

Its width of a mere 50 cm (1.6 ft) is the reason why even a traffic light has been installed to regulate the flow of people. To find it, you should head to the Charles Bridge and Kafka Museum and make sure to look carefully to your sides, because you may miss it if you don’t know what to look for. The ‘street’ status of this alley has been widely disputed as it is in fact one of the last fire brigade passes left in Prague.

#4 Calletta Varisco

Calletta Varisco: the narrowest #calli #callettavarisco #tour #gita #promenade #ontheway #foundit #reunion #amies #cannaregio #venice

A post shared by Anna Sartor (@an.sartor) on Mar 11, 2017 at 10:46am PST

Where: Venice, Italy

The whole city of Venice is full of tiny alleys surrounded by mighty buildings but Calle Varisco is said to be the narrowest of them all. With its 53 cm (21 in). When you walk a little bit inside the street, stop to look up to the sky

#5 Parliament Street

Where: Exeter, England

It is 64 cm (25 in) wide in its narrowest part. Some time ago the residents in the area asked the local authorities to widen it, but, apparently, the idea wasn’t approved.

#6 Strada Sforii

Strada Sforii in Brasov, Romania | © Maria Angelova/203challenges.com

Where: Brasov, Romania

It is 109 cm (42.9 in) at its narrowest point. Translated into English, the name means “String Street”. It was built in the 15th century as a corridor that firemen could use and is the narrowest street in Romania.

Here are all the streets pinned on a map so you can find them easier:

Pin it for your next narrow-street trip:

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You are a seasoned traveler. You have pitched your tent all over the world – beaches, mountains, forests, campsites… But have you spent the night in an ancient church? And you don’t have to be Christian or even religious!

All Saints, Langport/JosephCaseyPhotography.com

What’s champing?

When the last prayers have been said and the church’s door is locked for visitors… then you can have the church all to yourself for the night. That’s a new way to see camping, invented by the Churches Conservation Trust in England as a way to provide additional funding for the small rural churches.

They call it champing = church camping.

As for 2017, 12 churches in different English towns and the Orkney Islands offered tourists to spend a night in a time-capsule with centuries of history to explore. New churches join the project every year.

St Cyriac & St Julitta Swaffham Prior/JosephCaseyPhotography.com

What is it like to spend the night in a medieval church?

The experience is closer to camping than to a hotel room. Most of the participating churches have no running water, modern toilet or heating. But you have fold-out camping beds, electric candles, bottled water, light snacks, camping chairs, cushions etc. You can also enjoy a full breakfast delivered in the morning, made using local produce.

St Katherine, Chiselhampton/Joseph Casey Photography

Maybe you wonder if you will have to share the church with strangers?

Absolutely not (unless you consider some people in your party to be strange, but that’s something you should take care of). It will be all yours, for you and yours alone.

Or if you can drink alcohol inside?

“Yes, don’t be silly”, says the Champing official website. Ok, now we really love the idea!

St Mary Church Longsleddale/Jenny Woolgar Photography

St Mary Church Longsleddale/Jenny Woolgar Photography

It gets even better

The champing churches are with stories that can be traced back as far as the Saxon period, and centuries of history to explore. They are the perfect setting to explore England’s culture, heritage and craftsmanship throughout the ages. Alongside the standard champing break, you can also include in your schedule activities such as leisurely walks, canoeing adventures, storytelling and meditation. You can bring your dog to the adventure too. 

The champing season 2018 is open from March 31 to September 30, 2018. 

More information here.

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Here’s a map of all the mentioned museums and galleries:

FREE MUSEUMS in London

#1 British Museum

Some of the greatest artifacts of human history are kept here – the Rosetta Stone, sculptures from the Parthenon in Athens, ancient Egyptian mummies and many more. Although the British Museum is free, a donation of £5 is recommended.

Opening hours: daily 10 am -5.30 pm (Fridays until 8.30 pm)

#2 Natural History Museum

The Natural History Museum is where you and your kids will find answers to almost every evolution or animal question. The huge whale skeleton and the dinosaurs exhibits are the superstars of this venue.

Opening hours: daily 10 am – 5.50 pm

#3 Victoria and Albert Museum

Victoria and Albert Museum is a treasury of art, design, fashion, and furniture design from different periods and styles.

Opening hours: daily 10 am – 5.50 pm (Fridays until 10 pm)

#4 Museum of London

The Museum of London is where you can delve into the history of London since prehistoric times by strolling among recreated city areas from different epochs.

Opening hours: daily 10 am – 6 pm

#5 Museum of London Docklands

Make it a little bit more specific and explore the history of London as an important port and a trade hub. The Museum of London Docklands is located in a warehouse that is two centuries old.

Opening hours: daily 10 am – 6 pm

#6 Science Museum

Science becomes alive in the 3D and 4D simulators of the Science Museum where you can experience an Apollo space mission. This is the most visited science museum in Europe and you will quickly see why.

Opening hours: daily 10 am – 6 pm

#7 V&A Museum of Childhood

This museum houses an impressive collection of toys and games from the last five centuries.

Opening hours: daily 10 am – 5.45 pm

#8 Horniman Museum and Gardens

Horniman Museum and Garden is a real treasure that contains an aquarium, anthropology and natural history collections, musical instruments and manicured gardens.

Opening hours: daily 10 am – 5.30 pm

#9 Grant Museum of Zoology

This Victorian-style museum is full of skeletons, specimen in jars, and stuffed animals covering the whole animal kingdom.

Opening hours: Monday – Friday 1 pm – 5 pm

#10 Bank of England Museum

Head to the Bank of England to delve into its history since its foundation in 1694 and learn about its famous customers through the centuries.

Opening hours: Monday – Friday 10 am – 5 pm

#11 Royal Air Force Museum

Spend a day among more than a hundred aircraft exhibited at the Royal Air Force Museum in London – entertaining for both kids and adults.

Opening hours: daily 10 am – 6 pm

#12 Anaesthesia Museum

This quirky museum contains a collection of objects related to the history of pain relief and medicine.

Opening hours: Monday – Friday 10 am – 4 pm

#13 London Sewing Machine Museum

The London Sewing Machine Museum keeps a collection of 600 sewing machines, including the first Singer machine and machines owned by royalties. The museum only accepts visitors over 16 years.

Opening hours: Every first Saturday of the month 2 pm – 5 pm

#14 Queen’s House Greenwich

You have 22 rooms to visit and art from the last 400 years to explore at the Queen’s House in Greenwich.

Opening hours: daily 10 am – 5 pm

#15 Kenwood House

Find a serene hidden gem in London at the Kenwood House. Kick back and unwind in the vast gardens or marvel at the Rembrandt’s self-portrait and other pieces of art hanging on the walls inside.

Opening hours: daily 10 am – 4 pm

#16 Imperial War Museum

The Imperial War Museum in London focuses on both the conflicts causing wars and how people are affected by wars.

Opening hours: daily 10 am – 6 pm

#17 Hogarth House

You can see many pieces of art from the artist William Hogarth in his restored country home.

Opening hours: Tuesday – Sunday 12 am – 5 pm

FREE GALLERIES in London

#18 National Gallery

The National Gallery contains a huge collection of Western European art from Van Gogh, Leonardo da Vinci, Renoir, Rembrandt, and many more.

Opening hours: daily 10 am – 6 pm (Fridays until 9 pm)

#19 National Portrait Gallery

If you want to browse through British history in faces, this is the best place to do it. The National Portrait Gallery will meet you face to face with queens, kings, and contemporary movie stars.

Opening hours: daily 10 am – 6 pm (Thursdays and Fridays until 9 pm)

#20 Tate Modern

Immerse in the best modern art collection in Britain at the Tate Modern. You will see works of art by Salvador Dalí, Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, and Andy Warhol among the others.

Opening hours: daily 10 am – 6 pm (Fridays and Saturdays until 10 pm)

#21 Tate Britain

Tate Britain contains the biggest collection of British art since the 1500’s until nowadays.

Opening hours: Saturday – Thursday 10 am – 6 pm (Fridays until 10 pm) 

#22 Newport Street Gallery

Newport Street Gallery is where the artists Damien Hirst has open his personal art collection to the public. The collection includes works of art by Banksy, Francis Bacon, Pablo Picasso, Tracey Emin and many more.

Opening hours: Tuesday – Sunday 10 am – 6 pm but check because the gallery is often closed for installations. 

Pinning this post is also free and it is also useful for your next London trip planning:

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The Sherlock Holmes series by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

This is not only a literary classic; the stories about the legendary detective are also a great way to travel back to Victorian London. Nowadays a lot of Sherlock Holmes-themed sites are open to visitors in the city, including the Sherlock Holmes museum on 221b Baker Street and Sherlock Holmes Pub (besides being a bar and a restaurant, the pub has a secret – a complete recreation of Holmes and Watson’s study and sitting room with a large collection of objects from the books and adaptations). Organized Sherlock Holmes tours take you to some of the iconic places featured in the books, as well as in the many movie adaptations.

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

A trip to London might be a good reason to re-read this classic if you haven’t done it already or even a better reason to read for the first time. Written in Dickens’ sarcastic style, the novel paints a portrait of London’s society and its problems in the mid 19^th century, following the story of the orphan boy Oliver.

This is actually the first book in English literature in which the main character is a child. Over 90 London locations featured in the tale are now yours to explore (check this website for some ideas).

Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Wolf

A novel about one day in the life of Mrs. Dalloway – a high society woman living in post-WWI London. Though the story is technically about the protagonist walking the streets of London in the morning, preparing for a party in the evening, some thought-provoking issues are covered – like depression and mental illnesses, faith and doubt, and existential crisis. Aside from its strong thematic content, this masterpiece is full of London history and paints a literary landscape of the city.

Absolute Beginners by Collin MacInnes

London, 1958. A teenage photographer lives in an attic flat in West London and is determined to turn his last year of adolescence into a “real rave: In the smoky jazz clubs of Soho and the coffee bars of Notting Hill the young and the restless – the absolute beginners – are revolutionising youth culture and forging a new carefree lifestyle of sex, drugs and rock’n’roll.”

The novel describes the lives of the city’s Caribbean immigrants, poor English people, homosexuals, and drug addicts. It covers the themes of the emerging new youth culture, jazz music, racial tensions and describes the development of what would be later called mod subculture – famous in London in the 1960s.

In 1986, a movie based on the novel was made, with a theme song of the same name by David Bowie. The song would become one of Bowie’s most successful singles.

London: The Biography by Peter Ackroyd

Moving on to some non-fiction books, you can’t miss the ultimate portrayal of London described by Peter Ackroyd in his work London: The Biography. It covers pretty much everything needed to bring the city to live in the reader’s mind: history, fashion, food, and lifestyle.

Londoners by Craig Taylor

Craig Taylor is an English journalist and writer who spent five years exploring London and meeting its citizens to gather the stories of “the days and nights of London now – as told by those who love it, hate it, live it, left it and long for it.” The book consists of more than 80 interviews with people of different occupations, races and social classes, who together create the vivid atmosphere of the city.

Walk the Lines: The London Underground, Overground by Mark Mason

Mark Mason walks the whole length of the London Underground and shares everything he comes across on the way through all the stations – curious facts, insight information, interesting conversations and different points of view. Because “the only way to truly discover a city, they say, is on foot”.

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The legendary Glastonbury festival, held at the end of June, features one of the world’s best live music line-ups, as well as a host of comedy, theater, cabaret and other performances.

Location

The festival is located in the southwest of England near a small village called Pilton, six miles east of Glastonbury town. There’s not much to see in Pilton, but the town of Glastonbury itself offers plenty of landmarks worth checking out if you need a break from the madness and mud of the festival. The church of St. John the Baptist, the ruins of Glastonbury Abbey, the George Hotel and the Pilgrim’s Inn are among the iconic town’s must-see spots.

Glastonbury town center.

Line-up

Every year, the festival features a mind-bending line-up of some of the world’s biggest pop, rock, dance and hip hop artists. Over the past five years these grounds have been host to Muse, U2, Pharrell Williams, The Rolling Stones, Kanye West, Skrillex, Lana Del Rey and many, many more. The star line-up draws a lot of attention, with the number of visitors each year ranging from 120,000 to 140,000 people.

Sunday evening at Glastonbury.

Accessibility

The fastest way to get to the festival is by air, with Bristol International Airport the closest major hub in the region. A bus link from the airport takes you to Bristol Temple Meads railway and bus station. From there, you can catch regular buses and trains to the special station by the festival ground. If you’re considering going by car, be advised that a car pass for the festival costs £45.

A view over the Glastonbury skyline.

Costs

This year, the ticket price for the festival is £238 plus a small booking fee of £5. That covers the whole festival, as you can’t buy tickets for separate days. Every festival ticket includes a camping pass, with caravans also welcome at campsites. If you prefer to stay indoors, the city of Glastonbury offers plenty of accommodation during festival time, with hotel prices ranging from £50 to £150.

Because of its huge popularity, the 2017 edition is already sold out. Featuring acts such as Radiohead, Foo Fighters, Ed Sheeran and Major Lazer, Glastonbury is sure to be a memorable start to the summer for those lucky enough to go. However, you can get your foot in the door for next year’s festival if you’re prepared to plan early. Don’t worry, we’re sure the 2018 line-up will be just as spectacular! More information here.

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