Advantages: Strong characterisation, some wonderful sections Disadvantages: Some dull, drawn-out sections; inconsistent
Kafka Tamura is a runaway fifteen year-old with a great deal on his conscience, not least a possible murder. That said, he's not sure who the victim was or how he may have done it. Nakata is an elderly gentleman who isn't so bright, although he can talk to cats, and tends not to be far away from strange goings-on whenever they occur. Haruki Murakami's Kafka on the Shore relates the converging journeys these two characters must take as they try to make sense of their own places in the greater scheme of things and come to terms with their roles in the events which await them.
Both characters are searching for something, although neither knows entirely what. Kafka escapes his heartless father in an attempt to better understand himself and perhaps track down his long-missing mother and sister, with a prophetic warning ringing in his ears ...
Advantages: Free access Disadvantages: None for me
Freiston Shore is one of 302 nature reserves in the UK that is managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. It is located near Boston in Lincolnshire on the East Coast of England and occupies an area of around 210 acres of salt marshes that provide a unique habitat for birds, insects and plants. It is however especially noted for its bird life.
The nature reserve lies in an area of Britain known as The Wash, which has a status of international importance for its wildfowl (ducks, geese and swans), and waders. Each year it is the wintering grounds of hundreds of thousands of birds and during the summer months provides a breeding habitat for some of Britain's rarest birds. In additional to this it is also a magnet for spring and autumn migrants.
The unusual thing about Freiston Marsh is that the land has been reclaimed from ...
Advantages: Free to visit Disadvantages: Only ruins, remote location
The ruins of Ardvreck Castle stand like something from the scene of a fairly tale, perched on the edge of Loch Assynt in Sutherland on the remote north west coast of Scotland.
I've passed this castle many times during my holidays in Scotland but each time it has always been at 60 mph so I have only usually seen it at the last moment and it hasn't been convenient to stop. Recently however when I knew that I would be passing by again I made a point of stopping for half an hour to check it out.
It is clearly visible from the A837, which is the main road from Ullapool north to Durness and there is no denying that the castle has an idyllic setting. It is located on a rocky peninsula that juts out into the loch and when the water levels in the loch are high the castle is occasionally completely cut off from the land. The ruins ...
