ON SAFARI IN JANE AUSTEN COUNTRY
With the new film version of "Pride and Prejudice" starring Kiera Knightly and Matthew MacFadyen impressing movie-goers, Hampshire Safaris is offering a new Jane Austen Country tour. It takes visitors around the parts of Hampshire where the author spent the first 25 years of her life, before she moved to Bath or Chawton (the Hampshire village where her home can be visited).It travels through pretty countryside using the roads she used to walk and visits churches, villages and country houses that inspired her novels. The two-and-a-half hour tour in an air-conditioned vehicle costs £30 adult and £15 child and can be booked through Basingstoke tourist information centre,. Website: www.hiddenbritaintours.co.uk

CHELTENHAM RECLAIMS SPA TOWN STATUS
Cheltenham in Gloucestershire has reclaimed its status as a spa town following vital repair work to its original wells. The spa water supply was ceremoniously restored to the town's Pittville Pump Room in September, two years after the Spa was shut down due to leakages in the old Victorian wells, first sunk in 1825. Cheltenham has been a spa town since the discovery of the waters in 1716 and is unique in being England's only alkaline spa, producing water with a salty taste and high concentration of minerals. During the 18th and 19th centuries, the rich and famous enjoyed ‘taking the waters', which led to Cheltenham developing into a fashionable, elegant town. Cheltenham is an ideal base from which to explore the nearby Cotswold Hills. Website: www.visitcheltenham.info

GLASGOW FESTIVAL OF LIGHT
Glasgow, Scotland's commercial capital, will be lit up this November when it hosts its first Festival of Light. The event will bring together world-renowned lighting and visual artists as well as emerging talent to create a three-day spectacle. Glasgow is the first UK city to host such an event.

Commissioned and funded as part of Glasgow City Council's investment into the city's lighting strategy, Radiance, Glasgow Festival of Light (Nov. 25-27) will introduce light as an art form in an urban context. It will feature a programme of installations and interactive displays, illuminating the often hidden architecture of the city's Merchant City area. Bars, restaurants, shops and galleries will also take part with a range of special events.
Website: www.radianceglasgow.com

LIVERPOOL SHOWCASE FOR 2008 PREPARATIONS
Liverpool in North-West England has opened a ‘one-stop' centre as a showcase for its European Capital of Culture 2008 preparations. The city will play host to Europe in 2008 when it takes over the title of Capital of Culture. The new centre, ‘08 Place, is situated in Whitechapel, close to Mathew Street in the heart of the city and features a multi-media experience on Liverpool's attractions and events, both current and planned. It will also act as a showcase and booking facility for forthcoming cultural events, and staff are fluent in several languages including French, German and Spanish. Website: www.liverpool08.com

FLYING SCOTSMAN'S PRIDE OF PLACE IN YORK RAIL MUSEUM
The National Railway Museum in York is creating its first exhibition dedicated to the legendary Flying Scotsman steam locomotive. The £700,000 exhibition will be called The Flying Scotsman Story and is scheduled to open for Easter 2006. The permanent exhibition will tell the story behind the world's most famous steam locomotive and the prestigious East Coast rail service that made its name. It will feature personal stories of people linked to the locomotive and the service; a glimpse into The Flying Scotsman's footplate; guest appearances by other famous locomotives; a 1930s buffet dining car; and rare film footage along the Flying Scotsman route and from all periods of the 82 year-old locomotive's life. The York museum is the world's largest railway museum. Website: www.nmsi.ac.uk

ACTORS REMEMBERED IN LONDON'S AVENUE OF STARS
Britain's answer to Hollywood's Walk of Fame is being created in London's Covent Garden. One hundred stars of stage, screen and TV are being immortalised on the Avenue of Stars to celebrate 50 years of ITV (Independent Television).
The first 18 recipients, including Sirs Laurence Olivier, Alec Guinness, Charlie Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock and Rex Harrison; Peter Sellers; John Cleese; Ricky Gervais, Nicole Kidman and the Rolling Stones, are already represented by silver stars in the walkway, situated outside St Paul's, the Actors' Church in Covent Garden. More names will be added each year.
The Avenue of Stars is ITV's tribute to the greatest British and Commonwealth show business names over the last half-century.
Website: www.itv.com

BRITAIN TOP FOR MICRO BREWERIES SAYS BEER GUIDE
Ale drinkers can celebrate: Britain has more micro breweries per head than any country in the world, including the USA. With 500 micros - including more than 80 new ones this year - and 35 family-owned breweries plus several bigger regional producers, drinkers now have greater choice than at any time since the early 1970s. These statistics come from the "Good Beer Guide 2006", the latest edition of the British beer drinkers' annual, published by the consumer-led Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA).

Details of all independent breweries are listed in the guide - together with the beers they produce, which bear names such as Dragon's Breath and Hoppy Dayz. They are found all over the country, with the highest number in Yorkshire, closely followed by Greater Manchester. The guide also includes descriptions of the top 4,500 pubs serving cask-conditioned real ale, all surveyed on a regular basis by CAMRA's volunteer members. The 864-page guide, edited by Roger Protz, costs £13.99 from British bookshops and has information on pub facilities for families, the disabled, history, architecture, food and accommodation as well as the beer.
Website: www.camra.org.uk

BRITAIN'S ‘TALLEST TOWER' TO OPEN IN PORTSMOUTH
A new landmark resembling a billowing sail towers over Portsmouth Harbour on the South Coast, the centre of England's naval power since Tudor times. At 170 metres, Spinnaker Tower is the tallest publicly accessible structure in the UK, offering superb views over the harbour and up to 23 miles in three directions. It is expected to open in October.

There are three glass encapsulated viewing decks. Deck one has a glazed floor where visitors can ‘walk on air'; deck two has two self-contained multimedia stations showing the history of the harbour; and three, the Crow's Nest, is open to the elements. A panoramic glass lift takes visitors up and down the outside of the tower, complemented by a high-speed internal lift. The Tower Café Bar serves coffee, classic sandwiches by day and wine and bottled beer at night. The attraction is open daily, admission £4.95 adult, £4 child and the panoramic lift costs £2 extra.
Website: www.spinnakertower.co.uk

WEEKEND PACKAGE VARIETY AT MANCHESTER HOTEL
The four-star Arora International Hotel Manchester has launched a range of two-night weekend breaks to cater for guests looking for time with their family; a romantic getaway or ‘girly pampering':
• The Family Time package (£199) offers a large room with two double beds and complimentary tickets to The Filmworks cinema.
• City Fizz - A Romantic Getaway (£299), is designed for couples and includes a three-course dinner, a champagne breakfast delivered to the room and entry to a top nightclub.
• Urban Sprawl - A Girly Pampering Weekend (£249), has a beauty therapist visiting the guests' room and providing a beauty treatment for each person, plus entry to a premier nightspot.

The hotel is located in the heart of the city centre, convenient for Manchester's museums, China Town and shopping.
Website: www.arorainternational.com

NEW LUXURY APARTMENTS IN THE HIGHLANDS
Twenty-four luxurious apartments have opened in the Scottish Highlands close to some of Europe's best golfing fishing, hunting and shooting. The Links in Brora, 210 miles north of Edinburgh, is set on the coast beside the town's well-known James Braid golf course. It boasts views over the Dornoch Firth and Sutherland hills. The two-bedroom apartments consist of a large lounge-dining area, fitted kitchen, two bathrooms, with broadband connection, LCD televisions and music system. Guests benefit from complimentary facilities at the neighbouring Royal Marine Hotel including a leisure club, swimming pool, Jacuzzi, sauna, restaurants and bars. Rates start at £100 per day or £500 per week.
Website: www.highlandescapehotels.com

ECO-FRIENDLY BOTTLE DOME FOR MID WALES
The Dyfi Valley, a scenic area of Mid Wales set between Cardigan Bay and the Cambrian Mountains, is sparsely populated, yet its diverse attractions have come up with new ideas to tempt the visitor. Highlights include:

 Europe's leading eco-centre, the Centre for Alternative Technology at Machynlleth, which has pioneered recycling, sustainable transport and housing for more than 25 years, plans a new development called "Bringing the Future Forward". At its heart will be a new area focusing on waste and recycling, including a giant glass bottle dome made from 2,500 bottles.

The centre includes a water-balance cliff railway and a popular vegetarian restaurant.
 The Talyllyn narrow-gauge steam railway - one of the Great Little Trains of Wales -- has opened a new museum which includes a reconstruction of the Rev. A.W. Awdry's study, where he wrote the popular "Thomas the Tank Engine" books.

 King Arthur's Labyrinth at Corris takes visitors on an underground boat journey into caverns beneath the mountains of Snowdonia. Alongside is Corris Craft Centre, housing ten craftspeople who produce hand-made items - including Sylvan Tutch, a South African rustic furniture company which recently made items for Nelson Mandela's garden.
Website: www.dyfivalley.org.uk

IN BRIEF...
Trace Scottish ancestors: Work on a new Family History Centre has started in Edinburgh and is planned to open in late 2006. It will enable people search records, some 500 years old, trace their family tree and get a glimpse into the richness of Scotland's past. It will include exhibitions, search rooms and retail spaces and be open to amateur historians as well as professional genealogists. Website: www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

Natural history in Man: Tailless Manx cats are among 500 items featured in a new Natural History Gallery in Douglas, Isle of Man. The attraction, part of the island's Manx Museum, aims to encourage further exploration of its unique biodiversity. Admission is free. Website: www.visitisleofman.com

Conferences in new London hotel: A new, 130-room four-star hotel set to open in the City of London later this year has announced its conference facilities. The Apex City of London, close to Tower Bridge, will have five conference suites accommodating up to 70 delegates. The rooms are flexible and incorporate audio-visual equipment.
Website: www.apexhotels.co.uk

Holiday homes in Knightsbridge: Four mews houses in London's Knightsbridge have been given a contemporary-style makeover and can be booked for self-catering stays. The two-bedroom houses, from Cheval Apartments, include balconies and private gardens, with the latest technology including flat-screen TVs. Prices are from £1,750 per week.
Website: www.chevalgroup.com

London anticipates Europride: London is expecting up to one million lesbian and gay visitors for the EuroPride Festival Fortnight next year (June 17-30) and the free EuroPride Day (July 1). The July 1 parade will double in size, featuring up to 80 floats and 200 costumed groups and bands.
Website: www.PrideLondon.org