Being British: Act IX

[coolh5000]

I have a chapter coming up where I need a British wizarding family to go on holiday for Christmas. I need an idea for possible places that the British jetset might go for Christmas. Locations in other countries of Europe would be prefered.

If you want somewhere snowy and in Europe then I know a few people who go skiing over christmas, usually to the Alps, either Switzerland/Austria/France etc.

If it's for the Malfoys, I can't quite see them going to lapland but I could imagine them in a very expensive ski resort.

Other than that I can't think of anywhere my friends might go that hasn't been mentioned.

[Equinox Chick]

Ah-ha it's the Malfoys. I can't see them going to Tenerife or anywhewre warm at all!

If you want a ski resort then how about Klosters- in Switzerland. It's where the Royal family go every year so it's expensive but not too flashy.

[emmaholloway]

Skiing isn't something that wizards do. Remember when Hermione was supposed to go skiing over christmas in OOTP and she told harry not to tell Ron she wasn't interested because he didn't see what was so great about it, or something?

The Malfoys would definitely not partake in a muggle sport.

[myownmuggle]

As a gentle reminder, please keep in mind that specific information related to a character(s) and their potential actions should be posted in that character(s)'s thread, not here.

[Gorgeous_Ginny]

I have just had a really random thought about this, what about Antartic or the Artic, because it is very remote so Muggles won't find them and because Wizards can perform charms to heat things/places up maybe there is a holiday park type of thing there especially for the Wizarding World, where it doesn't seem as warm as what it actually is and they can't be found out by Muggles.

Maybe?

- Hana

[Hufflepuff at Heart]

I think this is the right place to post this...feel free to correct me if I'm wrong!

Could anyone give me the names of some seaside villages/towns in Britain that Wizards might go on holiday to? Maybe beside a railway line (although I suppose most of them are...).

I should probably know some, since I live next door to you guys, but there you go!

Thanks!

[coolh5000]

There are loads!

I'll give you a few I know of, having been to a few.

Tywyn (a very small Welsh seaside town, on the railway line.
Great Yarmouth (quite a big town, on the east coast of england, part of Norfolk)
Gorleston (close to great yarmouth but a lot smaller. Has a traditional beach with fish and chips/ice creams/tack souvenir shops etc.
Blackpool is a huge one and quite well-known!
There are loads of places in Cornwall, here is a link to some but remember not all are coastal
Rhyl and Llandudno are both in Wales, though don't know much about them.
Brighton
Weston-super-Mare
According to The Times (Here is the link to the article) the top seven are:
Swanage
Tenby
Whitby
Padstow
St Andrews
Southwold
Criccieth

There's a few - not sure how helpful that will be but to be honest there are loads and loads of seaside towns and I don't know if there are any that might be specific to wizards.

[Gorgeous_Ginny]

I second coolh500 in saying Whitby would be amazing because this is where "Dracula's " Castle is, so it gives off that spooky feeling, its a very gothic town, but the people are amazing and very kind and open minded.

Here is a link to a website on Whitby, it opens on a page about Dracula.

Hope this helped.

- Hannah x

[AurorKeefy]

Firstly, might I point out that coolh5000's list is extremely suitable, and searching for any of those locations on the internet will have you set.

However, since Whitby has specifically been brought up, I'd like to add a couple of specific thoughts and anecdotes on the place. I don't pretend to be an authority on the place, I've only been once so far, and that was when I was quite a lot younger, but I'd like to say my piece anyway.

Whitby isn't really like the other seaside resort towns. I apologise if I cause any offence here (though I'm sure Whitby fans would agree with me), but the place is, frankly, wierd.

While most of the other seaside resorts are either picturesque in an almost "fluffy" way (like Tenby for instance) or else completely overun with bright lights and all things tacky (like Blackpool, Morecombe and many of the seaside resorts near me), Whitby is picturesque is a very grim and gothic way. It's not hard to imagine why it inspires people to write horror novels. I would never dream of calling Whitby ugly in the traditional sense, because its incredibly striking in what I regard as a very horrible way. From the very shape of the cliffs to the Abbey peering down upon the town, it is odd. It doesn't help that it's on the North Sea either, which I have long campaigned to be awarded the honour of "Grimmest Body of Water in the World".

The other thing about Whitby, is that so much of it seems to be caught in a time warp. This is very anecdotal, but when I went (way back in the mid nineties) half of the shops and decor didn't look like it had been changed since the 1950's. I remember having a real sense that the place had somehow kept out modernity altogether.

On another note, as a child (I forget whether this was before or after my visit) I read a series of books by my favourite Author, entitled The Whitby Witches. All my gothic and metalhead friends swear by Whitby, and regularly go on holiday there to have their photos taken in the Abbey, drink red wine, dance around the cliffs, and do all the other things I forsook when I chose flannel shirts and ripped jeans.

Anyway, the point is that Whitby is an odd and very magical place. Now depending upon what you want for your fiction, that may be extremely suitable, or extremely unsuitable. Do you want your wizard family in a muggle place? Or do you want some muggles in a wizarding place?

Well, those are my two cents, though I hope someone from the (very large) pro-Whitby lobby will come and explain my sentiments in a more positive light.

[OliveOil_Med]

I'm curious. I have list of thing that I wonder if they exist indiginously in England, Scotland, or Ireland:

Poision Ivy
Crayfish/Crawfish (like itty bitty lobsters)
Dolphins
Sea Lions
Whales
White Sand Beaches
Conch Shells