Situated in West Yorkshire in the North of England, Bradford is a city which has much to offer. Located close to Wakefield and Leeds, at the base of the Pennines, in 1847 it became a municipal borough and achieved city status in 1897. In 1974, this status was extended to the metropolitan borough of the City of Bradford, following the introduction of the Local Government Act 1972.
Monthly Archives: July 2013
The Big Cheese Festival, Caerphilly
Here at Azure, we love a festival. Especially when that festival is jammed full of food tasting, musical performances and dancing! The Big Cheese Festival definitely provides all these plus much more and the fact that it’s free to get in makes it one of our favourite festivals of the summer.
The town of Caerphilly is famous for its Caerphilly cheese, which is rumoured to have been created in the town way back in 1831. It is believed to have been developed to provide coal miners of the town with an effective way of replenishing the salt lost through their gruelling ten hour shifts underground.
Held every year in the historic town since 1997, the festival is situated on the Owain Glyndwr Playing Fields, just a twenty minute drive from the Welsh capital, Cardiff.
This year’s festival starts on Friday 26th of July and continues over the weekend, ending on Sunday 28th. On the first day, many festival goers, both adults and children, will be competing in the annual Great Cheese Race! The race itself is staged around the grounds of Britain’s second largest castle, the magnificent Caerphilly castle, built in the 13th century. Every year there is a theme with participants having to wear fancy dress. This year’s theme is the Olympics, with prizes going to the best dressed and not to forget, the winner of the race itself! Sadly it is now too late to apply to take part in the race, but we’re sure that watching this fun filled event will be just as enjoyable.Aside from the Great Cheese Race, a packed entertainment programme will ensure visitors have lots of fun over the three days.
Festival goers can expect the following;
• Funfair & traditional funfair
• Firework display (Friday 26th – around 10pm)
• Re-enactment displays
• Musical entertainment
• Educational activities
• Food hall
• Craft stalls
• Activity marquee
• Tommy Cooper tent
There is so much to do at the festival, but if you just want to relax with your friends and family there are designated picnic areas on the site, allowing you to take in all the atmosphere the charming town has to offer. This year around 80,000 people are expected to experience the Big Cheese Festival, we highly recommend that you visit, it’s definitely one of Azure’s favourite summer festivals. Remember, it starts on Friday 26th July and ends on Sunday 28th, all ages are welcome and it’s free!
http://your.caerphilly.gov.uk/bigcheese/home-page
Image credits
http://pixabay.com/en/caerphilly-cheese-milk-product-food-3500/
http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2570067
Weekly City Spotlight: Birmingham
Birmingham is situated in the West Midlands, approximately 100 miles north of London, and is the second most populated city in Britain, with London being the first. The Domesday Book lists Birmingham as a small manor in 1086, valued at 20 shillings. In 1889, Birmingham was granted city status. Previously, the presence of an Anglican cathedral in a town was a prerequisite of gaining city status. However, this connection with the Anglican diocese stopped when Birmingham, which didn’t have a cathedral at the time, was awarded city status due to the size of its population and its local government history. Some years later in 1905, St Philip’s parish church became a cathedral.
Weekly City Spotlight: Armagh
Armagh, located in the county town of County Armagh in Northern Ireland, is the seat of the Archbishop of Armagh for both the Church of Ireland and the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland. It is technically classed as a small town, but was granted city status in 1994, as well as Lord Mayoralty status in 2012, although it is actually the least-populated city in the whole of Ireland.
Weekly City Spotlight: Bath
Bath, one of Britain’s oldest and most established cities, is located in Somerset and is classed as a World Heritage Site due to its long history dating back to the Iron Age and the Mesolithic period.