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Fortean Holidays, Visits & Vacations

Fortean tourism

In pursuit of the alien dollar

BETH PEARSON January 14 2005

IT'S not often that people are united by aliens, but that's exactly what will happen if plans to twin Bonnybridge, near Falkirk, and Roswell, New Mexico, go ahead. In early March, Billy Buchanan, councillor for Bonnybridge and depute provost of Falkirk Council, will be leading a fact-finding mission to the US's epicentre of UFO activity and he hopes to form a long-term partnership.

"Roswell could be a catalyst for so many good things," says Buchanan, who hopes to establish cultural and educational exchanges between the towns. "I'm looking forward to the experience."

Buchanan and fellow members from the Lights of Bonnybridge Twinning Group will be accom-panied by entrepreneurs who are interested in building a UFO theme park in Bonnybridge, which will help the local economy and encourage UFO tourists to visit other, historical sights in the town. Roswell attracts thousands of UFO tourists each year who want to see the site of the apparent UFO crash of 1947.

Buchanan is finalising travel details for the trip to Roswell. There follows the initial e-mail exchange between Buchanan and Bill Owen, mayor of Roswell.

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Dear Mayor Owen,

I am Councillor William Buchanan, the depute provost of Falkirk Council, in Scotland, UK. The ward I represent is Bonnybridge. Once again, my area has been given the title of UFO Capital of the World. Some time ago, we spoke on worldwide radio of a proposal to enter into a twinning association with Roswell, New Mexico.

I propose, with your co-operation, to bring out to Roswell members of the Lights of Bonnybridge Twinning Group as a fact-finding mission to see if we can develop this partnership formally.

Yours faithfully,
Cllr W F Buchanan


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Dear Councillor Buchanan,

We would welcome a delegation from Bonnybridge coming to Roswell to discuss the twinning idea. We are proud of Roswell and know you would enjoy experiencing its many areas of interest, including our world-famous UFO Museum and Research Center.

Sincerely,
Bill B Owen, Mayor


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Dear Mayor Owen,

I was delighted to receive your email response and your very positive approach to a delegation coming from Bonnybridge to Roswell. We are all excited about coming out. As we both agree, Roswell and Bonnybridge have much more to offer than just a UFO phenomenon.

Speaking to people in the community and further afield, they see this as an exciting proposal that will benefit both communities and, in its own way, benefit world peace.

Councillor W Buchanan


The exact circumstances of the Roswell Incident, as it is known, are still widely debated by ufo-logists. The US government and sceptics say that hot air balloons being used as part of an air force experiment crashed in bad weather, while ufologists say it was an alien spaceship. Some of those believe aliens were recovered from the scene and taken by the US government for autopsy or interrogation.

These theories, and hundreds more, have been bandied about in the 30 years since it happened and, while there has been little in the way of agreement, one certainty is that it has been great for Roswell's economy. Its UFO tourist industry is thriving and supports two UFO museums, an annual alien festival and hotels with signs that read: "Come crash with us."

The town, like Bonnybridge, accommodates both believers and sceptics but the financial benefits of being a UFO centre are enjoyed by both. Buchanan hopes that Bonnybridge will soon be able to share in this prosperity, as well as the opportunity for trans-atlantic understanding.
"We've more to offer than the phenomena in the skies," says Buchanan. "We're now visionaries in Bonnybridge. We have seen the future."
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http://www.theherald.co.uk/features/31445.html
 
Re: Fortean tourism

Emperor said:
We have esoteric tourism with people chasing the Da Vinci Code and treading the well worn paths to Renne Le Chateau, Rosslyn, etc. Loch Ness doe very well from its cryptid. Now this article looks at UFO tourism:
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So it pays to have your own mystery in your backyard - this would tend rather reduce one's desire to actually dig too deeply.

Other examples?: Lourdes, etc.
 
OMG they'll be in for a rude awakening when they get to roswell. unless they find themselves charmed by the novelty of desolate, bleak, poverty-ridden isolation. i grew up 35 miles from there, in an even sadder town. the only transportation was to catch a 6:00 am bus out of roswell that carried a drunk who grabbed my guitar and started "playing" it while slobbering out some spanish love song around a mouthful of rotten, broken teeth. that's roswell.
 
"Roswell could be a catalyst for so many good things," says Buchanan, who hopes to establish cultural and educational exchanges between the towns. "I'm looking forward to the experience."
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I think your probably in the right, Play Dead...

<Grabs tinfoil hat...>
 
An amusing read here. (And if you want more, there's a book for sale!)

Britain's weirdest family attractions
A selection of Britain's lesser-known family attractions, from a museum about pencils to a Midlands sewage works.
By Ben Hatch
11:34AM BST 19 Oct 2011

Ben Hatch, his wife Dinah and their two children Phoebe (three) and Charlie (one) spent five months touring Britain’s family-friendly attractions, visiting every town and city in the country. They reviewed over 900 attractions, slept in tents, mobile homes, castles, hotels, b & bs, serviced apartments and, once, in their car. They were attacked by bats, had confrontations with puff adders, saw a pair of Billie Piper's pyjamas and were all hospitalised at one time or another. Here, he highlights the very best family attractions in Britain.

etc...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/famil ... tions.html

(The Petrifying Well was new to me.)
 
rynner2 said:
Ben Hatch, his wife Dinah and their two children Phoebe (three) and Charlie (one)...
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Dinah Hatch, eh? :)
 
Actually, I've been to the petrifying well. It's fascinating.
Even more fascinating is the Mother Shipton legend.
 
I can just remember being taken there cira early 70s when I was very young, and being completely freaked by old teddy bears and dolls hung up that were turning to stone :shock:
 
Anyone planning a 'Fortean Holiday' in the UK could pick up a few ideas from the book 'Weird England' by Mark Sceurman and Mark Moran.

There are chapters on where to find ancient stone circles, eccentric buildings, abandoned (and 'fake)' villages, the most haunted buildings (and roads!), as well as information on places where odd things are said to have been seen repeatedly over the centuries, including mermaids, bigfoot type creatures, UFOs, lake monsters, big cats, black dogs, green men, crop circles and much more.

The accuracy of some of the finer details of a couple of entries may be open to question, but overall the book is a great place to start for the inexperienced 'Fortean Traveller'.

Happy trails!

Rob
 
BlackRiverFalls said:
I can just remember being taken there cira early 70s when I was very young, and being completely freaked by old teddy bears and dolls hung up that were turning to stone :shock:
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Been to Knaresborough three times - once on my honeymoon. Still go to see Mother Shipton's Cave and the Petrifying Well; the lovely stroll along the park is worthwhile in itself. The castle is worth a visit, despite it's small size. Love the town.
 
RedRob67 said:
Anyone planning a 'Fortean Holiday' in the UK could pick up a few ideas from the book 'Weird England' by Mark Sceurman and Mark Moran.

There are chapters on where to find ancient stone circles, eccentric buildings, abandoned (and 'fake)' villages, the most haunted buildings (and roads!)...
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Please elaborate I love haunted roads, but can never find anything on them.

I'd be surprised if the A40 between Gloucester and Ross isn't on the list, I'd imagine a few have passed beyond the veil along that route.
 
<Nods> Ive never driven it but my friend in Ross is always warning me about it
 
It's murder, makes a Welsh mountain road look like a by-pass.
 
Adventurousness soul that I am I can't remember ever going to Devon. At least twice as bad as a Gower lane though (except the little tiny ones but you can only creep down those).
 
Never been to the Gower, sadly.

No, Devon lanes require nerves of steel.

Winding,

Single track,

down a deep gutter.

with a big car comming at speed the other way.

Nor are there any passing places in Devon....
 
Kondoru said:
Nor are there any passing places in Devon....
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You exaggerate, Kondoru!

When I was in the Coastguard in north Devon we did regular Land Rover patrols around 'our patch', to familiarise ouselves with all the little lanes which might provide the only access to some remote bits of the coast, and knowing about the passing places was part of the local knowledge we had to acquire.

And here in Cornwall, several bus routes include lanes only a few inches wider than the bus, but there are always passing places not too far away. I recommend riding a double-decker to and from Praa Sands for a WTF! experience!

The scenic route from Helston to Falmouth (the 535) also has a few places that make you want to breathe in to help the bus squeeze through! 8)
 
In case anyone should think that Cornwall is stuck in the 19th century, I should mention that today I was on a bus which uses the A30, a dual lane twin carriageway that is the motoring spine of Cornwall.

But ironically just a few months ago I was on the same bus route, when the bus had to turn back and find an alternative route because the A30 was blocked by an accident:
http://www.forteantimes.com/forum/viewt ... 42#1140442

The passing places in the narrower lanes are an example of the magic of Cornwall - they seem to be invisible to tourists (also known as Emmets)! The same magic often deprives emmets of the ability to find reverse gear! ;)
 
I've just taken a city break in Prague with my Snailets. We had an amazing time and I can't recommend it highly enough. It's known as the 'Walking City' as most of the historic attractions are in easy walking distance.

A highlight was our visit to the Bone Church. It's outside Prague but easy to get to. We went on the train, which was both cheap AND fascinating to transport nerds like us. :lol:

I'd definitely go again in winter as there's so much to see and we hardly scratched the surface, even though we were out 10 hours a day. Our woolly long johns helped a lot. ;)
 
oldrover said:
It's murder, makes a Welsh mountain road look like a by-pass.
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I was thinking this afternoon if I ever get off this bastard thing I'm going to retract that. So; Welsh mountain roads are the worst by an unbelievable margin. 1st gear hill (coming down) with a hair pin bend over a big drop, what's the best thing to do? according to some the answer is dump a shed load of loose chippings there.

Just thought I'd say.
 
oldrover said:
oldrover said:
It's murder, makes a Welsh mountain road look like a by-pass.
Click to expand...

I was thinking this afternoon if I ever get off this bastard thing I'm going to retract that. So; Welsh mountain roads are the worst by an unbelievable margin. 1st gear hill (coming down) with a hair pin bend over a big drop, what's the best thing to do? according to some the answer is dump a shed load of loose chippings there.

Just thought I'd say.
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Sounds like a recipe for losing control of the car.
I'd report it to the council.
 
I agree and I would, trouble is they're the ones who must have done it.
 
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