Golf
Although Holland claims otherwise, Scotland is widely recognised as the place where golf was invented. No surprise then that it has its share of stunning world class championship courses.Within 50km of Glasgow’s city centre alone there are 150 golf courses. Real pilgrims head south to the Ayrshire coast and Turnbery, north to Prestwick or Royal Troon - all past venues for the Open. From Edinburgh, East Lothian is a golfer’s paradise with the highest concentration of courses in the world. Historic courses such as Muirfield, North Berwick, Musselburgh and Dunbar are all within reach of the city.
Elsewhere in the UK, Liverpool has two Open Championship golf courses – Royal Birkdale and Royal Liverpool, while Norwich is an easy drive from the new championship-standard golf resort at Sprowston.
Ireland has one-third of the world’s coastal links courses and offers more golf than any country of comparable size on the planet. From Dublin there is easy access to many of the 402 courses spread throughout the island, or from Shannon there are two in Lahinch and a new one - Greg Norman’s design at Doonbeg – among others. Fly into Belfast and there’s a huge selection of courses from the Royal Belfast Golf Club itself to those beyond.
The Isle of Man has a good selection of links and parkland courses; Jersey has three lay outs, and Guernsey one.
If playing in warmer climes is your priority the lush courses of Portugal and Spain beckon. With more than 30 championship courses to choose from, Faro is the gateway to a golfer’s paradise. Similarly, the Algarve and Malaga are brimming with sun-baked courses of a high standard. The Costa del Sol alone boasts the highest density of golf courses in Europe, while the Costa Blanca is also blessed with ‘must play’ courses, including the three championship designs at La Manga.
Mallorca boasts no less than 15 18-hole golf courses – not bad for a small island and – with most within easy reach of Palma.
France too has courses across the country with excellent tee-time availability and few crowds. There are parkland courses, links-style and American resort-style courses and many of championship standard within easy reach of Flybe’s key French gateways – Paris, Bordeaux, Brest, Toulouse and Bergerac.