#built heritage

Ireland's stone walls are now recognised by UNESCO as an important piece of world culture.

For decades, the authorities in Beijing seemed bent on demolishing the city’s historical neighborhoods, erasing entire swaths of the single-story warrens of alleyways known as hutongs. Now, they say, they are trying to restore what remains...

Preservationists, though, have greeted the work with ambivalence. Many welcomed improvements to the old neighborhoods, noting that officials have also renovated public bathrooms, which remain primary sanitary facilities for many since most old hutong homes still do not have indoor plumbing.

Others say much of the new work is cosmetic. Instead of using bricks in many places, workers are instead affixing thin gray tiles to exterior walls. That might recreate the historical appearances of hutong homes and temples, but it does nothing to restore them.

A Scottish solstice seeking mid-winter cycling trip    

The ‘Kingdom of Fife’ is region on the east coast of Scotland that stretches between the Firth of Tay and Firth of Forth- points at which the region is connected by bridges to the cities of Dundee and Edinburgh. As one of the country’s historic counties, it has a rich cultural and built heritage- with numerous publicly accessible castles, palaces, abbeys and other significant buildings- as well as a range of natural attractions, including beautiful beaches and natural harbours, along its coastline.

Following another recent mid-winter cycling trip to the west coast island of Arran, I spent a few days cycling in Fife, and furthermore onto the town of Stirling as part of my now bi-annual tradition of taking a cycle trip on the winter and summer solstices. Taking the train to the inland village of Ladybank, I cycled to the world renowned coastal town of St Andrews- the home of golf, and also of one of the world’s oldest universities. Cycling to the south along the coast I passed through the picturesque fishing villages of East Neuk- Crail, Anstruther, Pittenweem- before spending some time in the art galleries and other attractions of the main towns of Kirkcaldy and Dunfermline. In what felt like far in time and place from the pace of modern day life in the cities of central Scotland, I then travelled from the recently awarded UNESCO heritage site of the iconic Forth Rail Bridge through the villages of Charlestown and Limekilns, and to the wonderfully preserved medieval village of Culross- a filming location for TV series Outlander. Passing close to the dramatically steep escarpment of the Ochil Hills, I cycled further to the west into the neighbouring county of Clackmannanshire and the town of Alloa- before reaching Stirling, one of Scotland’s historic capitals, for the winter solstice.

Stone circles at sunset.