'Places to Visit in the UK' Solved

[EddieA]

This seeems to be taking off - I think it's going to be really useful resource.
Hope visitors to these places go armed with cameras so we can get a photo-essay of each of these places taken by our members (who know what we like )

It would be nice if 'Places to Visit in the UK' had it's own main subject area and each place it's own topic. each topic started with a link and a photo essay then visitors' comments .

Eddie

[Malcolm]

Hello,
Durham Uni Botanic Gardens has a walk through greenhouse, as has Cambridge.
Both worth adding.
Ardencraig Gardens, Rothesay, Isle of Bute have some greenhouses on web, any thing Cactus/succulent in there as I might be up that way in september??

Bye

[Tony R]

Ardencraig Gardens, Rothesay, Isle of Bute have some greenhouses on web, any thing Cactus/succulent in there as I might be up that way in september??

Mark Masterson (seed distributor for the Mamm Soc) houses his Mammillaria National collection at Ardencraig Gardens, Rothesay, Isle of Bute.

http://www.mammillariaonepound.co.uk/about.html

[EddieA]

Hello,
Durham Uni Botanic Gardens has a walk through greenhouse, as has Cambridge.
Both worth adding.
Ardencraig Gardens, Rothesay, Isle of Bute have some greenhouses on web, any thing Cactus/succulent in there as I might be up that way in september??

Bye

Malcolm
Don't forget to take your camera

[Bill]

Right what I need to start the map up is:

Garden/Collection Name:
Postcode:
What is there to see:
Public or by appointment:
Website:
Contact details:
Any other relevant details:

Cheers

Bill

[Bill]

Apologies map not done yet, we have had to harvest our garlic, the first commercial crop in Wales as far as we know and with the weather looking damp for the next it had to come into the barn to dry.

Bill

[Lindsey]

Only just seen this post but it's a good idea in principle.
Two comments though...

a. Are we talking about collections to visit ("take nothing but photographs" and possibly money for an admission charge), or places to buy plants... or both?
For the latter, there is already this thread
http://www.cactus-mall.com/sources.html
which seems to me to be very out of date

b. Who will take responsibility for updating the "places to visit" info? Are we giving our Moderators extra work, and if so, is that acceptable?

[Apicra]

Of course, Birmingham Botanical Gardens have a decent c&s greenhouse open for public access, near where the BCSS has held many shows:

http://www.birminghambotanicalgardens.o ... arid-house

Best wishes,
Derek Tribble,
Horrow Branch

[EddieA]

Bill
Thanks very much for the work you've done so far on this.
All
I have some suggestions re usability. As stated in a previous post:

Where can we put it?
I thought that each entry should be a separate thread under a 'places to visit in the UK' topic sticky. or maybe even on the main index? As long as it's always easy to find instead of having a moveable thread somewhere that people have to keep track of.

I don't think a sticky where people add links and comments and discussion all under one topic will work.This is probably the experience of all forum users on the web. If each link isn't easily visible and accessible nobody would use it and the space would in effect be wasted.
A forum for the 'Places' and topics for each place would be a solution that people would use.
I attach a 'mock-up' to illustrate my idea:

After clicking on the new 'Places To Visit In The Uk' forum a page that looks like my mock-up opens.
Clicking on the first heading obviously goes to the Google map.

Are we agreed that each place has it's own topic? If so do we just start a post under the main heading and include our photos in-line?

Clicking on subsequent heading stickies in my mock-up should open a topic where the first thread is a photo essay and link - possibly followed by members discussion/opinions/experience of the place under review.
The next point is the photo essays. IMHO, these are what set the idea apart from previous maps.Members contribute the photo essays to help other members to decide if they consider the place worth a visit. In the future members can update the essays if the display changes
Following on from Lindsey's good point about making work for admin/mods: I'm not trying to make work for anybody just suggest good ideas if I can,. If they cannot be done then so be it but I don't want to not suggest something for fear it will make work. I realise that everything we try to do makes work for someone and have a lot of respect for the people who provide their time for our benefit but we should consider whether things are worth doing and if so, try to make them happen. Euan has volunteered to help and I would also be prepared to if necessary. In fact if the photo essays cannot be housed on BCSS site I would consider putting them on a separate site as I consider them to be most important..
Bill
Hope this is useful and clarifies my ideas - if not it at least demonstrates that all that garlic won't keep me away
Eddie

[Peter Cupial-Jones]

I noted when I was on the Costa del Sol there was nowhere for a cactophile to visit, as Dirks map shows, apart from the Botanical Gardens at Gibraltar and in the other direction not until El Eijdo, a 305km stretch by coastal motorway according to Google Maps. I am surprised the Spanish Society does not seem to cover the Costa Del Sol at all and the society link on Cactus Mall did not seem to reach anybody?

From El Eijdo on there seems more for the cactophile, but the length of the Costa del Sol arrowed from where I stayed inland from Velez Malaga (marked with a cross) seems to be devoid of nurseries or collections, even though many British ex pats live on that coast and thousands visit it every year?
DaveW

When you are next there Dave I heartily recommend the municipal park (Paloma Park) in the centre of Benalmadena. Someone is running a well kept and quite extensive C&S collection in one corner of the park. Happy to post a few pics if you wish?