Attractions

Do you：

◆Love the National Park，value it and hope to safeguard its future?

◆Wish to see the beautiful landscape(风景) of the Park protected?

◆Like to enjoy peaceful，informal recreation within the Park?

Aims

    The Friends organization aims are to help protect and improve the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park for all to enjoy．We are a voluntary organization and registered charity without financial links to the National Park Authority．

Activities

    We encourage everyone to enjoy the National Park through regular talks and visits to interesting places in the Park with expert guides．

    We keep an eye on planning applications，Park Authority policies and threats to the National Park such as massive leisure complexes．We work with like-minded organizations such as the Campaign for National Parks to make our voice more effective．

    We help children to understand the National Park by sponsoring publications such as an adventure booklet and projects in local schools．

Benefits：

◆Guided visits to places of interest which may not always be available to the general public．

◆All members receive our regular News and Views．

◆Talks by experts in their fields on current issues．

◆A discount is available on Friends items for sale．

◆Satisfaction of participation in work parties，for those willing and able to be involved．

If interested，please complete the Application Form at www. fpnp.org.uk．

    On a clear night, you can see a sky paced with stars. But you can't see planets orbiting any of these stars, even with the strongest Earth—based telescopes. Astronomers reported that they discovered seven Earth—sized planets orbiting a nearby star called TRAPPIST – 1 in February. They had to rely on indirect evidence to tell them that the planets are there. By doing some math, they figured out the number of planets and the distance of their orbits.

    TRAPPIST – 1 is a red dwarf （红矮星）, much smaller than our sun, but larger than Jupiter (木星). If the sun were the size of a basketball, TRAPPIST – 1would be the size of a gold ball. This star is one of our closest neighbors, just like the moon to the earth in space.

    When astronomers using Earth-based telescopes to study TRAPPIST – 1,they noticed that every once in a while, it became slightly dim（昏暗）. They decided that a planet must be passing in front of the star, blocking part of the light. This dimming would come and go as the planet orbited the star, passing alternately (交替地) behind and in front of the star regularly.

    By making careful observations, astronomers expected to get a rough idea of the planet's size from the pattern of dimming light. But the light level changed often and not at evenly spaced (均匀间隔的) times. The astronomers had to conclude they were looking at more than one planet! To get additional data, NASA's spritzer Space Telescope measured TRAPPIST –1's brightness nearly continuously for 20 days, catching 34 crossings of planets in front of the star. Sorting through the mess of data, the astronomers found that the innermost planet completes its orbit in 1.5 Earth days, while the outermost planet takes 20 days. Once you know how long it takes each planet to complete an orbit, you can work out how far it is from the star compared with the other planets.

    The TRAPPIST – 1 planets are not alone. So far, astronomers have found more than 3,400 planets that orbit other stars.

    The audiences of the UK will have an opportunity to enjoy a feast of Chinese culture when the China National Peking Opera Company returns to the country for the fourth time for a series of workshops and performances. Events will be held at the British Library, Oxford's Ashmolean Museum and the world-famous dance theater of Sadler's Wells, featuring artists including Lisa Lu, Yu Kuizhi and Li Shengsu.

    On Thursday at the British Library, Lisa Lu, who also played a role in recent cinema hit Crazy Rich Asians, will lead a group of artists from China, the US and the UK to discuss their experiences of working across a variety of artistic fields in different cultures over many decades.

    The series of activities also include interactive workshops, which explain the intricacies（错综复杂）of the attractive art of Peking Opera. The secrets behind a great opera, from music to instruments, from make-up to martial arts, will be revealed at the British Library workshops on Saturday and Sunday.

    Events end on Oct 19 and 20 at Sadler's Wells in North London, with two performances of The Emperor and the Concubine, one of the most celebrated operas, as well as The Crossroads Inn and The Monkey King and The Leopard.

    Li Shengsu, who led the cast of The Emperor and the Concubine, explained that the show is the beautiful love story championed by Peking Opera Master Mei Lanfang, and it is one of the very few works from the Master Mei's that had been handed down since 1920s.

    The productions are being presented in partnership with London-based Sinolink Productions, a company that promotes Chinese art, culture and performance to British audiences.

    Zhang Kewei, producer and director of Sinolink, said, “It is delightful to see that the China National Peking Opera Company returns to London for the fourth time with another two masterpieces this year. The performances so far have received very positive comments from audiences and the United Kingdom's media and we are looking forward to further expanding our program.”

    Jack London, one of America's major writers of adventure tales, was born in California in 1876. During his life, London worked at many jobs. His broad life experiences would become the background for his writing.

    London loved to read. As a teenager, he spent many hours educating himself at the Oakland, California, public library. He attended college at the University of California at Berkeley, but he stayed for only six months. He thought Berkeley was “not lively enough” and wanted to do something more exciting.

    London wrote stories about working people and the hard times they had making a living. He knew their problems first hand. He worked as a sailor, farmer, factory employee, railroad worker, and gold prospector, to name just a few of his many jobs.

    London grew up near the waterfront in Oakland. He loved the water. When he was fifteen years old, he bought a small sailboat called a sloop. Later he sailed to Japan on a schooner, which is a much larger sailing boat. Like many people of the time, London caught the Klondike Gold Rush Fever. In 1897, he headed for Alaska. He didn't find gold, but he discovered something even more valuable. He discovered that people enjoyed listening to the stories he made up with his vivid imagination. London entertained the miners with story after story. Later, using his experiences during the Gold Rush, he created many more colorful stories.

    London resolved to live a full, exciting life. He once said, “I would rather be a superb meteor(流星), every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.” Each day, he pushed himself. Once London determined that he was going to be a writer, nothing could stop him. His goal was to write at least one thousand words every day. He refused to stop even when he was sick. In eighteen years, the writer published fifty-one books and hundreds of articles. He was the best-selling and highest-paid author of his day. Many people also considered him to be the best writer. White Fang and The Call of the Wild are his most famous stories and are about surviving in the Alaskan wilderness. Readers can enjoy Jack London's energy and his talent for telling wonderful stories each time they open one of his novels.

    The National Beekeeping Centre Wales is a free attraction in the countryside that teaches children about the importance of honeybees – with the chance to try lots of local honeys.

    This friendly visitor centre is a supporter of Welsh honeybees, which are increasingly under threat from climate change and loss of wildflower meadows. It raises visitors' awareness of environmental issues and shows the 4,000-year history of beekeeping and honey-making from the ancient Egyptians to the Romans. A Hive Aid scheme lets you adopt a beehive (from £50 per person), and regular courses (from £60 per person) train new generations of beekeepers.

Fun fact

    Bees pollinate about a third of everything we eat and play an important role in sustaining our ecosystems. In economic terms, honeybee pollination could be worth up to £200m to the UK alone.

What about lunch?

    Next door is the Furnace Tearoom, part of the Bodnant Welsh Food Centre, which serves light bites – wraps (卷饼), fruit salads (£7) and coffee. And the nearby Pavilion Restaurant at the National Trust's Bodnant Garden has cooked food, including baked potatoes (£5) and daily specials such as local casseroles (焙盘) with bread rolls (£6), plus coffee and cakes.

Exit through the gift shop

    There is a range of bee-themed gifts in our gift shop, including bee toys (£2), wooden honey candy (£2) and a selection of honeys all made by Welsh producers (£5). The bestselling Bodnant honey (£8) goes fast.

Getting here

    We are located just off the A470 on the Bodnant Estate in the Conwy Valley, and 10 minutes from the A55 north Wales coast road. Follow the brown signs just after Bodnant Gardens.

Value for money

    Visits and activities for kids are free, though donations are welcome. Taster days (from £60) and the weekend beekeeping course (£80 per person) are held at Abergwyngregyn village, 10 miles west down the A55.

Opening hours

The Visitor Centre opens daily from 10 am — 4pm but it is volunteer-run, so phone ahead to check. Expect lots of fun activities around the annual Conwy Honey Fair.

    Banff National Park is Canada's first national park. In 1883, on the Canadian Rocky Mountains, three railway workers discovered a natural hot spring, and from there the park was born. Nowadays, it is one of the world's popular tourist spots with great mountain scenery. Every year, millions of people visit it for its wonderful views.

Banff National Park is part of UNESCO's Canadian Rocky Mountain World Heritage site. Located in the heart of the Canadian Rockies, the park has perfect mountains like those on postcards. They are from 45 to 120 million years old, with the highest in the park, Mount Forbes, coming in at 11,850 feet.

    Banff National Park is 80 miles west of Calgary. Calgary's international airport is serviced by major national and international carriers with many flights arriving daily. Open year­round, it offers amazing wildlife viewing and sightseeing, plus many shopping and dining choices, any time of the year. Summer is popular for hiking, mountain biking and cycling, photography, and climbing. The best time for viewing the seasonal color is fall, when the trees turn yellow.

    In winter, the mountain makes exciting downhill (速降) and cross­country skiing. In fact, three major downhill ski resorts (度假胜地) operate within the park. Lake Louise Ski Resort, Sunshine Village, and Mount Norquay combine to offer a large area for skiing, not to mention the backcountry trails available throughout the park. The ski season, which runs from November to May, is one of the longest in North America. Visitors can also enjoy wildlife tours, ice walks, and dogsleds (雪橇).

    Weather in the Canadian Rockies can change quickly. A single day can have a mix of sunshine, snow, wind, and rain, so you should change your clothes. In summer, temperatures average a high of 70 (21 ℃), and daylight lasts until 11 p. m. Autumn brings cool nights and fresh air. Winters can be very cold. In January, the average temperature is 7 ℃ below zero, but by April it is 9 ℃.