March brings the festivities of St Patrick’s Day and the hope that Spring might be just around the corner.

In February, I was travelling almost constantly for business and didn’t manage to get to a single one of my own suggestions.  I really wanted to see the Drawn by Light exhibition in London, but there’s still hope as it transfers to Bradford this month.

SOLAR ECLIPSE
This month brings a major event to the skies: a solar eclipse.  Unfortunately, the only places on land to see the full eclipse are the Faroe Islands and Svalbard.
20 March

ANDALUCIA, Spain
Caminito del Rey is now due to reopen at the end of March 2015, following a €2.5m (£1.7m) renovation, including the addition of safety rails.  The walkway opened in 1905 as a way for workers to get to two hydroelectric power plants.  At more than 3km long, perched on a cliff face 100m above the river in the Gorge of Gaitanes and never more than a metre wide, it is said to be one of the scariest walks in the world.  I’ve seen it from below and would agree with that – too scary for me, even with safety rails I think.

BRADFORD, England
Drawn by Light – photography exhibition bringing together over 200 highlights from the collection of the world’s oldest surviving photographic society, the Royal Photographic Society (RPS), by some of the greatest names in photography, including Roger Fenton, William Henry Fox Talbot, Julia Margaret Cameron, Don McCullin, Terry O’Neill and Martin Parr.
20 March to 21 June 2015, National Media Museum, Bradford

DUBLIN, Ireland
St Patrick’s Festival  – this lively and somewhat alcoholic festival is celebrated the world over, but where better to join in the fun than in Dublin itself.  The partying here will last for a few days, and includes a green light festival, street theatre, a whiskey festival and comedy. The main parade will take place on Tuesday 18th March.
14-17 Mar, around Dublin

EDINBURGH, Scotland
Leap in Time exhibits the work by two German photographers, Erich Salomon and Barbara Klemm. Working primarily as photojournalists, both have produced unique documentary images of their time including photographs of many of the most important people, places and moments of 20th century and early 21st century history in Germany and elsewhere.
7 Feb 2015 – 5 Apr 2015
Stills, Scotland’s Centre for Photography, 23 Cockburn Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1BP

LAPLAND
If you still have the Northern Lights on your list of natural wonders still to be seen, there si still time to do it this winter.  In fact, the chances of seeing this spectacular phenomenon are better than average at the time of the spring equinox.

LONDON, England
Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty – the first retrospective of the late designer’s work to be presented in Europe, showcasing McQueen’s work from his 1992 MA graduate collection to his unfinished A/W 2010 collection.  His designs will be presented with the dramatic staging and lively spectacle synonymous with his runway shows.
14 March – 19 July 2015, book in advance (it will sell out), £16 adult
V&A, Cromwell Road, London

British Life Photography Awards – showcases the 100 best entries form a photography competition celebrating life in the UK.
2 – 7 March, free
The Mall Galleries, The Mall, SW1

TENERIFE
Annual Walking Festival – hikes take place all over the island, but the focal point is my favourite town of the island, Puerto de la Cruz.
10-14 March 2015

VIENNA, Austria
Saxfest 2015 – saxophonists from around the world will appear alongside the Vienna Saxophonic Orchestra. In total, over 150 international musicians will be involved in this year’s festival, taking place across 13 concert venues, including St. Stephen’s Cathedral.
9-15 March 2015, venues across the city

I hope this has given you some inspiration for travel and entertainment this coming month.

Do feel free to leave your own suggestions in the comments, and if you have any suggestions for April let me  know now and I’ll do my best to include them in next month’s selection.

Posted by Debbie Smyth, February 2015