This year is our 30^th Anniversary and we want to share it with you! So we’re ticking back the clock to 1986, with 30 fun facts from the year Scott Dunn was founded…

Scott Dunn back in 1986

Scott Dunn Girl

Travel

1. Plans to construct the Channel Tunnel were agreed between France and the UK, the train now carries nearly 11 million passengers a year between the two countries
2. The UK was designated its first UNESCO World Heritage Sites including Giant’s Causeway and Stonehenge
3. The M25 was officially opened by the Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, using up 2 million tons of concrete
4. Musee d’Orsay in Paris was opened after extensive renovations on the once iconic train station
5. A ship was wrecked on Navagio Beach, now the most photographed beach in Greece
6. The experimental aeroplane Voyager completed the first non-stop flight around the world
7. Spain and Portugal join the ECC (later to become the EU)

Navagio Beach

Stonehenge

The Channel and the Seven Sisters

Giants Causeway

Music/Film

8. Top Gun was the highest grossing film in the year and propelled Tom Cruise into fame
9. Australia’s biggest soap Neighbours was launched, featuring Jason Donovan and Kylie Minogue
10. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame began with the first ever musicians including Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles and Elvis Presley
11. Welsh singer-song writer Charlotte Church was born
12. Pixar Animations Studios opened in California which later brought some our favourites movies to the big screen, from Toy Story and Finding Nemo to Monsters Inc and Up
13. The Oprah Winfrey Show premiered
14. Epic romantic drama, Out of Africa, won Best Picture award at the Oscars
15. Yes Prime Minister aired on BBC for the first time
16. Phil Collins’ No Jacket Required won Album of the Year at the Grammys
17. Lady Gaga was born, now one of the most eccentric artists around, keeping us entertained with great music and serisously out-there outfits
18. The longest running Broadway show in history, The Phantom of the Opera, was opened at her Majesty’s Theatre in London

Broadway

Out of Africa, Cottars 1920 Safari Camp

Sport

19. Mike Tyson won his first world boxing title in Las Vegas, defeating Trevor Berbick
20. Richard Branson broke the world record for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic in the 72ft powerboat Virgin Challenger II in 3 days 8 hours and 31 minutes
21. Argentina won the World Cup in Mexico, beating West Germany 3-2
22. Gary Lineker became the most expensive British footballer ever in a £2.75 million move from Everton to FC Barcelona
23. Boris Becker won Wimbledon, it was also the first time yellow balls were used during the tournament

Bright lights of Las Vegas

Wimbledon1986, the first time green balls were used at Wimbledon

Technology

24. Casio introduced the first home keyboard with sample tunes and electronic sounds, originally designed to be a toy but developed to be a professional instrument used by the likes of Fatboy Slim and Blur
25. Fuji introduced the disposable camera
26. 3D printing is developed by Charles Hull
27. The first laptop computer was unveiled by IBM

Other

28. 1986 was the International Year of Peace, as designated by the United Nations
29. Power suits and the iconic “Working Girl” shoulder were at the height of fashion
30. And of course… Scott Dunn started life with just two chalets in Switzerland. We have since grown to 28 luxury chalets, 17 catered villas, 10 kids clubs in resorts across the Mediterranean, the Maldives and Thailand and offer tailor-made holidays to over 100 countries around the world – all in 30 years!

Villa Las Palmeras, Mallorca

Scott Dunn Aqua Explorers at Eagles Palace, Greece

Chalet Mathilda, Val d'Isere