From the moment we stepped into its kitchen garden, everything about Barrington Court made me want to linger. But don’t visit to savour the great moments that took place at this beguiling Somerset estate, because, so far as I know,…
The folly of Fort Nelson
To the north of Portsmouth, on England’s south coast, is Portsdown Hill, a long chalk elevation that dominates the city and harbour 400 feet below. And on the top of Portsdown Hill, the Victorians placed five large forts – from…
The train will arrive in a heartbeat
I was on a boys’ weekend in Whitby. You know, don’t you, that ‘boys’ in this context actually means ‘grown men’. In fact, it would be more accurate to say ‘mature men who should know better’. But we’ll settle with…
Tracking down Britain’s secret SOE
The tiny village of Arisaig, nestling on an inlet along the beautiful Morar peninsula, has a wonderful little museum. The Land, Sea and Islands Visitor Centre tells visitors all about the local flora and fauna in this relatively remote part…
John F Kennedy memorial
You will find Britain’s memorial to JFK at Runnymede, an area of meadow land on the banks of the River Thames in the county of Surrey. The 35th President of the United States of America was gunned down in Dallas aged…
Bomber!
At the RAF Museum in Hendon, north London, there is a massive aircraft hanger entirely dedicated to bombers. Most of the aeroplanes on display in Bomber Hall are World War Two vintage, some are more recent – and some aren’t…
Angel of the North, steel statue and daffodil
So there you are, trundling down (or up) the A1 by Newcastle/Gateshead and this gigantic, rust-coloured, figure flashes past your peripheral vision. “Oh”, you think to yourself, in a wondering kind of way, “That can’t possibly be a very old…
Let me take you down…
‘Cause I’m going to Strawberry Fields, nothing is real and there’s nothing to get hung about. On 1st June (or 26th May, depending on your source) 1967, The Beatles released Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, a groundbreaking recording and…
Balliol College
Peeking past the porter’s lodge is looking through a window into another world; a world of privilege, beauty, tradition, history and at least a thousand stories. Here is a bit about Balliol College, one of more than thirty academic communities…
Razzle Dazzle Ferry Cross the Mersey
Surely, every adult in Britain, and possibly some from other lands, has heard of the ferry across the Mersey? Many, not least those of a certain age, will also know the song, Ferry Cross the Mersey by Gerry and the…