You may not expect to hear much about Roman hygiene in Scotland, but you’d be wrong. In Bearsden, a leafy suburb to the north of Glasgow, are the remains of a bathhouse and latrine that were in use more than 1800 years ago. Moreover, the site is presented such that you can get a very […]
Bearsden’s bathhouse Read More »
Scotland
I don’t really know why we went to Clun. It was there, of course, which I suppose is some sort of a reason to go anywhere at least once. Was the name vaguely familiar? It has a ruined castle, anyway, which might have been the deciding factor and, indeed, that became our target. Whatever the
Westminster Abbey is part of a World Heritage Site. It has been at the centre of English, and British, state occasions – coronations, weddings, funerals, services of commemoration – since William the Conqueror was crowned there on Christmas Day 1066. In fact, its roots are pre-Conquest. The powerful bishop, archbishop and later saint, Dunstan, established
Royal Westminster Abbey Read More »
British Stuff London
St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh is more properly known as the City Church, or High Kirk of Edinburgh, as well as the mother church of Presbyterianism. As a shining example of one of those confusing curiosities that we Brits love so much, it is not technically a cathedral at all, although most people still refer
St Giles’, High Kirk of Edinburgh Read More »
Scotland
Unlike Balmoral, which is a private home, the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh is the Monarch’s official residence in Scotland. And parts of it are open to the public. So, assuming you don’t get to visit palaces too often, you should pop in when you’re next in town. It is situated at the eastern end
The Palace of Holyroodhouse Read More »
Scotland
In the early evening on Thursday, 8 September 2022, the following announcement appeared on the official Royal website. It was also posted on the railings at Buckingham Palace, where the flag had already been lowered. “The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon.The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and
Queen Elizabeth II Read More »
British Stuff History News
Once upon a whenever, Wales is said to have had more than 640 castles. We may have mentioned that before. Of those 640, at least 100 have survived. Some, such as Caernarfon or Conwy, are recognisably mighty fortresses; others are little more than remote ruined forts; and then there are the ones in between, like
Cilgerran Castle and the Princess Nest Read More »
Wales
Bourton-on-the-Water is one of Britain’s honeypot villages. Situated in the Cotswolds, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty that straddles five counties (Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, Wiltshire and Worcestershire), Bourton-on-the-Water’s main claim to fame is that it is a very pretty village surrounded by lots of other very pretty villages. Perhaps ‘honeypot’ is an archaic term
Bourton-on-the-Water, model village Read More »
South West
Many people – mostly those that haven’t been there – believe that South East England is busy and crowded, with little remaining countryside of any note. They are right about it being busy – South East England is the most populous part of the UK – but they are wrong about the countryside. Leith Hill,
Time for a walk in the Yorkshire Dales. We will stroll from the old market town of Settle, up into the hills and do a circuit of around 5 miles. The route will take in the lonely starkness of Attermire Scar, the Victoria and Jubilee Caves and, along the way, encounter preparations for war. This
Attermire and the caves Read More »
Yorkshire and the Humber
Someone on Twitter was talking about Ashby St Ledgers. This is a small, attractive, village in Northamptonshire, famous for being home to the Catesby family and for its associations with the Gunpowder Plot. Then I remembered a brief winter’s morning visit to the peaceful old church, and that it is dedicated to St Leodegarius. Leodegarius
Blessed Virgin Mary and St Leodegarius Read More »
East Midlands
Does your breakfast have a nationality? Should breakfasts be stateless? Travelling around this great land of ours, it is common to see the option of ‘full [insert adjective as applicable] breakfast’ available on hotel menus. Thus: full English, full Scottish, full Welsh – or even full Yorkshire, Staffordshire, Devonshire, Nether Bottom – whatever seems appropriately
The full British breakfast Read More »
British Stuff