The Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway is a 15 inch gauge heritage railway, affectionately known as La’al Ratty – ‘little railway’ in the old Cumbrian dialect. It was built between 1874-75 to haul iron ore from mines near the village of Boot, in Eskdale. It began carrying passengers in 1876 and in the 1920s transported granite. Since
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Liverpool’s legendary Cavern Club will, somewhat unfairly, forever be associated with the Beatles. It began as a jazz venue in 1957, long resistant to ‘pop’ music, before eventually accepting it and becoming a premier venue for Liverpool’s exceptional array of talented musicians. The Beatles played there on about 300 occasions in the early 1960s, often
Sandringham is the private Norfolk home of King Charles III, who inherited it from his mother, HM Queen Elizabeth II, who inherited it from her father, George VI. George loved the place and died there on 6 February 1952. The house is perhaps the most famous stately home in Norfolk and is at the heart
Eskdale Mill is a rare survival of a traditional watermill and drying kiln and the last remaining working water-powered corn mill in the Lake District National Park. The title deeds for the mill go back to 1737, when Edward Stanley of Haile sold it to Edward Hartley of Miterdale Head and many original features and
Eilean Donan simply means ‘Donan’s Island’. Donan was a 6th-7th century Celtic saint, a contemporary of St Columba, who is said to have built a church there. Much of the history of Eilean Donan is wreathed in the mists of elusive legend and violence. The castle was built in the 13th century and was the
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The Lakeland Motor Museum is something for the petrol-heads, the nostalgists – and a great rainy day option for the Lakes. This is a serious motor museum. 30,000 exhibits are claimed, including wonderful classic cars, bicycles (who knew there were so many types?) and what is possibly the largest collection of ‘automobilia’ (motoring memorabilia) in
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Castle Howard is an 18th century Baroque stately home in North Yorkshire, one of the grandest and most over the top in England, with 145 rooms and set in 1,000 acres of gardens and parkland. It is owned by the Howard family, and has been for over 300 years. The house was started for the
Cannock Chase German Military Cemetery contains almost 5,000 German and Austrian graves. Following an agreement between the UK and what was then the Federal Republic of Germany in 1959, the German War Graves Commission (Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgraberfursorge) made arrangements to transfer the graves of German servicemen and civilians who had died in Britain during World
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One of Britain’s largest colonies of common and grey seals is at Blakeney Point, a 4-mile long spit that sticks out into the North Sea in North Norfolk. It is a national nature reserve, and a favourite spot for birds, native and foreign, as well as seals. Various companies run trips in small, open, boats, which last an hour and are well worth it.
Land’s End, Britain’s famous most south-westerly point, is one of those places that everyone should probably visit once. The coast at the tip of Cornwall is rugged and spectacular, with 65-foot (20 metre) high granite cliffs. There is an extensive visitor centre there and a charge for parking, but access to the walks along the coast is free.
Portmeirion is a unique and colourful fantasy village in North Wales created by architect Clough Williams-Ellis from 1925-1976. It has an other-worldly feel and no other purpose than as a place of enjoyment. It was made famous as the setting for the 1960s cult TV series, ‘The Prisoner’.
Cambridge American Cemetery commemorates almost 9,000 Americans who died while based in the UK, or travelling to it, during the Second World War. It is the only World War II American military cemetery in the United Kingdom. The site was established as a temporary military burial ground in 1943, on land donated by the University of Cambridge, and has been granted free use in perpetuity by HM Government
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