Places, people or events associated with Queen Victoria, or the Victorian period in Britain,
We needed to get out. You know how it is; one of those days when the list of jobs can go hang, because it’s just too good to waste time doing something you should be doing. “Where shall we go, then?” “Somewhere with snow.” “Like…?” “I dunno. Nowhere too strenuous. You choose”. “What do you
The Victorian novel, “Lorna Doone – a Romance of Exmoor”, is generally assumed to be a work of fiction, set in a stunning location on the borders of Devon and Somerset and against the turbulent historical backdrop of the Monmouth Rebellion of 1685. Yet some believe that the author, R D Blackmore, drew upon illusive
The dastardly shooting of Lorna Read More »
South West
Cragside was the home of William George Armstrong; and William George Armstrong was probably a genius. Born in 1810 in Newcastle upon Tyne, he was one of those irritating people who seems to have been good at everything. Trained as a lawyer, he was an accomplished engineer, inventor, arms manufacturer, international arms dealer, industrialist, philanthropist,
Blists Hill is great fun, an open air museum near Ironbridge, Shropshire. Travel back in time…not far, just a little over a century or so. Once you’ve worked through the modern visitor centre and negotiated your way past kids playfully chucking ice creams around outside the café, you’ll find yourself transported back to 1900 –
I journeyed to Souter from Gateshead through seemingly endless housing estates. The drive seemed curiously out of time, as though my car was in a bubble of the past, a mood somehow pricked at the first, innocent, exciting, sight of the sea. Souter is easy to find; but you shouldn’t miss spotting a lighthouse, should
There are few things more agreeable than pootling around and about a medieval cathedral. I found Lichfield’s reflected in the Minster Pool, a small reservoir which has been used by the city since the 11th century. You’d think it couldn’t get any better, wouldn’t you? Then you wander up the Cathedral Close, past Erasmus Darwin’s
Ladies of the Vale Read More »
West Midlands
What’s at the end of the wall? The wall’s end? Walls – solid boundaries designed to keep people in – or out. There are famous walls, like the Berlin Wall, the Great Wall of China, the fantasy Wall in Game of Thrones or even the one that Shirley Valentine talks to (“Hello, wall.”). In the
Segedunum – the end of the Wall Read More »
North East England
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum comes under the heading, ‘Not to be missed in Glasgow’. A Spitfire rubs shoulders (or undercarriage/trunk) with Sir Roger the elephant; there’s a stuffed eagle (and other animals), lumps of rock (aka ‘geology’), ancient Egyptian coffins, suits of armour, guns, Charles Rennie Mackintosh bits, fearsome dinosaurs – and loads and
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum Read More »
Scotland
Edinburgh is a very photogenic city, the kind of place where it might once have been nice to buy a post card for a close friend or relative. People hardly ever send post cards anymore. (This should be said somewhat whimsically.) People hardly ever send post cards anymore; instead, they take a quick picture on
A postcard from Calton Hill Read More »
Scotland
Before England existed, the lonely Isle of Ely lay in the territory of the Gyrwas. Around the year 652AD, Tondbert, a prince of the South Gyrwas, married the Princess Etheldreda, a descendent of the mighty Wuffingas who had united the North-folk with the South-folk. Tondbert died and Etheldreda, whose father was Anna (or Onna), King
There’s a ruined castle in the valley bottom, beyond the grand, Victorian, house. A round, machiolated, tower peeks through multi-coloured shrubs and trees. It draws the eye through the garden, overwhelming the desire to linger amongst the flowers. Closer in, down the hill, and the heady scent from rhododendrons and azaleas is almost overpowering. The
A visit to Scotney Castle Read More »
South East
Builders in the past were very selfish people. They put their buildings up without considering for one moment that, one day, their structures might inconveniently stand in the way of a new road, town centre development or shopping centre. Fast forward to an intriguing museum on the South Downs in West Sussex, near the village
Weald and Downland Read More »
South East