Seaham, County Durham – Byron, the Beach, a Spa and Sea Glass. Arrive at Seaham Hall at dusk to a stunning classic mansion fronted by a striking contemporary water feature. First impressions count – mine was one of fascination. I’m used to the juxtaposition of old and new, but the water feature at the approach to […]
The Mayflower Pilgrims in Delfshaven
Delfshaven and the Mayflower Pilgrims departure for the New World: In 1608 a group of religious Separatists who ultimately became known as the Mayflower Pilgrims escaped from England and made their way briefly to Amsterdam before the Mayflower Pilgrims settled for 11 years in Leiden. Here they enjoyed enough freedom to pursue their religious life as […]
Things to do on a short visit to Winchester
Top places to visit in historic Winchester An introduction to Winchester: Winchester is a beautiful, historic, city in Hampshire known today for the Cathedral, connections to Jane Austen and a famous Public School, Winchester College. It was also the ancient capital of Wessex and some say of England! In 827, Egbert, the first king of […]
Penzance, Cornwall – Things to Do
Things to do in Penzance, West Cornwall: The historic town of Penzance is an ideal base from which to explore West Cornwall, an area of outstanding beauty, with fishing ports, sandy coves, gardens, old tin mines and the Minack Theatre. Here are a few of the things you shouldn’t miss on a visit to Penzance […]
Visit Arbroath – Smokies and the Declaration of Arbroath
Visiting Arbroath – A Tale of Scottish Independence and Smoked Fish Arbroath is a small Scottish fishing town on the coast just north of Dundee and about an hour and a half drive from Edinburgh. It has two main claims to fame – the Arbroath Smokie and an ancient Abbey where the Declaration of Arbroath […]
The Story of Salisbury – Things to Do in Salisbury Wiltshire
History of Salisbury – the oldest ‘New Town’ in England – Things to Do in Salisbury Despite living in Wiltshire a few years ago, I haven’t visited Salisbury for a lot longer. In fact, it was half a century ago. We lived in the area when I was a kid so I remember trips to […]
Mary Arden’s Farm, the Tudor Kitchen and the Art of Chocolate.
The Tudor Kitchen at Mary Arden’s Farm and some Twenty-First Century Chocolate Making in Shakespeare’s England: Quintessentially English countryside and villages around Stratford-upon-Avon seems, in my fanciful eyes, remarkably unchanged since Tudor times. The narrow lanes lined with hedges, timber-framed houses, castles and manor houses in themselves are enough to take any visitor a step back history. […]
Mayflower Pilgrims in Lincolnshire – Gainsborough and Boston
Separatists and Secrets – the Mayflower and the roots of American Heritage: 2020 marks the 400th Anniversary of the sailing of the Mayflower with its 102 passengers to a new life in America. We are travelling England exploring the Mayflower heritage in a series of features and this trip takes us to Lincolnshire. The City of […]
Exploring Tay Country, Scotland – Feasting, Whisky and a Royal Visit
Crowning Scotland’s Kings and More – Perthshire: Despite my Scottish heritage, I’ve never spent much time exploring the East Coast to the north of Edinburgh. The MacLeans come from the Western Isles, specifically from Mull and so on family trips we generally turned left at Edinburgh or Stirling and head to Oban for the ferry. […]
Mayflower Heritage in Dartmouth
The Mayflower and Speedwell in Dartmouth Although the annual Thanksgiving Dinner marks the survival of the early European settlers in New England, the less remarked upon, but nonetheless remarkable story, is of the initial obstacles they encountered even before setting sail across the perilous Atlantic Ocean. This is set to change with a series of […]