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 […]
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 […]
Mayflower 400 – Pilgrim Roots in England
Pilgrim Country – exploring the Mayflower Pilgrim Trail: A visit to Pilgrim Country enables those following the Mayflower Pilgrim Trail to get back to the beginning of the story that culminated in the sailing to the New World in 1620. For it is in the towns and villages of Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire and Lincolnshire where the […]
The Pilgrims in Leiden – Mayflower400 Story
The Mayflower and Leiden – The History of the Pilgrims in Holland: Walking into the historic centre of Leiden is like stepping back into the 17th century. This classically beautiful Dutch city was a refuge for those now known as the Mayflower Pilgrims, separatists who fled from England in pursuit of religious freedom. For those […]
The Mayflower in London
Mayflower Connections in London – Rotherhithe and More: Part Three of our travels to learn more about the story of the Mayflower and the separatists who travel to America in 1620 is based in my own part of London. Rotherhithe in Southwark has a number of well-known links to the Mayflower. As a Southwark resident, you’d […]
Discovering Dartmouth
Dartmouth – Heaven on Earth in Devon “Ruby’s going to Heaven for her holiday” announced my young daughter, not registering my look of shocked concern. Further probing clarified that rather than departing to a celestial paradise, Ruby (our trusty motor) was hitting the highway and heading to Devon, a destination which, as I recently discovered […]