Category: Ye Olde England Tours

My new Get Carter inspired Newcastle-Gateshead Pub Tour

One of the things people most associate with Newcastle after its engineering and sometimes chilly climate is its pubs and nightlife. When I created my first pub tour here, as with London, it became obvious there were just too many interesting old pubs to fit into one tour. In the U.K. Newcastle is often depicted… Continue reading My new Get Carter inspired Newcastle-Gateshead Pub Tour

William Campbell – The Heaviest Man In The World

I have spent the last few days creating a few new tours in Newcastle, two of which are historic pub themed tours. Whilst deciding upon which pubs to visit I was reminded of a fascinating if I think tragic story behind the landlord of the Duke of Wellington Pub in High Bridge. William Campbell was… Continue reading William Campbell – The Heaviest Man In The World

Christmas trees of London

As I posted last week on the most famous Christmas Tree, the one being in Trafalgar Square, I thought I might put up a few photos of some of my favourite ones I’ve seen in public spaces in London this year. Of course there are hundreds of Christmas trees on display in London, possibly thousands… Continue reading Christmas trees of London

Thomas Dagger – The Man who discovered The Great Fire of London

By the time it was extinguished, an area about a mile-and-a-half (2.4km) wide along the River Thames was devastated, with 13,200 houses, 87 churches and the old St Paul’s Cathedral destroyed. The huge fire left some 100,000 people homeless but led to widespread changes in the city, many of which still resonate to this very… Continue reading Thomas Dagger – The Man who discovered The Great Fire of London

I’ve got soul but I’m not a SEOldier

I don’t often put real life bits on my blog, well unless I’m on the national and international news in which case I figure I may as well! The last two months however I’ve been updating my company website for Ye Olde England Tours. I’ve not really updated it since 2012 when I became the… Continue reading I’ve got soul but I’m not a SEOldier

The Executioners Axe at the Tower of London

Despite being a guide of 10 years standing, I never used to go in the Tower of London very much. I don’t like crowds and I always felt having guide in an attraction was a bit surplus to requirements or something ‘anyone’ by that I suppose any guide could do. Thus spring and summer however… Continue reading The Executioners Axe at the Tower of London

The return of the Bartholomew Fair

West Smithfield is one of my very favourite parts of London and I’ve written about it countless times despite it being an area little larger than a football field. As the western worlds oldest hospital, St Bartholomew’s and its neighbouring and magnificent neighbour St Bartholomew The Great Church both prepare for their 900th birthday party… Continue reading The return of the Bartholomew Fair

It’s getting hot in London, so let’s plant lots of trees!

Spending all day in London, it’s always been clear to me that it doesn’t just have its own heat-island climate (https://stephenliddell.co.uk/2018/01/27/busting-the-myth-of-london-being-a-rainy-city/) In fact London has multiple different microclimates and I encounter several every day. Some places it is always much warmer than others. Some places seem perpetually cooler and windier and it rains more at… Continue reading It’s getting hot in London, so let’s plant lots of trees!

Visiting the spot where Oliver Twist asks for more

Having gone through something of the history of the Southwark Mint and its somewhat trepidatious old workhouse, I wondered if I might find anything of the spot today. There are still several old workhouse buildings around but I knew that this one had long since vanished. What started off this whole escapade was this old… Continue reading Visiting the spot where Oliver Twist asks for more