A few weeks ago whilst out on a 11 day tour of Newcastle. Northumbria, Durham and the Lake District, with the lovely Lorraine from Tasmania, I had the opportunity to revisit the Beamish Open Air Museum. The working and living museum is 50 years into an incredible 200 year plan to preserve and re-enact for… Continue reading Visiting the home of Joseph Hedley whose murder in 1826 shook the world!
Category: Ye Olde England Tours
The Bridge of Sighs in Oxford
There are so many beautiful sights to see in Oxford, the famous old university city known as the City of Dreaming Spires due to the wonderful architecture of Oxford which is prone to take the breath away of even the most seasoned traveller. So beautiful in fact that Hitler deemed it to be his future… Continue reading The Bridge of Sighs in Oxford
A close look at a grave of a Pirate or is it?
Huddled on the the battered coast of Northumberland you’ll come across many an ancient ruin, castle or church. There is more than enough to spend an hour or so at St Aidan, so named after the saint who died on the spot in 651AD. I first visited this church around 40 years ago and still… Continue reading A close look at a grave of a Pirate or is it?
Original hand-drawn battle plans by Admiral Lord Nelson for the Battle of Trafalgar are discovered.
Incredible a hand-drawn sketch by Admiral Lord Nelson himself showing his plan for victory at Trafalgar has been discovered tucked inside the pages of a scrapbook after nearly 200 years. They were discovered by historian Martyn Downer in a scrap book book from the 1830s which was recently sold at auction. It shows his plan… Continue reading Original hand-drawn battle plans by Admiral Lord Nelson for the Battle of Trafalgar are discovered.
A peek inside possibly the second smallest home in the U.K.
In my line of work I spend a lot of time walking round palaces, great houses and cathedrals but last week I had the opportunity to revisit one of the smallest houses imaginable in the beautiful Lake District in the country of Cumbria. What makes this house extra special is not just its tiny size… Continue reading A peek inside possibly the second smallest home in the U.K.
Murky Moor photos
I’ve been away for a few weeks giving a long tour of parts of north east and north west England and having returned I have found my wordpress to stubbornly refuse to fully function on my iPad or even let me log in on my computer. As such, I’m forced to do a simple post… Continue reading Murky Moor photos
I’m going to write a new book!
This is a dangerous thing to say in public but I’m going to write a new book. It’s dangerous because I already have a 60% completed novel and a 20% completed non-fiction book on the go. Sadly due to my extremely busy work-load I can’t see myself having the time to complete either of them… Continue reading I’m going to write a new book!
Brompton Cemetery – Part of The Magnificent Seven
I always love visiting Brompton Cemetery which doubles up as a Royal Park. There is so much to see with the architecture, gothic style tombs and just a vast array of wildlife in this huge open space in the middle of West London. If you want to do some wildlife photography then it offers some… Continue reading Brompton Cemetery – Part of The Magnificent Seven
Putting the stone into Harrow Wealdstone – London’s Neolithic Standing Stone?
I was feeling pleased that I had managed to find the first two little known ancient and even neolithic spots with out any maps and so decided to see one more if I could find it. I had considered Grim’s Dyke which was both the boundary of Mercia (was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon… Continue reading Putting the stone into Harrow Wealdstone – London’s Neolithic Standing Stone?
The Knollys Rose Ceremony – Paying off a 619 year old rent
London and Britain is full of obscure ancient traditions and on Monday I bore witness to a ceremony that I did know about but never expected to see and it all has its foundations in events 619 years ago. As sometimes dirty as London is these days, in almost every way (except perhaps for air),… Continue reading The Knollys Rose Ceremony – Paying off a 619 year old rent
Stephen Liddell 