The first thing I said on approaching this building was 'It looks like something from Game of Thrones.' It hasn't actually been used in any filming as far as I can tell - but walking through it makes you feel a bit like you're in a movie. It's also not actually a medieval castle, but... Continue Reading →
I love an old building with proper history - something grittier than a fine country house (they have their place, but "working" buildings have more interesting stories). Beaumaris Gaol on the Isle of Anglesey in North Wales didn't function as a jail for very long, but it still has some interesting tales and well-preserved features... Continue Reading →
T.E. Lawrence is known to most as Lawrence of Arabia. That's thanks in no small part to the autobiographical stories he wrote and the incredibly successful film made of them starring Peter O'Toole. Lawrence was a writer but had many strings to his bow. And much about his life (including those same stories) is shrouded... Continue Reading →
Most readers would choose a place they could read all day every day and it just so happens there's a town where you can do just that. Hay-On-Wye is located just over the Wales/England border and is self-described as the world's first book town. There are over 20 bookshops to visit - which is a... Continue Reading →
Thomas Hardy was a world-renowned writer with deep connections to Dorset, although his books were set in the fictional county of Wessex, inhabited by the rural country folk he'd grown up with. And while his ashes may lie in Westminster Abbey's Poet's Corner, his heart lies (quite literally) in Dorset. Born 2 June 1840, Hardy... Continue Reading →
Kenneth Grahame is famous as the author of one of the most iconic children's stories of all time, "The Wind in the Willows". This classic book was written in 1908 but has enchanted children for decades (myself included). Grahame was born in 1859. His mother died when he was just five and, as his father... Continue Reading →
“Suddenly a hot gleam of sunlight fell upon the white cottages, with their grey steaming roofs and little scraps of garden courtyard, and lighting up the wings of the gorgeous butterflies which fluttered from the woodland down to the garden.” Charles Kingsley Clinging to the side of a cliff in Devon, lies the winding, cobbled... Continue Reading →
If you mention Chawton to any Jane Austen fan, they will immediately think of her home, an unassuming cottage in the village. At some point, I'll do a blog post about that - but for this post we're going to visit Chawton House, the home of Jane's brother Edward. Sited just down the road from... Continue Reading →
If you're of a certain age (hello) or any kind of film fan, then you'll doubtless recognise the photos in this post. Known as Sycamore Gap - or Robin Hood Gap which probably gives the game away - this part of Hadrians Wall is famous for featuring in the epic 90s classic "Robin Hood: Prince... Continue Reading →
If you're a fan of anything in the fantasy genre, you're probably aware of "The Witcher". The series started as books, then became video games, and now it's a popular TV series on Netflix. I became familiar with "The Witcher" via the games first, then the TV series, and now I'm trying out the books... Continue Reading →
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