I do love to read a good plaque as I wander around the streets of London, camera in hand. It’s like having a mini-history lesson laid out for you as you take a path, walked by thousands of people before you. They help us connect our present to the past. They also help us enjoy the living…
Tag: English Heritage
On the trail of Jane Austen …
With the 200th anniversary of the first publication of the novel Emma this year, I thought it might be fun to share some of the “Austen Trail” I have done on my travels around Hampshire and Surrey. I’m sure there’s a lot more you can do but these are the few things that have crossed…
London’s Triumphal Arch
If you have ever wandered over onto the roundabout at Hyde Park Corner, you will have seen an arch, but it never occurred to me until reading more about it, that this was to celebrate Wellington’s victory over Napoleon so follows in fact from the Roman tradition of triumphal arches. Today it is known as…
Wellington Remembered
With all the furore concerning the upcoming anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo and the Napoleonic Wars, it seemed an appropriate time to visit the Duke of Wellington’s home in Central London – sometimes referred to simply as Number One London. My friend Gill insisted on our walking through the pedestrian tunnels and I am…
Take three castles …
Over the last 12 months, I have had the good fortune to visit three castles – all with The Hound in tow – and they couldn’t have been more different. Take Southsea Castle, where in my mind’s eye, I can visualise a stressed and desolate King Henry VIII, standing proudly whilst watching his tried and tested flagship,…
Queen Victoria’s Holiday Home
I have long wanted to visit Osborne House, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s Tuscan styled holiday home on the Isle of Wight so it was with great pleasure that I finally fulfilled this ambition. The House itself is in a beautiful position, with views across landscaped gardens down to a distant sea. The shame of…
The last line of defence: Hurst Castle
None of my friends seem to have heard of Hurst Castle – at least the one here in the UK. So, just to be crystal clear, I am referring to Henry VIII’s English castle rather than Randolph Hearst’s Californian home! Hurst Castle at the tip of the Solent is a pristine example of Henry VIII’s policy of…
Carisbrooke Castle – a fairytale castle
Carisbrooke Castle, one of the UK’s most perfectly preserved castles, has one of the most difficult access roads ever – a short but steep single track climb with a totally blind, 90 degree turn into the unknown – relying on traffic lights to keep us safe. Once there, high up above the surrounding landscape, the views…
The Victorian Bathing Machine
Being interested in all thing seaside, I have long wanted to see an actual Victorian Bathing Machine in person. So it was with great anticipation that I saw the most exclusive bathing machine of them all this past week – Her Majesty Queen Victoria’s own bathing machine on her very own private beach at the…
A ticket to Ryde
I first heard about the Grade II listed Ryde Pier when I listened to the well known Beatles song of a similar name if not spelling. Apparently John Lennon and Paul McCartney visited the island in the ’60’s to visit Paul’s cousin and inspired this well known ditty. It wasn’t until recently however – and funnily enough,…
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