Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Archive for england
Five Centuries of British Art
By Linda Tancs
The Yale Center for British Art in New Haven, Connecticut, houses the largest collection of British art outside the United Kingdom, comprising paintings, sculpture, drawings, prints, photographs, rare books and manuscripts. Imagine experiencing five centuries of British artistic achievement without crossing the Atlantic! More than just a hub for academic research and learning, the center offers programs for children and families as well. Admission is free.
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Steaming Through the Staffordshire Moorlands
By Linda Tancs
Just a stone’s throw from the outskirts of the Peak District, the Churnet Valley Railway is a preserved standard gauge heritage railway in the Staffordshire Moorlands of Staffordshire, England. It operates along part of the former Churnet Valley Line which was opened by the North Staffordshire Railway in 1849, passing through beautiful countryside with riverside views including Caldon Canal, known as Staffordshire’s “Little Switzerland.” Rail enthusiasts will enjoy viewing both steam and diesel locomotives at Cheddleton Station. This time of year, it’s all aboard the Polar Express. Fashioned after the movie, the hour-long ride departs from Froghall Station.
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Christmas Market Celebrates 25 Years
By Linda Tancs
Situated in the picturesque World Heritage City of Bath in southwest England, Bath Christmas Market is celebrating its 25th year. The event features nearly 200 chalets showcasing artisan jewelers, cheesemongers, homeware and more. The stalls span a majority of the city’s main shopping areas, including around Bath Abbey, Union Street and Milsom Street. Weekends are quite busy; for a calmer experience, try lunchtime or Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday evenings. This year’s market runs until December 14.
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Britain’s First Public Museum
By Linda Tancs
Founded in 1683, the Ashmolean is the University of Oxford’s museum of art and archaeology. Britain’s first public museum, it was erected to house the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the university in 1677. Their renowned collection ranges from an Egyptian mummy to contemporary art. It includes the Alfred Jewel, a masterpiece of goldsmithing made for King Alfred, the only monarch known as “the Great.” Arguably the most famous painting is The Hunt in the Forest (circa 1470), the last known work of an Italian artist named Paolo Uccello. You can browse more than 300,000 treasures like these online. Admission to the museum is free.
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The Birds of Geltsdale
By Linda Tancs
Geltsdale is an upland reserve in northeast Cumbria, one of the last places in Britain where one can see the hen harrier (one of England’s most endangered breeding birds of prey) in its natural habitat. Owned and operated by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, it’s a patchwork of blanket bog, heath, grassland, meadows, woodland and rolling hills that is home to a range of threatened wildlife. Birdwatchers will find black grouse, redshank, nightjar, snipe, whinchat, curlews, ospreys, short-eared owls and lapwings. A bold new restoration project is set to increase wildlife populations and revitalize the moorlands, wetlands, peatlands and woodlands.
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Britain’s First Recreated Street
By Linda Tancs
York Castle Museum is a museum located in York, England, on the site of York Castle, which was originally built by William the Conqueror in 1068. The most iconic part of the museum is Kirkgate, a recreated Victorian street. Created by Dr. John Lamplugh Kirk (founder of the museum), it’s one of the oldest recreated indoor streets of its kind in the world and the first to be opened in Britain. Each shop and business on Kirkgate is named after a real business that operated in late Victorian York. Costumed guides can tell you more about each shop when you arrive.
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Stars and Stripes in Gloucester
By Linda Tancs
The city of Gloucester, England, has many ties to the United States. For example, Gloucester-born Button Gwinnett was an early signer of the Declaration of Independence. Also, the bells of Old North Church in Boston, Massachusetts, were made in 1744 by the famous Rudhall foundry in Gloucester and installed in 1745. The city of Gloucester, Massachusetts, was named for its English counterpart in honor of their defiance against King Charles I during the English Civil War. Even Gloucester Cathedral has ties to America. In fact, it boasts both an American flag and Union flag in the nave. That’s because John Stafford Smith, the composer of the U.S. national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner,” was born in the cathedral’s infirmary. Take a tour of the cathedral and learn more about Smith and his birthplace.
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England’s Independent Lighthouse
By Linda Tancs
The oldest working light on the Norfolk Coast and the only independently operated lighthouse in the U.K. is Happisburgh Lighthouse. The red and white-banded structure is 85 feet tall and its lantern is 134 feet above sea level with a range of 18 miles. There are 96 open steps up to the service room and 16 steep steps to the lantern, which are enclosed. Aside from public open days, private tours can be arranged. Book early to avoid disappointment.
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Equestrian Splendor in Lincolnshire
By Linda Tancs
A hallmark of England’s social season, Burghley Horse Trials in Stamford ranks within the U.K.’s top 10 national sporting occasions by attendance. An average of 80 of the world’s top competitors gather at the annual event held at Burghley House, a grand Elizabethan mansion. It’s one of only seven CCI 5* events worldwide, the star rating denoting the highest standard of event (technically and administratively) and the most challenging test of horse and rider. This year’s event runs from September 4 to 7.
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A Light for Padstow
By Linda Tancs
Trevose Head Lighthouse is a lighthouse on Trevose Head on England’s north Cornish coast. Just west of the town of Padstow, it was built to bridge the gap in lighting between Land’s End and Lundy. The headland lies in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and about 79 acres are part of the Constantine Bay Site of Special Scientific Interest for its sea cliffs, maritime grassland, heath and wet habitats. You’ll find a variety of plants, marine wildlife and wildflowers along trails like Booby’s Bay walk.
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