Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Archive for england
Gliding at Canary Wharf
By Linda Tancs
London’s Canary Wharf boasts the city’s first skate path, a trail adjacent to the main ice rink leading skaters under lighted trees. For the timid, a limited number of skate aids are available to keep you vertical. Even wheelchairs are welcome on the ice. Enjoy it until 16 February.
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Getting to Know Wallace
By Linda Tancs
If you were asked to name London’s best museums, what would be on your list? The British Museum? V&A? Tate? National Gallery? Chances are, you wouldn’t think of The Wallace Collection. Featuring the collections of the first four Marquesses of Hertford and Sir Richard Wallace, the son of the 4th Marquess, this national museum boasting 25 galleries is a real gem located in Hertford House, a London townhouse. Its most prominent exhibits include paintings by Titian, Rembrandt, Hals and Velázquez and eighteenth-century French paintings, porcelain, furniture and gold boxes. But don’t stop there. Be sure to view the stunning array of Limoges enamels and striking arms and armor. Beat the crowds and visit on New Year’s Day.
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Is There Anybody Out There?
By Linda Tancs
The third largest telescope of its kind in the world, England’s Lovell Radio Telescope in Cheshire has been probing the depths of space for signs of intelligent life since 1957. Located at Jodrell Bank Observatory, the shining white disc measuring 255 feet stands in stark contrast to the verdant plains of Shining Tor, Cheshire’s highest point. At the Visitor Centre you can walk half way around this powerful radio telescope as it investigates cosmic phenomena.
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The World’s Largest Tablet in London
By Linda Tancs
As previously noted, London’s Trafalgar Square attracts interesting exhibitions, artful and otherwise. The latest one to hit the famous meetup space is Microsoft’s installation of a colossal Surface 2 tablet. Smack in the middle of the square, the tablet measures 27 feet in width and 17 feet in height. And it works, too. Of course, this isn’t the corporate behemoth’s first foray into interactive art–remember the giant Windows phone in New York’s Herald Square?
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The Lady of the North
By Linda Tancs
A new English lady is borne out of over a million tons of rock, clay and soil in the English countryside near the Northumberland town of Cramlington. Christened Northumberlandia and coined “the lady of the north,” the colossal depiction of a reclining female figure, 100 feet high and a quarter mile long, is the centerpiece of a new public park. Open year round, the 46-acre community park features free public access and four miles of footpaths on and around the sculpture.
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England’s Oldest Racecourse
By Linda Tancs
Chester, England rightly takes its place in horse racing history, the first recorded race dating back to 1539 during the reign of King Henry VIII. Known as the Roodee, the course is the oldest one still in use in England. The 2013 season ends this Saturday with a series of class 3 and class 4 stakes with prizes ranging from £8,000 to £50,000. Situated in the heart of Chester and easily accessible by road or rail, the course is signed from all the major routes into Chester on race days.
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A Rare Glimpse of a Goldsmiths’ Pavilion
By Linda Tancs
The Goldsmiths’ Company, founded in London to regulate the craft and trade of the goldsmith, received its first royal charter in 1327. Thanks to its efforts you can be assured of the quality of gold, silver and more recently, platinum. The guild is housed in Goldsmiths’ Hall, a hidden gem just northeast of St. Paul’s Cathedral at the junction of Foster Lane and Gresham Street. The palatial-style building is never open to the public except during exhibitions and designated open days. That’s why the Goldsmiths’ Fair is a great opportunity to steep yourself in its long history. Taking place from 23 to 29 September and then from 1 to 6 October, the fair gives discerning collectors the world over a chance to meet the up-and-coming designers of jewelry and silverware design.
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Where the Stars Are
By Linda Tancs
Light management is critical to preserving the beauty of the night sky. Just ask the folks at the International Dark-Sky Association, a non-profit organization fighting to preserve the night. They’ve certified five places in the world as an International Dark Sky Reserve–in other words, that’s where the stars are. The honorees are Mont Mégantic in Canada, Exmoor National Park in England, Aoraki Mackenzie in New Zealand, NamibRand Nature Reserve in Namibia and Brecon Beacons National Park in Wales.
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The Bard of Eastwood
By Linda Tancs
It’s an auspicious year in Eastwood, England, the hometown of writer D.H. Lawrence. Not only are they celebrating the centenary of the author’s semi-autobiographical novel Sons and Lovers, but 2013 also marks the 10th anniversary of the annual D.H. Lawrence Festival. In conjunction with the D.H. Lawrence Heritage Centre, the events on tap through 21 September include a series of lectures, exhibitions and guided walks, like the Blue Line Trail. The one-hour walk takes in sights like the library where a young D.H. would read, the chapel where his family worshipped and the pub renamed the Moon and Stars in his breakthrough novel. Join the D.H. Lawrence Society today for their special birthday lecture on Lawrence as a philosophical novelist.
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England’s First Natural World Heritage Site
By Linda Tancs
England’s first natural World Heritage Site is known as the Jurassic Coast, covering 95 miles of unforgettable coastline stretching from East Devon to Dorset. Despite its name, the area actually covers three geological time periods: the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous. Each period is spectacularly covered. For starters, there’s the red rocks of the Triassic Period at Orcombe Point at Exmouth, site of the former supercontinent Pangaea. The famous Durdle Door limestone arch near Lulworth lures fans of the Jurassic Period. And the white chalk stack of Old Harry Rocks at Handfast Point near Studland highlights a time during the Cretaceous Period when the ever widening Atlantic Ocean breached the chalk ridge. Use the South West Coast Path to access the entire site.
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