Beamish is, quite simply unique. It is not a theme park. It is more than a museum. Oh and whatever you do, don’t tell the kids it’s educational as well. It is a special time at Beamish this year because the site celebrates it’s 40th Birhday. Bamish grew up, at the same time I did [...]
Nestling against the River Nidd in Knaresborough, you will find a virtually unique phenomenon in Mother Shipton’s Cave. So named due to it being the birth place and home of the most famous resident of the town, Mother Shipton herself. In 1488 a young frightened child of 15 years old had been hauled before the [...]
Visit Whitby in Yorkshire and it wont be long before you come across the name Trillo, but who are the Trillo family? Gregorio Antonio Thomaso Trillo (Neil told us he was known to the locals as Charlie who couldn’t quite master the long name) arrived in England from Italy in 1912 and quickly set about [...]
I spent an excellent day with friends in Hadrian‘s Wall country, in Northumberland yesterday. The weather was just about perfect for walking, warm but not too hot, although we did consume a fair amount of liquids throughout the walk. We started off at Housesteads Roman Fort. Now the others didn’t spot it at first but [...]
Last night I went with a group of friends on the Chillingham Castle Ghost Tour. Chillingham castle was built in the 12 century, and as our guide informed us, originally it had a round tower but this was subsequently replaced by the square design you see today. The castle itself became fully fortified in 1344 [...]
Standing dramatically on the cliff tops between Craster and Embleton in Northumberland is Dunstanburgh Castle. The Castle is now largely ruinous although it rated at one time among the largest and grandest castles in the North of England. Today the only way to reach Dunstanburgh Castle is on foot along the exposed Northumberland coastline. We [...]
On the National Trust website, Wallington is described as “Magnificent mansion with fine interiors and collections, set in an extensive garden and parkland”. It is an accurate description of what was once the home of the Trevelyan family, in Border Reiver country. As you approach the estate,one of the first sights to greet you are [...]
Acquired by The National Trust in 1983 Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal are part of a huge site just outside of Ripon. Fountains Abbey was established in 1132 by 13, French, Benedictine monks who left their order due to their outrage at the way their order was being broken. The monks originally travelled to [...]
Reeth is probably one of the most picturesque villages in North Yorkshire. It has the ideal layout with life revolving around quite a large village green. A quick visit to the gift shop on the edge of the village green will equip you with a very reasonably priced leaflet showing three circular walks in [...]
The island of Lindisfarne, often referred to as Holy Island is five miles east of the A1 in Northumberland. The only way to get to or from the island is via the causeway. Crossing times are restricted due to the ebb and flow of the tide and the crossing timetables should always be consulted prior [...]
