As I sit to write this in early February, it seems strange to talk about Thanksgiving. It’s so far away! But if you are planning to travel to London, Thanksgiving is a pretty good time to go. We have been there twice for the holiday, and hope to do so again. London at that time of year is magical. The Christmas street decorations are starting to appear, the stores are open, excitement is building for …
Brighton and Hove
At the far western end of Sussex is the seaside resort of Brighton, actually named Brighton and Hove. Brighton has been occupied from the Bronze age, through the Romans and Anglo-Saxon times. Under King George IV, while he was Prince Regent, Brighton developed as a place where people could take advantage of what was thought to be the health aspects of bathing in the sea. With the coming of railroads in 1841, …
Beachy Head and Seven Sisters
East of Hastings, along the coast, is a high chalk cliff known as Beachy Head and immediately to the east of Beachy Head is the Seven Sisters. Beachy Head is the highest chalk cliff in Britain, rising to over 530 feet above sea level. From the peak you have terrific views in both directions along the coast. Beachy Head has been featured in sea shanties about how to navigate the …
Sussex is a county in the south of England, on the English Channel, west of Kent and east of Hampshire. It gets its name from an Old English word, Suth-Seaxe, which meant “South Saxons.” South Saxons were a Germanic tribe that settled in the region from the North German plain in the 5th and 6th centuries. The Kingdom of Sussex was founded by Ælle of Sussex in AD 477, right after the …
On the western side of Kent, close to London, is the town of Westerham, and in Westerham is a country house named Chartwell. Chartwell was built some time in the 14thcentury; the earliest record for it is a sale of the property, then called Well-street, by William-at-Well in 1382. An historical figure who is reputed to have stayed there is Henry VIII, who allegedly visited while courting Anne Boleyn, who lived in …
Dover: the Castle, Cliffs and Tunnels (and the Romans, of course)
The white chalk cliffs of Dover are one of the most iconic features of England. They were referenced by William Shakespeare in King Lear, Act IV, Scene I. Long a navigational feature for the sailor, the cliffs are referenced in the sea shanty “Spanish Ladies.” The cliffs even formed the basis of the most popular WW II tune, “(There’ll Be Bluebirds Over) The …
Day 1 – Canterbury Tales
Kent is the county in the far south east of England. Running from the far south east to London, it borders on the English Channel and the Thames River. To the south it forms the north side of the straights of Dover, with Calais, France, on the south side. Occupied since the Paleolithic era, Kent today is a major area of England, replete with lovely historical sites, towns and cities.…
Day 3—Day three will be a bit of a history day, some relatively modern, some older.
Start by driving from Bath to the Fleet Air Arm Museum in Yeovilton. The Royal Navy has been flying aircraft since 1909. The museum has examples of the various aircraft that have been flown by Royal Navy Aviators during that time. Included in the museum is one of the first prototypes of the Concorde, the only supersonic airliner to …
Day two in Somerset will involve some driving. Starting from the Abbey Hotel, head for Glastonbury, to see the Glastonbury Tor (pictured above courtesy National Trust UK) which is an imposing hill near the town of Glastonbury. At the top are the ruins of St Michael’s Tower, with a history going back to the Iron Age. The stone Church of St Michael was built in the 14thcentury to replace a wooden church which …
The beautiful county of Somerset, which is located just over 100 miles from London, can be reached by car (2 hours and 15-30 minutes) or by train with routes to Bath and Bristol, two of the major cities in Somerset, as well as other locations within the county. Somerset has borders on the Bristol Channel, the Severn Estuary as well as the River Avon. Gloucestershire is to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset is …