After reading The Road to Little Dribbling, I realise that Bill Bryson is not just a renowned senior traveller (he is 65 this year), but also a ‘grumpy old man’, albeit a very amusing, grumpy old man. The book is sub-titled More Notes from a Small Island, and that explains it well. Twenty years after […]
Written by Julia Thorley (One of two winning entries in the Travel & Water Writing Competition.) Begin at Bamburgh Castle, holding firm its position on the Northumbria coastline for centuries. It is built on an outcrop of volcanic dolerite, a grim rock with toughness reflected in black and grey intrusions. The rock is part of the Great Whin […]
Written by Ann Rhodes (A highly commended entry in the City, Town or Village Writing Competition.) The windows were the first thing I noticed, shimmering, like mirrors, in the Autumn sunshine. This was the Brontë Parsonage in Haworth, West Yorkshire, where Jane Eyre, Agnes Grey and Catherine Earnshaw had crept from ink-smudged manuscripts. Where in […]
Written by Hilary Middleton (One of the runner-up entries in the City, Town or Village Writing Competition.) Golden daffodils, delicious gingerbread and stunning scenery are synonymous with one place: Grasmere in the English Lake District, best known for its connections with the poet William Wordsworth. But there are no lonely wanderings here, for this traditional Cumbrian […]
Written by Jennifer Guilliard (One of the runner-up entries in the City, Town or Village Writing Competition.) The Romans who settled in Nantwich, Cheshire, weren’t worried about their salt intake. They couldn’t get enough of the stuff. Soldiers were paid their ‘salary’ partly in salt and even slaves and plebeians munched on salt-soaked olives. Salt […]
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Living the Dream on the Leeds-Liverpool Canal
Written by Julie Noble (A highly commended runner-up entry in the Travel and Water Writing Competition.) The week before we go on the boat, roads all round England are gridlocked and people wait for days to enter the Channel tunnel and escape that way. When the radio features canals, we dream of forthcoming peace while […]