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 […]
Senior Travel Expert Photo Editor, John Esser, reports on a heritage site close to home. Despite living in the area for nearly 30 years, I have only now got round to discovering Doddington Hall & Gardens, courtesy of a birthday treat from my wife – and what a discovery it proved to be. Doddington Hall was built in 1600, […]
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The Road to Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson
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 […]