Most people in the UK are familiar with the Mary Rose, the famous ship of the English navy under Henry VIII which was sank in battle in 1545 before being recovered in 1982. Sweden has its own ship with a similar history, the Vasa, a 64 gun ship, that sank on its maiden voyage in 1628,…
Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, is one of his most famous characters, the tragic antihero who has one of the most quoted lines in the bard’s work, “To be or not to be…”. Hamlet’s home is the Danish Royal palace, Kronborg Castle in Elsinore, so when we had the opportunity to see Hamlet in…
I’ve spent today walking about Copenhagen as a tourist, something I can reccomend. The pretty harbour and lovely cafes that make up Nyhavn, the fun that is Tivoli Gardens, and the palace and the Changing of the Guard are all great to see. We were walking to Nyhavn from the changing of the guard when…
This weekend saw the Moira Canal Festival 2016, the annual local fundraiser for the Ashby Canal that has a fantastically varied series of events. I’ve written about the 2013, 2014 and 2015 events, and as with those and other previous years, I went along to see what was going on. The trip to Moira is…
I wrote recently about a trip to the rather excellent Dinosaur Zoo in Birmingham. Whilst we were there, we went to visit a couple of other interesting places in the city. Before the show, we had a quick trip to the city’s museum – a great place for afternoon tea – and afterwards, as we…
It seems an almost universal truth that children are fascinated by dinosaurs, and my son Xander certainly adheres to that, so when I heard that Dinosaur Zoo was in the UK, I decided that a trip to see it was in order. For those not familiar with Dinosaur Zoo, it’s an Australian show that tours…
I was in New York recently and was introduced to Ellen’s Stardust Diner, an institution located at 1650 Broadway since 1987. The staff at the diner – which serves traditional diner food – are all in New York looking for parts in Broadway shows, and all audition to work at the diner by showing off…
Fans of motorised transport, be it racing cars or otherwise, are spoiled for choice in the UK with the sheer volume of circuits and exhibitions dedicated to their hobby, including plenty of hidden gems that are less well known. Coventry Transport Museum is one of those, with a huge number of vehicles on display in…
I was in Northern Ireland recently visiting friends & family, and I took a trip to Gleno Waterfall. The National Trust property is one that I visit relatively regularly when I’m in the area, not just because it is a rather pretty view, but also because it is very near where I grew up, and…
I wrote recently about Carrickfergus Castle, and how easy it was to find in the centre of the town. Nearby and a short stroll along the Marine Highway, the road that runs along beside the sea, is Marine Gardens, home to the Carrickfergus Cenotaph. Whilst the cenotaph has been easy to spot for quite some…
My recent trip to Northern Ireland, like many of mine, included a trip to Carrickfergus, where any visitors cannot fail to notice Carrickfergus Castle sitting by the sea, dominating the town as it has done since its build in 1177. The castle was built by John de Courcy in 1177, who used it as his…
I was in Northern Ireland recently and took a trip to North Down, and after a pleasant lunch in the lovely seaside town of Bangor and a stroll along the marina, headed to nearby Newtownards. Anyone in the area will see one particular landmark rising up over the very scenic views; that of Scrabo Tower.…