United Kingdom & Ireland Travel Articles

 

Miscellaneous UK and Ireland Travel Basics

England was populated in prehistoric times and many burial tombs, stone circles and hill forts remain. The Roman conquest of Britain started in 43AD during the reign of Emperor Claudius. They built roads, towns and villas in the countryside and the remains of many have been preserved. The medieval history is everywhere, in the castles and historic houses. The industrial revolution also left sites that are interesting to explore today. Designated Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) preserve the countryside and historic villages, National Parks preserve wilderness areas and organizations like the National Trust and English Heritage preserve the historic buildings. There is more to see in England than just London. We hope these...

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South West Salisbury and its Cathedral

Salisbury is on the tourist radar as it is close to Stonehenge and runs a daily bus trip there. That is probably all most visitors see of Salisbury, although a few may get as far as the Cathedral, one of the best Early English Cathedrals in the country and with the tallest spire and a copy of Magna Carta. This is doing Salisbury a disservice as it is an attractive and prosperous market town with as good shopping area and plenty of old buildings. It repays a visit in its own right. At confluence rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne on edge Salisbury Plain, the original settlement was Old Sarum, site of an iron age hill fort, built on a hill to the north of Salisbury. By the early C13th Old Sarum was considered was cramped and squalid...

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Channel Islands The Parish Church of St Brelade and the Fisherman’s Chapel, Jersey

The Celtic Saint, Brelade, founded a small community on a rocky ledge overlooking a sheltered bay in the C5th and there has been a church on this site from at least 1000AD. When Jersey was divided up into parishes in the C12th, this became the Parish Church of St Brelade. The church has one of the few surviving Medieval chapels, the Fisherman’s chapel next to it. St Brelade’s Church dates from the late C11th and has some of the earliest Norman work on the island. The chancel is the oldest part of the building. By the mid C12th most of the nave and saddleback tower had been built. Transepts and a north aisle were added during the C14th and the nave was extended. The small round tourelle by the south porch, contains a spiral...

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Channel Islands St Matthew’s Church, Jersey - The Glass Church

St Matthew's Church was built in 1840 as a chapel of ease to save parishioners the long uphill walk to the parish church of St Lawrence ,well over a mile away. From the outside is is a rather uninspiring box like white church. It would still be an unremarkable church if it hadn’t been for Florence, Lady Trent, widow of Jesse Boot who had founded the Boots the Chemist shops. In 1934, she commissioned the French glass designer, Rene Lalique, to refurbish the church in memory of her husband. Not only is the glass work stunning, it is also unique as the moulds were destroyed and there is nowhere else like this. The first experience of Lalique's remarkable work is on the two glass panels of the main door, of an angel with crossed...

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Channel Islands Mont Orgueil Castle, Jersey

Built on the closest point to Mainland France, this is one of the finest examples of a medieval fortress on Jersey , surrounded by steep cliffs and the sea on three sides. The headland overlooking Gorey Bay has been settled since the Neolithic times and there was an Iron Age ditch and ramparts here. Originally referred to as Gorey or the King’s Castle, it seems to have been given the name Mont Orgueil Castle in the C15th. It was a the seat of Royal authority until the construction of Elizabeth castle. Jersey became part of the Duchy of Normandy in the C10th and became a possession of the English Crown when William, Duke of Normandy, was crowded William I of England in 1066. When King John lost Normandy to the French King in...

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Channel Islands The Little Chapel, Guernsey

Tucked away in the fertile Les Vauxbelets Valley in the centre of Guernsy, the Little Chapel was a work of art and labour of love by Brother Déodat. His plan was to create a miniature version of the famous grotto and basilica at Lourdes in France, decorated with pieces of broken pottery, pebbles and shells. The version you see today is actually the third version. The first c hapel, measuring just 9 feet long by 4.5 feet wide, was criticised, so Brother Deodat spent the following night demolishing the building. He soon set to work again and, in July 1914, the grotto was completed and officially blessed. The portly Bishop of Portsmouth visited in 1923 and was unable to get through the door. A mortified Brother Deodat again...

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Channel Islands Herm

Herm is the small island, three miles off the east coast of Guernsey. The southern end is flat with sandy beaches while the north end is high rugged cliffs. To the north is the even smaller island of Lihou. This is linked to Herm by a tidal causeway at spring tides. It is an important conservation area and the house is available for hire. Herm has been settled since Neolithic times and Robert’s Cross is the remains of a later neolithic burial chamber is on the north side of the Island between between Le Petit Monceau and Le Grand Monceau. In the C6th, Christian missionaries visited the island, including followers of St Tugual, a Celtic saint. A chapel was established to his memory and still in use today. From the middle...

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Channel Islands The German Defences at Pleinmont Point, Guernsey

During the Second World War, the Channel Islands were occupied by German Forces and were one of the most heavily fortified parts of Europe. As part of the Atlantic wall, a series of defensive concrete bunkers, gun placements and observation towers were built around the coast. One of the best places to see these is at Pleinmont Point at the south east tip of Guernsey, where much of the Batterie Dollman Command Post still survives. One of the observation towers still survives at the headland. These were built at the highest points and were fitted with range finding equipment and radar above. The information on range and direction was sent to the command post. As well as the operationbs room, this also had accommodation for the crews...

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Channel Islands La Grande Havre Bay and Rousse Tower, Guernsey

Grande Havre Bay and Rousse Tower Grande Havre bay is a large sandy bay on the north east coast of Guernsey. It marks the place that once separated Guernsey into two islands - the small flat area of Vale from the rest of Guernsey. In 1804, the then Lieutenant Governor dammed and drained the waterway, linking the two. Money raised from selling the reclaimed land was used to build military roads linking up the loophole towers and headland forts. The top part of the road to St Peter Port is still called La Route Militaire. Guernsey has one of the largest tidal ranges in the world. At high tide, there is just a small fringe of sand but the tide goes out exposing a huge area of sand stranded boats and small rocks. Overlooking the...

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Channel Islands Castle Cornet, Guernsey

Castle Cornet stands on a former tidal island guarding the entrance to St Peter Port Originally only accessible on foot at low tide, in the mid C19th it became part of the harbour breakwater and reached by bridge. When William, Duke of Normandy became King of England in 1066, the Channel Islands became possessions of the English Crown. In 1204, King John lost control of Normandy to the French. The Channel Islands elected to stay as self governing islands under the protection of the English crown. Being very close to the French Coast, there was a need to protect themselves against French attack. St Peter Port was a busy trading harbour and subject to French attack and a fortification was needed to guard the harbour. Castle Cornet...

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West Midlands Royal Leamington Spa, Warwickshire

A popular C19th Spa and still a fashionable town with some splendid architecture Although the benefits of the 'taking the waters' have been known since Roman times, and their use was well recorded by the C15th, Leamington was a small village until the end of the C18th with just a few cottages clustered around the church. The first mineral spring was discovered on land owned by the Earl of Aylesbury in 1804. A few years later a second spring was discovered by William Abbotts and Benjamin Satchwell, who exploited this by building a bath house above the spring, following the success of other popular spa towns like Bath and Harrogate. By 1808 there were another five springs with bath houses Numbers of visitors increased as people...

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Wales St Mary's Church, Conwy

The present Church of St Mary is on the site of the Cistercian Abbey of St Mary and All Saints’ in Aberconwy, which founded in 1109 by Llywelyn ap Iorwerth, Llywelyn the Great and Prince of Gwynedd. It was the principal religious centre of the area and many of the Princes of Gwynedd were buried here. Its Abbots were key political figures in the power struggles with England. After the crushing defeat by Edward I in 1282 and death of Llywelyn ap Iorwerth, Edward chose to exert his authority by building a castle and walled town on the site of the abbey, which was associated with Welsh pride and independence. The monks were forced to move to Maenan, further up the Conwy Valley near Llanrwst, taking the body of Llywelyn ap Iorwerth...

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Wales Plas Mawr, Conwy

Plas Mawr in the centre of the walled town of Conwy, is almost unchanged since the C16th and is possibly the best preserved and Elizabethan Town House in Britain. Robert Wynn was the third son of a moderately wealth local family. He entered the service of Sir Walter Stoner, who was lieutenant of the Tower of London, and later joined the household of Sir Philip Hoby, who carried out various diplomatic missions on behalf of the crown and later was part of the court of Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor. Wynn accompanied him and amassed a large fortune through his business interests. At the age of 50 he married Dorothy Griffith and bought land in Conwy to build a house to impress and befitting of his status and standing. The house...

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Wales Betws y Coed, North Wales

Betws y Coed is a popular inland holiday resort on A5, where three rivers, the Llugwy, the Lledr and the Machno, join the River Conwy. It is one of the main villages within Snowdonia National Park and also part of the Gwydir Forest Park. It is a popular centre for all outdoor sports. Its name translates as prayer house in the woods and the Church of St Michael was the site of a C6th Celtic monastery. Lead was mined in the area in the Middle Ages. Pont y Pair pack horse bridge across Afon Llugwy was built in 1468 in what was then, a remote area. The name means ‘bridge of the cauldron’ after the waterfalls and rapids flowing beneath. After the Acts of Union 1800, between Ireland and the UK, there was a need for better...

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Scotland Norse or Click Mills in the Scottish Islands

Once common across the Northern and Western Isles, these were used to grind corn from Viking Times to the beginning of the C20th. Water from a local stream was diverted through the mill building, turning a set of wooden paddles connected to the millstone above. The mills might be owned by an individual or shared by several families. They were in use until replaced by larger more centrally placed mills. The remains of the small mills can still be found scattered across the landscape. They are horizontal mills as the water wheels are set horizontally rather than vertically. They are often called either Norse Mills or Click Mills from the sound made by the rotating millstone knocking a stick which ensured an even flow of grain from the...

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Scotland Shetland Brochs

Brochs were built as tall defensive structures in the Iron Age from 2 about 300BC -1000AD and are mainly found in the north of Scotland and the off shore islands. They were constructed with two concentric, dry-stone walls around a circular courtyard. The inner gap between the stone walls had steps leading to the roof as well as small rooms and storage areas off. Little is actually known why brochs were built. They may have been status symbols of an important warrior chief. Alternatively they could have been used as a safe refuge in times of trouble for the community and their livestock. Now most exist as a small round circle of stones - the rest having been removed for building materials . Culswick Broch Burraland Broch sits...

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Scotland Jarlshof, Shetland - over 4000 years of human settlement

Jarlshof at the southernmost tip of Mainland Shetland is possibly one of the most significant archaeological sites in Britain, having been in continuous settlement from the late stone age to the C16th. The site was well chosen, overlooking the sheltered waters of West Voe with their sandy beaches suitable for launching boat for fishing or trading. It was surrounded by flat fertile land suitable for animals or growing crops. There was also a plentiful, supply of fresh water. The site has been in almost constant use for four thousand years; with later developments being built upon and around the older structures. There are late Neolithic houses, a Bronze Age village, an Iron Age broch and wheelhouse, a large Norse house, a medieval...

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Wales Tre’r Ceiri - Town of the Giants, Gwynedd

The series of hills running along the spine of the Llyn peninsula at the tip of north Wales are all topped by Iron Age hill forts. The most impressive is Tre’r Ceiri which overlooks the village Trevor and all the way along the coast to Anglesey. At 450m above sea level this is overshadowed by the even more impressive Yr Eifl and one of the best aerial views of Tre’r Ceiri is from its summit. The hill fort can be reached from a signed but steep footpath from a small lay by on the B4417 or from parking in the car park above Nant Gwrtheyrn and walking across the hillside. The hill fort dates from around 200BC although was probably at its height between 150-400AD and may have houses around 400 people. It was abandoned around 500AD...

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Isle of Man Tynwald

The Vikings may only have controlled the Isle of Man for four hundred years but they brought their system of government which is still used today. The Vikings settled the island from the C9th and brought their system of government with them. Known as Tynwald, this is the oldest parliament in the World. The word is Norse and means ‘assembly field’. Meetings were originally held in the open air to discuss matters affecting the community. Several small Tynwald sites can still be found around the island. These were small raised mounds were the chieftain and local population would meet to discuss matters affecting the community and administer justice. The site at Killabane just north of St Luke’s Church in the east Baldwin valley was last...

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Isle of Man Walking in the Isle of Man

For those wanting to explore on foot, the Isle of Man has a range of good walking from long distance footpaths like Raad ny Foillan (the coastal footpath or Road of the Gull), Millennium Way, Bayr Ny Skeddan (the Herring Route), and the Heritage Trail along the now long closed Douglas to Peel Railway. A google search of “Walks Isle of Man” produces lots of websites with different ideas for walks of varying lengths and degrees of difficulty. Two good sites are https://walksisleofman.com/walks and https://www.islandescapes.im/blog/holiday-makers/5-of-the-best-isle-of-man-short-walks The different glens around the island are freely accessible and provide a wide range of good short walks. Many of the forestry plantations across the...

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Isle of Man Antiquities in the Isle of Man

The Isle of Man has been settled since the stone age and probably has the most artefacts for its area than anywhere else in Britain. Perhaps the most significant site is Chapel Hill at Balladoole in the south of the island, where there is evidence of Mesolithic settlement middens containing shells and animal bones, the remains of a Bronze Age grave, an early Celtic fort, a Viking ship burial and a keeil. St Patrick’s Isle in Peel has been both a religious site and a fortress during its long history. Irish monks arrived here around 500AD and founded a monastery. Many of the archaeological sites across the island are are easily visited. Artefacts are displayed in the Manx Museum in Douglas and this is the place to find out about the...

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