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Category: Arts, Culture & Heritage

All posts relating to arts, culture and heritage, explored while travelling

Dunham Massey in Spring

Despite having lived within half an hour’s drive of Dunham Massey my whole life, I’d never visited in the spring. That is until now… it was literally the first place I went beyond the constraints of my local town as we emerged from the UK Covid lockdown 2.0. I soon discovered that Dunham Massey…

Burton Swans Sculpture Trail: Fun in the Sun

In my recent 2020 review post, I asked you guys what you most wanted to read about next based on my favourite travel related experiences of last year. I was so surprised at the result… Several of you got in touch saying you wanted to see more of the Burton Swans sculpture trail after not knowing anything about them…

Top 20 Travel Related Experiences of 2020

I think it’s safe to say we’re all glad to see the back of 2020. However I’m not going to concentrate on the sheer number of crappy things that happened during the year and rehash what we all know, because we’ve all lived it… many of us have lost loved ones and we’ve…

Exploring Risley Moss Nature Reserve in Cheshire

One thing I think we all did in 2020 is to get outside more and explore the area near to where we live. For me, this area is Warrington in Cheshire, situated half way between the big northern cities of Manchester and Liverpool. Surrounding Warrington are some lovely landscapes and excellent opportunities to explore the great outdoors. One of those…

Visiting Speke Hall During Covid-19

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve visited Speke Hall over the last 8 years since it became my most local National Trust property. I’ve seen it in all seasons and all weathers and I still love returning. However, with the current Coronavirus situation I knew this visit would be very different…

Post Covid-19 Great British Staycation Bucket List

As we emerge from lock-down and pubs, restaurants and tourist attractions start opening up once again, not to mention in demand hairdressers, I’m sure like me you’re itching to get out and about a bit more. As foreign holidays are still largely off the cards for the time being, the Great British staycation is expecting…

Walk to The Dream Sculpture at Sutton Manor Woodlands, Merseyside

The ‘Dream’ sculpture at Sutton Manor woodlands is a 20 metre high sculpture that resembles a girl’s face located on the former site of Sutton Manor Colliery in St Helens, Merseyside. Constructed in 2009, it was designed by world-renowned artist Jaume Plensa and can be seen from miles around. It sits amongst newly established woodlands and…

Exploring Brimham Rocks in the Snow

Surely one of the most magical things in the world is waking up to a scene you look at every day and seeing it covered in a blanket of pristine white snow. This comes from a place where snow is not a regular occurrence. Normally I’m in the camp where the thought process goes: “it’s beautiful as long…

Why You Should Visit Wakefield Cathedral

The iconic image of the city of Wakefield is the cathedral’s spire as it is visible from all over the city and from miles around. Yet there are many that are unaware that Wakefield is even a city, let alone that it has a cathedral. It certainly doesn’t rank high amongst the UK’s most popular cathedrals when…

Walking With The Snowman Sculpture Trails

Christmas time would not be the same without the adorable Raymond Briggs animation The Snowman. It was certainly a Christmas staple for me; as quintessential as the Turkey roast, the giving and receiving of gifts and the drinking of sherry. It tends to be shown on TV on Christmas Eve afternoon and I never once made it through watching without…

Top 19 Travel Experiences of 2019

A new year and lots of new things to look forward to… But it’s also that time of year when you look back over the previous year and take stock: what happened – the good and the bad. There’s plenty of 2019 that I’m glad to see the back of including lots of ill health. However…

Hamburg in Autumn: Top 5 Places to See Autumn Colour

Although I have my favourite places to walk amongst fallen leaves, I always like to visit somewhere new during autumn. It’s the season when our landscape turns all shades of orange, red and gold and I just love it! Three years ago I discovered how Amsterdam does autumn. Two years back it was the turn of England’s…