Llangollen Canal: Water Supply, Horseshoe Falls and an Engineered Welsh Landscape

Llangollen Canal: Water Supply, Horseshoe Falls and an Engineered Welsh Landscape Most canals are still water. The Llangollen Canal moves. Walk its towpath west of Llangollen and you can see the current running gently eastward, because this narrow waterway in north-east Wales was built not only to carry boats but to carry water itself, drawn […]

Ffestiniog Railway: Slate, Narrow Gauge and the Mountain Route to Porthmadog

Ffestiniog Railway: Slate, Narrow Gauge and the Mountain Route to Porthmadog High in the mountains of north-west Wales, the town of Blaenau Ffestiniog sits among grey hillsides that are not hillsides at all, but tips of waste slate piled over two centuries of quarrying and mining. From here a railway less than two feet wide […]

Venta Silurum

Venta Silurum of Roman Wales In the village of Caerwent in the south of Wales stand the impressive remains of Venta Silurum, a market town established by the Romans in 75 CE. Named after the defeated local Silures tribe, it stood as their civitas capital during the Roman era in Britain. Established as an administrative […]

Medieval British Village Life: The Definitive Guide for Seniors

Life in the Medieval British Village In a previous article, we looked at the icons of the British village–the pub and the cottage–and looked at their history and evolution from Roman and Norman times. In this article we will look at daily life in the British village during the medieval period–or the period spanning the […]

The Country House, Britain

The British Country House Cliveden House, Burghley House, Blenheim Palace: country houses have long stood as icons in the British landscape. From the Middle Ages until today, the historic houses have gone through various changes, evolving in styles from Jacobean, to Palladian, Baroque, Neoclassical, Neogothic, and more. All the while they have stood in various […]

British Neoclassical Architecture & Decorative Arts

Neoclassicism Neoclassicism was a Western cultural movement in the 18th-19th centuries inspired by the art and culture of classical antiquity (Greece in the 8th to 4th Centuries BCE and Rome in the 5th to 1st Centuries BCE). The movement was most prominent in architecture and the visual arts, but also expressed itself in literature, theatre, […]

Standing Stones of Britain and Europe

Standing Stones of Britain and Europe “These great structures were built to enhance very special places on the earth’s surface, where a force or current works to make this expansion of consciousness more intense.” — Service A & Bradbery J, 1979, The Standing Stones of Europe: A Guide to Megalithic Monuments, Weidenfeld & Nicholson, London […]

Industrious Revolution

The Industrious Revolution was a major shift in economic history, seen in the everyday consumer behavior of individuals in Northwest Europe and North America in the 1700s. In this period, a greater diffusion of new durable and exotic goods created new desires amongst the populations of these places. What the people wanted to buy and consume changed.

Lumps and Bumps: How to Read the British Landscape

Read the landscape (and beat the crowds!) One of the perils of modern tourism is crowds. We all know the feeling. After a long-haul flight, a hotel room, a train and much excitement and anticipation, we finally arrive at a famous site, only to be met with a sea of tourists and tour buses. At […]

Visiting Britain’s World Heritage Sites

There are more than  30 spectacular UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the United Kingdom. They comprise some of the most spectacular and memorable cultural sites in Europe, and attract many tourists every year.

New Discoveries about Britain’s Stone Circles

In this post we will look at the latest news and discoveries about the prehistoric stone circles in Britain, including its most famous icon, the Stonehenge.

Victorian Women’s Fashion: Style and Status in Victorian Britain

Victorian Women’s Fashion: Style and Status in Victorian Britain The Young Queen Victoria by Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1842). Photographic reproduction from Wikimedia Commons. Victoria ascended the throne at the age of 18. Few eras reveal so much about a woman’s place in society as the sixty-four years Queen Victoria sat on the British throne. As […]

Cardiff, Wales

The History of Cardiff The city of Cardiff is the capital of Wales, surrounded by beautiful scenery at its location on the Bristol Channel at the mouth of the River Taff. From its historical humble beginnings as a Roman fort and small town throughout the middle ages, the city has developed significantly over the last 200 […]

Beaumaris Castle, Wales

Beaumaris Castle, Edward I of England’s architectural masterpiece built from 1295 to protect his territorial gains in the region. The historic castle is a world heritage listed site considered to be one of the most significant and sophisticated surviving examples of medieval military architecture.

St Davids, Wales

St Davids the smallest city in Great Britain, consisting of four streets that meet in the ancient marketplace Cross Square.

Llanbaris, Wales

Llanberis is a lakeside village in Gwynedd, northwest Wales, on the southern bank of Llyn Padarn at the foot of the magnificent Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales. The area has a long history spanning back 1000 years, initially as the location of a strong defensive castle for native Welsh princes.

Llangollen, Wales

Llangollen is a small market town in Denbighshire, North Wales. It is renowned for its tumbling river and surrounding hills, situated on the south bank of the River Dee

Aberystwyth, Wales

Aberystwyth is a small ancient market town and stunning seaside resort in Ceredigion on the west coast of Wales. Established as a castle town in the Middle Ages,

Castell Coch, Wales

Castell Coch is a 19th-century gothic revival castle built above the village of Tongwynlais in South Wales, just outside of Cardiff. The original castle built on the site was a Norman stronghold to defend the newly conquered town of Cardiff

Conwy, Wales

Conwy is a walled town and community in Conwy County Borough on the north coast of Wales situated on the west bank of the River Conwy estuary.

Betws-y-Coed, Wales

Betws-y-coed is North Wales’ most popular inland resort and accommodation provider. The village has been attracting visitors for centuries to experience its scenic beauty and numerous outdoor activities.