• DeanandLindasTravels
  • DeanandLindasTravels

Our European Adventure 2018

A 6 month trip on a shoestring Leggi altro
  • Houghton Mill on the Great Ouse River

    19 agosto 2018, Inghilterra ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F

    Various mills have occupied this site since 969. The current Mill was built in the 17th Century and enlarged in the 19th Century. It has 10 pairs of grinding stones. The mill was decommissioned in the 1930s, and after WWII it became a Youth Hostel. When the lease expired, the town bought it and gave it to the National Trust. It now operates again, grinding flour from wheat raised on other NT properties as a fund-raiser.

    The last picture is of something funny we saw when driving home from the Mill!
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  • Wardown House, Luton

    20 agosto 2018, Inghilterra ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F

    We went to Wardown park, which surrounds a Victorian mansion that has been converted into a Museum. A large part of the exhibit is about the hat-making industry, which caused Luton to grow.

    Before the Second World War, people wore hats most of the time. The hat symbolized social status and work trade, such as the bowler hat being worn by civil servants. Luton was a center for the hat industry, which started with straw plaiting and hat making in the 1600s. Women and girls would plait the straw into long lengths at home, and then bring it to the factories where it would be sewn into hats. This was actually a good-paying job for the times, and many women made more money than their husbands.

    In the later 1800s, factories started making wool felt hats, which expanded after WWI. After WWII, styles changed and fewer people have been wearing hats, however, there are still some factories in Luton.
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  • Ascott House and Gardens

    21 agosto 2018, Inghilterra ⋅ ⛅ 70 °F

    This manor is from the 16th century. It is owned by some of the Rothschild family, and used by them as a summer house. Much of the house is private, and not open for tours. The parts that are open cannot be photographed as their personal belongings are not put away. But it is open just in the afternoons, to let the public view their collections of paintings (Dutch Masters and others), and oriental porcelain.

    The gardens are beautiful! There are fountains, flowers, and hedges trimmed artfully, even a sundial made of boxwood hedges.
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  • Canal Locks

    22 agosto 2018, Inghilterra ⋅ ⛅ 63 °F

    In our travels around England, we have enjoyed visiting the canals and their locks. Locks began to be developed in the 10th Century. Over time, many types of locks have been developed to deal with Great Britain's challenging landscape. There are narrow locks, wide locks (for two boats side-by-side), single locks, and double locks (two locks next to each other. Some are powered by hand: you need a crank to open the water valve, and the gates are pushed open. Some are electric, with a code to operate them. Some have operators and others are do-it-yourself.Leggi altro

  • Foxton Staircase Locks

    22 agosto 2018, Inghilterra ⋅ ⛅ 66 °F

    Created for steep gradients, staircase locks are made of numerous locks in a row and appear like stairs in the landscape. The top gate of one lock will also be the bottom gate of lock above. Foxton Locks was built in 1814 at a junction of two canals, has 10 locks and takes 45 - 60 minutes to move through the 75 foot gradient difference. There is a pond in the middle of the staircase, for boats to wait if another boat is in the staircase going the other way. And there are ponds at the side of each lock for water to flow into and out of the lock. In the shipping days, while a boat was going through the locks, it would be an opportunity for the shopping to be done (quickly!).Leggi altro

  • Anderton Boat Lift

    22 agosto 2018, Inghilterra ⋅ ⛅ 70 °F

    Boat lifts were used if there wasn't enough room for a staircase lock to be built. This one, called Cathedral of the Canals, was built in 1875 between the river Weaver and the canal. It has two caissons (tanks) of water in which the boats float. Then the lift brings the boat 50 feet to the next level.Leggi altro

  • Leeds Central Library

    23 agosto 2018, Inghilterra ⋅ ⛅ 57 °F

    We were exploring Leeds today, and had heard the Central Library was worth seeing. It was opened in 1884, and includes lots of marble columns, tiled floors and walls (some tile from the Ironbridge area that we had visited a few weeks ago), stained glass, and carved limestone.

    The Tiled Hall Cafe used to be the Reading Room. The ceiling had been covered by a dropped ceiling in the 1950s and the walls were hidden behind shelving. It was all rediscovered during restoration.

    From the Tiled Hall Cafe, we wandered into a small exhibition some of the earliest paintings owned by the art gallery, with busts of the people involved in spearheading the idea of the gallery, to improve people's lives.
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  • The World of James Herriot

    24 agosto 2018, Inghilterra ⋅ ⛅ 57 °F

    After a morning visit with Jake and Jodie, they left on an excursion to walk with Alpacas in the North Yorkshire Dales, and we went to Thirsk to see "The World of James Herriot" museum. James Herriot is the pen name of James Alfred "Alf" Wight, the veterinarian who wrote several books based on his years of practice. He had wanted to write but was hampered by his long working hours. Finally, challenged by his wife, he began writing at age 50, and his books have been best sellers, spawning movies and TV series. We really enjoyed getting to see the building where he lived and practiced.Leggi altro

  • Thirsk, a Charming Town

    24 agosto 2018, Inghilterra ⋅ ⛅ 55 °F

    Alf and his wife, Joan, were married in St Mary Magdalene Church in 1941.

    Thirsk was a market town, and in the central plaza is a clock tower. It replaces a water fountain that had troughs around the bottom for animals, and above them were drinking fountains for people.

    In Thirsk there is a group of people who knit and crochet decorations for the town's celebrations, including this knitted model of an airplane for the 100th anniversary of the RAF!
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  • Petworth: Art and Landscape Architecture

    27 agosto 2018, Inghilterra ⋅ ⛅ 59 °F

    Petworth House has been owned by the same family since the 17th Century. It is surrounded by a deer park designed by Lancelot "Capability" Brown, which features undulating hills, beautiful views of the surrounding countryside, serpentine lakes, and clumps of trees. Closer to the house is the Pleasure Grounds, with temples, huge trees, and flower beds. His designs were supposed to look natural, and they do, so much that one wonders if it was God's plan, rather than man's. Capability Brown designed 700+ parks in his life.Leggi altro

  • Elizabeth Ilive, Countess and Scientist

    27 agosto 2018, Inghilterra ⋅ ⛅ 63 °F

    Elizabeth was the mistress and later the wife of the 3rd Earl of Egremont. She was a devoted mother, and also had a laboratory where she could study and experiment. She invented the cross-bar lever to make it easier to move heavy rocks, and won an award for this. She also did agricultural experiments and found better ways to grow potatoes. Elizabeth wrote for scientific publications, but due to the times, she didn't get all the credit she deserved.Leggi altro

  • Chartwell: Churchill's Home

    28 agosto 2018, Inghilterra ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F

    Chartwell was the much-loved Churchill family home from 1922. It is a peaceful country home in Kent, with beautiful hillside views. Churchill loved gardening, and created ponds and lakes on the property. Here are some of the views from the house.

    We were surprised to learn that he was also an avid amateur painter! He began to paint at age 40, and it was a source of relaxation and joy. He painted over 530 canvasses, and many are on display in his studio and in the house.
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  • Brighton: By the Beautiful Sea

    30 agosto 2018, Inghilterra ⋅ ☁️ 57 °F

    Brighton is a seaside resort on the southern coast of England, only 10 miles from where we are house-sitting. In the Georgian era, the Prince Regent, later crowned King George IV, spent a lot of time in Brighton, and built the Royal Pavilion where he would host parties. We toured the Royal Pavilion and it was amazing! The inside is decorated with Chinese-inspired wallpaper, furniture, and statuary. The dining room has a huge chandelier held to the ceiling by a carved and gilded dragon, and there are dragon motifs everywhere. We were disappointed that photography was not allowed inside!

    Brighton Pier was added in the Victorian era, and has been copied in many seaside resorts around the world. Day trippers started coming from London when transportation improved. It is only about an hour's train ride.

    We took the bus East of town to see the coastline and the chalk cliffs.
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  • Worthing: Another Seaside Resort

    30 agosto 2018, Inghilterra ⋅ ☀️ 64 °F

    Worthing and Brighton were fishing villages before they became resorts. Then bathing in seawater began to be recommended as a cure for illnesses. Men and women used separate areas of the beaches. Bathing Machines were used in the 18th and 19th centuries; these were wheeled carts with sides and a roof, in which the bather would change into a bathing suit and then be wheeled into the water. They bathed with the cart protecting them from view of the shore.

    Worthing has a Beach House with a bowling green, tennis courts, mini golf, and playground for families, There is a pleasant promenade next to the beach. It was a very clean area, and quite enjoyable.
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  • Worthing Pier

    30 agosto 2018, Inghilterra ⋅ ☀️ 66 °F

    Worthing has a pier like Brighton, but instead of an amusement park, it has the Southern Pavilion, which is an Art Deco cafe in the daytime, and a venue for music and other events at night. All along the pier are glass panels to display art done by children and other townfolk.Leggi altro