Sometimes you stumble upon something bizarre, beautiful and baffling on your travels, close to your own home. On a recent walk through Northumberland Park in North Shields, I was surprised to discover a historic pet cemetery tucked away in a quiet corner of the Victorian park. Struck by […]
Sailing on a Tall Ship on the high seas is right up there with the greatest travel adventures in the world. When I was offered the chance to join a historic ship, I leapt at the opportunity. My journey would be on the Williams II, an impressive vessel […]
Discover 10 reasons why Beamish open air museum is one of the best tourist day trips in Britain.
Enjoy a beach walk and discover hidden history lost in the sands of time in Alnmouth, Northumberland.
Staithes is a perfect ‘picture postcard’ village with its higgledy-piggledy streets and alleyways which plunge dramatically down a steep bank to its harbour and the wind-battered Yorkshire coast. The village has changed little since the 1800s when it was home to a fleet of fishing boats known as […]
Five huge billboards have popped up around Killhope in Weardale, rather like the three billboards made famous in the Oscar nominated movie. But these aren’t protests or advertisements, they’re part of an art project reflecting the landscape and history of this former mining area. In the 18th and […]
Take the Stan Laurel Film Tour of North Shields and Tynemouth to discover how growing up on Tyneside influenced the famous comic’s work.
The town of Jarrow on Tyneside has a long history dating back to the Romans, Vikings and the beginnings of early Christianity. But it’s perhaps most famous for the Jarrow Crusade of 1936 when 200 men marched from Jarrow to London in protest against mass unemployment. I was […]
They were nicknamed ‘fart lamps’ in Edwardian times and caused quite a stink in their day. The gas sewer lamps of North Tyneside were unusual engineering wonders.
Starlight Castle is an intriguing name. It sounds like a Romantic castle or a Gothic house perched high on a hill in a novel by Mary Shelley or Bram Stoker. But what’s the story behind this mysterious castle not far from where I live in North East England? […]