This England - Summer 2014

The Glorious River Thames

At 215 miles in length the iconic waterway has long been a source of transport, trade and inspiration. It makes its way through fi ve counties — Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire — and into London

5 mins read

This England

Aspects Of English Towns

Wetherby, Yorkshire History and Hospitality on the Great North Road.

7 mins read

This England

Askrigg And The Yorkshire Dales

Looking for a holiday cottage for a quiet week in the Yorkshire Dales was proving a vexing experience.

7 mins read

This England

Elihu Burritt: An American's View Of Victorian England

It is always interesting to read what others think of us. In recent years we have had Bill Bryson giving us his thought-provoking views on England and the English, but a century and a half ago one of his compatriots did the same thing, albeit for a specific area of the country.

5 mins read

This England

Beautiful In Black And White

England’s landscape and landmarks as they have never been seen before

2 mins read

This England

All The Fun Of The Fair

There is nothing quite like the joy of a brightly painted, brilliantly lit English fair with excited children grasping their candyfloss sticks and toffee apples, young men trying to win a prize at the darts stall and impress their girlfriends by handing them a giant cuddly toy and dads sportingly agreeing to take a turn on the big wheel even though they are still feeling the effects of a heavy lunch. Yes, we just love all the fun of the fair.

5 mins read

This England

Sticky Toffee Cartmel

Visitors to the Lake District can be crudely classified into two broad types: there are the fell walkers, climbers, canoeists, sailors and other outdoor enthusiasts, and then there are the gentler souls who follow the Wordsworth trail, who haunt tea shops, go on shopping crawls and crowd onto steam trains and lake cruises. And there’s nothing wrong with either of these types…

4 mins read

This England

Walking The South Downs Way

My daughter was the catalyst for my passion for walking after I retired and moved to West Sussex from Somerset to be near her and my two sons. After the normal settling in process I was feeling restless and bored, wondering what to do with my new freedom, and with a niggling guilt that “I should be doing something”. She showed me an article in a magazine about a local ramblers group, saying “You would love this, Mum!”

7 mins read

This England

The Roads of Old England

Our motorway system means that today we think little of embarking on a journey across the country, confidently expecting to reach our destination the same day. Our ancestors would have taken weeks to complete such a trip, in considerable discomfort. Off the motorways, our roads follow routes laid down hundreds of years ago, and alongside them are fascinating objects which survive to tell the story of road development.

7 mins read

This England

Aspects Of English Towns

BUXTON — A Derbyshire Gem and an Opera Festival too!

6 mins read

This England