Born to Count Geoffrey of Anjou and Empress Matilda in 1133, Henry inherited his father’s duchy and became Duke of Normandy by the age of 18. At 21 he succeeded to the English throne and by 1172, the ...

The ancient seaport of Whitby, Yorkshire is a beautiful and picturesque natural harbour situated on England’s North East Coast. It is essentially a town of two parts divided by the River Esk, and ...

Often referred to as the world’s first “tube” railway, Tower Subway is the second oldest tunnel running under the Thames. The second oldest tunnel running under the Thames, Tower Subway is an often ...

George IV – as a prince and then a king – would never have had an ordinary life. Yet even with this in mind, it would seem that his life was more than usually extraordinary. He was both ‘The First ...

The first and founding member of the House of Lancaster, Henry had successfully overthrown Richard II and consolidated his power to become King Henry IV of England in October 1399. The son of John of ...

Lucozade! Many baby boomers will remember this sparkling, lurid-coloured drink when the glass bottle still came wrapped in crinkly cellophane. This iconic tonic only appeared when a child was ill in ...

Every nation has its own ‘Patron Saint’ who in times of great peril is called upon to help save the country from its enemies. St David is the patron saint of Wales, St Andrew of Scotland and St ...

The civil engineering geniuses responsible for the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct were Thomas Telford, who came up with the crazy idea, and William Jessop, the brave man who approved the design for the ...

The Scottish ‘Honours’ are the oldest Royal Regalia in Britain and can be seen in Edinburgh Castle. The ‘Honours’ were first used together at the coronation of the nine-month-old Mary, Queen of Scots ...

The patriotic song ‘Rule, Britannia!, Britannia rule the waves’, is traditionally performed at the ‘Last Night of the Proms’ which takes place each year at the Royal Albert Hall. Originally, Great ...

In a 2002 poll by the BBC, Isambard Kingdom Brunel was voted the second greatest Briton of all time, after Winston Churchill. This prolific and gifted engineer designed railways (Great Western Railway ...

The picture on the left is of the Milk Maid’s Dance, representing May Day celebrations. Readers should always check with local Tourist Information Centres (TIC’s) that events or festivals are actually ...