Posts Tagged With: history

Sir John Soane’s Museum, London

Posted on January 27, 2026 by Louise Jayne

Sir John Soane’s Museum has been on my want to visit list for a very long time but I’ve always put it off particularly because of their bag policy (more on that in a bit) and not having time in my schedule to fit it in when I might need to queue for a long time (pre-booking is only for large groups or special events). However on this most recent visit I had the entire morning free before I had a matinee to get to and decided that I would finally visit what turned out to be just as intriguing a museum as I had hoped.

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Categories: England, London | Tags: , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

St Alkmund’s Church, Shrewsbury

Posted on January 20, 2026 by Louise Jayne

St. Alkmund’s Church is nestled between the buildings that have sprung up around it. Founded in 912 it stands as the highest part of the town – indeed is reached up some steep steps – and after renovations over the years is now largely of Georgian design. The tower and spire were added around 1475.

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Categories: England, Shrewsbury, Shropshire | Tags: , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Cut: Shropshire Wildlife Trust Garden

Posted on January 13, 2026 by Louise Jayne

After I finished up at Shrewsbury Abbey I spotted a sign across the road for Shropshire Wildlife Trust and decided to take a look. The garden is free to enter and volunteers each have their own part of the garden they look after – no one paid the slightest bit of attention to me as I wandered around.

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Categories: England, Shrewsbury, Shropshire | Tags: , , | 2 Comments

Shrewsbury Abbey

Posted on January 6, 2026 by Louise Jayne

I’d heard of Shrewsbury Abbey of course which is why it was on my list of things to see in the town but I had completely forgotten that the Cadfael series of books was based there (I’ve seen the TV series with Derek Jacobi but never read any of the books). I mention this to start with because the lovely friendly volunteer who greeted me on entry was surprised that Cadfael wasn’t my main reason for visiting and directed me to a very nice stained glass window dedicated to Cadfael author Ellis Peters (real name Edith Pargeter).

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Categories: England, Shrewsbury, Shropshire | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Quarry and the Dingle, Shrewsbury

Posted on December 9, 2025 by Louise Jayne

The Quarry is a 29 acre, Grade II listed park in Shrewsbury that borders the town and the River Severn. I found myself walking around here quite a few times on my visit to the town – on my arrival after checking in to my B&B to stretch my legs and as a convenient place to sit and watch the world go by when I needed a break from walking around.

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Christmas Post: Christmas Tree Festival at Chesterfield Parish Church

Posted on December 2, 2025 by Louise Jayne

I recently decided to take a trip out to Chesterfield in Derbyshire to visit the Christmas Tree Festival at Chesterfield Parish Church, often also known as the Crooked Spire Church, for obvious reasons. I’ve never actually been to the town before even though it’s a direct 35 minute train ride from Nottingham but I’m very glad I made the trip. I’ll get on to the history of the church later, but firstly the Festival. It finished on the 30th of November and was free but there were donation buckets dotted around (I donated some money but also bought a few things in the gift shop).

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Categories: Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Marie Antoinette Style @ The V&A

Posted on November 18, 2025 by Louise Jayne

I managed to get tickets to see Marie Antoinette Style on the same day as the Cartier exhibition, so after visiting that exhibition and having a cup of tea and a very nice slice of cake in the cafe I headed into my second event of the day. On display were a surprising amount of Marie Antoinette’s belongings as well as items contemporary to her life and items that were inspired by her life and fashion choices centuries after her execution.

Robe à la française silk dress dating from around 1775 in the style of Marie Antoinette’s court.

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Categories: England, London | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Christmas Post: Winter Craft Fair at Southwell Minster

Posted on November 13, 2025 by Louise Jayne

As you know from previous posts I really like the Christmas season and have decided this year to visit a few new places particularly Christmas markets/fairs as well as my usual Christmas trip with a friend. The first one was the Winter Craft Fair at Southwell Minster which I visited last Saturday. Incredibly the last time I visited the Minster (and wrote about it here) was in 2013! This is in part because it’s about a 40-45 minute bus journey from where I live but a pleasant route through some picturesque villages.

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Categories: England, Nottinghamshire, Southwell | Tags: , , , | 2 Comments

Powis Castle and Garden, Welshpool, Wales

Posted on November 11, 2025 by Louise Jayne

Back in September I stayed in Shrewsbury for four nights in part because it is a quick 20 minute train ride to Welshpool and Powis Castle which I’ve wanted to visit for a while now. A National Trust property the castle is around a 40 minute walk from Welshpool Railway Station through a quiet deer park which I didn’t quite get to appreciate due to the pouring rain – even well prepared with a raincoat and good walking boots I was decidedly sodden by the time I got back to my B&B later that afternoon!

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Categories: Wales, Welshpool | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Cartier @ The V&A

Posted on November 4, 2025 by Louise Jayne

When I first saw the Cartier exhibition advertised I wasn’t sure I would be able to fit it in around family commitments but thankfully by around June things had opened up and I was able to book a ticket to the exhibition – for October. The exhibition is now sold out but it’s proven so popular that they are releasing extra tickets for some evenings until it closes on 16 November, so it’s still worth checking their website every so often. Members of the V&A of course can visit for free without pre-booking needed.

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Categories: England, London | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

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