We've just returned from a wonderful visit to the Isle of Wight, and I thought it might help other people plan their trips if we created a 'Britain Express Travel Awards' summary, sharing our top picks for exploring the island.
It is getting closer to the time of year when the film industry stands handing out awards, so it seems like an appropriate time to highlight some of the National Trust properties that have appeared in recent major films and television series.
Here's a twist on our usual theme of historic houses. Online estate agents Rightmove.co.uk have compiled a list of historic, unusual, and just plain quirky properties that came on the market in 2013. Among them are authentic Scottish castles and a house said to be haunted by the ghost of Oliver Cromwell.
Here's an interesting new resource for exploring historic churches in the north east of England; there's a new full-colour printed guide called Spirit in Stone that covers over 120 churches in County Durham, Tyneside, Newcastle, and Northumberland. Printed copies are available for free at tourist information centres and in churches across the region.
The news of the recently announced Academy Award nominations got me thinking; what if there were a similar set of [fun] awards for British castles? This is obviously a gaping need that I decided to fill with immediate effect. So by the power invested in me by myself, I have founded the Academy of Castle Enthusiasts (ACE), named myself President of the Academy for Life, and come up with a list of nominations for the first ACE Awards.
Yesterday I posted some resources I've found useful for determining if a historic church is likely to be open to visitors. That's all well and good, you might say, but how do you tell which historic churches are worth visiting in the first place?
David Ross is the editor of BritainExpress.com. By training a historian and photographer, he enjoys nothing more than exploring odd corners of Britain.
Stunning UK prints for sale by award-winning photographer David Ross, editor of Britain Express, the UK Travel and Heritage Guide.
Free entry to National Trust properties throughout England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, plus discounted admission to National Trust for Scotland properties.
Free entry to English Heritage properties throughout England, plus discounted admission to Historic Scotland and Cadw properties in Scotland and Wales.