#brittrip2017

[carolmunro]

Did you know that there are over forty Theme parks in the United Kingdom? Many are well known such as Legoland near Windsor (last pic), Longleat Safari Park, Chessington World of Adventures, Alton Towers, Warwick Castle and Drayton Manor. Today however, I have pics of a few smaller theme parks. These are The National Showcaves, Brecon, Wales, Birdland and Jurassic World, Bourton on the Water, Gloucestershire and Blackgang Chine on the Isle of Wight. Great for kids of all ages, the parks featured all have a dinosaur theme of some kind. Being smaller the parks are more manageable on a day out, have less lines/queues for rides and are not as costly. For more information see: Top Ten UK Theme Parks https://www.google.com/amp/www.independent.co.uk/travel/uk/theme-parks-uk-themeparks-alton-towers-chessington-thorpe-park-review-a7021136.html%3famp Showcaves http://www.showcaves.co.uk Birdland http://www.birdland.co.uk Blackgang Chine https://blackgangchine.com Legoland https://www.legoland.co.uk Fun Fact: At 213 feet high, The Big One is the tallest roller coaster in the United Kingdom. It is located on Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Lancashire. #miniblog #mybrittrip #brittrip2017 #brittrip #legoland #birdland #blackgangchine #themepark #amusementpark #britain #unitedkingdom #showcaves #wales @rgtmum @the5thcaribou @brittrip2017 #www.mybrittrip.com (at Dan-yr-Ogof, The National Showcaves Centre for Wales)

[carolmunro]

So today I have some rooms to look at. From the sumptuous dining room of a great country house like Charlecote Park, Warwickshire to the small but very pretty parlor of a Welsh cottage and the still functioning kitchen also of Charlecote Park, it is amazing to see how much work would have gone in days gone by to make the tea (dinner) for the Welsh cottage let alone the huge evening dinner at the country house. Of course such large and elaborate meals would not have been possible without servants. Here is a list of positions within a typical country house, perhaps like Downton Abbey. There was a hierarchy so we begin with: The Upper Staff Hierarchy The Butler The Housekeeper The Cook or Chef The Ladies Maid or Valet Followed by the Lower Staff: First Footman Second Footman Head Nurse Footman Chambermaid Parlor Maid Housemaid Between Maid Nurse Undercook Scullery Maid Laundry Maid Pages or Tea Boy And that is only the inside staff, there was another hierarchy for the lands and stables... Which would you rather have, all those servants or just you and your fire and kettle? Brit Tip: Many of the country houses we can now visit have kitchens that can be viewed, however if you visit the National Museum of Wales, St Fagins, near Cardiff you can see a whole range of cottages as they would have been from the 16th century to the 1960's. It is a fascinating look at how modernization took place... For more info see https://museum.wales/stfagans/ or www.nationaltrust.org.uk #miniblog #mybrittrip #brittrip2017 #brittrip #stfagins #nationalmuseumofwales #charlecotepark #nationaltrust #kitchen #diningroom #dinner #tea #www.mybrittrip.com @brittrip2017 @rgtmum (at National Trust - Charlecote Park)

[carolmunro]

Here are the answers to the previous post What is it?: 1. A mason bee house or hotel at Stourhead, Wiltshire. 2. Fountain in the fish department of Harrods food hall. 3. Three Coke bottles that reveal political slogans when full of Coke… See www.mybrittrip.com for the complete post! #miniblog #mybrittrip #brittrip2017 #brittrip #london #harrods #tatemodern #www.mybrittrip.com @rgtmum @brittrip2017 #bee #masonbee #bumblebee

[carolmunro]

What are these? Three mystery objects from three interesting and famous places today. If you know let me know! Actually I do have some clues and will reveal all at the end of the post. Photo 1. A flowerpot and a pine cone...does this have something to do with insects? Maybe one of our most endangered insects? In England red mason bees (Osmia bicornis) are critically endangered. Unlike bumblebees they are solitary and don't make honey. They do however like to make nests inside reeds, hollow wood or empty snail shells. They are wonderful pollinators and are estimated to be 120-200 times more efficient than the bumblebee. Having mason bees around your orchards and gardens will dramatically increase the yields of many kinds of fruit. Photo 2. This is in probably London's most famous department store and more precisely in the food hall. Harrods has one of the most amazing food halls in the world. Harrods itself was founded in 1824 by Charles Henry Harrod. He began the store as a drapers, but by 1832 had already expanded in to the grocery business. The store moved to Brompton in 1851. By 1880 the store employed 100 people. Today 5000 staff from 50 countries work at Harrods, it has over 300,000 visitors on a busy day and is the largest department store in Europe having over a million square feet of selling space. Photo 3. This was an exhibit in 2016 at the Tate Modern, London (more to come on Tate Modern in a later post) by Brazilian artist, Cildo Meireles (1970). They represent capitalist imperialism of American influence in Brazil. Fun Fact: The Duke of Edinburgh was banned from Harrods when Mohammed Al-Fayed owned the store and royal warrants removed. (See my post Royalty, https://mybrittrip.com/2017/08/23/royalty/ for more on royal warrants). Extra Fun Facts: Harrods will sell you a gold bar and it has a dress code... More info on bees can be found on www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/how-to-grow/everything-you-need-to-know-about-mason-bees/ or for Harrods check out Wikipedia and this is a great blog about the three Coke bottles www.tate.org.uk/context-comment/blogs/coca-cola-not-you-know-it #miniblog #mybrittrip #brittrip2017 #brittrip #tatemodern (at Tate Modern)

[carolmunro]

In a previous posts, I have written about the beautiful flowers found at National Trust properties https://mybrittrip.com/2017/08/22/beautiful-flowers/ and the wonderful topiaries found at others, https://mybrittrip.com/2017/08/25/topiary-or-the-practice-of-ornamental-gardening/ but today I would like to share some of the immensely beautiful and varied garden styles that feature at National Trust Properties. My selection today includes: 1. Flowerpot man from Mottistone Manor, Isle of Wight. 2. Vegetable Garden at Packwood House, Warwickshire 3. Packwood House, Warwickshire 4. Shugborough, Staffordshire 5. Baddesley Clinton, Warwickshire 6. Baddesley Clinton, Warwickshire 7. Coughton Court, Warwickshire 8. Upton House, Oxfordshire 9. Snowshill Manor, Gloucestershire 10. Charlecote Park, Warwickshire See more photos at www.mybrittrip.com Fun Tip: Most National Trust properties have plants for sale - support a good cause and know your purchase will have happy memories of your visit. Plenty of souvenirs can also be found in the Gift Shop... For more information see the National Trust website www.nationaltrust.org.uk #miniblog #mybrittrip #brittrip2017 #brittrip #www.mybrittrip.com @rgtmum @brittrip2017 #nationaltrust #baddesleyclinton #uptonhouse #mottistonemanor #hanburyhall #stourhead #packwoodhouse #gardens #gardening #charlecotepark #snowshillmanor #shugborough #coughtoncourt (at Mottistone Manor)

[carolmunro]

The River Thames is a one of England's most significant rivers. It starts life at Thames Head, which is near Kemble, Gloucestershire and winds its way down through Oxford, Reading and London for a total of 210 miles. It is tidal until Teddington on the west side of London. There are 47 locks along its length, with Buscot Lock being the smallest. The River has a total of 104 bridges crossing it. The widest part is on the eastern end of the estuary at 18 miles, while one of the shortest is 60 feet at Lechlade. Despite Charles Dickens mentioning the River Thames at London in his novels as being full of stinking sludge, today many species of fish can be found in both the estuary and up as far as London. 25 species of fish are known to be in the non-tidal part of the River. Similarly to the canal system (see https://Wordpress.com/post/mybrittrip.com/569 'Wonderful Canals' for more info) you can rent a houseboat for a week or two and take in the complete river system, stopping at night along the way and enjoying the many facilities of the many river pubs and the pretty locks. Henley is a great stop: See my post https://wordpress.com/post/mybrittrip.com/176 for more info on Henley too. So take a moment or a few days and explore the slow paced life of boating on the Thames. For those with only a day or hours to spare, a short river cruise will show you some of the wonderful sights of your destination. Photos are the River Thames at London, Oxford and Henley plus bonus two more of Henley... Fun Fact or Tip: The River Thames is the only river in Europe to have a national trail, The Thames Path, along its entire length... More Thames info can be found on www.visitthames.co.uk/about-the-river #theriverthames #thames #london #miniblog #mybrittrip #brittrip2017 #brittrip #www.mybrittrip.com @rgtmum @brittrip2017 #henley #reading #kemble #oxford #river #houseboat (at Henley on Thames)

[carolmunro]

Secrets of the British Museum...Well if the Paddington movie is anything to go by, London's British Museum holds more than a few secrets. The British Museum was founded by Sir Hans Sloan in 1753. Sloan was an avid collector during his life and at his death had over 71,000 objects in his collection. This collection he bequeathed to the nation. In the same year an Act of Parliament established the British Museum. Six years later the Museum opened to the public and has always had free admission "for enquiring minds". Apart from some time during the two World Wars the Museum has remained open ever since. Today more than 6 million people visit annually. There are many interesting pieces including the Rosetta Stone and preserved Egyptian mummies. The first Egyptian mummy was bequeathed in 1756. It is interesting to note that the Museum's Assyrian collections have formed the basis of understanding the ancient Middle Eastern script, cuneiform while the Rosetta Stone helped unlock the mysteries of hieroglyphics. Thousands of years later, following Captain Cook's around the world voyage, several pieces were donated including a Tahitian mourners dress. Today the Museum is one of London's biggest attractions with an astounding number of collections, and where a visit will yield some interesting and fascinating secrets and possibly some questions of your own. Fun Fact: Eccentric donations have included, a trunk of a tree gnawed by a beaver, a stone resembling a loaf of bread and a live tortoise from North America... Extra Fun Fact: The Winged Bull exhibit was ambushed by a gang of robbers as it was being transported to the Museum in the 18th century. You can still see a mark from a musket ball on the statue today. www.britishmuseum.org has all the information. #miniblog #mybrittrip #brittrip2017 #brittrip #britishmuseum #london #england #www.mybrittrip.com @brittrip2017 @rgtmum #museum (at British Museum)

[carolmunro]

So today we are back in the city and specifically Covent Garden, London. What an interesting place! Not only for its history from its origins as a fruit and vegetable market which in turn originated from orchards which grew on the site from the 12th century, but from evidence of excavations which take the site back to the 6th century when this area was known as Lundenwic. Today, it still houses a market (Jubilee Hall Market), but also shopping, dining, pubs and street performers and the Covent Garden Opera House is adjacent. In fact the converted market we see today was only opened in 1980 and is now a huge tourist attraction. Fun Fact: By the 18th century Covent Garden was a well known red light district, there was even a book, Harris's Guide to Covent Garden Ladies "an essential guide" to assist gentlemen in their quest for pleasure! Fun Extra Tip: Check out three grade two listed pubs from the 17th and 18th centuries in the area, The Nell Gwynn Tavern on Bulls Court, The Nags Head on James Street and The White Swan on New Row. https://www.coventgarden.london has lots of information. #brittrip2017 #brittrip #london #coventgarden #coventgardenoperahouse #rgtmum @rgtmum @brittrip2017 #opera #shopping #miniblog #www.mybrittrip.com (at Covent Garden London)