Guildhall in Sandwich
The Guildhall in Sandwich is a very attractive old building which also houses the museum. We started the day here before going out of the town to explore the Monks Wall Nature Reserve.... READ MORE
Churches & Monasteries in Sandwich
There are three churches and a vanished monastery in Sandwich. READ MORE
River Stour nature reserves in Sandwich
We enjoyed walks in two more River Stour nature reserves in Sandwich, after we had explored the Gazen Salts nature reserve. And we were lucky with the weather too. READ MORE
Gazen Salts Nature Reserve
In Roman times, Gazen Salts Nature Reserve was the bottom of the Wantsum Channel, the channel of water which divided Kent from the Isle of Thanet. John Gason was once a leaseholder here,... READ MORE
Sandwich Town Walls
Sandwich must be one of the most complete Mediaeval towns in England and as such it would have been walled. So, we walked the line of the Sandwich town walls on successive days.... READ MORE
A few days in Sandwich
After a gruelling winter we needed a break, nothing too dramatic, but a change from the everyday, work, and responsibilities, and so decided on a few days in Sandwich on the Kent coast.... READ MORE
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The Palaces in Florence
Renaissance Florence was politically and economically extraordinarily powerful and the ruling élite built suitably grand homes for themselves in the centre of the City. The Strozzi Palace was built in the 15C for Filippo Strozzi the Elder, a political rival to … Continued
The Piazza della Signoria, Florence
The Piazza della Signoria is dominated by the 14C Palazzo Vecchio, the Town Hall of Florence. The building became ‘The Old Palace’ when the Medicis moved into the Pitti Palace across the river. The Piazza is spectacular at night!
The Bargello Museum in Florence
The building that is now The Bargello Museum dates back to the 13C, and in the 16C it was the headquarters of the police, the ‘bargello’, and was used as a prison. The museum was established in the 19C. And … Continued
The Pitti Palace in Florence
The Pitti Palace dates from the mid-1400s and was the town residence of Luca Pitti, a Florentine banker. In the mid 1500s it was bought by the Medici family. We visited in order to see the paintings, particularly those by … Continued
Santa Maria Novella in Florence
The Church of Santa Maria Novella was built in the 13C by the Dominican Order on the site of a earlier church, hence ‘Novella’, and the new church was finally consecrated in 1420. The site is large, with a small burial … Continued
The Cathedral in Florence
The first stone of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence was laid in 1296 and the building was finally consecrated in 1436. The complex of Cathedral (with Brunelleschi’s Dome), Baptistry (11C-12C), and Giotto’s 14C Bell Tower dominates the centre … Continued
The Convent of San Marco, Florence
In November we squeezed in a few days in Florence. I hadn’t been to the city for many years and although I thought I knew Florence it was a discovery and adventure all over again.
9 reasons for visiting Brittany
Brittany is quite unlike other parts of France and was actually independent of France until the 1500s. Both in 2015 and 2016 we spent a wonder-full month there and plan to return in 2017. Why should you visit? Here are nine reasons for … Continued
Abbaye aux Hommes, Caen
The Abbey of St Etienne in Caen, which is also known as the Abbaye aux Hommes, started building in 1066 under the direction of William, Duke of Normandy, also known as William the Conqueror, King of England. The Abbey was founded as a monastery, … Continued