Every time we have driven up to Johnshaven we have passed the road signs for Glamis Castle, making a mental note to include it as part of our sightseeing. Yet somehow, we have never quite managed it. This year, however, we decided to make it a priority. It is only a 45 minute drive from the village, and we wanted to do something a little different.
Back in August The Bloke and I took a last-minute, much-needed holiday in Scotland. We were lucky to find a lovely little cottage (that is rarely available) had a vacancy at the time where The Bloke was on annual leave, and booked it immediately – as if the universe had stepped in at a point where we really needed it.
We decided to add an extra day, staying in Falkirk overnight before we were due to check in so that we could see The Kelpies and Blackness Castle, and then stopped in at Doune Castle on the drive up the next day.
It was definitely the right decision, as it meant that we could split the 10 hour drive over two days, and saw things that had been on my travel bucket list for a while.
We found the tiny, winding road down to Johnshaven easily. There have been some changes – since the last time we visited, a bunch of houses have been built on the edge of the village which was a bit disorienting at first, and there has been the addition of a cafe and a lobster shop.
But as soon as we pulled up to the cottage, it felt like home.
Dunnottar Castle is probably my favourite place in the whole world.
Sitting on top of a 160ft rock near Stonehaven, the castle was once a fortress of the Earls Marischal, one of the most powerful families in Scotland. It now sits as a stunning ruin.
During our first stay in Johnshaven in 2016 we had marked it as at the top of our list of places we wanted to visit, and I had watched lots of videos about it in advance, but nothing could prepare me for just how utterly breathtaking that first sight of the medieval ruins were.
We all want to meet people from history. The trouble is everyone is dead! So it’s time to prepare yourselves for Horrible Histories live on stage with this special production of Barmy Britain!
I was unable to attend, but my friend Anna was more than happy to oblige on my behalf!
Directed by Neal Foster with music by Matthew Scott, Horrible Histories is the stage adaptation of the critically acclaimed franchise. The show is unusual in that it stars just two performers – Jack Ballard as Rex and Morgan Philpott as Roger. Would this take anything away from the performance?
Thiepval Memorial to the Missing. Image from Wikipedia
During the summer in 2011 I decided that I would try and trace my family history. With almost no information on my mother’s side (mainly due to the fact that my grandfather discovered at a young age that the couple who had brought him up weren’t his biological parents) it seemed a daunting task, but after obtaining his birth certificate I managed to trace his birth mother with http://www.ancestry.com and from there was able to build an entire family tree and even speak to living relatives in the same area that my mother still resides in. It was a fascinating journey – especially when I contacted my great-grandmother’s family with information about my grandfather who they knew nothing about, but accepted immediately once they had seen the striking physical resemblance in photographs that I sent. Continue reading
The Bloke and I recently had a rare opportunity to explore Guy’s Cliffe House in Warwick. It is rarely available to public viewing, so when we saw that it was open for its Heritage Open Day (and on a stunningly beautiful day) we were really excited about it.
Guy’s Cliffe House is a Grade II listed building that stands on an artificially levelled terrace above a north-facing cliff. At the present most of the house is in ruins and unsuitable to walk through, with only the Grade II listed chapel and service quarters in use.
From humble beginnings as a secluded place of worship in the 5th century, the house has grown and changed with numerous additions in different styles. Sir Guy of Warwick reputably died in ‘Guy’s Cave’ in 970AD,’ and King Henry V ordered the establishment of a chapel in the 15th century. It has been owned by Plantation Owner Samuel Greatheed – Member of Parliament for Coventry – and later by the Heber-Percy family, it was used as a Red Cross Voluntary Aid Detachment Hospital in the First World War and as a Boys Home by the Waifs and Strays Society during the Second World War… It is currently owned by the Freemasons and preserved by the Friends of Guy’s Cliffe Society. Continue reading
Open from 8.00am until 7.30pm every day, the Walls of Dubrovnik (Murrales de Dubrovnik) are one of the most spectacular ways to see Old Town and beyond, offering stunning views of the iconic terracotta roofs (added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Series in 1979), Fort Lovrijenac, neighbouring islands and Adriatic Sea. They are considered to be one of the greatest fortifications of the Middle Ages.
The Bloke and I have taken to going out on day trips mid-week as of late, taking advantage of the general working day and term-time schedules to visit places that would be busier at the weekends. We’ve got Annual English Heritage passes which allows us unlimited free entry into English Heritage sites and discounts on other places like Blenheim Palace, and living in the West Midlands means that we are lucky enough to be a short drive away from some stunning stately homes, castles and historical places of interest.
One such place is Witley Court.
A hidden gem, I couldn’t believe that I had never heard of it before (despite living in Birmingham since 2001), and it is just a forty minute drive away from where I live.
Witley Court and Steps
The Bloke and I decided to spontaneously go out on a day trip the other day – we’ve both been feeling a little low and have cabin fever from being in the house for an extended period of time, so we both took the day off and went to Blenheim Palace. As you do. It is something that has been on my UK bucket list for a while, the weather was fairly reasonable and surprisingly, it’s only a 90 minute drive away from Birmingham.
Most famously known as being the birthplace of Winston Churchill, Blenheim Palace is the principal residence of the Duke of Marlborough and the only non-royal country house in England that holds the title of ‘palace.’ Built between 1705 and 1722, it was a gift to John Churchill – the 1st Duke of Marlborough – by Queen Anne in thanks for his victory at the Battle of Blenheim in 1704, and was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. Continue reading
Yesterday I received a Facebook message from a friend that I haven’t spoken to in a while. We met through a project – the school that I worked at did an annual concert with an orchestra and he was the composer for the music that we performed.
He now works for my former University that is currently moving to a new building. When he was cleaning out some of the cupboards, he found this:
Suzie Speaks 
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