Cleeve Abbey, one of the best preserved medieval abbeys in England with an excellent display of medieval tiles.

/ Cleeve Abbey/

Cleeve Abbey in Somerset is one of the best preserved monasteries in England. It has an amazing collection of medieval tiles and several of its buildings have impressive roofs, keeping the interiors dry. Walking around this tranquil abbey on a summer’s day gives an understanding as to the Cistercian monks choice of location. Beginning with the superb gatehouse, there are lots of rooms to explore especially the refectory where the monks ate and the dormitory where they slept. The questions what function did monasteries have in the medieval world and why were they closed are answered as well a brief introduction to medieval religious beliefs.

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Ruins with a story to tell, Coventry Cathedral and the nearby secret medieval world to discover.

/ Coventry Cathedral/

A day’s wandering around this area of Coventry will present you with hundreds of years of history to discover. You will be able to visit the ruins of the 14th and 15th century church of St Michael that became a cathedral in 1918 as well as the new one next door.. About 160 metres away or a two minute walk, is Holy Trinity church with its amazing Medieval “Doom Painting” which some people believe is the best one in Britain. One minute away, is the wonderful and free Herbert Art Gallery and Museum.

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Kenilworth Castle; from Medieval Fortifications to Tudor Palace and John of Gaunt to an Elizabethan love story.

/ Kenilworth castle/

As you wander around Kenilworth Castle it morphs from Medieval Fortifications to Tudor Palace and its story features John of Gaunt of medieval times to an Elizabethan love story involving Robert Dudley, aka the Earl of Leicester and Queen Elizabeth I. The castle was involved in the longest siege in English history and is an amazing place to explore. It features a huge square keep, the ruins of a medieval palace , Queen Elizabeth’s apartments and a reconstructed ornate garden created out of love for her.

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Prepared to be amazed at the Machu Picchu and the Golden Empires of Peru travelling exhibition and the unforgettable VR experience travelling around and above this bucket list place.

/ Australian museum/

This stunning, travelling exhibition has been to Florida, Milan, Paris and is now in Sydney until February 256th 2025. It should soon be coming to a place near you and should not be missed. I went to see it at the Australian Museum and marvelled at 130 artefacts, amazing golden funeral regalia, and numerous pieces of pottery illustrating the story of Ai Paec who “saved the world”. As an extra to this exhibition there is a breath taking VR experience of Machu Picchu.

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Framlingham Castle, featured in Ed Sheeran's song "Castle on the hill", besieged by King John in 1216 and Mary Tudor's refuge in the succession crisis.

/ Framlingham Castle/

Framlingham is a great castle to discover and has a fantastic story to tell as well as having a song written about it by Ed Sheeran in 2017 featuring its part in his upbringing. It was successfully besieged by King John and was Mary Tudor's refuge in the succession crisis. It is surrounded by beautiful parkland that was once the hunting ground of the dukes of Norfolk and has a great wall walk that enables visitors to wander three quarters of the length of the surrounding walls in safety. It has a small informative museum and a cafe which offers a good range of hot and cold seasonal meals, baguettes as well as choice of delicious cakes, snacks and offers a good quality coffee.

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If you love cricket, you will love this place!

/ Bradman museum/

Based in Bowral, New South Wales, the Bradman Museum and International Cricket Hall of Fame is a must visit for all cricket fans. Why is it at Bowral you may ask? It was where Donald Bradman spent his formative years, a man to have the highest test cricket average of 99.4 with no one else anywhere near this achievement to date. However, the museum is not just about Bradman, it tells the story of Cricket from Anglo-Saxon origins, to King Edward II and beyond.

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Durham Cathedral; discover this magnificent cathedral, its treasures, St Cuthbert, the Venerable Bede and the Anglo-Saxon World.

/ Durham Cathedral/

Durham Cathedral is a very special building for a number of reasons to the extent that the author, Bill Bryson wrote it was “the best cathedral on Planet Earth.” Building began in 1093 and was to take 40 years to complete. If you are in the North-East of England, it should be number one on your list of places to visit. It is a good example of Romanesque architecture with its rounded or semi-circular arches, typical of architecture under the Normans (Norman castles have these arches too). When built it was Britain’s tallest building and must have amazed onlookers at a time when buildings were mainly made out of wood with wattle and daub walls and a thatched roof. It is home to the shrine of St Cuthbert, on of England's most important saints and the Venerable Bede.

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The Coventry Doom Painting. One of the top doom paintings in Britain

/ Holy Trinity Church/

It is debatable which is the best doom painting in Britain but it is not debatable that the doom painting at Holy Trinity Church Coventry is one of the best. The Art Historian and documentary maker, Graham Andrew Dixon wrote on his website, “The picture must be counted one of the most important discoveries to have been made in the field of medieval art.” He adds, “it is a vigorously scary depiction of the moment when the Last Trump shall sound, painted in a crude but bold style and teeming with fascinating and unusual detail. It is hard to think of a more potent relic of English fifteenth-century dread.”

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The Wenhaston Doom Painting. A magnificent, highly colourful doom, with clear images that are easy to interpret.

/ St Peters Church/

The old phrase “A picture is worth a thousand words” is very appropriate when looking at the magnificent Wenhaston doom painting. In the medieval world where few people could read, a painting of the events of the “Last Judgement” would carefully show what was going to happen to souls when the world would come to an end. This would guide people to manage their lives to ensure a wonderful future. The picture of Hell left no one in doubt that sinners would have a horrible future. The doom painting at Wenhaston is in remarkable condition with very little missing or incomprehensible.

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Exploring the enigmatic Medieval wall paintings of the quaint "All saints Church", Little Kimble.

/ All Saints Church/

All Saints has been described as a “charming jewel of a church adjacent to the beautiful Chilterns’ countryside”. Once inside, one look at the walls demonstrates why it has been given this description. Star of the paintings is a virtually complete St George, St John the Evangelist and St James. Others are not quite so clear but with a little effort and time, various features from the stories of other saints can be interpreted can be recognised. An example of this is St Francis of Assisi, who can be identified by the presence of birds. There are also six medieval tiles and clues that show that the Church was built in two distinct phases.

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St Mary's Church North Leigh, is a treasure trove for medievalists with a doom painting, a Knight's effigy, medieval stained glass, some fan vaulting, and a Saxon tower.

/ St Mary's Church/

St Mary’s Church North Leigh, on the outskirts of the Cotswolds and north-west of Oxford, is a fascinating place to visit. To me, the star of the show is a wonderful doom painting which, unlike many, is in good condition. Medieval parishioners participating in services would have no doubt what awaited them when the inevitable happened and they died. The three panels of their doom painting left it very clear. Only a 10 minute drive away is another incredible doom painting at South Leigh. St Mary’s can also boast of a chantry chapel with fan vaulting, a knight’s effigy with links to the Lancastrian side in the Wars of the Roses and a Saxon tower.

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South Leigh Medieval Doom Painting's Vision of the Last Judgement. Were they going to Heaven's gates of Hell's fires?

/ St James the Great Church/

South Leigh doom painting north west of Oxford is a great example of what medieval people were expected to believe. Unlike some paintings with large areas lost, this doom painting is clear and easy to understand. At the Last Judgement, souls are summons from graves and decision are made as to their future. Heaven, on the left as the observer sees it, welcomes all sorts but likewise Hell on the right, also welcomes kings, queens, bishops and a whole variety of sinners. The devils surrounding Hell look gruesome as does a monster with a large, gaping mouth coming out of Hell to catch them. Allied to the doom painting is a medieval wall painting of St Michael weighing souls to see who goes to heaven and who has sinned so much that they will end up in Hell. Again, various Devils are in the painting and in this case trying to influence the decision. Also at South Leigh is a wall painting of St Clement and a painting of the “Seven Deadly Sins”.

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Warriors and Castles: Warkworth Castle, Shakespeare's Harry Hotspur and the mighty Percy family in the Wars of the Roses.

/ Warkworth Castle/

Life in medieval times in the north-east of England was one full of danger with a constant threat of war. Viking raids, as well as raids from Scotland, were a regular problem and from time to time kings of England came to this area to consolidate their power. Warkworth was owned by the powerful Percy family for over 600 years who preferred it to the much larger Alnwick castle. The Percy’s were renowned for taking some poor decisions in dynastic wars and losing their lives as well as their properties and titles. One Percy known as “Harry Hotspur” became a popular knight and has been remembered over the years for featuring in Shakespeare’s Henry IV part one.

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The D Day Series. "Beyond the Battlefields: Embracing the Peaceful Aura of Bayeux War Cemetery"

/ Bayeux war cemetery/

Completed in 1952 and maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, this peaceful cemetery is the last resting place for 4144 named Commonwealth (the UK and former British Empire) soldiers and 338 unidentified ones. Added to this, are 500 graves of soldiers from other countries, the majority being German. It is a fascinating place to visit and observe all the different headstones and some of the stories they tell. The cemetery provides a solemn and peaceful atmosphere, with meticulously maintained rows of white headstones bearing the names of those who fell in the line of duty.

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The D day series. Honouring sacrifice; A Journey through the Graves of German Soldiers in Normandy's La Cambe".

/ La Cambe German military cemetery/

The German cemetery at La Cambe is a stark contrast to the American Cemetery at Colleville and the British Cemetery at Bayeux. Both are nearby and all three are well worth a visit. It is much smaller than Colleville, being 16.5 acres compared to Colleville’s 172.5 but contains 21 222 soldiers whilst Colleville has 9380 servicemen. However, what stands out the most is that Colleville allocates one white cross per soldier, Bayeux has one quite large white/beige headstone per soldier, whereas, La Cambe has two bodies per stone. Furthermore, each stone is small, flat on the ground and is grey in colour.

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The D Day Series. Storming the cliffs; Pointe du Hoc's Legendary Raid and the Men Who Conquered It.

/ Pointe du Hoc/

When planning the D Day invasion, it was imperative to take out the the six 155mm guns at the top of Pointe Du Hoc. These massive guns were 4 miles (6.5) km) from the centre of Omaha Beach and 7 miles (11km) from Utah beach . They had a range of 15 miles (25km) and so both of the American landing beaches were easily within their range. This post is about the incredible bravery of the Rangers in climbing 100 feet cliffs, whilst under attack and successfully taking out the various gun emplacements at the top. However, the expected six large guns had disappeared!

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The D day Series; Explore the daring World of the paratroopers from the 82nd and 101st Divisions at the awesome St. Mere Eglise's Airborne Museum!"

/ Airborne Museum/

The Airborne Museum, focusing on the daring D Day Operations of the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions, is an exciting place to visit. To many visitors, especially young people, this museum is nothing short of awesome. It boasts being immersive and lives up to that description. Each entrant is given a Histopad, like an iPad to use to enhance their visit and to satisfy their enquiring minds. There are numerous full size dioramas as well as parachutes to wear , planes with paratroopers to walk through, imaginary jumps to make and loads of artefacts to study.

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The D day Series. Airborne heroics,John Steele's harrowing experience above St Mere Eglise"

/ St Mere Eglise/

Combine a visit to the church of St Mere Eglise with a visit to the amazing Airborne Museum next door and you will have an enjoyable day out. Anyone who goes past this church without knowing the story of John Steele will think a parachutist snagged on a church tower is very peculiar. It commemorates his terrible mishap when he was parachuting into the German held Cherbourg peninsula on D Day. Steele was meant to land just outside St Mere Eglise but his pilot was inexperienced and visibility was difficult due to extensive cloud cover. Steele was dropped right above the village and unfortunately, he was to snag his parachute on a pinnacle of the church.

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The D Day Series. Beyond the Beaches; Visit Longues Sur Mer and see how it could have played a pivotal role on D Day.

/ Batterie de Longues sur mer/

Anyone with an interest in the D Day Landings should definitely visit the gun battery at Longues Sur Mer. The shear size of the casements and their guns suggest that they were untouchable. One gets the feeling that any shell coming out of their barrels would go a long way and do an awful lot of damage. Several attempts were made to put them out of action before they finally succumbed to naval bombardment on D Day. They could have made the successful D- Day Landings into a total disaster.

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The D Day Series. The Overlord Museum, a great collection of dioramas and fascinating exhibits in a museum which is just a three minute drive from the American Cemetery at Colleville.

/ Overlord museum/

The Overlord Museum is particularly good when combined with the American Military Cemetery at Colleville and an excursion onto Omaha Beach. It has loads of fascinating exhibits from the Omaha landings and has some particularly impressive large dioramas. People of all ages will enjoy this museum, including children although people who have studied this period of history in depth may require a little extra information of some of the smaller exhibits.

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