MissElaineous

Bound for Beer (Part 4)

Bound for Beer (Part 4)
[ PART 1 ][ PART 2 ][ PART 3 ][ PART 4 ][ POSTCARDS ] My final morning in Beer dawned as one of those late spring/early summer days that seemed absolutely perfect, the type you wish would go on forever. The mist of the past few days had completely vanished, leaving blue skies in its wake, and the colours along… View Post

BOUND FOR BEER (PART 3)

BOUND FOR BEER (PART 3)
[ PART 1 ][ PART 2 ][ PART 3 ][ PART 4 ][ POSTCARDS ] Rather than the antiquated local museum I was expecting, from the moment you step inside Seaton Jurassic it is clear that time, money, and passion have gone into creating an engaging and educational experience for visitors of all ages. You start off by exploring a Victorian… View Post

BOUND FOR BEER (PART 2)

BOUND FOR BEER (PART 2)
[ PART 1 ][ PART 2 ][ PART 3 ][ PART 4 ][ POSTCARDS ] Arriving in Beer in the evening, MrElaineous and I only had a brief moment to look around before settling into the B&B for the night. What we saw certainly seemed picturesque. There was a stream running along the village’s main road so you were never far… View Post

BOUND FOR BEER (PART 1)

BOUND FOR BEER (PART 1)
[ PART 1 ][ PART 2 ][ PART 3 ][ PART 4 ][ POSTCARDS ] MrElaineous and I are teetotal or, as I like to put it, totally about tea. This means that there was a degree of irony in our recent trip to the Devon village of Beer as we wouldn’t be partaking in the eponymous beverage, but we did… View Post

AS SEEN ON TV (PART 2)

AS SEEN ON TV (PART 2)
[ PART 1 ][ PART 2 ][ PART 3 ] From the 16th-century Tudor Brockhampton Manor we journeyed forward in time to the 18th-century Neo-classical Berrington Hall. One of the property’s claims to fame is being the last completed commission of “Capability” Brown. In a remarkable stroke of coincidence for someone who doesn’t watch a lot of television, a few… View Post

Glorious?

Glorious?
The British duo of Flanders and Swann are remembered for their comedic songs such as “The Gnu”, “The Sloth”, and, one of my personal favourites, “The Armadillo”.  Yes, they had a thing for songs about animals, and the best known is probably “The Hippopotamus”, in which the title character sings a chorus of “Mud, mud, glorious mud!”  From my recent experience in the town… View Post

OF LONGLEAT, LONDON, AND LIGHT

OF LONGLEAT, LONDON, AND LIGHT
If Christmas did not exist, I think modern Britons would have invented their own winter holiday. After all, the ancients had their own festivals to ensure the rebirth of the sun, and as the weather turns colder and days shorter, there needs to be something to look forward to and add a splash of warmth into the very heart of the dark… View Post

TIME + TRAVEL

TIME + TRAVEL
I can’t remember what initially piqued my interest in Chester. It may have been word of mouth, or perhaps seeing it on Michael Portillo’s Great British Railway Journeys, but it sounded absolutely perfect for me as a recovering archaeologist. Its origins are Roman, it has a well-preserved medieval wall, and many of the buildings date from the 17th-19th centuries (or at least look like they do,… View Post

THE WONDERS OF SWINDON

THE WONDERS OF SWINDON
I was first introduced to the wonders of Swindon many years ago through Jasper Fforde’s delightful Thursday Next series. There were airships, migrations of mammoths, and kickass literary adventures to be had in this enchanted town off the M4. Having worked in Swindon for over two years, I can say with a great deal of confidence that Mr. Fforde was exercising not only his imagination… View Post

ROUSHAM WALKABOUT

ROUSHAM WALKABOUT
Blenheim Palace. Chatsworth. Stourhead. The honours list of top gardens in Britain seemed obvious. So it was with some surprise that MrElaineous and I watched TV presenter Monty Don award this title to Rousham Gardens, a property we had never heard of, despite it being located in Oxfordshire, just a stone’s throw from the mighty Blenheim. Which, come to think of it, is likely one of… View Post

A STORY IN STONE

A STORY IN STONE

Ammonites are time travellers from the distant past who took the long way around. Their beauty–and the story they tell–make them one of my favourite things to collect.

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Shaftesbury Views

Shaftesbury Views
Back in June, my husband put together a surprise trip to London for me. Well, I knew we were going to London, but had no idea what activities were planned. It was incredibly liberating to turn the reins over to someone else to arrange everything, and when he asked if I wanted something similar for my birthday/wedding anniversary, I jumped at the chance. This was how… View Post

Chippenham: Gateway to the World

Chippenham: Gateway to the World
It’s a running joke that one of Chippenham’s best features is that it allows you to get to other places very easily. It’s practically a stone’s throw from the lovely villages of Lacock and Castle Combe, a short drive to the market town of Malmesbury, the railway station and M4 open Bristol, London, Wales, and beyond to Chippenham residents, and the wonders of… View Post

All Roads Lead to Machynlleth: A Welsh Adventure (Part 2)

All Roads Lead to Machynlleth: A Welsh Adventure (Part 2)
[ INTRO ] [ PART 1 ] [ PART 2 ] [ PART 3 ] [ Are You the Spider or the Fly? 11 Lessons for Health and Wellbeing after a Digital Detox ] The second full day in Wales dawned grey, cloudy, and wet. However, having enjoyed two days of sun and blue skies, we really couldn’t complain, especially since we had planned on this being an inside day—we… View Post

All Roads Lead to Machynlleth: A Welsh Adventure (Part 1)

All Roads Lead to Machynlleth: A Welsh Adventure (Part 1)
[ INTRO ] [ PART 1 ] [ PART 2 ] [ PART 3 ] [ Are You the Spider or the Fly? 11 Lessons After a Digital Detox ] It was, I’ll admit, not the most auspicious of starts to our WiFi-free Welsh holiday. Autumn colds had been making the rounds of the office, and this plus work stress… View Post

Hither and Yon

Hither and Yon
As I am reminded on a regular basis—so much so that it will be a blog entry of its own one of these days—I still have an American accent despite over a decade of living in the UK. While this is unlikely to ever change, my time as an expat has affected how I perceive time and distance. The US is a big country. Driving… View Post

Wiltshire Wanderings

Wiltshire Wanderings
I am not a morning person. A late night of reading, writing, or working on a current project, followed by long, luxurious lie in the next day is the height of bliss for me. However, there is one thing that will get me out of bed even before the crack of dawn: bluebells. Every year, the woods near Marlborough gain a carpet of… View Post

Observing History

Observing History
A key part of my PhD dissertation involved creating a working prototype of a location-based guide for a heritage site. Bristol doesn’t have a shortage of these: from Civil War defences on Brandon Hill to the eponymous castle of Castle Park, the difficulty is in just choosing one! In the end, my supervisor and I agreed on the Clifton Suspension… View Post

On the Rocks

On the Rocks
I am taking a trip down memory lane this week with photos of Bristol, specifically those inspired by views from the Clifton Suspension Bridge. I spent a lot of time here as part of my PhD dissertation about archaeological interpretation: in addition to the world famous bridge, it’s an area rich in industrial heritage deserving a closer look. The Clifton Rocks… View Post
MissElaineous Travel Blog: Escape, Explore, Discover, Enjoy