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Recent Articles
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Osborne: The Home that Albert Created for Victoria
Victoria was Queen of England and Albert was her Prince Consort when they decided they needed a home for their large family away from public eye. Their search took them to the Isle of Wight, a place that that Victoria already knew and liked. Improved railway communications meant it was possible…
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Lyndhurst, the Heart of England's New Forest
Lyndhurst has been the throbbing heart of England’s New Forest since William the Conqueror made it his base when he established his hunting grounds here over nine hundred years ago. Today Lyndhurst is still central to the activities in the New Forest. The road into the village snakes around the…
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Balmer Lawn Hotel - a Brockenhurst Beauty in England's New Forest
Ideally situated in the village of Brockenhurst in the New Forest the Balmer Lawn Hotel is as steeped in history as the common land,Balmer Lawn, that surrounds it. Once known as Palmers Lawn it is recorded that the waters of the Lymington River that flow past the hotel were known as Palmers Waters…
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Lymington, the Coastal Capital of the New Forest in England
Lymington in the New Forest of England has an unusually wide High Street. It was built like this to accommodate the large Charter Market that has been held here since 1250. Early every Saturday morning around one hundred market stalls are set up and line the High Street on both sides. Generally…
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Animals First in the New Forest Village of Brockenhurst
Despite the persistent drizzle I could feel the magic of the forest outside pulling me outside and away from my cosy hotel room. I was staying at the Balmer Lawn Hotel in Brockenhurst, a village in the famous New Forest. Ancient grazing rights are still upheld here and ponies, donkeys, sheep…
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Finland in the Wild
This winter I went to Narnia aka the Wild Taiga in Finland. I arrived in the early evening and was driven along snow covered roads through pools of yellow light cast by the street lights above us. After passing through the town of Kuhmo the residences thinned out quickly and were non-existent…
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Christmas December 2017 – Where did that Year Go?
I was a bit later than usual writing my Christmas letter this year. The snow arrived early in the Dolomites and the thought of skiing fresh snow in December was irresistible. I went to my favourite resort, Madonna di Campiglio where I stayed at my favourite hotel, Hotel Lorenzetti. It was…
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Walking on the Island of Fuerteventura
Fuerteventura is the oldest but the least developed of the Canary Islands. Its natural landscape and wild coastline is a lovely environment for some good walking. The best time to go walking on this island is the winter when the fierce winds that cool the hot summer sun have abated but the…
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Music and Molluscs in Aldeburgh, Suffolk
It was a glorious autumnal afternoon when I arrived in Aldeburgh, Suffolk. Not wishing to waste a moment of the sunny weather i set off to walk along its extensive pebble beach. It was not long before the aroma of fish and chips began to drift towards me. I noticed that the wall lining Crag Path…
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A Millers Tale from Woodbridge in Suffolk
I could feel goose bumps on my arms as the huge wooden axles began to turn and the large wooden wheels began to revolve. The Tide Mill in Woodbridge, Suffolk was milling flour as it has done for centuries. The whole operation takes place on the three floors of the old mill and I raced up and down…
