Tours with Tess

16/11/2024

Meeting number 1 during my visit to London - the AGM.

It was an absolute pleasure to meet special guest Lady Victoria Borwick again - Chair of the Advisory Board - having had the honour of guiding her around my hometown of Kirkby Lonsdale in the spring.

The AGM also provided an opportunity to meet up with colleagues from all over the country, as well as touching base with Cumbria Blue Badge Tourist Guides colleagues whom I hadn't seen for much of the busy guiding season.

Guest speaker was , who talked about the history of the railways, ahead of next year's celebrations, marking 200 years since the Stockton & Darlington Railway became the first passenger railway to use steam trains to transport passengers. George Stephenson and his son Robert were the main engineers for the line and built the first engines: 'Locomotion', 'Hope', 'Diligence', and 'Black Diamond' at Robert Stephenson and Company on Forth Street in Newcastle.

My final photo is of the replica at the railway museum in Shildon, on the site of the locomotive works for the S&DR.

The AGM was held in the home of the Royal Philatelic Society, the oldest such society in the world, established in 1869 ...
.. the year that

- the was inaugurated
- Sainsbury's first store opened on Drury Lane, Covent Garden
- the foundation stone for Castle, Bavaria was laid
- the was launched in Dumbarton, Scotland
- American Outlaw name appeared in the newspapers for the first time
- investment bank was founded in New York
- Thomas Henry Hoxley coined the word
- the capital of the moved from Castletown to Douglas
- the Tokugawa Shoganate ended in Japan, the Shogun's capital city, Edo, was renamed Tokyo, and the Meiji era of enlightenment began

And that's certainly not all!! It was a hugely important year across the world for all kinds of reasons...

15/11/2024

Thank you to Green Badge Guide John Morgan for a hugely interesting and engaging tour about our iconic pillar boxes and phone boxes yesterday.

My favourite :-

☎️ both are made of cast iron to withstand the British weather

☎️ now I know why the floors of phone boxes slope... useful, but the reason is too unpleasant to repeat!!

✉️ post boxes started off red, but were deemed an eyesore, so repainted green... However, they didn't stand out in the London smog, it was too easy to bump into them, and in 1874 -150 years ago - a 10-year repainting programme was embarked upon. They've been pillar box red ever since ( - there are actually six different shades of red used by the post office?)

✉️ originally, it was the recipient of a letter who was responsible for paying the postage cost. It was Rowland Hill (📸 8) who campaigned for three years to reform the postal system - the Penny Post was finally introduced in 1840, and the sender paid

John - thank you for pointing out lots of fascinating details which we wouldn't have spotted, including:

📸 5 shows the former GPO building (behind the façade of which is now the Bank of America) on Newgate Street. It was built during the reign of King Edward VII, eldest son of Queen Victoria and features multiple representations of the "Caduseus" - a staff with two entwined snakes surmounted by two wings traditionally carried by Hermes, messenger of the gods in Greek mythology. The symbol was used extensively for last offices and telephone exchange buildings

📸 9 shows the head bust of Postmaster General Henry Cecil Raikes from Chester, whose achievements included establishing telephone communication with Paris in 1891. The first conversation was between the Prince of Wales (who became Edward VII) and the French President

Totally unrelated to John's tour: I've never seen a before - what a great idea!

15/11/2024

40 years and 500 miles since Anna and I first met studying Italian in Aberdeen!

We spent a lovely evening in legendary Daquise - probably my last visit to a place that holds special memories for my family.

I wonder who might have sat at our table since the restaurant opened in 1947...
.. the year that saw nationalisation of the coal industry on New Year's Day - a few weeks before harsh Siberian weather blasted across the UK, bringing 6 weeks of thick snow, bitterly cold temperatures, and abject misery for the British people, who were already suffering under continuing rationing. Demand for coal grew, but snowdrifts meant it was in short supply. Result - frequent power outages, darkness, frozen pipes... what an awful winter to live through!

If only those walls could talk, they would whisper names that made newspaper headlines in the post-war years: Christine Keeler, Yevgeni Ivanov, Roman Polanski, and....

Count Edward Raczynski, President of the Polish government-in-exile, who:
🇵🇱 was the first person to phone Churchill to tell him that the war had started
🇵🇱 planned many campaigns to overthrow the Communist regime at a table in his unofficial HQ - Daquise
🇵🇱 was awarded an honorary knighthood by the Queen
🇵🇱 married for the third time at the age of 99
🇵🇱 died in London two years later in 1993.. and, because I always like links with my areas of qualification...
🇵🇱 holidayed at Scarborough in July 1944, where soldiers of the Polish Armoured Division were stationed in nearby towns and villages

Daquise, with its rich history and great food will be sorely missed - let's hope it manages to survive in some form close by when the wrecking ball finally strikes.






#1947

12/11/2024

"Red sky at night, shepherd's delight,
Red sky in the morning, shepherd's warning."

10/11/2024

Every cloud has a silver lining!

Today was one of those grey November days, when you know that if you make the effort to spend time with nature, you'll be rewarded.

There was so much to make my heart sing at Lowther Castle and Gardens ...

- the views across to High Street with those unexpected rays of sunshine
- the beautiful rose garden, designed to remind us of a series of paintings by Pre-Raphaelite artist Sir Edward Burne-Jones, first exhibited in 1890, which depict the legend of Sleeping Beauty
- even in November, some of the roses were still in bloom, and I really enjoyed catching a waft of their sweet scent at various places in the garden
- it was the first time I'd experienced the newly created Japanese Garden; sitting on an oak bench in one of the new tea-houses, listening to trickling water as it found its way over and down a rock fountain felt blissfully peaceful and relaxing. Once the garden has grown and matured, the experience will be even better!
- wandering through the rambling woodland, discovering forgotten paths and steps - all food for the imagination, as I thought how the gardens must have been in years gone by
- the romantic ruin - totally transformed since I first moved to Cumbria over 30 years ago, when it looked so sad and neglected. I love the "garden-in-the-ruins"!
- fresh scones with jam and cream 😋

09/11/2024

Autumn has definitely arrived in Kirkby Lonsdale 🍂 🍁 🍂🍁





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06/11/2024

All done for yet another year! Gondola has completed her final passenger sailings for 2024! but the work for our Crew and Volunteers doesn't stop there!!

We look forward to keeping you up to date with all the behind the scenes maintenance work that takes place every year throughout the winter months to ensure that Gondola will be ready to sail again In 2025!

We would like to thank everyone that has sailed onboard and supported Gondola this year! The Crew and Volunteers look forward to seeing you onboard in 2025.

26/10/2024

Why does Paddington appear to be in a very pensive mood today??

Perhaps because ...

🐻 he's contemplating York's awe-inspiring Minster, which has towered over the city since the 13th century - what a lot of history this mighty building has witnessed over these past 800 years!

🐻 I've just turned him into a Blue Badge Tourist Guide for the minute I spent in his company today, and he's debating what he could tell the next people who sit down next to him - perhaps that etiquette and tradition dictate that men should remove hats when entering a place of worship - so under your hat is not a good place to hide your marmelade sandwich....

🐻 he's wondering why people in 23 locations across the UK are queuing to have their photo taken with an unassuming little bear from Peru

The answer to the last pondering is very simple Paddington...
... Since Michael Bond wrote you into existence 66 years ago ('A Bear called Paddington' was published on 13th October 1958), after having been inspired by the sight of a lone teddy bear in a shop window, you have captured the hearts of generation after generation of people ...
... not just in Britain, but all over the world - not least because of your famous meeting with HM Queen Elizabeth II just three months before she passed away, when you shared afternoon tea with her.

Your kindness, politeness, and trademark hard stare are simply endearing!

Less than two weeks to wait now until the Paddington 3 film is released in UK cinemas - Friday 8th November 🐻

25/10/2024

'Hey how for Hallowe'en,
All the witches to be seen,
Some in black & some in green,
Hey how for Hallowe'en!' 🎃🧙‍♀️🎃

This coming weekend, as the spooky season approaches, we start a short run of afternoon tours looking at one of England's most famous cases of witchcraft & dark magic - the trial of the Pendle Witches! Join us on one of our 5⭐ rated Witchcraft - 1612 guided walks and hear about sinister events in 17th century Lancashire, and the part Lancaster played in the trial & ex*****on of the Pendle Witches!

Walks take place at 1pm on Sunday 27th & Thursday 31st October and Friday 1st & Saturday 2nd November, departing from the main gateway of Lancaster Castle.

Advance tickets & further details of all our public walks are available from our Eventbrite page: 🎟

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/lancaster-walks-talks-tours-68357726843

🍂🧙👻🦇🍂🎃💀👹🍂

British Guild of Tourist Guides Lancaster and Morecambe Bay Love Lancaster BID visit Lancashire

22/10/2024

What a glorious October day!!

Hampsfell Hospice was built by Rev Thomas Re*****on, Vicar of Cartmel in 1846. He built it as a refuge for travellers, and in gratitude for the beauty he'd enjoyed every day on his regular walk from his home at Aynsome Manor (now a luxury 5* B&B).

The fabulous views from Hampsfell have changed little since then, but it got me wondering what had been happening elsewhere in the UK that year:

📅 - there was jubilation in the towns when the Corn Laws were finally repealed by Conservative Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel. They had been introduced from 1815 to protect British farmers and landowners, but made it very expensive to import corn, even when there was a poor harvest, such as in 1816, known as the "Year without a Summer". The result of the Corn Laws was huge increases in the price of bread and cost of living, widespread poverty, and rioting.

📅 - the first tourist trips to Scotland were organised by Thomas Cook, the inventor of package holidays. The first one he organised was in 1841: a 22-mile train trip for 500 people between Leicester and Loughborough, at a cost of about a day's wages: a shilling and sixpence.

I've read Thomas Cook described as a "pioneer of trouble-free travelling" ...
.. I feel that we Blue Badge Guides tread in his footsteps - we don't just help our guests to see what they're looking at, interpret landscapes, and tell stories. We also facilitate trouble-free travelling.


*****on # AynsomeManor
#1846
#1841
#2024

21/10/2024

If books could talk, what a story this one could tell!

Poetry of Byron borrowed by schoolboy Leonard Ewbank, who studied at Oxford and was killed at Ypres in 1916

21/10/2024

why this is my favourite new discovery in Scotland...

🏰 truly magnificent castle with mock-gothic embellishments and fascinating history, designed by Kirkcaldy-born (in 1728) architect / interior designer , who we had already 'met' in Charlotte Square in Edinburgh
- In Northern England, fine examples of his work can be found at , , , and , amongst others
- He designed every little detail himself, hence the harmonious feel to everything to which he gave his attention

⛰️ the dramatic clifftop setting, with views across to the 338m (1,109 ft) high uninhabited island of , owned by David Kennedy, 9th Marquis of Ailsa, whose ancestor, the 10th Earl of Cassillis, commissioned Robert Adam to build Culzean Castle.
- Ailsa Craig is classified as a Marilyn, which is any hill or mountain in Britain with a drop of 150m (492.4 ft) on all sides. The lowest in England lies just to the south of the Lake District National Park (where there are 55 Marilyns) - it's (159m)
- a dense granite from a long-extinct volcano was used to make from the early 1880s till 1971
- the island's former castle was used as a prison in the 1700s and 1800s
- Ailsa Craig is about halfway between Belfast and Glasgow
- there are varieties of tomato and onion named after the island. The tomato has a really good flavour, and the onion was developed in 1887 by David Murray, head gardener at Culzean.
The views from the castle are stupendous - even the servants were provided with a fine view of the sea from the kitchen.

🐙 the variety within the country park. I tried to contain my reccy to two hours, but I couldn't pull myself away and was there for five, by the time I'd finished exploring the woodlands and rocky shore with its smuggler caves, visited the red deer, and found the by from nearby Girvan (who also made the sculptures of Robert Burns and Tam and Meg at the poet's birthplace in Alloway).

☕️ and good coffee at the tearoom

😊 such a friendly, from Visitor Services Manager Martin and team

19/10/2024

If you're in York before 2nd November, this is an experience not to be missed!

July marked 40 years since the South Transept of York Minster was struck by lightening, and the following morning, we all woke up to news reports showing flames and debris leaping into the sky.

Rebuilding and restoration took four years, and the spectacular and awe-inspiring 'Phoenix' lightshow tells the story.

The Minster is always magnificent, but this evening I saw it in a totally new light ...
.. the show provided a rare opportunity to simply sit on the floor of the nave and watch the show unfold, or lie back and admire the architecture and craftsmanship.

There are still signs of the fire, such as the scorched wooden door, but when I was leaving the Minster at the end, the show made me realise once again how fragile and vulnerable our mediaeval masterpieces are.

19/10/2024

I always love it when itineraries include Haworth, particularly when the sun's shining and you can sit outside without your coat - even towards the end of October!

😍 favourite spot - outside the Old Post Office, where I can watch the world go by, and imagine Charlotte, Emily, or Anne going up those worn old steps and depositing a manuscript proudly on the counter, ready to send to their publisher.

😍 favourite quirky gem - the fabulous work of art made from TOAST inside the church

😍 a favourite memory from this 6-day tour: spotting one of my guests simply soaking up the atmosphere in the dappled sunshine.

18/10/2024

Home, sweet home ...

I've enjoyed my last few days tour managing in Scotland, but oh, how my heart leapt up as we crossed over the border back into Cumbria this afternoon.

Next year marks 30 years since I qualified as a Blue Badge Tourist Guide. I had recently moved to Cumbria from London and was contemplating how to use my German language skills to best advantage...

I feel so lucky to have discovered - by chance - a career that still gives me so much pleasure!

My first qualification was for this special corner of England that I now call home: Cumbria. Since then, I've qualified to guide in Liverpool City Region, Yorkshire, and Northeast England, but my heart will always be in Cumbria.



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Institute of Tourist Guiding

18/10/2024

Congratulations 👏 💐

18/10/2024

Red Rum: three time winner of the Grand National at Aintree (1973 - 1974 - 1977) and one of the most famous race horses in the world ...

This beautiful sculpture of him was the first thing I spotted when I was on the way to check my group into the Western House Hotel.

🐎 It was made to commemorate a very special win - fifty years ago, in 1974, Red Rum was the first horse to win the Grand National at Aintree and the Scottish Grand National at Ayr in the same season

🐎 29 years ago today - on 18th October 1995 - Red Rum died at the age of 30

🐎 He was given the honour of being laid to rest in one of his favourite places - at the finishing line at Aintree, with his head facing the winning post

One of my favourite facts about the legendary racehorse: in 1977 he was welcomed into the TV studio at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards ceremony, and when his jockey Tommy Stack appeared on video link, Red Rum recognised his voice!

When we leave the hotel in the morning, I'll certainly be encouraging my German guests to give the sculpture an affectionate rub!