Travel Junkie Girl

12/10/2024

This is the reason you visit Newcastle University when you're not a student there... the gorgeous red brick architecture, of which many of the buildings are Grade II listed. ❤️

And amongst these gorgeous buildings, you'll also find some contemporary sculpture as well as a lovely garden in the centre of the university known as the Quadrangle. (Photo 11 & 12) This was turned into a formal garden to remember the university members who gave their lives during both world wars.

A group of three large human heads sculpted in 2005 sit amongst the Student Forum tree-lined outdoor seating area. Called 'Generation', each of the three heads is rendered in a different metal, representing three different eras of human and industrial production. One is bronze, (photo 1, 3 ,& 5) which references early metalworking in the North of England. One is Corten Steel (photo 4 & 8) which lends it a rust like appearance and represents later advances in industry. The third is constructed from a series of welded stainless steel rods in a triangular mesh pattern, (photo 6 & 7) suggestive of the modern digital age. The heads were the creation of Fine Art Graduate Joseph Hillier.

On the approach to the Arches on King's Walk, I spotted the 2018 sculpture by Antony Gormley called 'Clasp', (photo 14 & 15) made of cast iron and standing 4.4m high. It depicts two bodies holding each other and is part of Gormley's 'Double Blockworks' series. "In this series, rectilinear blocks replace anatomy using stacking, cantilevers and propping. These techniques create a sculpture that juggles the dynamic and the stable.‌"

'Clasp' is formed from 18 individual blocks, cast as one single element in spheroidal graphite iron. The sculpture is designed to change colour over time as a response to environmental conditions.

Having researched further, I've discovered Newcastle University has a whole 'Art in Campus' programme, something I'll definitely revisit when I'm back in Newcastle! 😍

Would you head to Newcastle University when visiting the city?

👉 Follow me to discover more gems in NE England!

07/10/2024

*BIG ANNOUNCEMENT*

Newcastle has made it into my top 10 favourite cities!! 😎

I've just spent 4 days in Newcastle and had the most amazing time!

I've seen so many impressive images of the Tyne Bridges but seeing them IRL was a 'pinch me' moment. No photo can do them justice! Walking along the Tyne and zig-zagging across the bridges is most definitely one of the best things you can do in Newcastle. And seeing them at night time is just magical! 🤩

▶️ Scroll to the last image to see the Tyne bridge at night.

There is so much to see and do in Newcastle, you'll be spoilt for choice. I managed to explore both cathedrals, the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, the Castle and Black Gate, the Laing Art Gallery, the stunning Lit & Phil library, (photo 13) Blackfriars, the Central Arcade, Grey Street and the shopping district, the university area, and I of course spotted loads of quirky sculptures including believe it or not on the castle roof (photo 8)! 😍

I've only just touched the surface on things to do in Newcastle and I already have a long list of things I want to see on my next trip!

👉 Follow me for more posts about Newcastle. This one is just the start!

30/09/2024

My October Newsletter goes out tomorrow! Want to receive it and be in the know?... Then click the link! 🤩

https://traveljunkiegirl.com/newsletter-mailing-list/

27/09/2024

Wonderful day in York following the Trailblazers Beetle sculpture trail. There are 17 of these beetles to be found around the city and the sculpture shape is based on the endangered Tansy Beetle, known as the "Jewel of York" as they can be found at various sites along the River Ouse, which flows through the city centre. 🪲🪲🪲

Each sculpture celebrates an individual 'trailblazer' who has shaped York's history over the years and who have made a significant impact not just locally, but nationally and globally too! A few recognise couples or groups of people too.

Those represented in my photos include:
1. The Luddites
2. Delma Tomlin
3. Anne Lister
4. WH Auden
5. York Carers
6. Mary Ward
7. Roma & Geoff Oxford: founders of the Tansy Beetle Action Group
8. June Hargreaves

My last photo is of the Tansy Beetle mural which can be found on Queen Street, near the station. 🪲

This trail is such a fun and creative learning experience as I knew little about any of the trailblazers and some of them I had never heard of.

The trail also took me to areas of York I'd never been to which is what I love most about such sculpture trails. I got to explore Rowntree Park, The Bar Convent and discovered Holy Trinity Church for the first time, just off Goodramgate. I have walked past the entrance to the church which leads off Goodramgate so many times, and just can't believe I never knew the church was there as you can't see it from the street.

I always find somewhere new every trip to York and this time was no different! 💜

The Trailblazer Beetles are on show in York until Monday 30th September, so if you're visiting soon, keep an eye out for these fab creatures! There's plenty of information on the Visit York website about the trail, artists and trailblazers themselves.

20/09/2024

Found my new favourite place to work! 🥰

The Picton Reading Room at Liverpool Central Library. How stunning is this space? And it is wonderfully quiet for getting on with work (or study)

As someone who works from home, sometimes we just love to be in a different space working, plus it is free of all the homely distractions, (including Bailey in my case! 🐶 He's adorable but a huge time waster!)

This area of the library is Grade II listed and is home to 15,000 rare books. The seating areas all have power sockets available and there is free WiFi too.

Complete with a cafe on the ground floor for when you want a break, this is definitely now my favourite place to go to work! 💜

Fellow homeworkers, writers, bloggers etc... do you have a favourite spot you go to work outside of home?

14/09/2024

So glad I got to see Anish Kapoor's exhibition "Monadic Singularity" at Liverpool Cathedral before it finishes. 😍

One of the things I love most about Liverpool Cathedral is its ability to show such monumental works of art and how everyone involved embraces putting together such epic exhibitions and installations! I've seen some fabulous ones over the years and this one is no different! 🤩

This exhibition is Anish Kapoor's first solo exhibition in a UK cathedral and the works explore the physicality of the human body.

I'm not going to go into a load of interpretation and explanation on these sculptures, but one big thing I did take away from the pieces was Kapoor's focus on dualities.

Inside vs outside, geometry vs fluidity, convex vs concave - you can actually walk inside the bright red cube shaped piece which was surprising...I totally didn't expect what it looked like inside! 😲

I also loved how the shape of the mirror spire inverted the towering arches and vaulted cathedral ceiling. So beautiful! 💜

Unfortunately this exhibition finishes tomorrow - it's just been a short run of 5 weeks. I can guarantee there'll be another fabulous exhibit coming soon though...so follow Liverpool Cathedral to keep track of upcoming events!

12/09/2024

The stunning and serene Lady Chapel at Liverpool Cathedral. I always love popping into the cathedral when in the city. I've visited so many cathedrals around the country and it's still one of my faves! 🫶🏼

09/09/2024

When you go looking for a waterfall that you see on Google maps, and you find so much more.... 🫶🏼
..a gorgeous (albeit on steep ground) park..a sculpture trail (If you've been following me for long, you'll know how happy this makes me!).. beautiful woodlands.. water features galore.. the most brilliant yellow lichen you've ever seen!!! 💛

This is Bold Venture Park in Darwen, Lancashire and well worth a visit. Nestled into the far north eastern corner of Darwen Moor, just below the Jubilee Tower.

I circled round to Bold Venture Park on my recent walk up to the Tower to find the waterfall I spotted on the map. The waterfall is in a beautiful setting, with a perfectly sited bench looking at the falls, where I sat to eat my lunch. 😍

The information board at the entrance to the park told me about the sculpture trail, and while a couple of the pieces seemed to be missing, the ones I found were great, including the Giant's Chair (which I manage to get Bailey to pose on), the silver pheasant (which you have to look up for as it's high in a tree) and the quarryman carving (photo 5)

I unfortunately missed the ornamental lake and memorial at the bottom of the park as I had already walked too far up before I saw a map of the site and didn't want to walk all the way back down (remember, I said it was steep!) before heading up to the tower. Something for next time hey... 🤩

🚘 Use BB3 2SF - you can park on the roads around the park.
🐾 Perfect for dogs to explore. Several bins around.
🛝 Playground at the bottom of the park nearest the town.
🚾 None in the park unfortunately.

📍 Save for your future walks inspiration 🚶‍♀️

07/09/2024

Continuing my exploration of Lancashire with an excellent walk up to the Jubilee Tower on Darwen Moor. 😍

Parked in Sunnyhurst Woods in Darwen and circled round to see Bold Venture Park which I'll tell you about in my next post as there's some really cool stuff to see there...🫶🏼

Then picked up the direct path up to the tower from the top of the park.

Don't you think the tower looks a bit alien like from the angle in the first photo? Almost rocket like... 🚀

The wind at the top was extreme so we didn't stay there long - was very glad I'd brought my ear muffs and an extra layer!

The views however were fantastic and worth braving the wind! We could see the southern Lake District Hills around Black Combe and across to the Peel Tower above Ramsbottom. We could also see the Blackpool Tower, Winter Hill and Pendle Hill. 🤩

We walked off the moor in the direction of the village of Ryal Fold where we stopped at the Royal Arms pub for a drink. Then walked back to the car via Earnsdale Reservoir.

Check out the inscription on the bench in the last photo...made me laugh! Good old Lancashire! 😂

The whole walk was 5.4 miles, but you could walk up to the tower and down in a lot less distance - there are several direct paths up onto the moor from Sunnyhurst Woods car park.

🚘 Use sat nav: BB3 1JX for Sunnyhurst Woods car park.
Parking is free!
🐾 Dog bins in various places. No stiles.
Perfect for off-lead adventures.
Pub is dog friendly throughout inside.
📍 Save for your future walks inspiration.

Would you like to walk up here?

18/08/2024

Explored a new place yesterday: one that's been on my NW bucket list for ages! 😎

Wepre Park in Connah's Quay, Flintshire. It's just over the border into North Wales from Cheshire, and it's full of delights!🤩

The woodlands are beautiful & the walk up through the woods from the car park leads to the ruins of Ewloe Castle, a highly unusual castle, as it's built deep in the woods and not at the top of a visible hill or crag as you'd expect of a castle. 🏰

The story goes that back in 1255, the English enclosed Wepre Woods to make a private hunting forest which angered the Welsh, so the Welsh Prince Llywelyn built Ewloe Castle as an act of defiance. The castle fell to Edward I in 1277 however. 🌳

Amongst the woods, there's all sorts of things to discover:

👉 the attractive bridge - Pont Aber, over Wepre Brook (photo 1),
👉 Red Rocks - a 20m high rocky sandstone escarpment (photo 3),
👉 Rosie Pool (photo 11) - a large pond created for sport fishing and the provision of fresh fish for the Old Hall that once stood in the park
👉 the man made waterfall (photo 10) - a weir built to power a small hydroelectric plant to generate electricity for the hall, as mains electric didn't reach Connah's Quay until 1925.

The Old Hall, a Georgian Manor House is no longer there as it was demolished in 1960. The cellars still exist under the current visitor centre. And the formal gardens (photo 12 - 14) next to the visitor centre (photo 15) largely still follow the outline of the original gardens. 🌳

ℹ️ The visitor centre contains lots of information boards about Wepre Park. You can pick up a park map which contains excellent info on the site, as well as leaflets for other places of interest in Flintshire. Look out for info boards throughout the park too.
🚾 Toilets at both the visitor centre and in a separate block opposite the playground.
🍴 Cafe in the visitor centre with seating inside & out.
🚗 Free car park
🛝 Large playground next to the car park
🐶 Very dog friendly. Dogs allowed in the visitor centre/cafe. Dogs are only not allowed in the playground & within the boundary around Rosie Pool as it's a fishing site.

Have you discovered Wepre Park yet?

📍 Save for your future rambles!

14/08/2024

The second of the East Lancashire panopticons I visited on Sunday. This is The Atom situated in the upper reaches of Wycoller Country Park overlooking the village of Wycoller and across to Pendle Hill. And what a view it is... 💜

Like the other panopticons, the Atom is placed to draw attention to the landscape in which it sits and provides both a shelter and viewing platform, as well as being a cool sculpture to look at. 🤩

The panopticon project which culminated in 2007 (4 installations in total) is all part of the regeneration of East Lancashire and the sculptures stand as symbols of that development.

The Atom is constructed from ferro-cement and is coated with a layer of metal based paint. You can see it has weathered and coloured with the elements over the years.

🚗 There is a free car park right next to the Atom
🚶‍♀️ You can also walk up to the Atom from the village of Wycoller. It's a steep path in places, but a nice walk! There are footpaths in all directions so you could incorporate the Atom into a much longer circular route from the Wycoller village / country park car park.
ℹ️ There are info boards in the car park both on the panopticon and on Wycoller memorial forest, which you would walk through to get down to Wycoller. This board also shows a map with walking routes.

📍Save for future days out inspiration!

13/08/2024

Wow, what a structure! 🤩
I've finally been to see the Singing Ringing Tree which has been on my NW England bucket list for years! ✅

The Singing Ringing Tree is a panopticon that sits high on the hills overlooking Burnley in East Lancashire. And as you can see - the views are amazing, especially on a clear bright day which I had on Sunday.😎

As well as the prominent Pendle Hill, you can see as far as Ingleborough, Pen-y-ghent, Stoodley Pike and Winter Hill.

The panopticon project brought 4 different sculptures to East Lancs back in 2007. I've been to see the Halo (above Haslingden) many years ago, but had never got round to the other 3, until now. (The others being 'The Atom' at Wycoller and 'Colourfields' at Corporation Park in Blackburn)

The idea was to bring arts & culture into the outdoors to highlight and enhance landscapes and bring people out to explore and get in touch with their environment. They kind of act as symbols of the regeneration of East Lancashire. 🫶🏼

This one is more than just a cool sculpture though. It actually sings. The galvanised steel pipes harness wind energy to produce sound... apparently a 'low tuneful song'. Though I visited when it wasn't particularly windy, so the occasional low pitched whistle was all I heard.

Not all of the pipes sing however - some are just structural. They are tuned so they sing in harmony by having holes cut in the underside of the tube. It's just fascinating in my opinion!

🌳 There's plenty of land around the tree to sit with a picnic and there's a couple of benches as well.
🚗 There is a small car park nearby with a beautifully gravelled path to reach the sculpture making accessibility easy. It's only a short walk, but there is a reasonable gradient on part of the path.
🌮 Bins are situated in the carpark.
ℹ️ Info panels about the panopticon and the site are in the carpark and along the path.

📍 Save to your bucket list now for future reference!

What do you think of the tree? Cool... awesome.... or just plain weird? Are you a fan?

11/08/2024

Time to celebrate Worcester's architecture 💜
These are just some of the beautiful buildings I saw while following the Waddle of Worcester sculpture trail last week.
🫶🏼

10/08/2024

*NEW* on the Blog:
My Top 10 Beaches in Lanzarote.

From beautiful coves and wide windswept golden sands to wild and rugged black lava sand and pebble beaches, I've got you covered! There's a beach to suit everyone in here...

Discover the best beaches in Lanzarote from beautiful coves and vast windswept golden sands, to wild & rugged black lava sand and rocky pebble beaches.

06/08/2024

Spent a brilliant two days in Worcester following the great Waddle of Worcester sculpture trail!

Penguins are my absolute fave creature ever, so the moment I knew there was a penguin sculpture trail hitting the UK this year, I knew I'd be going... 💜

Unfortunately I hit Worcester on 2 of the hottest days of the year (last Thursday & Friday), so it was a bit uncomfortable walking round the trail... 🥵 Lots of mocktails were consumed at various establishments along the way and I found a wonderful spot to lie down under a tree by the penguin up at Fort Royal Park, admiring the beautiful view over the city and Malvern Hills.

So... here's the deets fellow penguin enthusiasts....🐧🐧🐧

The sculpture trail features 40 giant penguins painted by artists dotted around outdoor spaces around Worcester, as well as 40 small penguin chicks located throughout the shopping centres and city centre shop windows decorated by local school and community groups. 🎨

The penguins waddled into Worcester on the 22nd July and will be with us until the 15th September, at which point the large penguins will be spruced up ready for auction to raise money for local St Richard's Hospice. The chicks will be returned to their groups as a lasting memory of the event.

The trail is a fab way of exploring Worcester and the sculptures have been placed at many of the city's big attractions, highlighting what Worcester has to offer! You will clock up lots of steps finding them all. 🐾👣

There's a pop up shop in Crowngate shopping centre where you can pick up trail maps and lots of ace merchandise, and you can download an app (£1.99) to find all the locations, collect all the penguins codes and gain rewards along the way.

Have you been penguin spotting yet and which is your fave bird? 🐧🐧🐧

Wild in Art

27/07/2024

Of course, my trip to Woodside Wildlife Park was not all about the penguins! 🐧🐧 (See previous post)

The first meerkat photo sums up what most of the animals were feeling on the hottest day of 2024 so far! I've never seen meerkats in this position before... Scroll to the last few photos to see more of the heat exhausted meerkats! 🥵

Woodside is a lovely little wildlife centre, also known as Lincoln's Zoo as it sits just a few miles east of the city. We went on a Friday so it was quiet - I've never been the first person to enter an attraction before, but I managed it here! 💪
I'm sure it's far busier at weekends and during school hols of course.

There's a wide variety of animals to see including Canadian Lynx, Hudson Bay wolves, Red Pandas, Colombian Black Spider Monkeys, lemurs, otters and of course Humboldt Penguins.

There's plenty of talks, demonstrations and feeding times to watch. There's a barn theatre where the 'amazing animal show' takes place, and you can always take part in a VIP encounter like I did with Penguins.

If you like a zoo, I can highly recommend a trip to Woodside. 🫶🏼

Do you have a fave zoo animal? Meerkats definitely come in a close second to penguins for me! 🐧

25/07/2024

Bucket list item: ✅

Penguins are my fave creature ever and getting to meet and feed these Humboldt Penguins was amazing! 🐧🐧🐧

Thanks to the amazing team at Woodside Wildlife Park in Lincolnshire for a brilliant experience and making dreams come true! Their VIP penguin encounter was excellent.

Keeper Toby was very knowledgeable, approachable and happy to answer any questions!

There were just 5 of us doing the experience, so we all got plenty of fish to feed the ravenous bunch of birds! Anyone would think they'd never been fed as they scrambled over your shoes and each other to sn**ch fish out of your fingers. But no...they're just super greedy! 😂

We also got to see behind the scenes, learn about the water filtration process, how the penguins are looked after and of course, get our fingers dirty preparing the fish with necessary medication for the birds. Luckily we did not get tasked with making sure each penguin got one of the medicated fish. We instead provided the distraction that enabled Toby to manage this, lol...

🐧🐧🐧

Cannot recommend the experience enough...if you love penguins, this is so worth doing! The birds are just so adorable, each with their own quirks and characters.

One particular penguin called Ketchup (photo 1, 8 & 9) who was hand reared due to both his parents passing away, thinks he's really a human and stood with the keeper when all the other penguins were in water awaiting food at feeding time. He seemed to think he deserved his own supply of fish and could just help himself from the bucket! 🤦‍♀️😂

The VIP encounters are done at the beginning of the day, so then you get the rest of the day to spend in the wildlife park as you wish! This for me included several more trips back to see my beauties. You have to catch normal feeding times where you see the penguins racing across their pool from one end to the other after their food.

📍 Save to add to your bucket list! And any questions about the experience, drop me a comment below 👇

28/06/2024

This looks like a fantastic trail and one I hope to get to soon! Go check it out...🤩