The Titanic in Southampton: a visit to the SeaCity museum

Last week I found myself in Southampton for the day (as you do). My first thought was that I must go to the Tudor House (as some of you might know, I love history - and especially the 16th Century). Unfortunately, this is closed on Fridays - and of course that's the day I was there. So, I moved onto plan B, to find out about the Titanic, and it was a good decision...

[caption id="attachment_4533" align="alignnone" width="1200"] This is the Tudor House - it certainly looked lovely from the outside![/caption]

Instead of the Tudor house (which I did visit to see it from the outside), I went to the lovely SeaCity Museum, which is a real gem of a place. It has a number of permanent exhibits as well as a little shop and lovely cafe. Helpfully, it also has lockers for large bags (you have to pay for these, but mine only cost a few pounds).

The exhibit which caught my attention, and which I spent a lovely hour and a half or so being fascinated by, was one on the Titanic. This was extremely well done, educational, interactive and sad. Plus, it was definitely worth the £8.50 entrance fee (£6 for kids).

The Titanic set off from Southampton

Although you may associate the Titanic with Belfast, it actually set off from Southampton. This means that many of those who worked on the ship lived in the Southampton area. In fact almost 409 of the ships crew lived in Chapel and Northam, two of the poorest distracts in Southampton, and of the 897 crew members, three quarters were living in Southampton in the days before the ship set sail.

Bringing the people to life

The exhibition is very good at personalising the experience. It gives you background of a number of those who were on the "unsinkable" ship, from the second officer, Charles Herbert Lightoller, to the first class Stewardesss Mabel Bennett, who was only 30 then, but already a widow, with a young daughter she had to leave behind (of course, she was paid less then than the male stewards). You don't know what happened to all these people until near the end, by which time you have built up a relationship with them. It's very clever.

Life in Southampton in 1912

The exhibit begins with an explanation of what it was like in Southampton at that time - the divide between rich and poor, the ongoing strikes and the numbers of unemployed (17,000 in April 1912). Many of the locals had never been to sea before, but were very happy about the opportunities that the Titanic brought.

You then walk across a bridge as if you are walking onto the Titanic - and there's sound effects to make it all sound that much more realistic.

[caption id="attachment_4535" align="alignnone" width="1200"] A carved wooden panel from the top of the Olympic ship's grand staircase - the Titanic had one just like it[/caption]

There are clothes to try on and people to find out about, as well as letters from those on the ship and details of all the provisions on board. There is also a beautiful recreation of what the grand staircase looked like - just like the film in fact!

You learn about lots of little details (first class passengers had use of a lift to go from deck to deck) and can also try out shovelling coal (hard work - I was not very good!) and steering the ship.

Tragedy struck

[caption id="attachment_4536" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Steward Sidney Sedunary was carrying this watch in this pocket - it's stopped at 1.50, about half an hour before the Titanic sinks. His watch was recovered when his body was found.[/caption]

It was just before midnight on April 14 1912 that the Titanic struck the iceberg. No one was prepared for what followed - and more than 1500 people died when the ship sank, in less than three hours.

The exhibition is particularly good at giving you an idea of what happened and the scale of the deaths. There is a room where you can sit and listen to the audio of those who survived and it's very moving. For example, you hear Eva Hart, who was then 7, say of her father: "He told me to hold my mummy's hand and be a good girl and that was it. I never saw him again."

After being "on" the ship, you go into a courtroom where you can listen to the voices of actors recreating the hearing into what happened and some of the experts asking questions. Some of these questions and answers are shocking - the lookout man saying there were no binoculars on board, and that if there had been he could have seen the iceberg earlier and the ship could have got out of the way. There were also no searchlights. There are newspapers from the time to look at and telegrams giving both good and bad news "regret, not saved," one widow is told.

[caption id="attachment_4537" align="alignnone" width="1200"] This map contains red dots which mark the address of a member of the Titanic's crew who was lost when the ship sank[/caption]

The exhibit is extremely good and definitely captured the interest of both adults and children making their way around it. I felt it gave a different view on what happened on the Titanic and made it personal and extremely moving. I went round more slowly than if I had been with a young child, but the children I saw did seem engaged in it all, especially the interactive parts.

More Southampton history

SeaCity has more than this exhibit though - there is one on Southampton as a Gateway to the World, which gives you background on the many people who have come to the area from all over the world (this is excellent) and another on Southampton's Stories, which showcases different topics such as work, pastimes and working life. It's a lovely museum, very hands-on, and I would recommend it wholeheartedly.

The SeaCity museum is located right near the historic clock tower, Havelock Road, Southampton, SO14 7FY. Its the BBC South studios.

It's open 10-5pm seven days a week and costs £8.50 per adult, or £25 for a family ticket - two adults and up to three children.

More English Cities:

What to do in Norwich (by all of us).

Beautiful Lincoln

A football trip to Manchester

What to do on a family holiday in Dorset

[caption id="attachment_4502" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Us at the beautiful Durdle Door[/caption]

Robert, who's 14, is back to tell you about our summer family holiday in Dorset - a place we would highly recommend.

Over to him:

"At the beginning of the summer holidays my parents and I drove to Dorset for a wonderfully relaxing and enjoyable week-long visit. We stayed in a cottage around a ten-minute drive from Weymouth. It had two rooms, a bathroom with a shower, a kitchen area, living room and basically everything you would want in a living accommodation. It was a lovely place to relax in the evening; reading books, watching TV and playing games. 

Weymouth  

[caption id="attachment_4504" align="alignnone" width="1200"] On Weymouth Beach[/caption]

To say Weymouth is busy on a summer weekend is a huge understatement. Parking was hard to come by (although we did find a space every time) and the beaches and streets were bustling with locals and tourists alike. However, it never felt too crowded and there weren’t long queues for refreshments or long waits to get a meal. The beach was lovely – we rented deckchairs for £2 each – and spent a good few hours there on our first day. The sea was amazing to paddle, wade and swim in as there were basically no waves at all - due to the natural defences at Chesil beach.  

There are so many places to get an ice-cream or slushie in Weymouth and even more places to get yourself a quick lunch in the afternoon. Be warned though: a majority of the cafes and shops close relatively early and on our first night we found ourselves wandering the streets for a while before deciding on getting food to heat up at home. Weymouth and the surrounding area is not short of massive supermarkets and we had dinner in our cottage every night bar one, so the shops closing early is not a major problem. 

Chesil Beach 

[caption id="attachment_4505" align="alignnone" width="1200"] The stunning Chesil Beach[/caption]

After relaxing in the sand on Weymouth’s coastline we drove about twenty minutes to a completely different type of beach. Chesil beach is the largest tombolo in the UK and is 28 kilometres of pure pebbles which increase in size as you move across. The stretch is classified as a Heritage site so you are not allowed to take any rocks home with you although you can obviously pick them up. The sheer size of the beach was impressive and it was a beautiful to go and have a look at. There is a great exhibition about the beach inside the visitor centre with lots of things to touch and look at including fossils, animal bones and millions of years old rocks. For a free attraction I would definitely recommend going, if only to have a quick look. 

[caption id="attachment_4506" align="alignnone" width="900"] One of the exhibits at the Chesil Beach Visitor Centre[/caption]

Cycling 

The next day we set out on a cycling trip organised by Jurassic Trails. We got our bikes and helmets then proceeded to begin our journey down the many cycle lanes and general streets in the area. We got lost almost straight away, we’ll blame it on the lack of clear signs, and ended up following a route we made up using the map we were given. We then lost Dad and pulled over but ended up stumbling across a strange sculpture, so really Mum and I came out of the loss pretty well. It was fun and exhilarating cycling around Dorset, although my bottom and legs were aching by the end of it. Even after a lot of wrong turns and small pavements that we walked down with our bikes it was still a thoroughly enjoyable day and cycling up and down the seafront near Bowleaze was one of the highlights of the trip. Although this bears no relevance to this post you may be amused to read that we went cycling on the day of what I can only assume to be some sort of Dorset Marathon which brought the difficulty level up significantly when cycling down the lanes shared for both walking and biking. 

Hiring the bikes from Jurassic Trails cost £54 for the three of us and could be used for the whole day. We thought this was pretty good!

Windsurfing 

[caption id="attachment_4509" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Robert tries out windsurfing[/caption]

On our third day I went windsurfing at the Official Test Centre in Portland.  My only vaguely similar experience in my life was going Water-skiing in Greece three and a half years ago so I entered a complete beginner but came out, quoting the words of my instructor, “a natural”. I got the hang of it practically straight away; there was a secure position, a sailing position and the act of turning around. Once you learn those – which we did on the shore – the only difficulty is keeping your balance and not falling in. The two hour session went by quickly and I would definitely try it again – possibly in windier conditions than the test centre. The water is so shallow and the one time I fell, my feet touched the floor so there is no reason to be scared. The centre also teaches paddle boarding which is an easier water sport that you could attempt if you wanted. 

Robert's two-hour taster lesson was complimentary (lucky us!) but would have cost £49. The Official Test Centre is on Portland, just past Chesil Beach. Although they gifted us the session, they had no input into this blog post.

Castletown D-Day centre 

Earlier that day we visited the Castletown D-Day centre, an activity which my parents weren’t too scared to take part in. The museum was one of the best I’ve been to in a while, due to the fact that there were so many interactive things to do which seemed to be one of the things the owner had been really pushing for when building the centre.
There were tanks and army vehicles you could climb in and move, videos to watch, boards to read as well as proper army uniform and an array of guns that you could wear and pick up. Upstairs was a surprisingly creepy enemy bunker focusing on the Germans and their experience of D-Day, and a tea-room where we coincidentally saw the museum's owner who we had just been watching in the videos downstairs! The centre is only open between 10.30 – 3.30 but it was really fun and interesting, the staff really knew their stuff and it was a really nice place to go. We ended up spending a lot more time there than we had expected to.

The Castletown D Day Centre is situated in Portland, where thousands of American soldiers stayed before they left for France in 1944. It costs £7 for adults, £5 for 12-17 year olds and £4 for children. 

Natural Landscape 

[caption id="attachment_4511" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Lulworth Cove[/caption]

Throughout the holiday went to some beautiful places including Lulworth Cove – a stunning bay with about 100 places to get an ice-cream, Opa Church Cove, a small rocky area on Portland which was once used by smugglers, and the area around the Portland Bill Lighthouse – not to mention many other beautiful views and beaches that we visited. The most amazing place to see however was Durdle Door – a natural limestone arch in the sea.

[caption id="attachment_4512" align="alignnone" width="1200"] The stunning Durdle Door[/caption]

Although quite a long walk from the car park it was a beautiful sight and the rocky beach preceding it was a great place to swim, relax and stare in awe. There were so many places of natural beauty in Dorset and they made the holiday feel much more relaxed than constantly visiting museums and man-made attractions. 

Jurassic Coast 

[caption id="attachment_4513" align="alignnone" width="1200"] An ammonite (fossil) found on Charmouth Beach[/caption]

The most unique activity we participated in throughout the trip was definitely our fossil tour on the Jurassic Coast. Our tour guide Martin, from Jurassic Coast Guides, explained how different fossils are formed and helped us remember what they look like and how to spot them. After the talk, which lasted about an hour, and a toilet break which gladly lasted less than an hour, we set off down the coastline to find some fossils. Martin had explained the places with the best chance of finding a fossil but even before we got to them he had found a few which he let us “find” and keep after giving us the general area it was in. This stayed the case for the majority of the two hours we spent on the beach. Although grouped together, Mum, Dad and I found three, maybe four traces of fossilised creatures to Martin’s 20 or so more impressive ones. The whole experience was really interesting and fun and we came home with a bag full of 14 190 million year old rocks. If you are considering going fossil hunting, on the Jurassic Coast or elsewhere I would definitely recommend doing it as part of a tour or with someone experienced and we would have had no clue whatsoever if we had gone on our own. 

Private fossil hunting walk with Jurassic Coast Guides costs £100. We were fortunate enough to be given one for gree in order to write about. However, no one from the company has had any input into this piece, which is also our (particularly Robert's) opinions.

Dorset Adventure Park 

[caption id="attachment_4514" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Corfe Castle[/caption]

Our hour at Dorset Adventure Park felt much longer – it was one of the most fun activities of the holiday and Mum and Dad really enjoyed it as well even though they were in the water for most of it!  Everything is inflatable and if you only fall off you have to swim to nearest entry point or attempt to climb back on where someone pulls you up by the lifejacket.

Read more about our trip to this brilliant park and also nearby Corfe Castle in this post from Robert.

Sea life and adventure golf 

[caption id="attachment_4515" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Playing crazy golf![/caption]

We only spent an hour or so in Weymouth’s Sea Life as we saw all the different attractions and didn’t stick around at each for too long. However, for younger kids it looked like a great place to visit – there were at least five different schools visiting when we went. Our favourite bit was the “shipwreck” with lots of cool sea life to see inside: jellyfish, crabs and fish and we also liked seeing some otters being fed – one of the events that occur throughout the day. There were seals, sharks, turtles and penguins as well as lots more cool things to see for children to enjoy. We also visited the Pirate Adventure Golf just outside which was really fun. Beware though, we went in the morning around when it had just opened and it was extremely busy, meaning long waits to play the next hole. 

A Pirate Adventure Golf & Weymouth SEALIFE combi ticket (booked online) is Adult £24.95, Child (3-14) £20.95. We were lucky enough to be given these in order to write about them, but the organisation had no input into this blog post.

Overall I loved going to Dorset and is my favourite holiday in the UK in many years – if not my whole life. Coincidence that Jess didn’t come on this one! It was so nice not to go to a bustling city and just visit museums and theme parks – although I could’ve done with a few rides; instead there were beautiful coves and beaches and activities involving nature. On top of that there were so many delicious foods to sample, I’m pretty sure I had more ice-creams than days of the holiday! If you are thinking of going to a place in England I would wholeheartedly recommend Dorset as we spent a week there and there were still loads of things we didn’t do or visit. There are definitely enough things for adults, teenagers and children and I hope to go back again in the future." 

Disclosure: Visit Dorset helped us to plan our holiday, but had no input into this blog post. They have information for everything to do across the county.

Read more on family holidays in the UK: 

A family trip to Cornwall

What to do in beautiful Pembrokeshire

Why we loved Lincoln (and are sure you would too!)

Dorset Adventure Park and Corfe Castle in Dorset

[caption id="attachment_4483" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Sarah in front of Corfe Castle[/caption]

We recently went on holiday to Dorset (a long blog post is on its way!). Here is one of the days which my son, Robert, who's 14, enjoyed the most and which he would highly recommend. It begins with Corfe Castle.

As regular readers of this blog will know, I am a history buff and love castles. Corfe Castle (a National Trust Property), which is located on the Isle of Purbeck, between Wareham and Swanage, is spectacular! It was built by William the Conquerer and has a long, magnificent history, not least the story of how the Royalists in the castle tried to hold out against the Roundheads during the English Civil War of the 17th century.

Corfe Castle is also the name of the very pretty village in which the castle is located and it's gorgeous to walk around - and to have an ice-cream or cream tea (or both!).

Let Robert tell you more:

Corfe Castle

Corfe Castle, or the ruins of Corfe castle, is a great place to go. Not only is it visually stunning, with great views of the architecture from the bottom of the hill and great views of the surrounding area on top – it is also a historic landmark with lots of boards to read and find out about what happened at the castle.

There are also lots of activities for kids of all ages.

[caption id="attachment_4484" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Robert helps to hold up the ruins![/caption]

Dorset Adventure Park

After our visit to Corfe Castle, we moved onto Dorset Adventure Park, which is only about 5 minutes away. Our hour in the water there felt much longer – it was one of the most fun activities of the holiday and Mum and Dad really enjoyed it as well, even though they were in the water for most of it!

Once kitted in our wetsuits and life jackets we walked to the first lake, called Castle Lake, because you can see Corfe Castle from the water, where we spent half an hour running, jumping and falling off obstacles. There were narrow poles to climb over, large hills to climb, and trampolines and other singular obstacles floating in the water. Everything is inflatable and if you fall off you have to swim to nearest entry point or attempt to climb back on where someone pulls you up by the life jacket. After Mum and Dad fell off multiple times before clearing the first obstacle I ended my fits of laughter and ran off on my own.

The next lake, the Woodland Lake, was even better – it had air bags, monkey bars and bigger slides, to name a few. There was also a tightrope with ropes to cling onto hovering above the water which I attempted many times but could not clear the third. At least I attempted it though, unlike my Mum and Dad!

[caption id="attachment_4485" align="alignnone" width="1200"] You can just see the Castle Lake and inflatables in this picture - in front of Corfe Castle[/caption]

There were about 10-15 obstacles or so in each lake and it never got boring.

If going with someone other than your parents you could race around the track or if you are really courageous you could hold battles where you try to push off your opponents.

The Adventure park was great to visit although it only takes up about two hours of your day. Corfe Castle was just a few minutes away so you could create a nice day out visiting the two.

We don't have any great pics of the water park because we had to put away our clothes and phone/camera!

[caption id="attachment_4486" align="alignnone" width="1200"] The castle ruins are really spectacular[/caption]

Need to know:

Corfe Castle is a National Trust property, and so free for National Trust members. Otherwise it has different costs for peak and off-peak times. The summer is peak time and it costs £10 for adults, £5 for children or £25 for a family ticket.

There are loads of activities over the summer for families, so do check out their website.

Dorset Adventure Park is open every day in the school holiday and costs £15 a person. You can also hire wetsuits and shoes, or bring your own.

Disclosure: We received free entry into Dorset Adventure Park in order to write about it. However, all the opinions in this blog post are our own and no one else had any input into them.

For more about Dorset, see the Visit Dorset website

Don't miss our post on what to do in Dorset - also written by Robert!

Read more:

A great day out at Thorpe Park (by Robert)

Cakes, a castle and cathedral, what to do in Lincoln

A visit to majestic Casa Loma, in Toronto

The Postal Museum in London: a ticket to ride

[caption id="attachment_4446" align="alignnone" width="1200"] The wall by the Postal Museum[/caption]

As Londoners, we have explored our home city pretty well over the years. We’ve enjoyed big attractions like the Science Museum, and sought out smaller ones like Dr Johnson’s House. We’ve travelled in different directions, from north to Kenwood House, across the river to the glories of Greenwich. So we were pretty excited at the thought of visiting a new museum – especially one with a ride...

The Postal Museum is great – I should say that straight up – and unique. It’s genuinely interesting (I had no idea that post boxes were originally green, for example) and has been very carefully thought out so that the interactive parts work well and also informative. There are loads of interesting exhibits and artefacts, and you can even design your own stamp!

[caption id="attachment_4447" align="alignnone" width="1200"] The Mail Rail ride at the Postal Museum,[/caption]

Where is it?

The Museum is on two sites, near the former Mount Pleasant depot in Clerkenwell, London.  The first involves the ride – on a real mail train – and for most people it’s the highlight. I should admit right now, that I could not bring myself to go on this as I don’t like very small enclosed spaces, but Brian, Robert and Jess really enjoyed their 15 minute journey and I could watch it all on a screen just behind the track, so didn’t really feel I missed out.

History in action

I can’t imagine that many people know that a postal railway network operated under London for much of the 20^th century. It distributed letters and parcels across the city, from Paddington to Whitechapel (around 6.5 miles) on specially designed trains, cutting down delivery times dramatically and delivering millions of letters each day.

It was actually the world’s first driverless electric railway when it opened in 1927, and visitors can travel in a specially adapted train into these underground tunnels. They take you back in time, past a dartboard on a wall, which the workers – who loaded the bags of letters - used to play on between shifts, into the Blitz and even a powercut (I was glad not to be on the train for that one.....)

The service closed in 2003 – basically because we’ve stopped sending so much post (damned Internet!)

Once you disembark from the Mail Rail, there’s an accompanying exhibition which is well worth your time. You can see the original trains, try to keep the trains running by controlling the network (this was tricky) and sort the mail while the ground is moving (we all liked this one!).

The second half

After you’ve finished with the Mail Rail part, cross the road and walk up a little bit and you can visit the actual Postal Museum Exhibition. This is small, but really good, taking you right back to the history of the mail service, when Henry VIII was on the throne, to the present day.

You can see an original mail coach, a sheet of Penny Blacks, and the original sculpture of the Queen’s head which has been used on millions of stamps. You can also dress up, and find out about how the post was delivered in war time. I found this really moving.

[caption id="attachment_4449" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Rare Edward VIII stamps on show[/caption]

There’s also a playspace “Sorted” for younger kids.

Robert, aged 13, says:

"I really enjoyed all the interactive activities to take part in that were scattered around the museum. You could make custom stamps that you could decorate with your face and an array of animated decorations. You could also play electronic games, one in which you pick which way to go to complete the quickest delivery route and another in which you make important decisions regarding the safety of the mail, your passengers and your deadline to deliver. Those activities were really fun although they weren’t something you would want to do numerous times.

“However, there was one activity I could’ve kept doing for hours (which I almost did!). It was the pneumatic mail delivery tubes and involved writing messages before placing them in mail capsules and then pushing them into chutes which transported your message all around the exhibition before dropping it off at the alternate station. Whoever was at that station would then write back so you could have a fun conversation with the person the receiving end.”

[caption id="attachment_4450" align="alignnone" width="900"] Postboxes were originally green![/caption]

All in all, we would recommend The Postal Musem as a great day out for all ages. You should book the Mail Rail in advance as it gets extremely popular and afterwards, either eat in the cafe, or take a quick walk to Exmouth Market, which is full of shops and stalls.

Need to know

The Postal Musum is open every day from 10 till 5pm

Entry to the exhibitions costs £11 for adults and is free for children.

A trip on the Mail Rail and the exhibitions is £17.45 for adults and £10.45 for children.

You can find more information on the museum's website.

Magnificent Pembroke Castle - a must see in Wales

[caption id="attachment_3949" align="alignnone" width="1200"] At the top of the keep[/caption]

I love a good castle and am delighted to tell you that Pembroke Castle in Wales is a very good castle indeed! In fact, it’s one of the best we’ve ever visited, and probably the only one which you come upon simply by walking along a High Street. Here’s why you should visit too.

Pembroke is a magnificently preserved medieval building. The first castle at the site was built way back in 1093, during the Norman invasion of Wales. A century later it was given to William Marshal, later to become one of the most powerful men in the kingdom, as a faithful supporter of Henry II, Richard I and John and adviser on the Magna Carta. If you haven’t heard of him before, you really should have!

We were told about Marshal by our wonderful guide, Gareth, a retired history teacher, who really brought history alive. He was absolutely fabulous and I would definitely recommend taking a guided tour if you visit the castle. We learnt so much – and everyone, of all ages, was enthralled.

Gareth told us all about the brilliant positioning of the castle, with water on three sides. This means it is much easier to defend than many other similar buildings. In addition, the gatehouse is a marvel, and invaders would find it almost impossible to get through – they’d have to survive the murder and spear holes first! The outer wall is also five metres thick.

It was William Marshal who turned the castle into such an impressive Norman stone building. The Earl Marshal was also responsible for the magnificent keep with its innovative stone roof (wooden roofs risked being set on fire). The keep is nearly 80 feet high and the walls are six metres thick at its base.

[caption id="attachment_3951" align="alignnone" width="900"] The keep[/caption]

Gareth told us so much about the castle’s history, about the dungeons and the cave, called Wogan's Cavern, which could be used for provisions, and which we visited, going down the 55 step spiral staircase.

[caption id="attachment_3952" align="alignnone" width="1200"] By the steps down to the cave[/caption]

The castle is lovely to walk around – you can amble along the ramparts or climb to the top of the keep and other parts of it too, enjoying some terrific views. It doesn’t look that big from the outside, but inside there is so much space

In one of the towers there is also a display recreating the birth of Henry Tudor, later to become Henry VII, in 1457. This was the man who founded one of the most famous of all dynasties. Gareth had a fascinating tale about all this, including his views on Henry’s mother, Margaret Beaufort, who he thinks may well have been responsible for the disappearance of the Princes in the Tower.

We would highly recommend a visit here, and especially a tour, but do be aware that, if you want to go up to the top of the keep, or down to the cave, you will encounter a lot of steep steps.

Pembroke Castle has so much to offer and we felt we could have spent longer there. We would have liked to have looked in detail at some of the exhibits on show and explored more, but there was so much to do on our trip to Pembrokeshire, that we just didn’t have time.....

Pembroke Castle is open daily. Tours take place three times a day during June, July and August, at 11am, 1pm and 3pm. During September and October, they are twice a day, at 11.30 and 1.45pm and during November, December, January and February once a day from noon.

Tours are included in the price of admission, which is £6.60 per adult, £5.50 per child (with under threes going free).

There is so much to do in the beautiful area of Pembrokeshire - take a look at Visit Pembrokeshire for more information and read our posts on:

Folly Farm and overview of our trip

More castles:

Lincoln Castle - Magna Carta, gorgeous views and the most unusual chapel

An awesome time at Hever Castle

Visiting London's Natural History Museum as a teenager

[caption id="attachment_3880" align="alignnone" width="1024"] (pic by John Cummings via Wikimedia Commons)[/caption]

Jess, aged 15, writes: I visited the Natural History Museum frequently when I was younger (in fact, one of my earliest memories is looking at the dinosaurs), but I hadn't been for at least five years until one of my friends suggested a visit. It's strange being a teenager at museums: exhibits are either super babyish or ridiculously quiet and intellectual, and attempts at appealing to teenagers usually involve cringe-y "LOL"s and hashtags. We wondered if the museum had changed much since we last visited it, and if there would be anything for us.

We started out in the "Red Zone", which is all about earth's structure. My friend and I were instantly entranced by the entrance: an escalator leading into a giant model of the earth. It seemed like the start of a ride at Disneyworld! The first exhibition was one I remembered from years ago - "Volcanoes and Earthquakes". Despite both of us being Geography GCSE students and already knowing most of the facts, we really enjoyed the exhibition - it was colourful, in depth, relatively up to date, and had lots to see and do. Particular highlights were casts from Pompeii and a supermarket that simulates the 1996 Great Hanshin earthquake.

[caption id="attachment_3878" align="alignnone" width="753"] (photo courtesy of the Natural History Museum)[/caption]

Next, we passed through the "Human Evolution" and "Earth's Treasures" galleries, which we found fascinating. "Human Evolution" features lots of realistic models of different human species over time, and "Earth's Treasures" is full of minerals and jewels of every size and colour. While these were definitely exciting to look at, it was also very interesting to learn about mineral structure and history of metals. My friend and I were pleasantly surprised - we didn't remember any of this from when we were younger, and it was set at a perfect level for us.

Next came the "Blue Zone", which was all about biology. We both remembered this room, which contains a gigantic blue whale model. There was a lot to see and do, and while everything was impressive, we got bored very quickly. Everything was exactly the same as we remembered, and it seemed quite faded and repetitive. However, there was another exhibition about human biology which we really enjoyed - while it was old, unchanged, and some things didn't work, there were lots of games to play and videos to watch. We enjoyed a game where you had to keep a boy alive by monitoring breathing rates, food consumption and more (we failed), circus mirrors, and an unintentionally funny video about getting hurt while being scared of a dog. We learnt nothing, but it was a lot of fun!

Next came the dinosaurs, which we were really looking forward to. This was the busiest part of the museum, and as expected, it was seemingly unchanged from when we were younger. The dinosaurs were as gigantic and awe-inspring as ever, and we spent a long time in the exhibition. However, this wasn't our favourite part of the museum...

The "Treasures" gallery is something I had never ever heard of before, but my friend and I thought it was amazing. It is a collection of 22 of the most remarkable objects in the museums collection, and we spent about 40 minutes just in this small room. This includes pages from the world's most expensive book: ("John James Audubon's Birds of America"), and my personal favourite, an emperor penguin egg collected on Captain Robert Falcon Scott's expedition to Antarctica. This was with the aim of finding a link between reptiles and birds by looking at the penguin's embryo. My friend and I were shocked and amazed by this story, and I went home and looked it up to find out more. Here's a video from the museum:

[kad_youtube url="https://youtu.be/PdBT670fiCQ" width=200 height=100 ]

Overall, my friend and I had a really great time at the Natural History museum. We learnt a lot and had a lot of fun interacting with the exhibits. However, we thought that the famous parts of the museum (the dinosaurs and the mammals) weren't as interesting as the rest of it. We definitely had a good time, but we won't be making a return visit, seeing as it hasn't really changed that much.

Entrance to the Natural History Museum is free, although there is a charge for some exhibitions. The Treasures Gallery is now undergoing refurbishment, but will reopen this summer.

Heavenly monarchs: why you should visit St George's Chapel, Windsor

Did you know that Henry VIII  - one of the most famous monarchs of all time - and Charles I – who famously lost his head - are buried in the same tomb? And do you know that the parents of our current Queen, Elizabeth II, are buried together at the same location?

If not, then a trip to the gothic style St George’s Chapel, in Windsor is in order. This is a magnificent place, containing the tombs of 10 monarchs and open to the public not just for exploring, but also for Church services. It may be far less well-known than Windsor castle – the oldest occupied castle in the world, which is right next to it – but you really shouldn’t miss out on the chance of a visit.

St George’s Chapel is still a working Church which runs at least three services, all open to the public, each day. It welcomes worshippers from all over the world and is an architectural wonder, full of history and beauty. It’s also full of reminders that this is a royal building and its purpose is to pray for the sovereign and the knights of the garter, the highest order of chivalry, which still exists today*.

The chapel was founded by King Edward III in 1348, but during the Wars of the Roses, in the 15^th century, Edward IV wanted it to be bigger, as well as grand enough to be his own burial place. So, he rebuilt it from 1475. And he was the first monarch to be buried there, in a tomb shared by his wife Elizabeth Woodville, which you can still see today.

There are so many things to see here, whether you choose to walk around by yourself and ask the volunteers questions, or follow an audio tour. It’s a beautiful place, with its long thin columns and light streaming in from the windows. Outside there are a number of wonderful grotesques which are meant to keep bad things away, while inside, the frieze of angels draws your eyes up (and are intended to bring your prayers upwards too!)

[caption id="attachment_3687" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Grotesques on the outside of St George's Chapel[/caption]

But in case this sounds like it wouldn’t be of interest to children, I think that’s wrong. There are so many interesting things to see here, from the sarcophagus of George V and Queen Mary, with his feet resting against a lion and hers against a unicorn, to the amazing golden altar, and there are also a number of family friendly trails to follow..

Another thing you shouldn’t miss – and which children will like too - is the sword of King Edward III, which hangs in the south quire aisle. It is a two handed sword and a huge 6ft 8. Remarkably it was made to be brought into battle, although I’m sure it would have been quite unwieldy, and it stands next to a portrait of the King who is carrying it in the picture (and using it, to pierce the crowns of both Scotland and France – then England’s enemies).

There are also a number of small chantry chapels (initially set up for saying masses for someone’s soul after they died) scattered around, which is fascinating, because these were mainly destroyed across the country during the Reformation. However, special dispensation was given so that they could continue at Windsor.

After George VI (the current Queen’s father) died, a hole was punched through a wall and a new chantry chapel built. It is very dignified, with just the names and dates of the lives of King George and his wife and a cross of gold on the altar. When you look at these, you are struck by how long Elizabeth the Queen Mother was a widow - over 50 years. The ashes of the Queen’s sister Princess Margaret, are also in this small chapel.

There is a beautiful quire in the centre of the chapel, full of seats for the Queen, Prince Charles and others in the royal family. This is where you see the flags of the members of the knights of the garter, which are all very impressive.

[caption id="attachment_3688" align="alignnone" width="1200"] There are royal reminders everywhere![/caption]

The whole place is remarkable, and has such history. Henry VII is buried here and Edward VII. There is a vault where George III, George IV and William IV are buried too.

Possibly one of the most remarkable things about the chapel is the simple black stone slab in the middle of the quire. It says that Henry VIII, Jane Seymour (his third wife, and mother of Edward VI), Charles I and “an infant child of Queen Anne” are buried there. It seems quite bizarre that they are all buried together and it wasn’t really the plan.

[caption id="attachment_3689" align="alignnone" width="1200"] St George's chapel with Windsor Castle just behind it[/caption]

In fact, Henry had a lavish tomb planned, but none of his children put it up and the sarcophagus eventually went to London, where it was used for the tomb of Admiral Horatio Nelson! So, Henry was just left there, buried below ground, waiting for his great tomb to be built. In later years, the body of Charles I was also brought here after his execution and many years later, William IV couldn’t believe there were no markings or memorial for  either of them. So, He marked it with this simple plaque. Honestly, you couldn’t make it up.

The chapel is open for visitors: Monday to Saturday 10am-4pm and for services throughout the day, from Holy Communion at 8.30 to Evensong at 5.15. On Sunday the Chapel is closed to visitors, but you are welcome to attend services.
You can enter the chapel with your ticket to Windsor Castle (which you can visit first). It costs £20.50 for an adult or £53 for two adults and three children under 17.

You can't take photographs inside the chapel - sorry!

Windsor is about 20 miles west of London, in the county of Berkshire. It is very easily accessible, and you can take a train from London (Waterloo or Paddington stations) and be there in less than an hour.

*Initially a group of knights brought together by Edward II, now it’s men and women from across the commonwealth, from Baroness Manningham-Buller, the former Director-General of MI5 to John Major, the ex Prime Minister.

More history:

Fotheringhay - where Richard III was born

The day I saw Queen Elizabeth II (by Robert)

The Jewel Tower, Westminster, London

London is packed full of amazing places to see, some famous and some which you have to search out. There is so much history and beauty here, great theatre, art galleries and museums - and as you'll know, if you're a regular reader of this blog, we like to explore as much of it as possible!

Although I'm a big fan of the Westminster area of London, I hadn't, until recently, discovered the Jewel Tower, which is right opposite the House of Lords. If you're coming to London, a walk around here is a must, to take in Parliament Square, with its iconic statues (including Winston Churchill and Nelson Mandela), Big Ben and, of course, the Houses of Parliament themselves. Exploring the Jewel Tower is kind of an added extra - I wouldn't come here just for this, but a a visit won't take you very long, and is intriguing.

It's history buffs (like me) who will really enjoy this place. The Jewel Tower dates back almost 650 years - it was built originally in around 1365 to house Edward III’s treasures, mainly gold and silver - and is very different to the rest of the Gothic Houses of Parliament. In fact, it's one of only two buildings from the Medieval "Palace of Westminster" to survive the fire of 1834.

The Tower is three stories high, but not very wide. It originally had a moat going round it and you can see this when you go outside (although it's gravel now)..

It's a small place, the kind which will only take you an hour, or even less, to look around. We enjoyed our visit (be warned - there are steep stairs), finding out about the history and seeing the eight pieces of medieval sculpture (initially from Westminster Hall) which you can find on the upper floor. They date back to the late 11th century! We also enjoyed the old records room, which is in one of the turrets and is entered through an iron door which bears the date 1621 and the cipher of King James I, as well as seeing the items on display in the various cases, including a sword which was over 1000 years old.

[caption id="attachment_3487" align="alignnone" width="675"] The door to the Turret Room, with the year and James 1's cipher on it[/caption]

The tower was used for storing the treasures of many monarchs until 1512, when Henry VIII was on the throne and relocated his court to Whitehall.In 1547, an inventory listed an whole range of objects including clothing, table and bed linen, furniture, gaming-tables and even toy dolls used by Henry VIII’s daughters, Mary and Elizabeth.It seems it had become a bit of a overflow house!

Later on, the House of Lords began to use it as a repository for all its parliamentary records (these are now in a new archive), while later still it was used for storing and testing official weights and measures.

When we went into the shop afterwards, we enjoyed seeing some 14th century carvings on the ceiling, and some weights and measures on the wall. And it meant that I finally understood what a bushel and a peck are (they're in a famous song from Guys and Dolls, but I had never seen them before!)

Our visit to the Jewel Tower was free as we are English Heritage members. It costs £4.70 for adults and £2.80 for children. You can find out more about it on the English Heritage website.

More London history:

Taking a tour up Big Ben

A visit to Highgate Cemetery

Bosworth Battlefield - where Richard III died

[caption id="attachment_2454" align="alignnone" width="1200"] All of us in front of the battlefield[/caption]

Richard III must be one of the most famous (or infamous) monarchs ever, and that’s despite being king for just two years, from 1483 to 1485. His reign heralded the beginning of the end of the Wars of the Roses and his death ushered in possibly the most well-known royal family of all, the Tudors, plus of course, there is the question of the Princes in the Tower and a reputation forever damaged by Shakespeare’s iconic play.

Richard has also been in the news more recently as his body was discovered in a Leicester car park back in 2013. We visited the Richard III Visitor Centre in Leicester last year and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. In fact, we seem to have been on something of a Richard odyssey, as we also had a trip to beautiful Fotheringhay, where Richard was born. And now we’ve just returned from BOSWORTH, the battlefield where Richard was slain, and where he became the last English king to die in battle.

Bosworth is in Leicestershire and is, I may as well say right here, an excellent place for a day out, with or without the kids. The site has been beautifully maintained and is huge. When we went, there were lots of groups there enjoying the sun and outdoors. It’s free to walk around the site – although you do have to pay £2.50 for parking (I wonder if this should be free for those visiting the exhibition).

[caption id="attachment_2455" align="alignnone" width="1200"] It was beautiful walking around the sites[/caption]

We very much enjoyed our walk around the battlefield site, enjoyed the views, and appreciated the information points on the way. It seemed quite bizarre to think of a bloody battle going on in this beautiful place, especially as we were looking out on quiet fields of green and, at one point, watching canal boats roll lazily by.

There’s a sundial and flags (including Richard’s standard) at the top of the site and there is also a nice eating area (we forced ourselves to try some ice-cream and cake) and shop. Plus, there are a number of guided walks on offer (including a ghost walk, which sounded great) and even shows involving birds of prey.

I don’t think that many visitors take advantage of the exhibition, which is a real shame, as it’s extremely well done and puts everything into context.

The exhibit at the Heritage Centre isn't huge, but it is thoughtful and has some excellent interactive elements. It begins by giving some historical background and also introduces a number of characters who take you through the events as they happen, and from their points of view.

[caption id="attachment_2457" align="alignnone" width="1200"] The two kings, on show at the Heritage Centre[/caption]

There are lots of costumes to try on (we were amused that those doing this when we were there were all adults!) including armour (I tried on a helmet which was extremely heavy), while the display of the battle itself is really good and managed to explain the tactics extremely well.

[caption id="attachment_2458" align="alignnone" width="1200"] This is the amazing silver boar, found a few years ago[/caption]

We all enjoyed trying out the bow and arrow (Robert was the best) and there were some fascinating side exhibits, including one very gory one on barber surgeons. I also loved seeing the artefacts on display, especially the remarkable and tiny silver boar badge which is believed to have been given to one of Richard’s knights before the battle began.

We all liked it and Robert, aged 11, was especially impressed. Here are his thoughts:

“The exhibition had so many cool, interactive things to do from watching videos from different people’s point of view or seeing how far you could shoot an arrow. I loved watching through the eyes of a warrior in the battle and playing games on either Richard or Henry’s team. One of my favourite activities was looking for the secret fact: when you saw a special symbol you had to look out for the hidden information. They were in secret compartments, on the ceiling and even inside the wall! I really enjoyed going to the exhibition as I learnt lots from the displays and also had fun with the different Battle of Bosworth related things to do.”

[caption id="attachment_2459" align="alignnone" width="1200"] One of the secret messages at the Bosworth Heritage Centre[/caption]

Bosworth Battlefield and Heritage Centre are located in Sutton Cheney, Nuneaton, Leicestershire. Tickets for the Heritage Centre cost £7.95 per adult and £4.85 for children aged 3 to 15. There are often special offers (including a leaflet on the website) which offer a kid’s ticket free with an adult one. . A ticket for a family of four is £21.50.

Read about our trip to the Richard III Visitor Centre in Leicester and to Fotheringhay, where the King was born.

We visited Bosworth after staying at the wonderful Dandelion Hideaway and glamping! It's just a quick drive away.