Tag: History

Abney Park Cemetery, London

Published on by Rachel Lishman4 Comments

At the edge of London’s Zone 2 there’s a wilderness. The constant hum of traffic is replaced by nesting birds, damp ground underfoot and a thick canopy that drops dappled shadows onto the pale faces of long-forgotten gravestones.

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Behind Closed Doors: A Brief History Of Lithuania’s Capital

Published on by Rachel Lishman6 Comments

A drizzly day in Vilnius can be deceptive. Rain hits the greys of dilapidated tower blocks and the cobbled streets of the old town are shiny underfoot.

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A Baltic Bargain: History And Nature In Trakai, Lithuania

Published on by Rachel Lishman4 Comments

From a thin slice of fertile land that extends into the lakes of Lithuania’s southeast, wooden jetties push into the still water dangling narrow fishing boats and colourful pedalos.

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Following In Inca Footsteps At Machu Picchu, Peru

Published on by Rachel Lishman4 Comments

In a world where few corners remain unexplored, it’s easy to become cynical about well-trodden paths.

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Walking Through 500 Years At Hampton Court Palace

Published on by Rachel Lishman4 Comments

“Of all losses, time is the most irrecuperable for it can never be redeemed.” (Henry VIII of England)

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Celebrating 500 Years At Hampton Court Palace

Published on by Rachel Lishman3 Comments

There are few places that evoke the past better than Hampton Court Palace.

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Guardians Of A Mountain Kingdom: A Drive Through Montenegro

Published on by Rachel Lishman5 Comments

From across the dark water, it looked like fairy lights had been flung against the jagged mountain slopes. Forming arcs and triangles, occasionally broken by backlit towers, Kotor’s twinkles put on quite the show. “You see…” Slavko my guide explained, “The lights form the shape of an old man. He guards this city”.

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My Twenty Favourite UNESCO Sites Around The World

Published on by Rachel Lishman9 Comments

This week, UNESCO added 24 new sites to its ever-growing list of places worth protecting on this planet. The UK’s notable offering was the Forth Bridge in Scotland, a masterpiece of Victorian engineering, which I was lucky enough to see first hand last summer.

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Walks Through Wildflowers: Exploring Slovenia’s North West

Published on by Rachel Lishman11 Comments

Two hours from the queues at Stansted Airport, I was transported to a world of snowy peaks and bubbling springs.

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Ljubljana Is For Love: 24 hours In Slovenia’s Capital

Published on by Rachel Lishman19 Comments

I became inexplicably teary as I listened to the accordion’s brassy tones. I was perched underneath a bronze statue of Preseren; Slovenia’s most beloved poet. From across the main square, his ‘Juliet’ gazed back at us. As a mauve dusk settled over Ljubljana I realised that I was rapidly falling in love…and I don’t even like the accordion.

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