Tag Archives: UK

Historical, Homes, Profiles, Stories, Views

English Country Houses: Ancient ‘Hunton Court’ Near Maidstone In Kent

Leave a comment

Hunton Court is an ancient house hiding behind a breathtaking Georgian facade, and all set in a truly beautiful corner of Kent.

Take a quick look at Hunton Court — near Maidstone, in Kent — and you’d immediately mark it down as an 18th century country house. Yet its true origins lie many centuries earlier: it’s a building that hides its timbered origins behind a Georgian look.

The house, once known as Court Lodge, had a turbulent history: first built in the 13th century and part of an estate that had belonged to the Canterbury’s Christ Church Priory, it was handed to Sir Thomas Wyatt, Henry VIII’s High Sheriff for Kent, after the Dissolution of Monasteries.

Environment, Preservation, Travel, Videos, Views, Wilderness

Preservation: Cairngorms National Park, Scotland

Video Leave a comment

“When it comes to climate change, scale is essential. We need to be scaling up our work and being really bold and ambitious, and that’s exactly what Cairngorms Connect is.” Find out how Scotland’s largest landscape-scale restoration project is fighting back against climate change in our new film for Cairngorms Connect.

Cairngorms National Park is a national park in northeast Scotland, established in 2003. It was the second of two national parks established by the Scottish Parliament, after Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park, which was set up in 2002. The park covers the Cairngorms range of mountains, and surrounding hills. Already the largest national park in the United Kingdom, in 2010 it was expanded into Perth and Kinross.

Roughly 18,000 people reside within the 4,528 square kilometre national park. The largest communities are Aviemore, Ballater, Braemar, Grantown-on-Spey, Kingussie, Newtonmore, and Tomintoul. Tourism makes up about 80% of the economy.[4] In 2018, 1.9 million tourism visits were recorded. The majority of visitors are domestic, with 25 per cent coming from elsewhere in the UK, and 21 per cent being from other countries.

Cities, Travel, Videos, Views

Scotland View: Edinburgh – Old Town & City Center

Video Leave a comment

Edinburgh is Scotland’s compact, hilly capital. It has a medieval Old Town and elegant Georgian New Town with gardens and neoclassical buildings. Looming over the city is Edinburgh Castle, home to Scotland’s crown jewels and the Stone of Destiny, used in the coronation of Scottish rulers. Arthur’s Seat is an imposing peak in Holyrood Park with sweeping views, and Calton Hill is topped with monuments and memorials. 

Video Timeline: 00:00 Waterloo Pl 02:13 The Balmoral 04:30 Princes St 05:55 Edinburgh Waverley Station 09:00 Scott Monument 13:33 The Royal Scottish Academy 14:00 Princes Street Gardens 14:32 Scottish National Gallery 15:30 The Mound 17:05 New College, The University of Edinburgh 21:12 Tolbooth Kirk 21:50 The Royal Mile – Castlehill – Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe 25:05 Edinburgh Castle 29:07 The Royal Mile 33:30 George IV Bridge and National Library of Scotland 34:40 Victoria St 38:30 Grassmarket 41:46 Edinburgh Castle 46:00 Candlemaker Row 49:43 Greyfriars Kirkyard 53:04 Chambers St 57:32 South Bridge 01:01:40 Cockburn St 01:06:00 St Giles’ Cathedral 01:12:42 The Royal Mile – High St 01:18:25 The Royal Mile – Canongate 01:23:00 Thomson’s Land, The University of Edinburgh 01:26:10 Canongate Kirk 01:28:00 The Royal Mile – Canongate 01:33:55 Palace of Holyroodhouse 01:35:30 Scottish Parliament Building

Cities, Food & Drink, Tours, Travel, Videos, Views

London Tours: The Sights, Shops & Food Of Camden

Video Leave a comment

Join Condé Nast Traveller’s contributing editor Rick Jordan, and freelance writer and editor Shannon Mahanty, as they show us around one of North London’s most vibrant hangouts. From strolling across the vast expanse of greenery at Regent’s Park and walking along the canal from Little Venice, to browsing the vintage clothing stalls and foodie hotspots at the legendary market, get to know the colourful culture of Camden. In this video, you’ll discover the neighbourhood’s musical history as well as where to go for the best ice cream, classic pints and experimental zero-waste cocktails in former public toilets converted into a bar.

History, Tours, Travel, Videos, Views

The Cotswolds: A History Of Brockhampton, UK

Video Leave a comment

Several miles away from Winchcombe, the lovely village of Brockhampton, with country house Brockhampton Court nestles in the greenery. It’s another classic Cotswold hidden gem.

Brockhampton is a small village east of Cheltenham in Gloucestershire, England. It forms part of the parish of Sevenhampton. In the 2001 census the parish had 349 people living in 157 households. The source of the River Coln, a tributary of the Thames, is close to the village. 

Tours, Travel, Videos, Views

Tours: The University Of Cambridge In England

Video Leave a comment

University of Cambridge, English autonomous institution of higher learning at Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, on the River Cam 50 miles (80 km) north of London.

The start of the university is generally taken as 1209, when scholars from Oxford migrated to Cambridge to escape Oxford’s riots of “town and gown” (townspeople versus scholars). To avert possible troubles, the authorities in Cambridge allowed only scholars under the supervision of a master to remain in the town. It was partly to provide an orderly place of residence that (in emulation of Oxford) the first college, Peterhouse, was founded in 1284 by Hugo de Balsham, bishop of Ely. Over the next three centuries another 15 colleges were founded, and in 1318 Cambridge received formal recognition as a studium generale from Pope John XXII.

Nature, Travel, Videos, Views, Wildlife

Views: Beatrix Potter’s ‘Lake District’ In England

Video Leave a comment

From dawn to dusk. Sit back, relax, and be transported to the Lake District with a specially commissioned immersive film that celebrates the sights and sounds of a landscape that inspired Beatrix Potter.

The Lake District is a region and national park in Cumbria, North West England known for its glacial lakes and rugged fell mountains. Beatrix Potter eventually settled here after growing up in her ‘unloved birthplace’ of London, becoming an award-winning sheep farmer and respected member of the local community.

When Potter died aged 77 on 22 December 1943, she left 14 farms and more than 4,000 acres to the National Trust. Produced and directed by award-winning filmmaker and photographer Terry Abraham, this film captures intimate shots of the native wildlife that Potter would have sketched and later immortalised in her storybooks, alongside epic panoramic footage of its mountains and lakes, featuring locations where Potter lived, worked and admired:

Catbells and Derwentwater Newlands Valley Watendlath Yew Tree Farm, Coniston Tarn Hows Hill Top and Near Sawrey Esthwaite Water Ullswater Great Langdale

Read an interview with Terry Abraham on our blog: https://www.vam.ac.uk/blog/museum-lif…

This film was produced to accompany the V&A exhibition, Beatrix Potter: Drawn to Nature, until 8 January 2023.