Real Britain Company News…

The English Heritage is reviving the lovely gardens of Wrest Park in Bedfordshire. This is a wonderful 90-acre historic landscape and French-style mansion which will take its rightful place among the country’s great garden attractions – and give locals and visitors to Bedfordshire a superb new day-out. Stroll in the recently restored Italian and Rose Gardens.

Last month I blogged about our visit to Guernsey. While we were there we also took the 20 minute ferry to Herm. This small island is idyllic. As with its larger neighbour, half of the island has dramatic cliffs with a path that meanders along the edge and the rest is sweeping white sand beaches, with tranquil green lanes in the middle. The difference is that there is no traffic (no cars allowed, only working vehicles such as tractors) and you can walk the whole coast in about 2 hours.

Although Guernsey is closer to France than the UK, it is, like the other channels Islands, loyal to the English crown. At the time of the Norman conquest of Britain in 1066 the islands were a part of Normandy. When King John lost Normandy in 1204 they chose to be loyal to him rather to Phillippe Augustus of France. However there is still much evidence of its’ links with France. Place and street names are often French, as are people’s surnames and they even have a language
D’gernésiais, although English is the widely spoken langauge.

See the Visit Guernsey site

We have just spent a lovely few days on Guernsey, our first visit to the Channel Isles. The spring flowers were in full bloom, and the variety was amazing. We spent a day walking the cliff path along the rugged south coast, only about 7 miles in all but it was all up hill and down dale so our legs felt it! The north coast has lovely white sandy beaches in sweeping bays and in between the country lanes are narrow, often fringed with trees and pretty cottages. A lovely island for a short break.

Whoopee…….another two bank holidays! As if we need them at this time of year. Why didn’t they get married in October or February?
Sorry to be a bah-humbug but I can’t get excited about a wedding between two people I don’t know. I expect I’ll have the telly on anyway, just because everyone else will, and maybe I might just stop for a coffee while she walks down the aisle…..

I was watching the build up to THE WEDDING and I started to wonder about the history of Westminster Abbey. It has been the place where the monarch is crowned continuously since 1066, which is quite amazing when you think about it. It was Edward the Confessor who had it built. Edward was king from 1042 until 1066. He was called ‘the confessor’ because he was very religious. His mother was Emma of Normandy, hence when he died childless (he made a vow of chastity, although he was married), William of Normandy made a claim for the English crown soley on the basis that he had met Edward in Normandy (where he had been brought up) and that he had promised him the throne. The rest, as they say, is history.

With thanks to The History Learning Site