Damn straight I travelled up to Glasgow for the day specifically to see the Govan Stones @govanstones.bsky.social Worth it! So very worth it! I thoroughly enjoyed the guided tour with @hornesupremacy.bsky.social

Destiny is All! #Bebbanberg #Bamburgh #TheLastKingdom

No Anzac Day commemorations near me but I paid my respects last week at the Scottish National War Memorial. I was moved that they had a memorial for Scots who lost their lives while serving in Commonwealth Units.

Funny how life plays out. Within a week I visited both the southernmost church in mainland Britain, St Wynwallow’s Church at Landewednack, Cornwall, and the northernmost Church of England parish church, Church of the Holy Trinity, Berwick-on-Tweed.

Was lucky enough to finally visit HMS Unicorn on the weekend. Launched in 1824, this RN frigate is Scotland’s oldest ship and the most original Georgian warship still afloat. Highly recommend visiting! Well worth the day trip from Edinburgh. @hmsunicorn.bsky.social

RRS Discovery, a remarkable survivor from the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Once home to Scott and Shackleton, and visitor to two ports I know well - Lyttelton and Port Chalmers, New Zealand.

Cornishman John R Jago Smith was one of the five postal clerks on RMS Titanic who desperately attempted to save the mail. All five lost their lives. Today I paid my respects at St Keverne, Cornwall. There's a memorial plaque for Smith inside the church, and he is also remembered on the family grave

My new passport arrived today! Thank you @pilgrimtrust.bsky.social

I need a moment to sit with this. 😅

Mai was the first Polynesian to visit Britain, where he was painted by Joshua Reynolds in 1776. A delight to see this incredible portrait on display at Journeys with Mai, at The Box, Plymouth, before it heads to the Getty.

Thrilled to finally visit the Jurassic Coast! One of the world's most iconic paleontological sites, and a place I've wanted to experience since childhood.

Two holy well visits in a week! Aren't I the lucky one? This time at St Cleer. This is the most elaborate well house I've visited, and the only example in Cornwall with this open-porch style, thought to resemble a saint's shrine or tomb.

I love to see holy wells that are still frequented and used for their original purpose - places with a long tradition of contemplation, pilgrimage, and healing. Here are some of the offerings left at St Nectan's Well, North Devon.

According to this interpretation panel in North Devon, all the other mammals have had enough of this shit and are teleporting into another timeline.

Enjoyed checking out the insane coastal cliffs at Hartland Quay. Part of the Crackington Formation. Some impressive chevron folds!

This parking receipt from the Christchurch CBD expired at 12:51 pm on 22 February 2011. The exact time that the devastating earthquake struck. Thinking of all those whose lives were forever changed in that moment. My Collection.

This vest was worn by the - checks notes - second-to-last senior royal to be arrested.

"The fact that they had a boat land there 500 years ago doesn't mean that they own the land" Standing at the Mayflower Steps in Plymouth, those words resonated particularly strongly.

Incredible experience to see the Exeter Book up close. I was genuinely starstruck. Written c. 970 and believed to be the oldest surviving book of English literature in the world! At the Treasures Exhibition at Exeter Cathedral. I highly recommend this! @exetercathedral.bsky.social

The perils of church crawling. Very sad to see a memorial in this state.

A very early mineral railway - part of the Liskeard and Caradon line. I think this section dates to 1846. Original stone block sleepers are from the nearby Cheesewring quarry. They were cheaper than wood but sometimes sank into the ground after heavy rain, which buckled the tracks.

This postcard from the 1925-26 New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition shows the Grand Court. As was often the case with big exhibitions, the buildings were designed to be temporary. Most of what you see here are sports fields today - including one of NZ's best test cricket venues. 📸 My Collection.

Today, it's exactly one hundred years since the opening ceremony of the New Zealand & South Seas International Exhibition in Dunedin. To celebrate, I'm sharing some images from an original copy of the ceremony's official souvenir programme. My Collection.

Something special to share. I’ve been up to my old tricks again – scanning, restoring, and researching a collection of over 600 Edwardian-era glass slides that were found in an attic. I've connected them to Birmingham schoolmaster and amateur photographer Charles Francis Hayward.

'Remember, remember the 5th of November!' 🔥 These are thought to be the earliest photographs of a bonfire. These photographs were taken in 1853 by John Dillwyn Llewelyn at Penllergare in Swansea 📷 museum.wales/articles/972... #Wales #BonfireNight #History

The mile-long carriage drive to Pencarrow House goes smack through the middle of an Iron Age Hillfort. Luminaries that rattled through here on their carriages include Charles Dickens, Sir Arthur Sullivan, and, apparently, Lord Byron. #HillfortsWednesday

Finally made it to one of those Titanic exhibitions where you are given a boarding pass with the name of someone who was onboard. I can’t wait to get to the end and find out if they survived or not…

I can't do it again. I can't let myself get excited about an upcoming historical drama, not after the disappointments that were Napoleon and King & Conqueror. www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Q3W...

The Battle of Hastings was fought on this day in 1066. I enjoyed walking the battlefield earlier this year and imagining the battle unfold. I'm not usually a big fan of audio guides, but I really enjoyed their walkthrough, and the life-sized sculptures add to the atmosphere.

I enjoyed attending the open day at the archaeological dig at Castilly Henge, Cornwall. Late Neolithic. What a neat experience to see a dig like this underway and hear from some of the experts.

My favourite doorway in Cornwall! The Norman west door of St Germans Priory. Nothing short of exceptional. Finally got to visit today.

A couple of friends I made on the weekend. On the banks of the Bristol Avon, Wiltshire. I feel the internet needs to meet them too.

One of the most interesting Roman sites I've visited. Dorchester is home to the only fully exposed Roman Town House in Britain. Wonderful to see the surviving mosaics and imagine each room in use. Built 307 AD, with an extension added in 341 AD. Complete with hypocaust underfloor heating.

This is a book for the wish list. Back in NZ, I enjoyed Charlotte MacDonald's talk about British soldiers on the Otago goldfields.

Half-Moon Battery, Pendennis. I've explored quite a few WW2 coastal fortifications, including some of my fav spots in NZ, but this is the best preserved example I've seen. Camo paint, a pair of 1946 6-inch guns, and lots of little details like the hooks used to hang helmets, gas masks, etc.

A highlight for me at Pendennis Castle was learning that the wooden portcullis is original! Made from oak that tree-ring analysis indicates was likely felled in 1541.

A bucket lister experience for me today - attending a jousting tournament! An exciting day out at Pendennis Castle. This is what my childhood was missing. So much fun.

Believed to be the only known surviving pelt from a native British bear. Early Bronze Age. Found in a cist burial on Dartmoor in 2011. On display at The Box, Plymouth.

Gargoyle at St Guron's Holy Well, Bodmin. One of a pair of gargoyles that have lived here since 1545. They are good friends of mine.

Up on the moor, where the stones have faces. Staring towards the tors and stone circles, and the rain gods beyond.

Life finds a way

Thoroughly enjoyed the popup exhibition about St Paul’s Watch - the brave men and women who risked their lives during the war to save the cathedral.

I love this installation. Only learned about the lost hill figures of Plymouth Hoe thanks to this. Written records of the 'giants' go back to the 15th century, but they were believed destroyed when the citadel was built over them late 17th century.

The control tower at RAF Davidstow Moor, Britain's highest wartime airfield. Opened October 1942. Aircraft from here raided the U-Boat base at St Nazaire, supported the Normandy landings, and conducted vital anti-submarine and search and rescue missions during the Battle of the Atlantic. #SWW

Enjoyed touring the visiting Nao Victoria at Plymouth. A replica of the first ship to successfully circumnavigate the globe.

I love it up on the moor, you never know what monument or ruin you'll stumble on next - remnants of the ancient past and the forgotten people who once lived here. People who in many ways were much like us.

Our #PopularItem is C18th-19th Sun Fire Office policy registers! Fire was a real threat to property so many took out insurance against it. They weren't just insuring buildings either, here's a 1793 policy for Gilbert Pidcock who has insured a rhino. Yes, you read that correctly... 🦏 📖 #archives30

Remembering my great great uncle Thomas Gillanders, killed in action 110 years ago on 25 April 1915, during the landing at Gallipoli while serving with the 16th Waikato Company, Auckland Battalion.

Easter pilgrimage to one of the oldest Christian sites in Britain - St Piran’s Oratory, Perranporth is believed to have been erected in the seventh century. Once claimed by the dunes the ruin now sits within protective walls

On the anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, we thought we'd answer a question that's often asked, "If they raised the Mary Rose, why not raise the Titanic?" Allow our scaled diagram to explain...