The Tarr Steps are part of a prehistoric pathway which form a prehistoric clapper bridge across the River Barle, near the village of Tarr in the south of the Exmoor National Park. They are believed to date from approximately 1000BC, and according to legend the stones, some of which weigh over 5 tons, were placed […]

The Taw Vale Railway opened in 1848 from Barnstaple to Fremington Wharf for horse-drawn coal and other goods traffic and was opened to passenger trains when the Extension Railway reached Bideford by way of Instow in 1855. It is now The Tarka Trail taking a looping route through North and Mid Devon, from the rugged […]

Our highly decorative Swazi Candles are hand-made in the small African Kingdom of Swaziland using the age-old technique “millefiore”. The Millefiori technique is a labour intensive process. Each Millefiori item is individually and painstakingly handmade. Millefiore, or “thousand flowers”, first surfaced in ancient Alexandria, but was perfected in the great glassmaking cities of […]

The Zsolnay Factory of Pecs, Hungary is the national pride of Hungarian industry as well as of Hungarian design and applied arts. The factory was established in the mid-19th century and is still working today. The factory developed high-fire glaze technology producing faience in such vigorous colours that its beauty rivalled oriental porcelain. […]

Terrance Stanley “Terry” Fox, CC (July 28, 1958 – June 28, 1981) was a Canadian humanitarian, athlete, and cancer treatment activist. He became famous for the Marathon of Hope, a cross-Canada run to raise money for cancer research, running with one prosthetic leg. He is considered one of Canada’s greatest heroes of the 20th century […]

Széchenyi lánchíd or Széchenyi Chain Bridge is a suspension bridge that spans the River Danube between Buda and Pest, the western and eastern sides of Budapest, the capital of Hungary. The bridge was initiated by Count István Széchenyi and designed by the English engineer William Tierney Clark in 1839, with construction supervised locally by Scottish […]

When The Gresham Palace opened in 1906, it had been built as a luxurious foreign headquarters for the Gresham Life Assurance Company of London, as well as residence for British aristocracy visiting Budapest. Following World War I the Gresham became a partial office building, and after World War II – when it was severely damaged […]

Wawel Cathedral, Krakow, Poland’s national sanctuary with 1000 years of history, was the coronation site of Polish monarchs. It is also the burial ground of most Polish royalty as well as the greatest national heroes, two poets, four saints and countless Krakow bishops. Eighteen chapels full of art treasures surround the Wawel Cathedral.
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The scenic coastal town of Port Alfred lies midway between Port Elizabeth and East London on the Kowie River, South Africa. It is a bustling commercial and residential town in magnificently picturesque surroundings. The climate is wonderful, especially from December to June, with calm days and crisp nights, sunny summers and mild winters. The atmosphere […]

The island of Iona, off the west coast of Scotland, is the symbolic centre of Scottish Christianity. In 563 AD Columba, with thirteen followers, landed at the south end of the island, at St Columba’s Bay, and established a monastery. The great abbey we see today belongs to a later era. Columba’s Iona was a […]