Two GPL Librarians in England, Post #6: Avebury, Glastonbury Tor, Bath, and Tintern Abbey

It’s a long trip by car — about four hours — from Haslingden to the region around Bath where we headed next.  Leaving first thing in the morning following our wonderful excursion the day before into the Yorkshire Dales, Gareth had to navigate through the snarls of traffic around Manchester and then Birmingham — the [...]

Two GPL Librarians in England, Post #5: The Yorkshire Dales

When I was planning my trip to England I discovered — thanks to a traveler’s atlas one of my colleagues loaned me — that the little town of Settle nestled in the Yorkshire Dales was fairly close to Gareth and Heidi’s home in Haslingden, Lancashire. This was of particular interest to me, because one of my mother’s [...]

Two GPL Librarians in England, Post #4: Robin Hood’s Bay, Whitby, and York

Sunday morning we woke up in a bed and breakfast called the Grosvenor in the romantic, seaside Yorkshire village of Robin Hood’s Bay, the situation of which is truly superb, nestled as it is on the side of a cliff near the sea. Just after sunrise and before eating pretty close to the full English breakfast (i.e., save for [...]

Two GPL Librarians in England, Post #3: Humber Bridge, Wilberforce House and Rudston Monolith

Frank and I have now made our way to the North Sea Coast, thanks to our able companion and guide, Heidi’s husband, Gareth Schachtschneider-Williams. Our first stop Saturday was to see the port city of Hull’s Humber Bridge, said to be the fifth largest single-span suspension bridge in the world.  If you’re also interested in [...]

Two GPL Librarians in England, Post #2: Bonfire Night at Manchester

For Americans it’s Halloween, but for the English it’s Guy Fawkes or Bonfire Night.  Though Bonfire Night originated as a tradition of giving thanks for the failure of the Gunpowder Plot in 1605, when a group of Catholics led by a man named Guy Fawkes conspired to assassinate King James I, historians and anthropologists also find in the annual [...]

Attention Mountain Travelers!: Chimney Rock Park’s Elevator Down for Repairs; I-40 Blocked By Slide at NC-TN Border

Just in case you’re planning a trip to Chimney Rock Park, one of western North Carolina’s most popular tourist destinations, the News and Record reports today that their elevator is shut down for repairs.  If you’re not familiar with the Park, but still want to go and make a trek up to the monolith, the [...]