LET'S GO FOR A WALK IN GRANTCHESTER

Last Sunday signalled the start of the third series of hit ITV show ‘Grantchester’. But what do we really know about the village that has become the stomping ground of a ‘crime-fighting’ vicar, played by James Norton, and a war veteran turned police detective in Robson Green?

Well, Grantchester which lies just a mile outside the city of Cambridge plays host to a number of famous pastimes which adds to its quintessential Englishness. These include the Boxing day-barrel race that brings all the local pubs together for a tradition that dates back to the 1960’s.

SCOTLAND, AT LAST!

Loch Lochy, the Highlands, Scotland

After an exciting experience it is not easy to go back to your everyday life. After a journey, you download, order and archive the pictures you’ve taken and look at your travel notes: all those beautiful moments flew at the speed of light and left you astonished,  with beautiful memories but also the awkward impression that you dreamt and have just woken up. Maybe writing can help you fix them somewhere in a safer place and make them somehow more real.

Scotland, at last!

Eilean Donan Castle 

Scotland is the 3-M land: the land of magic, mist and myth. How could one resist its charms? I simply couldn’t.  Last year, after a very brief visit,  I had to promise myself I would soon go back to see more of it. I did it in July and here I am,  back from an incredible tour,  which has been as magical, misty and mythical as Scotland in my dreams.  In our 10-days’ schedule an unforgettable series of fantastic sites, a variety of wonderful places, which I had the opportunity to visit  in the company of four of my anglophile friends.

One of the themes of our  tour was Outlander, the best-selling saga set in Scotland written by Diana Gabaldon,  as well as its TV adaptation.   We managed to visit a few of the main locations they used in seasons one and two or important sites mentioned in the books.

PERIOD & MORE PERIOD - THE ULTIMATE MAP OF DOWNTON ABBEY LOCATIONS

It wasn't easy for UK fans to bid farewell to their beloved Edwardian friends from Downton Abbey. US viewers still have a few episodes to go(check PBS Masterpiece website) before the moment to say good-bye comes for them too. As for myself, I hadn't been as emotional  as I was on Christmas day while watching Downton Abbey special - which was also the very last instalment in the series - for quite some time.

After 6 years and plenty of elegance and emotions, Downton Abbey is now destined to become a cult for many, not only in the UK or US.  In honour of this and for the joy of all its loyal fans, Wayfair.co.uk   scoured the country to find the real-life locations that make up the wonderful world of Downton and have created a map with an extensive list of over 70 Downton Abbey filming locations marked on it, with information about what scene the location was used for and how you can check it out for yourself.

CROESO CYMRU! SORAIDH, ALBA! TRAVELLING THROUGH WALES, THE LAKE DISTRICT, SOUTHERN SCOTLAND

I never miss a chance to travel to Britain, I've been there a few times only this year - Yorkshire in March, Bristol in April and then a summer tour in July. I've seen much, but so much is still there to be discovered. I never have enough, in fact, and I consider Britain my second home country or, better,  the one where I feel - oddly enough - at home. It is the place of my favourite writers, my favourite books, my favourite drama series, my favourite heroes, my favourite language, my favourite actors ... do I have to go on?

Here are 10 of the best places I visited on my latest tour through Wales, the Lake District, the Borders and Southern Scotland. Only 10. Yes, there were more!

SCOTLAND WANTS TO REWRITE HISTORY: GUN DEID LEAT!

Glasgow - 17th September 2014

Come what may, British history will be rewritten with 18th September 2014  referendum. The Scottish want their complete independence from the UK, not the palliative autonomy they have been offered so far.

I'm not Scottish, I love Britain as it is, with all its different nations and peculiarities, so I decided I'll be watching this extraordinary event without taking sides, with great respect for the passionate political campaign of the YES! front,  as well as for the matter-of-fact worries of the NO! party. 

Mary Stuart, Queen of Scotland

I'll be giving a lesson to my oldest students tomorrow titled: "Fighting for a flag of blue and white". We will read articles and listen to interviews about the Scottish referendum and will revise the historical events involving Scotland we studied last year: Mary Stuart and her rivalry with Queen Elizabeth I, which ended up with the beheading of the Scottish Queen; the ascent to the English throne of Mary's son, James VI of Scotland after Elizabeth's death,  which meant the unification of the two reigns under one crown in 1605; the 1688 Bloodless Revolution, which led to the dethronization of  the Catholic  line of the Stuart dynasty.

In the second part of the lesson we will move to literature and start discussing Walter Scott's Waverley and its historical context - the Jacobite uprising of 1744-46. In that novel, Charles Edward Stuart,  Bonnie Prince Charlie, is one of the historical figures interacting with the fictional ones created by the great Scottish writer, father of the historical novel.

Best Places To Travel Based On Classic British Literature

(by guest blogger Marcela De Vivo) England is full of literary history and culture, much of which is not only available via the printed word, but can also be visited as popular travel destinations.

For those who are interested in classic British literature, who might be planning on visiting England in the near future, it’s worthwhile to do some research on what locations are inspired by classical writings, and then plan to visit them accordingly. 

Whether you’re a fan of Shakespeare, Charles Dickens or Agatha Christie, there’s probably a touristy destination for you based on your favorite British classic novel.