Looe in Cornwall

11 March 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  8 minutes

© Chensiyuan/cc-by-sa-4.0

© Chensiyuan/cc-by-sa-4.0

Looe (Cornish: Logh, lit. ‘deep water inlet’) is a coastal town and civil parish in south-east Cornwall, England, with a population of 5,280 at the 2011 census. Looe is 20 miles (32 km) west of Plymouth and seven miles (11 km) south of Liskeard, divided in two by the River Looe, East Looe (Cornish: Logh) and West Looe (Cornish: Porthbyhan, lit. “little cove”) being connected by a bridge. Looe developed as two separate towns each with MPs and its own mayor.   read more…

Cabourg in Normandy

30 September 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

Cabourg Beach © Jmdigne/cc-by-sa-4.0

Cabourg Beach © Jmdigne/cc-by-sa-4.0

Cabourg is a commune in the Calvados department, region of Normandy, France. Cabourg is on the coast of the English Channel, at the mouth of the river Dives. The back country is a plain, favourable to the culture of cereal. The town sits on the Côte Fleurie (Flowery Coast) and its population increases by over 40,000 during the summer. Cabourg is located between Caen and Deauville, part of the Côte Fleurie. The town is on the Dives river, across from Dives-sur-Mer.   read more…

Veules-les-Roses in Normandy

20 September 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  4 minutes

The river Veules © Gegeours/cc-by-sa-3.0

The river Veules © Gegeours/cc-by-sa-3.0

Veules-les-Roses is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. Veules-les-Roses is a tourism and farming village situated on the coast of the English Channel in the Pays de Caux, some 12 miles (19 km) southwest of Dieppe at the junction of the D68, D926 and the D142 roads.   read more…

Sainte-Adresse in Normandy

2 January 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

Beach huts © panoramio.com - corinne potet/cc-by-3.0

Beach huts © panoramio.com – corinne potet/cc-by-3.0

Sainte-Adresse is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the region of Normandy, France. A coastal suburb situated some 2 miles (3.2 km) northwest of Le Havre city centre, at the junction of the D147 and the D940. The English Channel forms the western border of the commune.   read more…

Dover Castle

22 November 2021 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Museums, Exhibitions, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks Reading Time:  11 minutes

Dover Castle © Chensiyuan/cc-by-sa-4.0

Dover Castle © Chensiyuan/cc-by-sa-4.0

Dover Castle is a medieval castle in Dover, Kent, England. It was founded in the 11th century and has been described as the “Key to England” due to its defensive significance throughout history. Some sources say it is the largest castle in England, a title also claimed by Windsor Castle. This site may have been fortified with earthworks in the Iron Age or earlier, before the Romans invaded in AD 43. This is suggested on the basis of the unusual pattern of the earthworks which does not seem to be a perfect fit for the medieval castle. Excavations have provided evidence of Iron Age occupation within the locality of the castle, but it is not certain whether this is associated with the hillfort.   read more…

Torbay on the English Riviera

11 October 2017 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  12 minutes

View from Torquay towards Paignton © Kicior99/cc-by-3.0

View from Torquay towards Paignton © Kicior99/cc-by-3.0

Torbay is a borough in Devon, administered by the unitary authority of Torbay Council. It consists of 62.87 square kilometres (24.27 sq mi) of land, spanning the towns of Torquay, Paignton and Brixham, located around an east-facing natural harbour (Tor Bay) on the English Channel. Torbay is roughly equidistant from the cities of Exeter and Plymouth. A popular tourist destination with a tight conurbation of resort towns, Torbay’s sandy beaches, mild climate and recreational and leisure attractions have given rise to the nickname of the English Riviera. Torbay’s main industry is tourism. It has a large number of European students learning English. The fishing port of Brixham is home to one of England and Wales’ most successful fishing fleets and regularly lands more value than any UK port outside Scotland. It is also a base for Her Majesty’s Coastguard and the Torbay Lifeboat Station. Famous former residents of Torbay include author Agatha Christie, who set many of her novels in a thinly disguised version of the borough.   read more…

Poole – surf, rest + play

10 September 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  9 minutes

High Street © geograph.org.uk - David Lally

High Street © geograph.org.uk – David Lally

Poole is a large coastal town and seaport in the county of Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is 33 kilometres (21 mi) east of Dorchester, and Bournemouth adjoins Poole to the east. The Borough of Poole was made a unitary authority in 1997, gaining administrative independence from Dorset County Council. The town had a population of 138,288, making it the second largest settlement in Dorset. Together with Bournemouth and Christchurch, the town forms the South East Dorset conurbation with a total population of over 400,000.   read more…

Theme Week Brittany – Fougères

1 July 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

© S. Möller

© S. Möller

Fougères (Breton: Felger) is a commune and a sub-prefecture of the Ille-et-Vilaine department. Fougères’ major monument is a medieval stronghold built atop a granite ledge, which was part of the ultimately unsuccessful defence system of the Duchy of Brittany against French aggression, and part of a tripartate with Vitré   read more…

Boulogne-sur-Mer

17 June 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

City Gate © Michel wal

City Gate © Michel wal

Boulogne-sur-Mer is a city in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city was 44,859 in the 1999 census, whereas that of the whole metropolitan area was 135,116. Boulogne-sur-Mer is the most important fishing port in France. 7,000 inhabitants derive part or all of their livelihoods from fishing. IFREMER (the French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea) and the Pasteur Institute are located in Boulogne Port.   read more…

Return to TopReturn to Top