The Pennine Way

I have recently got back from a holiday in Scotland. On the way, we stayed in the Peak District National Park as it’s too far to go to Scotland in one go.

We decided we’d walk some of the Pennine Way while we were there, This is Britain’s oldest long-distance trail, being 268 miles across some of England’s best scenery.

In 1932, ramblers did a mass trespass on Kinder Scout, one of the peaks in the Peak District. It was done to bring to notice the fact that walkers in England and Wales were denied access to many areas of open countryside. This led to the ultimate opening of large areas and the idea of the Pennine Way was born.

If you look online, it will tell you that the Pennine Way was opened in 1965. This is not true. Only the final stage to Kirk Yeltholm was opened then. The trail known as The Pennine Way was in existence long before that. The idea was proposed in 1935 by a man called Stephenson who had been inspired by long-distance trails in the US–especially the Appalachian Trail. I cannot find when the first part was begun, though, but I do know it was before 1965 because I have walked on it before that date! And it wasn’t considered new then.

It begins in the village of Edale, in Derbyshire and culminates 268 miles later in Kirk Yeltholm, just inside the Scottish border. It passes through some of England’s most beautiful scenery including, as well as the Peak District, The Yorkshire Dales and Northumberland National Park.

The route follows the Pennines, known as the Backbone of England. This is a range of mountains and hills that runs down the centre of Northern England.

The popularity of the trail has been a problem. Even in the 1960s the path was becoming worn away, and so some parts are now paved.

If you enjoyed these pictures and a bit of history, please leave a comment in the comments box. I enjoy reading what you think of my posts.

I have recently heard that Vengeance of a Slave is now available in hardcover. You can find it here.

And Viv’s Family Recipes is available in paperback. You can find it here.

Roman Mosaics

I have recently returned from a holiday in Greece. While there, I visited Ancient Corinth. (Well worth a visit, especially if you are a Christian. You can see the very place where St Paul was tried for preaching Christianity.)

There is a small museum there where they show some of the things they unearthed while excavating the site. Amongst them were some mosaics from Roman villa floors. They are beautiful, and I thought I’d share them with you. I thought it pertinent at the moment because of the pre-order of Vengeance of a Slave. Adelbehrt, the slave of the title, is taken to a Roman villa where there would have been similar mosaics decorating the floors.

This was on the wall of the restaurant in the National Archeological Museum in Athens.

A mosaic in the museum at Ancient Corinth.

Detail of the above mosaic.

A more complete mosaic in Corinth

A pastoral scene from a floor mosaic in Ancient Corinth.

These pictures should give an idea of the beauty of the floors in the Roman villas.

Vengeance of a Slave is now on pre-order. You can order it from Amazon by clicking here. It is due to be released on December 26th. If you would like to have a pre-order copy so you can review it as soon as it is released, please contact me on vivienne.sang@gmail.com

I can provide pdf, mobi or epub, but not ‘real’ books as it has not been released yet.

I will be delighted to receive any comments in the comments box.

Adelbhert is only six years old when he is forced to watch his father and other men from his village being crucified in revenge for an attack on the Roman city of Mogontiacum.
Then he and his little sister are taken as slaves. They are sold to a merchant who takes them to the distant and mysterious island of Britannia. Here he is treated like a pet until he grows up and is no longer a pretty child.
His experiences make him hate the Romans and he resolves to escape one day and have revenge. but his hatred is eating away at his soul.
Will he get the chance to escape, and if so, can he remain free? And how can one young man take on the might of the Roman Army and win?

Unknown France

I’ve just come back from a holiday in France where I visited some places I’d not heard of before. Here are some of the photos I took of these places. They are lovely towns no one knows about.

Kortrijk

 

Tourcoing

Monlucon

Mortagne-au Perche

I think France is a beautiful country and it has some hidden gems as these photos prove.

What do you think about these unknown places? Add your comments in the comments box.

Some photographs of Paris

My Visit to New York

In April, my husband and I went to New York for the first time. I thought I would share some of the photos with you all.

We had a wonderful time, seeing all the sights. It was very exciting being in the city we had seen so often on the television, in both films and news. My only regret was that we did not have enough time to visit all of it, but spent most of our time in Manhattan. Perhaps another time?

We had a wonderful time. I’ll post some more in the future.

 

Please feel free to add a comment to this post. I love to hear what you think.

Some photographs of the Lake District

I’ve just had a holiday in the English Lake District. Here are some photographs I took there.

Please leave a comment in the comments section. I love hearing from you.