When looking at towns to visit in Cornwall, Polperro was at the top of my list. It just looked so charming and I was excited to have a vegan fish n chips. It was definitely one of my favorite stops in Cornwall, and there’s a decent amount to see and do there, so I figured it may even warrant its own blog post.

Polperro’s History in a Nutshell

Polperro actually dates pretty far back, to at least the 13th century when it was first recorded. Its economy was focused on fishing for hundreds of years, just like many other Cornish … Continue reading

I don’t think a trip to Cornwall would be complete without Saint Michael’s Mount, arguably its most iconic place. Mirroring Mont St-Michel across the channel in Normandy, the castle towers high in Mount’s Bay and is super picturesque. But what exactly is it like to visit? We actually didn’t know what to expect but it was a lovely castle and made for a great day in Cornwall.

The History of Saint Michael’s Mount

There’s some debate as to the history of Saint Michael’s Mount and whether or not it came before or after its French twin, Mont St-Michel. It’s … Continue reading

There are so many lovely towns in Cornwall to visit but as we only had a few days, we could only visit a few. We had a low-key horrific time driving in Cornwall but it was definitely fun to see such a variety of places. These are the 7 that we liked the most, from Port Isaac towards the north down to Mousehole near “Land’s End.”

Polperro

Polperro is one of the more popular towns in Cornwall and it’s a good balance between the touristy and the local. It has a cute harbor and charming stone buildings, and a lot… Continue reading

Because of the Jane Austen connection, Lyme Regis was on our itinerary for our southern England trip. However this small city has a lot of seaside charm and a lovely beach, and it’s definitely worth the time to stop and stay. We both really enjoyed our time in the “Pearl of Dorset.”

A Short History of Lyme Regis

Artwork by Dmitry Bogdanov

I normally start my histories a few thousand years back, if not a few hundred. But the history of Lyme Regis that a lot of people know of is actually the prehistoric and dates back a few million … Continue reading

I forget just how I came across Skomer Island, but we absolutely had to make room for it during our trip to the UK. Actually, we completely redid our itinerary to fit Skomer in, because puffins! In their natural habitat! Absolutely had to go.

We went to Skomer Island on July 21, which is towards the end of Skomer Island’s puffin season, so we were worried we might not be able to see any. There were still many puffins to see and it was definitely worth the trip!

To get to the point, the first few parts of this … Continue reading

When we went to Cardiff, we stayed near Caerphilly Castle as we were renting a car and wanted to avoid driving into the city. So of course, it made sense to make a stop into the castle itself.

Honestly, I wasn’t that excited and saw it more out of obligation and “why not?” than interest. I’ve seen a lot of castle ruins. But it was actually really cool! And I definitely thinks it’s worth a visit, not out of obligation or “why not?” but because there’s a decent amount to see.

A Brief History of Caerphilly Castle

Caerphilly Castle, or … Continue reading

When visiting Skomer Island, we actually stayed in Pembroke Dock so Pembroke Castle was a short drive away. After doing some genealogy and seeing that some of our ancestors were born here almost 1,000 years ago, we decided to visit just to make the most of our time in Pembroke.

I didn’t think it would be particularly interesting since it’s in a ruined state, but I was wrong. There were a lot of cool places to see at the castle and it was actually a big highlight of our visit.

A Short History of Pembroke Castle

Pembroke Castle or “Castell … Continue reading

If you’re planning a trip to Stockholm, you may have come across Drottningholm Palace. Not to the confused with the Royal Palace in Gamla Stan, Drottningholm Palace is a royal palace near Stockholm that is also open for tourists. I was originally just going to say it’s a place you can visit when you’re in Sweden’s capital but during my visit, I made way too many notes to be condensed to a paragraph in my post on Stockholm.

So, here’s a full blog post on Drottningholm Palace!

A Brief History of Drottningholm Palace

The origins of Drottningholm Palace date … Continue reading

From its beautiful exterior to its lengthy history, Gripsholm Castle has been towards the top of my Sweden bucket list for a while. Just a little while away from Stockholm, it made an easy day trip and is quite a lovely place.

A Brief History of Gripsholm Castle

You may have heard of the Vasa ship, which is named after the Vasa dynasty of Sweden. That same dynasty built Gripsholm Castle. It was first constructed by King Gustav Vasa in 1537 on Lake Malaren, surrounded by hunting grounds. It was built to be a home but also a defensive structure, … Continue reading

Just a hop and a skip from Stockholm, Sigtuna is a popular day trip and also a historic destination. I was initially drawn to its quaint look and long history, so going on a day trip there was a no brainer for me. It was a nice little trip through several eras of time.

A Brief History of Sigtuna

Sigtuna was founded during the Viking age in 980 by Erik the Victorious, Sweden’s first king, and is considered Sweden’s first town. It was a trading town and a main center of power, and held that role from the end of … Continue reading