Kristine Hughes's Blog, page 33

THE BREWER’S HORSE

From The Horse-World of London by William John Gordon (1893) The brewer’s horse is a splendid animal, the most powerful as a rule of London’s heavy brigade. At the Cart-horse Parade, in which teams of all classes compete, the first, second, and third prizes were taken for the only two years in which they entered … Continue reading "THE BREWER’S HORSE"

SCOTLAND – BEYOND THE RETREAT

It won’t be long now before the start of Number One London’s Scottish Writer’s Retreat. Our group will be staying at Auchinleck House, family seat of James Boswell’s family, above. A fitting setting, really, as he and Dr. Johnson were known to have stayed in the house together several times. But “retreat” may be a … Continue reading "SCOTLAND – BEYOND THE RETREAT"

THE WELLINGTON CONNECTION – DAGUERREOTYPES

The year 1839 marked the start of photography as we know it today. Both Louis Daguerre (1787-1851) and William Henry Fox Talbot (1800-1877) had been experimenting independently for several years on their different photographic processes when Daguerre announced his discovery to the world in Paris on 7 January 1839. This prompted Talbot to display the … Continue reading "THE WELLINGTON CONNECTION – DAGUERREOTYPES"

LONDON CAB HORSES

From The Horse-World of London by William John Gordon (1893) . . . . Our cab horses are generally Irish, many of them being shipped from Waterford. They come over unshod, in order that they may do no damage, and to keep them quiet they have their lips tied down; and what with this lip-tying, … Continue reading "LONDON CAB HORSES"

INSPIRED BY THE ROMANCE OF THE LAKE DISTRICT

Guest post by author Diane Gaston It was a truly magical experience visiting the Lake District in Cumbria, in northwest England, last year with Number One London Tours. We saw beautiful vistas, blue lakes, a real stone circle, charming villages, and historic houses. So when I needed a setting for A Lady Becomes a Governess, where … Continue reading "INSPIRED BY THE ROMANCE OF THE LAKE DISTRICT"

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THE WELL DRESSED MAN. NO, WOMAN. WAIT . . . .

I have a great friend in Beth Elliot. Those of you who follow this blog and my posts on Facebook will know that Beth and I try to get together whenever I’m in England. And you may recall that Beth was my saviour when my phone was stolen in London, taking me to buy a … Continue reading "THE WELL DRESSED MAN. NO, WOMAN. WAIT . . . ."

VISITING WENTWORTH WOODHOUSE

by Victoria Hinshaw The story of Wentworth Woodhouse (WW) is intensely interesting — and convoluted.  Since I am a great devotee of all things British, and especially the great country houses and the people who lived in them, I was particularly excited to visit the estate with Number One London Tours 2017 Country House Tour. … Continue reading "VISITING WENTWORTH WOODHOUSE"

THE POST OFFICE HORSE

This is the first installment on a series of posts we’ll be re-running from The Horse-World of London by William John Gordon  (1893), each one chock-a-block full of interesting details. We hope you’ll enjoy them as much as we do! The Post Office owns no horses; it does its work by contract, and McNamara’s have `horsed … Continue reading "THE POST OFFICE HORSE"

A SURPRISE VISIT TO DRUMLANRIG CASTLE

Number One London Tours loves surprises, whether it’s an impromptu stop at an 18th century village, a surprise run-in with Prince Charles or an unexpected stroll in the rain. Sometimes, we arrange the surprises, as we did by adding a three hour Land Rover tour of the Drumlanrig estate to our upcoming Scottish Writers Retreat … Continue reading "A SURPRISE VISIT TO DRUMLANRIG CASTLE"