The best cultural and historical sights in London, Madrid and beyond.
Delighted that my first trade-published book is out in June. Fifty-two stories about the history of London with a pub at the end of each. Pre-orders are available now! Please see link below for more information. https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/The-Pub-Lovers-Guide-to-London-Paperback/p/50642
Manzanares el Real is a town thirty miles north of Madrid and a starting point for hiking in the Sierra de Guadarrama, the mountain range that curves north around Madrid with summits peaking at more than 6000 feet. This post covers a low-level walk out of the town, following the River Manzanares into the sierra. [...]
The world’s first university city, serving as a model for the rest of Europe, and the birthplace of Spain’s most feted author, Miguel de Cervantes, Alcala de Henares is a medieval city twenty miles north-east of Madrid. In the city’s Archbishop’s Palace, Christopher Columbus received his commission from the Catholic Monarchs to sail west in [...]
Puente de Vallecas was an anarchist republican stronghold during the Siege of Madrid (1937-39). Bombarded frequently by Franco’s forces, it was left to decay after the civil war. Today, it is still regenerating. Photographs (C) Essential History
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The beginnings The British transatlantic slave trade operated in a organised way for approximately 150 years - from 1660, until its abolition by an act of Parliament in 1807. During that period the British transported around 2.6 million natives of Africa across the Atlantic; to sell to plantation owners in the Caribbean and southern parts [...]
One of Madrid’s most delightful house museums, Museo Sorolla, charts the life of Joaquin y Bastida Sorolla through his art and in his home - where he worked and lived from 1911 to 1923. Famed for being the Spanish ‘painter of light’, his impressionistic style and ability to capture the tones of the Mediterranean coastline [...]
The area of Embajadores is a barrios in transition. Down-at-heel at the bottom of Calle de Embajadores, gentrifying as you rise up to Plaza de Cascorro - graffiti giving way to street art, hipster barber shops and artisanal bakeries. The Fabrica De Tabacos closed in 2000, after more than two hundred years as Madrid’s main [...]
Favoured by Madrilenos for its cool summer climate, Segovia is situated on a ridge at an elevation of over 1000 metres, giving it amazing views over the Castilian countryside. Boasting an astounding 800 metre-long Roman aqueduct dating from AD 120, the old town and aqueduct were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985. Astonishingly, [...]
Running down to Atocha station, C/ Santa Isabel is one of Madrid’s most ‘castizo’ of streets. Absent of tourists but possessing cool markets and bars, Madrid’s most hip cinema, an historic convent and a world-famous art gallery - it’s easy to see why. Mercado San Anton - for gourmet and regular groceries The Cine Dore [...]