Traveling Tuesday: Britain's Regions, Part 2

Traveling Tuesday: Britain’s Regions, Part 2

Last week (http://www.lindashentonmatchett.com/2024/12/traveling-tuesday-britians-regions-part.html) I shared about four of Britain’s nine regions. Today we will visit the remaining five.

Pixabay/Elena Dolcan

West Midlands: Comprised of six counties, this region is home to seven cities including Birmingham, Coventry, and Stoke-on-Kent. The West Midlands is geographically diverse and landlocked, however, the longest river in the United Kingdom crosses the region south-eastwards. The highest point, 2,307 foot Black Mountain is on the border of Wales. Located within the region are five Areas of Outstanding National Beauty (AONB): Malvern Hills, Shropshire Hills, Cannock Chase, Wye Valley, and Cotwold. The area has deep ties to WWII with the unfortunate RAF Fauld explosion (a military accident) considered by most to be the world’s largest non-nuclear explosion. Spitfires were built at Castle Bromwich, Lancasters at Austin’s works in Longbridge, and the Boulton Paul Aircraft company was located in Wolverhampton. RAF Defford saw many important airborne radar developments. Stratford upon Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare as well as author George Eliot.

East Midlands: The East Midlands covers three major landscape areas: The relatively flat coastal plain

Pixabay

of Lincolnshire, the river valley of the Trent, the third largest (and longest) river in England, and the southern end of the Pennine range of hills in Derbyshire. The river valley contains Nottingham, Leicester, and Derby all of which are historically centers based around coal mining and heavy industry. This is one of the drier regions of England. Several canals are located in the region, including the Grand Junction and the Trent and Mersey, that were used for commerce primarily from the late 18th to the early 20th century. They are now being revived, mainly for recreational use. According to Wikipedia, the region is home to large quantities of limestone, and Charnwood Forest is noted for its abundant levels of volcanic rock, estimated to be approximately 600 million years old. Potter Josiah Wedgewood, actor John Hurt, and Salvation Army founder William Booth hail from East Midlands.

Pixabay/Adam

Yorkshire and the Humber (a large tidal estuary): This region is comprised of an intriguing combination of natural landscapes, well-known cities, and manufacturing plants such as Boeing, Rolls Royce, and many others. Research facilities are located at the University of York, York St. John, and the York Science park, home to 1,000 turbine wind farm. Additionally, Leeds is the main center of trade and commerce and one of the UK's larger financial centers. Museums abound focusing on everything from the railroads to some of England’s most famous citizens such as the Brontë sisters. Scenic coastal towns provide lots of beaches while the Peak District is one of the UK's most visited national parks spanning around 555 square miles. Besides the Bronte family, this region is also the birthplace of actors Dame Judi Dench and Peter Firth, MP and abolitionist William Wilberforce, and member of the failed Gunpowder Plot Guy Fawkes.

Pixabay/Alex Boyd

North West: The third most populated region, North West is home to Manchester and Liverpool. Its eastern boundary is the Pennines Chain (also known as the backbone of England), and on the west by the Irish Sea. The northern border extends to the Scotland and the southwest by North Wales. The beloved Lake District is part of this region as well as the highest peak in England, Scafell Pike, at a height of 3,209 feet. With annual precipitation of 31-55 inches, the area has what is considered quintessentially English weather. A scientific heritage includes Ernest Marsden and Hans Geiger inventing the Geiger counter, and the area can boast several technological advancements such as the first programmable computer built at the University of Manchester in 1948. The suffragette movement got its start in Manchester. Sir Robert Peel, founder of the first modern police force, actor Ian McKellan, and all four Beatles were born in this region.

North East: With Northumberland’s castles, two World Heritage Sites Durham Cathedral and Durham

Pixabay/Pete

Castle, and Hadrian’s Wall is evidence of the region’s far reaching history. Roman archaeology has been found throughout the region on display at more than a few museums. The region also has a strong religious past including the saints Cuthbert, Bede, and Hilda of Whitby, who were all influential in the early church. Many abbeys and monasteries dot the landscape. Hilly and rural to the north and west, the region is more populated in the east and south. Diverse geography includes cliffs, moorlands, salt marshes, heaths, bogs, and upland hay meadows. The one-hundred-mile-long Northumbrian coastline was dubbed an Area of Outstanding National Beauty and includes the River Coquet estuary. The largest man-made forest in Europe, Kielder Forest, is also in Northumberland. Singer Sting, artist Anne Redpath, and actor Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean) were born in the North East Region.

________________________

A Lesson in Love (Strength of His Heart Anthology)

He thinks he’s too old. She thinks she’s too young. Can these teachers learn that love defies all boundaries?

Born and raised in London, Isobel Turvine knows nothing about farming, but after most of the students in her school evacuate during Operation Pied Piper, she’s left with little to do. Then her friend Margery talks her into joining the Women’s Land Army, and she finds herself working the land at a manor home in Yorkshire that’s been converted to a boys’ school. A teacher at heart, she is drawn to the lads, but the handsome yet stiff-necked headmaster wants her to stick to farming.

Left with an arm that barely works from the last “war to end all wars,” Gavin Emerson agrees to take on the job of headmaster when his school moves from London to Yorkshire, but he’s saddled with the quirky manor owner, bickering among his teachers, and a gaggle of Land Army girls who have turned the grounds into a farm. When the group’s blue-eyed, raven-haired leader nearly runs him down in a car, he admonishes her to stay in the fields, but they are thrown together at every turn. Can he trust her not to break his heart?

Purchase link: https://amzn.to/4iaKzBc