Media types: Image

The River Thames – stretching out for 215 miles for the very heart of our capital city. It’s even a massive 29km wide between Whitstable and Foulness Point. It’s seen a fair few adventures over the past several hundred years. 

TS Elliot called the Thames “sweet”, William Blake gave a mention in his poem “London” and even the French impressionist Claude Monet fell for the charms of those waters; painting the river on three occasions- twice wasn’t enough…

For centuries the Thames has been regarded as one of the biggest symbols in popular British culture.  It even made its way into the opening credits of one of Britain’s best loved soap operas, Eastenders.     

It has had its issues over the years though -one being a strong odour problem which saw a well overdue sewage clean-up in 1858. It was all worth it and now 25 different species of fish are swimming in its midst. 

So, next time you’re walking over the Tower Bridge, look down at those wondrous waters, breathe in that Thames air and admire one of the strongest symbols Britain has to offer. 

Image credit: Flickr; Tony Hisgett

 

To celebrate the new millennium, the biggest dome in the world was built on the Meridian Line. Titled the Millennium Dome, it became the home of the Millennium Experience, an exhibition and visitor attraction celebrating the beginning of the third millennium.

More than six million people visited the Dome during the year 2000 and although the exhibition has now been demolished, the Dome now houses the 02, a state-of-the-art concert arena that also includes a nightclub, cinema, exhibition space, piazzas and bars.

The Millennium Dome is often seen as an emblem for New Labour and it generated more media coverage than any British building in the past 100 years.

Image credit: along_the_trail

Darren Christopher Clarke, OBE (born 14 August 1968) is a professional golfer from Northern Ireland who currently plays on the European Tour and has previously played on the PGA Tour.

The winner of 22 tournaments worldwide, Clarke is best known for winning the 2011 Open Championship at Royal St George’s, his first win in 20 years and 54 attempts!

Clarke’s victory at the 2011 Open Championship was hot on the heels of the major wins of fellow Northern Irishmen Graeme McDowell at the 2010 and Rory McIlroy at the 2011 U.S. Open, putting weight behind the theory that Northern Ireland is the Golf Capital of the World.

Image credit: photojenni

The Natural History Museum in London is home to 70 million life and earth science specimens, falling within five main collections: Botany, Entomology, Mineralogy, Palaeontology and Zoology. The Natural History Museum also houses a library which is access by appointment only due to the important journals and manuscripts contained within.

Designed by Alfred Waterhouse and opened in 1881, the NHM is located on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, also home to the Science Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum. In 2010 a BBC documentary series was filmed allowing the public unprecedented access behind the scenes and explored the museum’s rich history.

Image credit: coolinsight

The best way to embrace the Great British countryside is to grab your wellies and tent and head on out there!

With the British climate, camping has been associated with wet socks and muddy fields but this doesn’t stop us Brits from enjoying the great outdoors! UK residents took 16.6m camping and caravanning trips in 2011 alone; we wonder how many songs round the camp fire and roasted marshmallows that is?

Image credit: rtadlock

Today’s moment and image come from the Dudley Canal Trust.

In 1963 Dudley Canal Preservation Society evolved, when a group of young men joined together to protect the tunnel.  The campaign was successful and in 1970 the Dudley Canal Trust was formed.  In 1984 we built the first tunnel for 126 years within the Cavern network with a second one in 1989 being built to allow our passengers a unique insight into this underground world under Dudley.  Today we carry around 80,000 visitors a year from all over the world through the underground network of tunnels and caverns with stunning audio visual shows taking you back 420 million years to the silurian age when Dudley was a tropical seabed, a music and light show, a lifelike reconstruction of miners working underground and a chance to experience the old fashioned art of “legging” the boat through the tunnel.  With four trip boats we run every fifteen minutes at busy times throughout the year.  We also special events underground including Halloween, Santa and Ghost Hunting evenings.

 

We are currently in the planning stage of a new Learning and Access Hub which will be built on site to enable us to tell the story of the history of the tunnels, caverns and waterways.  Our Charitable Trust continues to preserve the Caverns and Waterways for future generations to enjoy.