The Lake District in North West England

The most visited national park in the United Kingdom with 15.8 million annual visitors and more than 23 million annual day visits. Known simply as 'The Lakes' this National Park in North West England is home to some of the greatest nature and hiking trails in the U.K and wildlife such as the Fell pony which is native to North West England.


Many great poets and writers have lived in The Lakes such as William Wordsworth and Beatrix Potter (both have museums/ homes that you can visit) and has had famous visitors such as Percy Bysshe Shelley, Sir Walter Scott and John Keats to mention a few.

These pictures were taken around the village Elterwater, Grasmere and Windermere:

John Lennon in New York City

In pervious blogs I’ve shown the Lennon walls in Sofia, Bulgaria and in Prague, Czech Republic so I thought that I’d add the final John Lennon site outside of Liverpool which I found on my travels which is the Strawberry Fields in Central Park NYC:

 

Strawberry Fields NYC was dedicated to Lennon on the 9 October 1985 which would have been his 45^th birthday by Lennon's widow Yoko Ono. 

The entrance to the memorial is located on Central Park West at West 72nd Street where John would often go for walks with his son Sean because it is directly across from the Dakota Apartments, where Lennon had lived for the later part of his life, and where he was murdered. 

The memorial is named after The Beatles song "Strawberry Fields Forever" which is named after Strawberry Field in Liverpool which was once a Salvation Army children's home where a young John Lennon would go to garden parties that took place each summer on the grounds of Strawberry Field.

The Dakota building has a very strange feel to it, a flame burning by the entrance and many iron gargoyles set a mourning atmosphere and knowing the history of what happened in the entrance gates gave a very strong reality to the story of Lennon’s life and is far from the semi-detached home he grew up in back in Liverpool yet the peaceful Strawberry Fields near both the homes have a completely different air, a celebration of life and a sense of peace fill the memorial section of Central Park. People playing guitars and exchanging stories while others take pictures by the “Imagine” mosaic which usually has messages, pictures, candles and flowers around it in a tribute to Lennon. The area feels far from NYC city at times and is a great place to sit and relax while people watching, so many interesting characters come here that it’s hard not to like.

The John Lennon Wall in Prague, Czech Republic

Just like the one in Sofia, Bulgaria this wall was started as a protest against the communist regime. The students who started this were described by the Czech authorities at the time as "alcoholics, mentally deranged, sociopathic, and agents of Western capitalism".  

The wall is located at Velkopřevorské náměstí (Grand Priory Square) near the Charles Bridge and is owned by the Knights of Malta who "allow" (I don't think it would stop even if it was banned) the graffiti to continue which means that each time you visit the wall it's like you are seeing it for the first time. These pictures are from a trip I had there in Feb 2008.

I really like the idea of a wall which is always changing and has messages of peace and love from anybody wishing to leave one (which you can take your time reading). If you are planning a trip to Prague then I would recommend a visit to the wall and also that you take a pen along so that you can leave your own message for the next people to see.

 

John Lennon Wall, Sofia, Bulgaria

Situated at the corner of Patriarch Evtimii and Graf Ignatiev streets in downtown Sofia the John Lennon wall was painted by Bulgarian high school students during the Communist Era as a sign of protest against the regime.

Here are some of my pictures (taken in 2012) of the wall which features a lot of different bands (like The Doors) and the statue of John Lennon which was unveiled to mark 30yrs since his death:

A short photo journey through Tokyo, Japan 2008

Boyana Waterfall: Sofia, Bulgaria

Boyana Waterfall: Sofia, Bulgaria 

I lived in Sofia for a few months and Boyana waterfall was my favourite spots in Sofia. Located in one of the most preserved areas of Vitosha the waterfall is easily accessible by hiking trails, you can choose your route starting from Boyana church (Buses to Boyana church are easy to find). 

The hike up to the waterfall holds some of the best views of nature possible to see in Sofia; the trails require some level of fitness and I would recommend taking along some bottles of water and wearing comfortable shoes. Signs in English are placed all along the trails so you won’t get lost and offer two different routes to get there (one is steeper than the other). 

The hike is well worth a visit to the waterfall, I was there when it was very hot and the feeling of sitting in the shadow of this beautiful fall in its cooling mist was something of an experience. You can sit on the rocks around the fall to eat while watching people abseiling down, the fall seems to be a popular tourist spot so you will most likely hear lots of different accents and languages so if you are here alone then it may be a good place to meet fellow travelers.

The hike back down can be steep but is fairly easy and buses back to the centre leave regularly from near the church so it’s a great day out and a refreshing way to leave the city for a few hours.

 
 
 

 

If you're looking for a cultural experience in NYC and enjoy a good drink

If you are looking for a cultural experience in NYC and (like me) enjoy a good drink then maybe this short list of taverns and clubs will help you plan a visit to New York. 

McSorley's Old Ale House:

Located in the East Village McSorley's is the oldest Irish tavern in NYC and has so much character that it's impossible not to like. When you enter the big black doors you can feel the atmosphere hit you instantly, the smells of the brewing ale creates something missing from other pubs and no piece of memorabilia has been removed from the walls since 1910 so you can spend hours just exploring this place without ever sampling the ale (but i don't know why you wouldn't). 

The only two drinks on offer are dark ale and light ale (or you can order one of each) it costs $4 for two glasses and tastes amazing. You can find things like Harry Houdini's handcuffs attached to the railing of the bar as you order the McSorley's cheese platter while sitting in the same place where Abraham Lincoln once sat....what more can i say?

White Horse Tavern:

Located in Greenwich Village on Hudson St The White Horse Tavern is known for it's bohemian culture because of all the writers, poets and artists that gathered here in the 50s and 60. This Tavern is huge and a great place to sit with a Guinness in your hand, the staff are very friendly and helpful and will tell you tales of the tavern like about the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas who is said to have drank his last drink in this very tavern. So many great writers, poets, singers and artists have drank here that I'm not even going to attempt to write them all here...just go there and find out for yourself. 


MacDougal Street:

Located in Greenwich Village next to Washington Square Park this historic street is home to so many great bars and clubs that one night here is not enough. You will enter basements filled with life and laughs like no other place in NYC, each pub and club offers something different from the last. You can go into the Cafe Wha? where so many great musicians and comedians started their careers and is now still a great place to listen to live music and dance. Off The Wagon is a pub just down from the Cafe Wha? and is great for cheap beer and drinking games. I won't list all the bars and clubs here but i would advise anybody going to NYC to give them a try, you can't take a wrong turn from MacDougal St so go there and have fun exploring.