Days Out

How many UNESCO World Heritage sites have I visited?

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A photo of Salt's Mill in Saltaire, a UNESCO World Heritage Site near Bradford.

Something I used to do was ask my Facebook friends a new question every day. It started in 2022, and I managed to keep going every day well into last year before running out of ideas for new questions. One of those questions was how many UNESCO World Heritage Sites have you visited?

I think, in my mind, UNESCO World Heritage Sites are relatively unusual, and that most people would have only visited one or two in their lifetimes. As it happens, there are well over a thousand UNESCO World Heritage Sites across the world, in over 160 countries. 35 of these are in the UK alone. So, with this in mind, here are all of those that I have visited, split by country.

United Kingdom

A photo of Bridgetown in Barbados, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Barbados

Barbados has just the one UNESCO World Heritage Site, which is its capital, Bridgetown. I went on holiday with my parents in 2000, as I’d turned 16 and it was their 25th wedding anniversary. To date, it’s the only time I’ve been to the western side of the Atlantic Ocean.

A photo of one of the canals in Bruges.

Belgium

  • La Grand-Place, Brussels. I had a weekend in Brussels with my parents in the early 2000s. At the time, my mum worked for a charity that was applying for a six-figure sum of funding from the European Commission, and so it was decided that she would submit the funding bids in person so that there was no risk of it getting lost in the post. We therefore went as a family and made a weekend of it, travelling down on the Eurostar.
  • Belfries of Belgium and France. These include belfries in Brussels and also Bruges, which we visited in 2014. Speaking of which…
  • Historic Centre of Bruges. The whole of central Bruges is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and it’s easy to see why as it’s lovely. Previously I’d been briefly with my parents in 1992, on our way back from a holiday in eastern France.
A photo of Mont St Michel in Northern France

France

France is the country that I’ve visited the most after the UK, so it’s not surprising that I’ve visited several UNESCO World Heritage Sites over the years.

Greece

I have been to Crete, which is home to several UNESCO World Heritage Sites, but as I was only three years old at the time, I don’t really remember it.

Ireland

I have been to Ireland – well, Dublin. There are two UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the Republic of Ireland, but neither of them are in Dublin, so I haven’t been to them.

Italy

I have been to Italy twice – once to Venice, in 1999, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and once on a day trip in 2001 to Ventimiglia, a town known for its markets on the French border, which isn’t.

Jordan and Oman

I have been to Amman in Jordan, and Muscat and Salalah in Oman, but this was a work trip so I didn’t get to see any of the heritage sites whilst there.

Romania

I was lucky enough to go on an A-level Geography field trip to Romania in 2001. Whilst there, I got to see the Danube Delta and some of the Villages with Fortified Churches in Transylvania.

Spain

I’ve been to the northern coast of Spain once, staying near Santander, but it was thirty years ago and so I can’t remember whether we visited any of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites there.

Switzerland

I’ve been to Geneva once, all the way back in 1992, but not to any of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites elsewhere in the country.

Where next

I’ve hinted at a few places that we may go back to in the UK. Next month, there’s a possibility I may check off another international UNESCO World Heritage Site, but I can’t be sure that it’ll happen yet.

York Model Railway Show 2025

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A photo of a model railway where an old fashioned British Rail diesel passenger train is travelling over a level crossing

This is the last of a series of blog posts about what we did over the Easter weekend, which included Knowsley Safari Park, the National Centre for Birds of Prey and Ampleforth Abbey. On Easter Monday, I went to the York Model Railway Show with my Dad and our nine-year-old.

The last time we went was, I believe, 2017, when our nine-year-old was only 2. I remember it not being a particularly enjoyable experience for them so we hadn’t been back since. But they seemed keen to go this year, and enjoyed it. The last time I blogged about it was in 2016, so maybe read that first.

Compared with previous years, I noted that most layouts now use Digital Command Control for operating the model trains. This allows modellers to control individual trains directly, rather than by selectively powering the tracks. It also allows the trains to have sound effects that react to their current operation (so sounds get faster as the train speeds up). Indeed, one layout seemed to be operated by tablet computers, rather than traditional handsets.

I also felt like there was more variety this year too. Certainly, there were more layouts set in modern times – it wasn’t steam engines all the way down. But it was also nice to see some non-British settings, including an interesting Chinese layout. China, apparently, was still using steam engines in revenue service as recently as the early 2000s, which seems hard to believe when you consider it’s now a world leader in high speed electric train services.

The other thing I noticed was the impact of 3D printing. Indeed, there was at least one 3D printing demonstration there. Being able to 3D print your own parts, model buildings and even model locomotives must be a big step forward.

The York Model Railway Show takes place every Easter at York Racecourse. Seeing as our nine-year-old enjoyed it this time, we may well be back next year.

Byland Abbey

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A photo of Byland Abbey

One thing we’re not short of in England is ruined abbeys and monasteries – Henry VIII had a lot to answer for – and one that we visited a few years ago was Byland Abbey.

Byland Abbey is in North Yorkshire, a few miles due east of Ampleforth Abbey, and we visited on the same day in 2019. I say visited; we pulled up, I took a few photos, and then we carried on. Compared to other ruined abbeys like Fountains Abbey, there isn’t much of Byland Abbey left now. However, you can see from my photo that it would have a large rose window in its heyday, and this inspired the rose window at York Minster.

Nowadays, Byland Abbey is managed by English Heritage. It’s free to go in, and if you wanted you could probably spend 30 minutes to an hour there. In the summer months, you can see an interesting tiled floor in the old church.

Just be aware that there’s only a very small car park at the site, and bus services through Byland are very infrequent with just three per day from York. There’s no visitor centre, so if you need the toilet, you’ll need to ask nicely at the local pub.

Ampleforth Abbey

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A photo of Ampleforth Abbey taken on Easter Saturday in April 2019.

Following our trip to the National Centre for Birds of Prey, we drove a little further to Ampleforth Abbey, a church and monastery to the south of Helmsley. Unlike many monasteries in the area, this one was built in the 19th Century and so was long after Henry VIII disbanded them. It’s currently home to around 40 monks.

The church is open every day, with regular services that are open to the public. There’s also a new visitor centre, which opened last year, giving the history of the site and offering some activities for children. There is, of course, a tea room.

Ampleforth Abbey Cider

Nowadays, Ampleforth Abbey is probably best known for its cider. The monks have been growing apples on site since the monastery was founded, and now has the largest commercial orchard in the north of England. The cider is produced on site, and is one of my favourites – the visitor centre includes a shop which sells it by the bottle. Alas, whilst tours of the cider mill and orchard used to be on offer, they’re not available at present.

If you’re not the cider-drinking type, non-alcoholic apple juice is also available, as is a beer that’s brewed over our neck of the woods by the Little Valley Brewery, near Hebden Bridge.

Whilst I wouldn’t make a special journey to Ampleforth Abbey, it’s worth stopping off if you’re passing.

National Centre for Birds of Prey

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A photo of a hawk with its keeper at the National Centre for Birds of Prey in Helmsley, North Yorkshire

On Easter Sunday, we went to the National Centre for Birds of Prey, in Helmsley, North Yorkshire. This was our third visit, and happened to be exactly six years to the day since our first.

The National Centre for Birds of Prey, as you would expect, has one of the UK’s largest collections of birds of prey, including many species owls, eagles, hawks, condors and vultures. Originally, there was a sister site in Gloucestershire, but this closed in 2022. Whilst there are plenty of birds of prey centres across the UK, there are far more on display here than I’ve seen anywhere else.

Birds of Prey shows

It’s all well and good looking at birds on their perches, or in their aviaries, but it’s always better to see them actually flying. There are three flying demonstrations each day (two in winter), each with five birds, and with a different set of birds in each show. Therefore, if you stay all day, you can see fifteen different birds flying. The staff who present the birds are all very knowledgable, not just about the species as a whole, but about the individual birds that they fly. Many of the birds have GPS trackers attached to them, so you can see how high they can fly, and it helps the staff retrieve them should they decide to fly off. Indeed, the last of the five birds in the morning session that we attended decided to have a little explore and didn’t come back until about half an hour after the show ended.

There are also wild red kites in the area, and one rudely interrupted a great horned owl’s flying time until it was offered some food to go away. Considering that as recently as 1990s, red kites were almost extinct in the UK, their reintroduction has been a success story. At the centre, you can see their close relatives, the black kite.

Experiences and events

It’s possible to spend a full day at the centre and see all three shows, but like most zoos, there are also experiences that you can pay extra for. These include hawk and owl walks for 1-2 hours.

In 2019, we went on one of their winter owl evenings, which was great. They also offer monthly photography days in the summer and autumn.

Accessibility

The National Centre for Birds of Prey is located at Duncombe Park on the edge of Helmsley. Car parking is available on site, and it’s a 10-15 minute walk from the town centre. Buses from Scarborough and York call at Helmsley.

It’s open every day from early February until Christmas Eve. A Max Card discount is available.

Whilst there are no steps, there is some uneven ground and slopes around the centre. Disabled toilets are available, although I couldn’t find a Changing Places toilet anywhere nearby (the nearest being several miles away in Thirsk and Pickering).

Other things to see and do in Helmsley

Helmsley is a lovely little town, and it’s possible to make a weekend of it:

  • Duncombe Park has some gardens and shares a car park with the centre.
  • Helmsley Castle is an English Heritage property. Although mainly a ruin, thanks to the English Civil War, much of it still survives. We went in 2011.
  • Rievaulx Abbey is another ruined monastery (continuing a theme of Henry VIII having a lot to answer for) just outside the town.
  • Rievaulx Terrace, next door, is a National Trust property and home to some gardens.

The town itself is full of independent shops and is worth a visit on its own.

Knowsley Safari Park

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A photo of a tiger at Knowsley Safari Park

On Good Friday, we paid a visit to Knowsley Safari Park, on the eastern edge of Liverpool. This was actually our sixth visit, going back to 2018 when our nine-year-old was only two, but apparently I’ve never blogged about it before. We received gift tickets as Christmas presents from my parents.

Knowsley Safari Park is the only drive-through safari park in the North of England, and one of only six in the UK. You may know it from the Channel 4 series, the Secret Life of the Safari Park, which aired last year and is available to stream on 4oD, or whatever it’s changed its name to this week. For us in Sowerby Bridge, it’s only an hour’s drive in good traffic, despite being in Merseyside and on the other side of Manchester. However, its distance means that, in bad traffic, it can take much longer, and on a previous trip in 2019 I remember having to take a huge diversion via Preston and Burnley to get home, due to a closure on the M60.

A pair of white rhinos at Knowsley Safari Park

The Safari Drive

Knowlsey Safari Park is split into two parts. As mentioned, there’s a drive-through safari, where you stay in your own car and drive (slowly) past lots of different animals. The drive is split into several zones to split the animals up, nominally by where you would find them in the wild. Expect to see lots of different species of deer and antelope, but there are also several rhinos and camels. There are also some wandering ostriches which like to peck at the rubber seals around your car windows.

Speaking of animals which like to damage cars, there’s a separate section for the baboons. The baboon colony at Knowsley is quite large, both in terms of space and population. There are warning signs as you drive in that your car will be damaged, and so there’s a ‘baboon bypass’ you can take if you’d rather not have a cheeky baboon steal your windscreen wipers. We drove through on our first visit in 2018, and ended up without some rubber windscreen seals that we weren’t able to replace. On subsequent visits, we’ve parked up next to the baboon enclosure for the schadenfreude of watching other peoples’ cars getting damaged.

The other animals that have their own section are the African Lions, mainly because they would probably hunt the other animals on the safari drive, given the chance. As well as cattle grids between each zone, you drive over electric webbing to enter the lion zone.

This time we also saw plenty of animals which weren’t part of Knowsley’s collection, that just happened too be there. There were plenty of pheasants, as well as partridges, oyster catchers and lapwings.

Foot Safari

The other part of Knowsley Safari Park is the ‘foot safari’, which is where you can park up your car and walk around, like in a traditional zoo. This is where you’ll see the Amur Tigers, tapir, giraffes, bears, sealions, bush dogs, meerkats and birds of prey. The foot safari used to be in a horseshoe shape, but since our last visit they’ve added a wildlife walk to make it a complete circuit. This also gives access to a new area with sheep and goats. We actually did this bit first, having arrived at opening time, and it was nice and peaceful.

A zookeeper at Knowsley Safari Park holding a bald eagle during a falconry display

Shows and displays

There are a couple of shows that are worth watching whilst you’re at the foot safari. The first is the sealion show, where they show the zoo’s sealions performing tricks. And the second is a birds of prey show, where they will fly several of their birds. The sealion show is indoors, and the birds of prey show is either indoors or outdoors depending on the weather. Though the weather on Good Friday wasn’t great (definitely worse than recently and Good Friday last year), the birds of prey show was outside. There are also various talks about the animals on the foot safari at set times.

The shows are all in the afternoons, as I think the expectation is that you’ll do the safari drive first and then the foot safari. We did it the other way around, as we expected the weather to be worse later on. Compared to other zoos, being able to use your car to drive through has its advantages in bad weather.

For the first time in a while, I’ve had time to upload the rest of my photos to Flickr, so take a look.

Accessibility

Most people will drive to Knowsley Safari Park, and it’s located just off the M57 (which itself isn’t far from the M62). But it is reachable by public transport – the nearest town is Prescot, and there’s a direct bus from the bus station there. You can also get the train to Prescot and walk – it takes about half an hour, apparently. If you want to do the safari drive, but haven’t arrived in a car, then you can take the Baboon Bus. You need to pre-book, and my experience you should book at least a couple of weeks in advance. It goes around the whole safari drive, including the baboon enclosure. It’s fitted with ropes and things for the baboons to climb on, and presumably they have access to a good supply of spare parts.

The foot safari is almost exclusively on one level, and where it isn’t, ramps are provided. There are two Changing Places toilets on site. Assistance dogs are only allowed outside of the animal areas, however; kennels are provided if needed.

Also, I feel it’s worth mentioning that the food at Knowsley Safari is above average, compared to most other zoos, and it’s not too over-priced. Sure, you can have the usual hotdogs and burgers, but I had quite a nice katsu curry when we went.

National Emergency Services Museum

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A photo of some old fire engines at the National Emergency Services Museum in Sheffield

The weekend before Easter, we went to the National Emergency Services Museum in Sheffield. It’s a place we’ve been past a few times and so it’s been on our to-do list for a while, but this was our first visit.

The museum is housed in what was originally rare example of a combined police, ambulance and fire station, which opened in 1900. Over time, the various services outgrew the building and by the time it closed in 1965 only the police remained. The museum first opened in the year of my birth, 1984, originally just as fire service museum. It became a fire and police museum in 1991, and adopted its current name of the National Emergency Services Museum in 2015 following an extensive refurbishment.

Whilst the building is rather small, there’s a lot packed in there. It’s spread over three floors, with a yard at the back that houses a full-sized lifeboat and an Embrace ambulance. Inside, there are a number of police vehicles, ambulances and firefighting equipment, and you can also go inside some of the old police cells. Upstairs, there are galleries about the role of the emergency services on the front lines during the First World War, and a history of fire services in the UK.

Steamers and Scallywags

The principal reason that we went when we did was the Steamers and Scallywags event. Many of the staff were dressed up in Steampunk outfits, and there were market stalls in the stables. Upstairs, in the event space, you could try your hand at tea duelling, and there were regular performances from various Steampunk-adjacent acts over the weekend. We specifically went to see Madam Misfit, who we’ve seen before. This was our nine-year-old’s first time seeing her and she put on a great family-inclusive performance.

Elsewhere, there were animal handling sessions where Christine and our nine-year-old got to handle various snakes. I feel like there may be a pet snake in our future.

Commitments in the morning meant that we could only spend an afternoon at the National Emergency Services Museum, and as we prioritised the Steampunk activities, we didn’t get to see all of the rest of the museum. Thankfully, it’s one of those museums where your tickets can become an annual pass at no extra charge, and so we’ll be back soon.

Accessibility

The National Emergency Services Museum is located in Sheffield city centre, and so it’s quite easy to get to by public transport. Car parking is also available nearby – we parked at the NCP car park on Solly Street which is just around the corner.

Being a 125 year old building, accessibility isn’t perfect and there are some uneven surfaces on the ground floor. This is also reflected by a discounted entry fee for wheelchair users. However, there is a lift and most of the doorways are nice and wide to fit wheelchairs through. There is a disabled toilet on site. A sensory map and sensory backpacks are available.

NHS staff (like Christine) and people who work in the emergency services get discounted admission. The museum is normally open Wednesday to Sunday each week, and on Bank Holiday Mondays.

RSPB Fairburn Ings

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A photograph of a mosaic that spells out 'Fairburn Ings' and has a swan on it

Last Sunday, we spent an afternoon at Fairburn Ings, an RSPB nature reserve that straddles the border between North and West Yorkshire.

Fairburn Ings was previously used for coal mining and industry, until the 1950s. It’s been left to return to nature, and is now a series of ponds, lakes and bogs, with the River Aire flowing past. These wetlands have attracted many birds, and it’s now run by the RSPB who have a series of hides across the site, and a visitor centre.

The visitor centre sits in the middle of the site. On our most recent visit, we walked around the western side of the site, in the hope of seeing some spoonbills. Alas, we didn’t, but we saw plenty of swans and cormorants, along with a black-necked grebe which isn’t native to Britain. We also saw a white egret.

There are a number of marked footpaths around the site, but many areas are kept out of bounds to give safe spaces to the wildlife. The visitor centre has binoculars for sale and to hire, and you can also hire a pond dipping kit for kids.

About 10 minutes drive away is another RSPB reserve at St Aidans – indeed, the two are jointly managed, and you could combine both as a single day out. We actually planned to go to St Aidans, but couldn’t get parked; it seemed that with the recent lovely weather, lots of other people had the same idea.

Accessibility

Fairburn Ings is near the village of Fairburn, which until 20 years ago was bisected by the A1 but is now a relatively quiet backwater. You probably want to drive there, as there aren’t any buses that get particularly near Fairburn Ings, and the nearest railway station is three miles away in Castleford.

There are two car parks at Fairburn Ings; the central one is run by the RSPB and is close to the visitor centre. There’s a separate one run by Leeds City Council at the western end. Both are pay and display, but otherwise entrance to Fairburn Ings is free.

Whilst there are few steps on the site, the ground is often uneven and there are some steep slopes. The visitor centre has a disabled toilet, but if you need a Changing Places toilet, you’ll need to go to the Junction 32 Outlet or Ferrybridge Motorway Services which are both a short drive away.

Sci-Fi Weekender XVI

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A photo of Peter Davison being interviewed on stage at Sci-Fi Weekender 15

By the time you’re able to read this, Christine and I will be beginning our second day at Sci-Fi Weekender in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. This is the seventh consecutive SFW event that we’ve been to, and we’ve always enjoyed it.

I wrote more about why we go and the history of SFW last year, so have a read of that if you’re interested. This year, the biggest guest is Paul McGann, continuing the theme of actors who have played The Doctor in Doctor Who (Peter Davison was there last year). Noah Hathaway, from The Never-Ending Story, will also be there along with two actors from Star Trek with whom I’m not familiar with. There’s also a welcome return for John Robertson and his show The Dark Room, who was absent last year.

This year will be different; it’ll be the first full SFW that we’ve been to where there’s no Professor Elemental, and it won’t be compered by Adam Washington, again for the first time in many years. But then there have been changes every year as the event changes and evolves.

A photo of Neil being molested by Orcs

We’ll be driving down again, and as with last year we’re offering friends a lift down so we’ll have a full car. It’s a rather long drive from West Yorkshire, mainly due to the A17 which we use to cut across Lincolnshire. It’s not a particularly fast nor scenic road, passing across mainly flat agricultural land. We call it the Sto Plains.

As for whether we decide to do cosplay this year – probably not. I’ll probably take my Steampunk gear but we don’t have any specific plans. In previous years, Christine has been Sadness from Inside Out, and a Feegle Kelda from Discworld. I think she just likes making herself blue.

Bookings are already open for next year’s event. At present, we’re still deciding whether to go. If we do, we’ll need to book our annual leave early, as it coincides with Eid al-Fitr at the end of Ramadan.

National Trust properties reachable from West Yorkshire (part two)

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A copy of the 2025 National Trust handbook

Last time, I wrote about the National Trust properties that we’d visited within a 90 minute drive of where we live, in Sowerby Bridge. Today, this is about the properties that we haven’t yet visited. It’s a much shorter list.

Goddards Garden

Goddards is in York, and in fact is in walking distance of where I grew up. It was owned by the Terry family, they who introduced the world to the Chocolate Orange, and later on became the regional offices for the National Trust. I don’t remember it being open when I was younger, but nowadays you can pop in and see the gardens at weekends.

Rievaulx Terrace

Again, stretching the 90 minute journey time but it’s also closer to York, where my parents live. The village of Rievaulx is just outside the pretty little market town of Helmsley, and is better known as the home of Rievaulx Abbey. The Abbey is a ruin (yet again, Henry VIII had a lot to answer for) and managed by English Heritage. But above the abbey is Rievaulx Terrace, home to some formal gardens, woodlands, and a couple of folly temples. The National Trust suggest that you combine a trip with nearby Nunnington Hall if you want to make a day of it.

Beatles’ Childhood Homes

Going over to the West Coast, and you can visit the childhood homes of John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Access is by guided tour only, and has to be booked in advance with pickup from either Liverpool South Parkway station, or Speke Hall. There are only four tours offered each day, but they’re available seven days a week, except in low season when the houses are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Whilst many Beatles tours in Liverpool will take you past these houses, this is the only way that you can actually go inside.

The Hardmans’ House

Another house of a similar vintage in Liverpool is The Hardmans’ House, offering a chance to see how people lived in the 1950s. It was home to Edward Chambré Hardman and his wife Margaret – Edward was a well-known portrait photographer, so you can also see his dark room, and a selection of photographs. Currently it’s closed until May, and then only open on Fridays and Saturdays, with pre-booking advised.

Little Moreton Hall

I feel like I may have been to Little Moreton Hall in the past – as with nearby Biddulph Grange, we have family nearby. But I certainly don’t remember anything about it, so if I have been, it must have been a very long time ago. It’s a similar-looking Tudor house to Speke Hall and has an actual moat. Over the years, various bits have been added to it, making it probably one of ‘wonkiest’ houses that you would ever see.

Rufford Old Hall

Another Tudor survivor is up near Ormskirk. Rufford Old Hall may have been visited by William Shakespeare during his teenage years. As well as the house, there are large gardens and woodland to explore, and so if you’re not a member then it’s one of the higher-priced National Trust properties. But that should mean that there’s plenty to do there.

So there’s only six places that we haven’t yet been to within 90 minutes travelling time, and three of them have limited opening hours. That being said, I think we’ll make plans to go to Little Moreton Hall and Rufford Old Hall in the near future. As I mentioned at the start of the year, our summer holiday this year will be in North Wales, and there’s no shortage of National Trust properties up there either.