UK ~ Down House - Charles Darwin ~

... A beautiful place to step in history... with its unique place in the history of science and evolution, Down House, is one of the major visitor attractions in the South East... it is beautifully cared for and restored and captured the essence of Darwin's home life and how that reflected on his "professional" life...
... It reminds me of a very interesting TV serie that I really loved... it was called, "Beagle: On the future of species"... the project reconstructed Darwin's 5-year long voyage on the HMS Beagle in the course of one year, and made an attempt to assess where the world stands today in light of Darwin's evolution theory... ( to celebrate Darwin's 200 birthday in 2009)... Thanks a lot Ann for this special card for my collection!! (✿ ♥‿♥)

Only 16 miles from the center of London, in Downe, is Charles Darwin's home, Down House, now under the management of English Heritage.

Down House belonged to the great Victorian scientist Charles Darwin, who lived here for 40 years until his death in 1882. After moving to the house in 1842, Darwin and his wife, Emma, remodelled the house and its extensive gardens, which Darwin used as an open-air laboratory. It was here that Darwin developed his theory of evolution by natural selection and wrote his groundbreaking work On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection (1859).

Darwin did almost all his experiments here, as he never travelled much after the Beagle trip - the occasional trip to London or Cambridge or the Isle of Wight was all he could manage. But he had a huge network of correspondents, who carried out all kinds of investigations and collection for him.

Ⓒ Historic England

Stamp:

The 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Ian Fleming
(Issued 06-01-2008)

Queen Elizabeth II

UK ~ Durham Cathedral - UNESCO -

.... Great historical and religious place in a wonderful setting... the city's major landmark atop of a hill...the Cathedral has been in continuous use since its original construction 900 years ago... it remains a place of worship and pilgrimage, and is also an important visitor attraction... over 600,000 people pass through its doors every year... it holds over 1,700 services a year, and costs £60,000 per week to maintain... the Cathedral has been used to shoot various exterior and interior shots of Hogwarts in the Harry Potter films... Big Thanks Andrene!! (✿ ♥‿♥)

Photo: Peter Jackson Summer view across the River Wear from South West
The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham, usually known as Durham Cathedral and home of the Shrine of St Cuthbert, is a cathedral in the city of Durham.

Durham Cathedral was built in 1093 and is a Norman building  in the Romanesque style. It was founded as a monastic cathedral built to house the shrine of St Cuthbert, replacing an earlier church constructed in his honour.

The cathedral is regarded as one of the finest examples of Norman architecture and has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986 along with nearby Durham Castle.The Durham Cathedral and Castle WHS was one of the first to be designated, along with the India’s Taj Mahal and France’s Palace of Versailles.

Stamps:

Windmills and Watermills
(Issued 20-06-2017)

UK ~ Hadrian's Wall - Northumberland National Park - UNESCO ~

.... Beautiful view of Britain’s most impressive and most important Roman monument... the largest Ancient Monument in northern Europe... Hadrian's Wall Path is fast becoming one of the UK’s most popular long distance walks attracting walkers from all over the world... with great  matching "Ancient Britain" stamp... Thanks a million dear Andrene!! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯... I hope there are still many more amazing places like this on your "bucket" list...(◕‿-)

Hadrian's Wall (also called the Roman Wall) construction was ordered in AD 122 by Emperor Hadrian, for whom it is named.

The Wall stretches over 73 miles (117 km) from coast to coast in what is now Northern England, reaching 6m high in some places. It took around 15,000 men about 6 years to build and was protected by the Roman soldiers living in forts alongside it. According to his later biographer, he built the wall to separate the civilized world of the Romans from the barbarians living beyond it.

The Wall that you see today is only a small fraction – estimated at around 10% – of the original. Over the course of the intervening centuries stone has been removed, buried or destroyed.

A World Heritage Site since 1987, together with the Antonine Wall and the Upper German Raetian Limes, it forms part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site ‘Frontiers of the Roman Empire.’

Stamps:

Queen Elizabeth II

Ancient Britain - Star Carr Headdress - Yorkshire, England
(17-01-2017)

UK ~ Northumberland National Park ~

... Breathtaking scenery and fantastic new National Park... it remains the least populated and visited out of the 15 UK parks.... officially England's most tranquil location... it is the biggest dark sky protected area in Europe... the best place to enjoy the starry nights✰✰✰... and voted National Park of the Year in 2016... Big Thanks Andrene!! (✿ ♥‿♥)

Northumberland National Park is the most northerly park in England and lies between the Scottish border and Hadrian’s Wall. The Park covers an area of 1,049km, or 405 square miles.

The Northumberland National Park landscapes include everything from bogs and swamps, to rolling farmlands and patches of forest, to steep hills and striking Roman ruins.

Northumberland National Park was officially designated on the 6th April 1956.




"Hay meadows - Upper Coquetdale, Hadrian's Wall - Hareshaw Linn - Sheep in clover - Falstone, River Breamish - Simonside and Cheviot Hills"

Photo:Ⓒ Simon Fraser

Stamp:

Universal Mail UK postage stamps
(Issued 01-06- 2012)

UK ~ Midsomer Country ~

... I've been to Midsomer country many times...  on TV ツ...  I'm a big fan of "The Midsomer Murders" series for years... the place where numerous murders occur in strangely creative ways and solved by Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby... lots of those beautiful locations are showing on this postcard... you can explore them by following self-guide trails, or by taking a chauffeur driven guided tour....  drinking a beer in Barnaby’s favourite pubs... see the shops he went to...  the churches he visited and the bridges he crossed.... for sure on my wishlist♥... Thanks a lot Lita for this special postcard!! (✿ ♥‿♥)

"Wallingford and local areas seen in Midsomer Murders"
Wallingford is an ancient market town on the west bank of the River Thames downstream of Oxford and lies at the foot of the Chilterns.

Fans of popular TV series Midsomer Murders will recognise Wallingford as Causton, home to main character Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby.

Stamps:

Queen Elisabeth II

Landscape Gardens
(16-08-2016)

UK ~ Winchester Cathedral - Hampshire ~

... Beautiful view of the cathedral’s imposing west front, with its great 14th-century triple porch and Gothic window... the city’s most prominent landmark... the history of this important structure is more than 1300 years long... the cathedral is famous as the grave of Jane Austen, the famous English author and inventor of Mr Darcy... also known for the 12th century bible in the library... currently being restored with a budget of £20.5million (⊙.◎ ).... with nice matching stamp... Big Thanks once more Andrene!! 乂❤‿❤乂 (I'm so glad it arrived after travelling for a monthツ... dated 16-02-17)

Photo: Bob Croxford "The Cathedral at Winchester has played an important role in the city since the foundations were laid in 1079."
Winchester Cathedral a Church of England cathedral in Winchester, Hampshire. It is one of the largest cathedrals in Europe, with the longest nave and greatest overall length of any Gothic cathedral in Europe.

It is an outstanding example of all the main phases of English church architecture from the 11th century until the early 16th century, when much of today’s building was complete. It’s been a place of worship ever since.

Stamp:

Universal Mail UK postage stamps

UK ~ Jurassic Coast - UNESCO ~

... Fantastic views of the spectacular coastline... the Jurassic Coast is a Walk Through Time representing 185 million years of earth history ... with its rocks and fossils you can uncover detailed stories from Earth’s ancient past... visitors to the whole area can enjoy fossil hunting in many of the beach locations... Did you find some fossils??? Thanks sooooo much Andrene!! 乂❤‿❤乂

Photo: Bob Croxford
The Jurassic Coast is a stretch of coast in south-west England from Emouth in the West to Swanage in the East and is 95 miles long (153 km). Its entire length can be walked on the South West Coast Path.

The name Jurassic Coast comes from the best known of the geological periods found within it, but in fact the Site includes rocks from the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. The different rocks tell a fascinating story from ancient deserts to tropical seas throughout the Mesozoic era, between 250 million and 65 million years ago.

Stamp:

Landscape Gardens
(Issued 16-08-2016)

UK ~ New Forest National Park ~

... Plenty of fantastic views of an area of exceptional natural beauty...Sherlock Holmes author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, nursing heroine Florence Nightingale and Alice Hargreaves, the inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, are all buried in the New Forest... and guess from who it's coming??? o͜͡o Yep, my dear postcard friend Andrene♥... must have been a wonderful place to explore... Thaaaaaaanks!! ✿◕ ‿ ◕✿

Red Deer - Beaulieu Abbey - Blackwater Arboretum -
Stock Pig - New Forest Pony - Cottage
The New Forest National Park  situated mainly in south-west Hampshire but also extends north into Wiltshire close to the south coast. The "New" Forest is not new: it was created as a royal hunting ground by William the Conqueror in 1079.  It is not a forest in the modern sense of being entirely tree-covered: there are large expanses of open heath, bog and grassland in addition to ancient woodland.

New Forest ponies, the area’s most famous residents, appear to be wild but they are all owned by people known as commoners whose properties give them historic rights to graze animals.  Donkeys, cattle, pigs and sheep also graze freely in the New Forest alongside the ponies.

It is is one of Britain’s newest and smallest national parks, designated in 2005.

Stamp:

Universal Mail - Windsor Castle

SCOTLAND ~ Sanquhar - Dumfries ~

...A great multiview...as postcard lover any post office view is always a pleasure but one showing the world's oldest still working one is the best ㋡... a national treasure...with nice stamps...Thanks a lot John John!!(♥‿♥)

The Post Office     The 12thC Castle     The Toll Booth (Wm. Adam)     A view of the Town
Sanquhar is a town on the River Nith in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It is a former Royal Burgh.

Established in 1712 it is said to be the oldest continuously operating post office in the world as recognized by the Universal Postal Union and the Guinness Book of Records. It has been operating continuously for more than 300 years, eight years longer than its closest rival, in the Swedish capital Stockholm. The third oldest, in Santiago, Chile, opened a full 60 years after the office in Sanquhar.

Back then, the mail was delivered by “runners” who would use the post office as a “change-house” to rest, switch horses, and exchange mail bags before continuing their deliveries.

Stamps:

The 100th Anniversary of the Death of Sir Rowland Hill
(Issued 22-08-1979)

Christmas Stamps Issued
 (17-11-1982)

Classic Children's TV
(Issued 07-01-2014)

UK ~ Ham House and Garden - Ham - Surrey ~

...Hi back from Ham (>‿♥)...what a coincidence my hometown is also called Ham...must say you will not find such beautiful grand house in my rural village... reputed to be one of the most haunted houses in Britain you can do ghost tours here... and also no ghosts in my neighbourhood...◔͜͡◔ Thanks a million Andrene, this wonderful special postcard really made my day!! ♥

"The north front and forecourt of the house, completed in 1610"
Ham House is a historic Stuart House, situated on the banks of the River Thames in Ham, near Richmond in London.

Originally built in 1610 and enlarged in the 1670s by the influential Duke and Duchess of Lauderdale, Ham was a centre for court intrigue throughout most of the 17th century.

Ham House is a beautiful home with a historic collection of textiles, furniture and paintings dating back over 400 years shown in 26 rooms.

Stamp:

Universal Mail UK London Icons
(Issued 2008-2012)