It sort of jars when refer to yourself as a foreigner - you are a Canadian which makes you family. I'm so proud of the way Canada came to Britain's aide in troubled times - and offered to look after our children too.
I grew up in Sussex as a kid , got a green rover on the bus . Got to Croydon got a red rover ticket. Went all around London visiting museums great. We are talking early sixties. My parents didn’t even know where we were. Times change
I grew up in London (mid sixties) and did the same, from about 8 years old but without the green rover. The red rovers were a godsend. If there was a sight to be seen or a museum to visit, I was there. Some of the best times I ever spent. Sadly, I wouldn't want my grandkids to grow up there nowadays.
The same here. From about 8 years old onwards, my friends and I used to get a Red Rover ticket from Cockfosters tube station, catch a 29 bus and go all over London on our own in the school holidays. We went to almost all the museums at that time. My favourites were the Science Museum, which had loads of models you could operate by turning handles and the Imperial War Museum. I didn't like the Victoria and Albert Museum as it was full of clothing and furniture, which wasn't of interest to me at that age. Strangely, I've never ever been to the British Museum. My mother suggested I wouldn't like it so I never went. I left London for Cambridgeshire in my mid twenties, so probably will never go now even though I would probably love it now I'm older. Unfortunately, the London of my childhood is long gone now. It's not even safe for adults, yet alone for kids to travel around on their own. I can't believe how it's been destroyed when I see what's going on in the news.
Same here. I grew up in North west London and used to get a rover ticket and travel around exploring places I’d never been. Sometimes with my friend, sometimes alone.
Love the natural way you put your videos together. Not sanitised or edited purely to make it perfect, because nothing ever is. Your natural enthusiasm, personality and character shine through when you do these and you’re honest enough to admit if something doesn’t excite or interest you. Glad you enjoyed the Imperial War Museum, as it focuses on other conflicts rather then just the 2 World Wars.
Nice vid. The Canadians made a huge contribution to the Allied cause, resulting in significant casualties. They were involved in very heavy fighting in Normandy with the 12th SS. We thank the Canadians for their help. 🇨🇦
@@daftphil9706 The V&A and the British Museum are my favorites; if you are at the V&A then you are next to Natural History and Science which are also great.
@@spacechannelfiver I used to love the science museum as a kid when the exhibits were relevent to what I was being taught at my school. But I went as an adult some 40 years later and It had all changed.😞 Full of stuff even the Museum couldn't get me to understand. What's Quantum Physics?? Nevermind. The kids that were there seemed to be having a great, boisterous time.
When we visited the natural History museum we got to see the labs and meet someone who worked there who gave my son a fossilized shark tooth which was a treasured possession for ages
A really nice video Alana. You saw what the Canadian soldiers did in WW1 and you said your Grandfather was in WW2, that's why many people in Britain do not consider Canadians to be foreigners, (even if they are legally).
As an Englishman who was born and raised in this beautiful country, I must admit that I have never had the opportunity to experience London, our vibrant capital city. However, after viewing your video, I gained a fresh perspective on its charm and beauty. The sights and sounds you captured truly portray the essence of London, and honestly, it ignites within me a strong desire to visit this iconic city before my time on this earth comes to an end. I am genuinely grateful for the inspiration your video has provided; it has opened my eyes to the wonders that await in London, making it a place I now long to explore. Thank you for sharing such a delightful glimpse into this remarkable city.
Named after the city of Lancaster in the Duchy of Lancaster a title the sovereign holds regardless of whether it's a King OR Queen. I live there,Lancaster in Lancashire.
The world really opens up when you get comfortable with doing things for yourself. I just did a week’s holiday rambling about Spanish cities on my own, stuffing my face with local food and meeting local people. It’s a totally different experience when you’re by yourself.
There's the transport museum..but you have to pay. But there's the artillery museum at Woolwich which is better than one might think - and if you sow interest you may be allowed to look at the shed with Coldwar monster vehicles.
So pleased you enjoyed going on your own, and hope you make many more solo trips to share with us.. IWM is a brilliant museum, with such human touches throughout- not glorifying war, but showing the cost of conflict. A small museum I love is The Foundling Museum (entry £12:50) and The Wallace Collection, which is huge and free. Both in central London and near tube and bus stops. Love your enthusiasm.
Another good place is the RAF Museum in Hendon London. Also a hidden gem is The Wallace Collection, a little bit behind Selfridges Central London. It’s free to go into, has a fantastic paintings gallery upstairs, downstairs is quite a few rooms with plenty of historical artifacts, arms and armoury (suits of armour, swords, very old guns). And in the middle is a glass covered cafe and restaurant where you can sit and relax. And as it’s a hidden gem it’s normally not busy, and no school kids!
When I lived in the UK, I would often have an hour or two between or after meetings when I was in London, and I would usually go to one of the smaller London museums. The Wallace Collection really is a gem. I liked the regimental museums, as I was very interested in the Napoleonic Wars at the time. There are also some wonderful specialist museums, based on hobbies, crafts or occupations.
One thing worth adding about the Imperial War Museum is the building it is in. The museum opened just after WW1 but the building is much, much older and was originally the Bethlehem Hospital for (what we would call today) the mentally ill, or "Bedlam". It was the the place that gave us the word
@@vickylewis8558 Also one just off Smithfield, Bethlehem was a popular name for Asylums in Victorian times. A place of safety for the inmates they were not, the name sounded safe for local residents.
The Bethlehem Hospital was a Medieval Monastic Spital (hospital) for what was those deemed possessed in mind & spirit ,that was situated where the Liverpool Street RailTerminus stands , It was moved around the 17Cty to Moorfields & Thence across the River Thames to Lamberth North In the IWM building,then in late Geogian & Victorian times due to over crowding two new hospitals were built to house the Inmates in the West St Bernards (Hanwell) & in the North(Middlesex assylum for paupers) Shenly/London Colney & later close by middlesex assylem for Imbeciles( this meant non Violent) Leavesden Herts, after WW1 the newly formed IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM was housed in the present day building rather fittingly a redundant Asylum housing the abject lunacy of modern warfare ??
Know is a longer trip but highly recommend Duxford by Cambridge, is under the IWM band and is a original ww2 airfield that is now a museum dedicated to both air and land military history. Interesting fact as well as being a key airfield during the battle of Britain, it was also home to the the very first squadron to receive Spitfires and holds the first combat action for that aircraft
Got to agree, of all the IWM I find Duxford my favourite. It's extra special when they have an air show on but it's very expensive, but worth every penny.
@@jerry2357 Yes, that was the only Concorde I ever went aboard! And to watch a real Spitfire land and move into an actual WW2 hangar gave me goosebumps. Unforgettable...
It's strange how different people find different things nerve wracking. I'd get on a train and go to the IWM without a thought but I'd never film myself and stick it on UA-cam in a million years.
Suggestions for future visits: the collection of museums in Greenwich is great for a day out (National Maritime, the Royal Observatory, the Queen's House and the Old Royal Naval College). For something other than a museum, you could try a few days walking on the North Downs Way or a visit to Knole Park on the outskirts of Sevenoaks. If you're interested in the history of the 'Keep Calm and Carry On' poster, my dear friend, Dr Bex Lewis, wrote a book on the topic; it was probably in the gift shop.
10:38 Thanks for sharing this. My grandad was Scottish and I recently discovered that his uncle emigrated to Toronto (Degrassi street no less!) before the war and fought in the Canadian Army in WW1
I volunteer at IWM. If you look on the website before you go you can usually find something special put on for that day. I do WWT (we were there), as its name suggests we have ex service people telling about their experiences (it includes a lady that grew up in the troubles in Ireland), but the best bit is people that were evacuated as children in WW2. They are all in their 90's now but still draw large crowds. You can also go to HMS Belfast (on the river at Liverpool Street station), or the Churchill War Rooms (next to the Treasury). Although they are part of the IWM they do cost to get in.
I am so jealous. I’m a Brit currently languishing in the US and suffering from severe homesickness 😢. Your videos are amazing. They help take away some of my anxiety and bring a smile to my face and calmness to my heart. Thank you so much and God bless.
@@unitedkingdomoffiveeyes9765 Right, because the Tories did such a good job over the past 14 years, didn't they? 🤦♂ And you do know that you are always free to leave, right? 👍
@@seanscanlon9067 its what they have been saying since corbyn was in charge....now I'm not going to explain everything I beleive is wrong and scary about this party but one chilling act is Raynes has said she is going to spread the immergration issue to evey corner of the UK....that worries me and should you to. They also have issues with very far left activists within thier party.
Alanna you missed out on one of the best exhibits in the museum. The collection of Victoria Cross medals and the powerful stories of how they were earned. Moving stuff
My Canadian WWI story. Sgt Allen Smith came over here with the Canadian Army, in 1916. While waiting to go to France, he met and 'became close with' an English 17-year old girl from a well to do family (not *very* rich, but 'comfortable'). Lucky Stg Allen! Unfortunately, she became pregnant. Sgt Allen must have been an honourable man, because he quickly married her. And then got sent over to France. Where he died during the 2nd battle of the Somme. His son was born in July 1917, after his father had been killed. His wife had an 'adventurous' life, marrying another three times and becoming the Ladies Golf Champion of Mexico, among other things. His son was a piano student in a music school in Vienna when the Germans took over Austria and hightailed back to the UK, where he joined the RAF as a pilot in 1938. He flew Mosquitos as a night-fighter pilot defending London from the V-bombs, amongst other things. After the war, he married and had two sons and a daughter (one was me). He became a computer programmer in the early 1970's, and eventually became the foremost expert in hyphenation in computer typesetting programmes, and spent his later years being flown by his employers (Monotype) all over the world to help customers with computer generated hyphenation (mostly for newspapers) in their various languages and alphabets, before dying in 1990. So Thanks! Sgt Allen and Canada! They could be said to have had a significant positive impact on my life!
As a graphic designer, I can confirm that most people drastically underestimate the true importance of competent hyphenating … hyphen engineers are the backbone and heart of a literate society -
You shouldn’t refer to yourself as a “foreigner” anymore, your thought of as part of us now, love how your experiencing things, love your posts, lovely to see you getting around more ❤
Watching from Kelowna, BC. Temperature was 37 degrees C today. I am a woman who travels solo all the time and have done since my early 20s (I’m 66 now). I love museums and last week when I was on Vancouver Island I visited the Canadian Air Force Museum at CFB Comox. Loved it! A hidden gem. About exploring solo: just plan for a safe trip and enjoy it!
Back in the 1990's my partner an I bought a house in SW London with a very long garden, at the end of which was a large concrete slab. When we had it lifted there was a fully intact Anderson shelter underneath
We had one where we lived when I was a child. I wasn't allowed near it because it was basically a muddy hole and bits of rusty metal. Not small child friendly.
Very unusual as normally they were only half buried, to reduce the risk of flooding. The spoil excavated was piled over the top to provide protection for the exposed area
Some of my family escaped Estonia, and some of them didn’t, through everything from pogroms to WWII, thank you for being respectful, The Shoah is in my soul.
Nice 👍 many years ago I used to work in central London and I had a really weird shift pattern where I had a four hour gap in the middle of the day between shifts. It wasn't enough time to go home and back again so I got used to visiting museums and galleries in that time as they were all nearby. I would go to the Museum of Moving Image on the South Bank which was my favourite, the Tate Modern, the Tate, the British Museum, the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum. I look back now and am really grateful for having that opportunity, because I wouldn't have otherwise done it. Literally nobody notices, or cares in the slightest that you are on your own. In fact I struck up many conversations with other people who were on their own and doing a similar thing. I also went to some interesting talks simply because they were happening when I was there! I got so used to it, sometimes I would go to the cafe in the British museum for lunch and read my book, because I had to get up early one time I fell asleep on the comfy sofa - woke up to a family sitting down next to me lol 🤣🤣🤣
Sadly MOMI closed down. They had a green screen where my sons could “fly” over London only the younger one's shirt was the right shade of green so he had a disembodied head arms and lower half flying over London.
As an introvert and an only child I've always been very happy in my own company. In fact I'd say that it's preferable to me to do things on my own. My dad took me to IWM many times as a child, indeed I knew it so well that when we went there on a school field trip I was almost like a museum guide I knew it so well. I have regularly visited IWM several times on my own and it never bores me.
My Grt Uncle (though English) fought as a Canadian in WW1..Was in the 47th Batt. CEF.....He suffered a severe headwound and was evacuated back to Canada. He spent the remainder of his life in the Westminster Hospital, London, Ontario....when in 1927 he died from drinking corrosive acid (possible suicide). He is buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery, London, Ontario, Canada. He had been living in Union Street, Vancouver, British Columbia in 1916. He was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England...Same place as me.
@@beng7845 Yeah..not great...I was contacted by a lady who's own parents are buried in the same cemetery..and she offered to take a picture of his grave the next time she visited her parents grave....And she did..very kind of her...I also have another Grt Uncle killed on the opening day of the Battle of the Somme...He was 18...It's eye opening what you discover when researching your family tree.
As a child, I was taken (at my request!) to the IWM in London, every time my family went to London. To see actual tanks, planes and kit that was used during D-Day, or WW1, The Falklands and many other conflicts was mesmerising. I'd urge anyone who's in the UK as a resident or tourist to go and have a look. There's plenty for all the family and one thing I can promise, is that you won't have to worry about the kids being bored! Great video, Alanna!
Brilliant video Alanna, I love the IWM, it's a great place to visit. I also have a lot respect for the Canadian Army as they set up and ran a General Hospital for wounded soldiers at the start of WW2 in Leavesden, close to where I live and are now part of the local history. How about a trip to the London Transport museum next, an interesting way to find out about the modern history of the city.
Please do a solo picnic in Hyde Park. You could show us your shopping trip for goodies (but not what you bought), then your travel to and walk around Hyde Park, then finally what you bought and what you think of what you bought. Love your channel. Nice to see the UK through the eyes of others.
I was returning to the UK by car from a visit to Germany and decided to stop off in France and visit a battle site from the First World War. It was amazing the way it had been preserved with Trenches, Machine Gun Posts and tunnels that were dug to get troops to the front line. The nations take it in turns to oversee the site and when I visited it was the Canadians who were there. They were so knowledgeable and helpful. They were a credit to Canada.
As a long time Western Canadian who was born and grew up in London I would suggest that you visit the Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington. An amazing Museum and close to others such as the Natural History and Science museums.
My father was a Newfoundlander, he along 2,500 of his countrymen volunteered to join the Royal Navy at the outset, he survived the war and stayed in England. As a result I’m a duel national, a proud Brit and a proud Canadian.
Top work as usual Alanna. You did splendidly to capture so much footage in a crowded venue. Many great suggestions by others, so looking forward to more outings with you exploring solo!
I love going to museums on my own. I used to visit the British Museum (highly recommend!) of a lunchtime which was down the road from my work. You can take your time to really absorb and understand all the exhibits at your own pace without having to think about where friends/family are. 👍
I also worked nearby and would often pop in at lunchtime. People would sometimes ask me questions about exhibits, where certain things were etc. I then realised that because I was wearing a suit and tie people assumed I worked there 😅 Office workers don't usually dress up these days so it wouldn't happen. I'm not really qualified to give a lecture on Ancient Egyptian funerary customs, although I could direct them to the nearest loo with a high level of competence.
Been over 40 years since my one and only visit there, would love to go back but that would require at least a three day trip (to get there, day to visit, return). My one piece of history I know about part of the collection there is that in Oct 1918 on the reverse of the ration booklets, was a call by the museum for letters, photos and artefacts relative to the present war to be donated so as to tell the story for future generations. If you haven't already,, make the trip up to Leeds to visit the Royal Armouries, the polished metal alone will make your jaw drop!
I think I was last there in 1998... Looks like it's changed, so will give it a visit on my next trip to London. Visit Great Britain quite regularly as I'm a dual Canadian/UK citizen. As for solo travel, have been doing it for 30 years now. Been all over Great Britain and to New York, Paris, Rome, Geneva. I've found the kids to be relatively well behaved in the museums etc I've been to. I would have given anything as a school kid to be able to go to the vast array of museums all over the UK as my school trip.
My daughter use to, as a student, live round the corner from the museum. At night if you sit in the grounds you can occasionally see a ghost of a man wandering the grounds with a lantern.
It's been a few years since I was there but it is a most interesting and thought provoking museum. One section that I particularly enjoyed was the gallery of work of the British war artists. The government has sponsored artists since WW1 to record all aspects of life and some good 20th century artists are included. It was quiet when I was there too - no school kids but their teachers may have caught onto the gallery by now!
There are some great small museums in London. They're not free and you get round them usually in 45 mins to 90 mins. But all the ones I've been to were really worth a look. The museum of garden history. The guards museum. The household cavalry museum. The museum of brands and advertising. The canal museum. The london transport museum. Among others
At 12:03 there is a Siebe Gorman Proto oxygen breathing apparatus - as a firefighter in the 1970's we were still using these, with modifications to mask etc
I grew up not too far from the Imperial War Museum - a short bus-ride or a medium-ish walk away - and visited several times. The free access to so, so many museums is an amazing thing, and as you noted by encountering children on your own visit, makes visiting museums something that almost every school in London will organize regularly for the children to experience. Back in those days (the 1970s) transport in London was also much, much cheaper for kids, with a flat fare of 10p getting you ANYWHERE on the tube network or bus services (but not both together - travelcards came a bit later). That meant that, as a kid, if you had just 50p pocket money available to you you could have a great day out during the school holidays (or weekends) by simply catching a bus and going to a world-class museum of your choosing. For me, as a young boy, the Science Museum was a top choice (one of the most interactive, with lots of buttons to press), but the Imperial War Museum, The Natural History Museum, and the lesser-known National Maritime Museum (right inside Greenwich, just down the hill from the Royal Observatory) were all top choices that I visited many times with my working, single-parent mother. The Maritime Museum is truly under-rated, and given that it is just a short and very pleasant stroll through the park from the Royal Observatory and the Greenwich Meridian Line, makes for a very cool day out - highly recommended for one of your future adventures. Top tip though - pack your own lunch! Taking a packed lunch is absolutely traditional, and part of why the in-venue cafeterias tend to be an absolute rip-off designed purely to exploit tourists. As a bonus, planning and packing 'supplies' for your 'adventure' really does add to the overall experience. When you consider that a significant percentage of the entire UK population live in and around London, well above 10% of the whole UK (not just England), you can see how just having those kinds of freely accessible 'experiences' has probably contributed more than we can ever easily account for to the overall education and awareness of the British people. While television programming can do some of the same, I think we all know that a museum, especially when exhibits are interactive, is just a whole other level in both education and in making people aware and thoughtful - putting the Muse into Museum.
As a kid in the 70s, WW2 was a lot more of a recent event. I grew up surrounded by veterans and survivors. My primary school headmaster was a surviving Lancaster Bomber Pilot, and his study (office) was filled with memorabilia including his flight helmet, a model, and a large painting of a bomber. My mother had been a teenager in the latter part of the war and had seen people killed on the street during the air raids. My father was a Dunkirk Veteran (the only one of his medals he really talked about) who was one of the last to board a boat, given that he was one of the ones doing demolition of all the equipment they had to leave behind. He always happily pointed out that the German Artillery helped him immensely by blowing up so much of it all around him, and probably did more of his job than he did. As I say, in the 70s the war hit differently, as everyone would have veterans and survivors as neighbours.
How about a country hike? There are hundreds of miles of public footpaths in Kent. Start small e.g. Faversham and Oare creek circular, and work up to the Saxon Shore Way! I'm a lone female walker who started out nervously walking two miles by myself but your confidence soon grows.
The Wellcome Collection near Euston Station is great, very interesting and informative and mostly pretty quiet and a good spot for a solo visit. A mix of medical/biological/anatomical science, an art gallery and a collection of just "stuff" collected by a super wealthy Victorian 'World Traveller' (i.e. stuff he nicked from bits of the Empire), including some full sets of tattooed human skins and a small collection of chairs (a birthing chair, a torture chair and I think maybe an electric chair or something as well). It's open to the public for free, but parts of the collection are very academic and accessible either online or by request in person. They also provide a lot of the bits for the Science Museum's medical galleries. They also have possibly the coolest gift shop. Cannot recommend it enough!
Seconded, brilliant collection. Also, museum at the royal college of surgeons. Fascinating, and after the redevelopment a brilliant sculptural experience too. Although probably not suitable for filming in….
I took my daughter here several years ago while she was studying GCSE history, the period she studied covered WW2, so for her it was her lessons made real. But although I obviously knew about that period in history including the Holocaust, I had never actually learned about it in any depth. Like you, the holocaust floor had me in tears, especially the piles of shoes and personal belongings confiscated by the Nazis from those who ended up in the concentration camps, it made it so personal and really brought home to me that the 6 million murdered by the Nazis were all individuals with different stories, and how important it is that everyone knows the horror of what happened. Even though I found it harrowing I would love to revisit.
A surprisingly enjoyable museum was the national army museum in Chelsea, very modern and well set up, plus a big section on the troubles. Just along the street is the Chelsea physic garden which is another hidden gem. Lunch on the king's road and round it off with the Saatchi gallery for a great day out
The Cabinet War Rooms & Churchill Museum. Also joining the National Trust gives you free entry to stately homes and gardens throughout England & Wales.
We went on a school trip a loooooonnnnnggggg time ago. And looking at some of the photographs my friend discovered a picture of his Dad sitting on a tank from the WW2 desert campaign!
A good trip for anyone interested in WW1 is the Stow Maries Great War Aerodrome, near Chelmsford in Essex. It is the most complete and original WW1 airfield in Europe and has most of its original buildings still in place as well as museums and WW1 aircraft.
Absolutely loved your video. Canada did so much for the war effort as did all the commonwealth countries. My Dad was a rear gunner in Lancasters, He had a lot of respect for the Canadians, they were involved in so many of the critical campaigns, battles & escapes.🙂👍❤
Doing stuff by yourself is a big step if it’s new, but liberating. 15 years ago, I went on holiday to Washington DC from the UK for a week, best trip ever. As a suggestion a botanical garden is a great shout like Wisley gardens, also Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust places a lovely, wherever you are in the UK should be one relatively close.
South Kensington might be a good bet next. A clutch of museums with the Victoria and Albert the most broadly interesting and the Brompton Oratory close by, the most beautiful Catholic church outside Italy. They don't allow photography in the Oratory but it is a wonderful place just to see. Walk in one direction from Sth Ken and you have Knightsbridge with all the money and Harrods. Walk another way to find the Royal College of Music, the Royal Albert Hall and Kensington Gardens/Hyde Park. ... or you could forget all that and go to Battersea to see one of London's more interesting parks. As you walk along the edge of the park by the river you can simultaneously get the smell of countryside (from the park) and the smell of seaside ( from the river). It is a most curious sensation.
There is the IWM Duxford as well, they have more than 1 IWM in the UK, they are so good. Duxford specifically has a very large number of aircraft from throughout
A long way for Alana from Kent but a wonderful museum collection. Similar museums are Black Country Museum in Dudley, West Midlands and Iron Bridge in south Shropshire.
Great vlog Alanna Very interesting, I get very emotional when I see references to the two world wars, I feel for the soldiers who lost their lives and those who survived, had to try and live their lives must have been terrible reliving the war day after day. Would a visit to the Royal Armouries be too far to travel, it's in Leeds.
I though you did really well. It was engaging, and you present well to the camera. I could see you on mainstream media in a year or two. More solo expeditions please!
I am 76 and my father was gassed in WW1 ,he was a sergeant in the Lancashire Fusiliars he survived of course and never spoke to me about the war as i was only 6 when he died.
Ahhh congratulations! I did this exact same thing back in March to try and throw myself in to the deep end and beat my anxiety. Went to a nearby cafe and then went to the IWM and it ticked off so many of my anxieties, glad you enjoyed yourself and thanks for sharing! I look forward to seeing more!
I used to live near the IWM as a child so was always in there, seeing that nose of the Lancaster brought me back. I have been in there again a few years ago but it's changed too much for me. Glad that you enjoyed it. 🙂
I went to the Imperial War Museum with my Dad back in 2010. Those big battle ship guns out the front were awesome and a lot of people were getting selfies with them in the background. Thanks for sharing your experience there. London is so full of history from the British Museum to the Victoria and Albert to London Transport Museum. Heck even Greenwich and the Royal Observatory and so much more. Then you have all the ancient pubs that are dotted around. There’s so much to do. Even the canals and long boating with a couple of bicycles 🚲 to explore the local villages along the way. 😅
How ever harrowing and upsetting it is to learn about the Holocaust 80 years after the event, just spare a thought for all the poor devils who had to live through it and endure it. It just blows my mind and I thank God that we haven't had to live through anything like it. I also pray that we never do.
Prayer is helpful but it is most important to vigilant. Don’t take things for granted. Question your chosen leaders and don’t follow blindly out of fear of the other.
I've considered watching episode twenty of "The World At War" in 1973 when I was thirteen to be part of my growing up. Heard my parents (who were schoolkids during WW2) mention 'Belsen' and 'Concentration Camp', but I didn't know what it was in any depth.
@@suttoncoldfield9318 Episode 1 deals with the Oradour-sur-Glane massacre which is bad enough. The Bergen-Belsen episode you refer to is - and trust me on this - definitely not for the faint of heart. Let's just say that I know all those cruelties happened and I'm glad that future generations are made aware of them (they have to be told for the sake of humanity) but to have to see images of them is an experience I do not plan to repeat. That's my convoluted way of saying that once is enough.
There is a fabulous Imperial War Museum (North) in Manchester (relatively close to me) which is brilliant too. I think you should hire a narrowboat for the day (with friends or your partner might e a good idea) and experience what it is like to have a trip on the inland waterways in the UK. Piloting the boat yourself is not that hard and it's a wonderful relaxing day out. It would be a peaceful and interesting video to make too. As you love railway travel, another suggestion is a trip out to Leighton Buzzard (Narrow Gauge) and a trip out and back on the little trains.
@@eightiesmusic1984 It really affected me, I have to say especially the bits about the cold war. In terms of Salford Quays, the Lowry Theatre is excellent as well.
@@eightiesmusic1984 (Brian Nash) - that's just ... awesome! I'm three years older than you and transgender. I knew I was a girl at 6yo but had no opportunity at all to transition as a child/teen - oh, if only I had (would have gone under the knife in a heartbeat as a child - so ended up with mental illness etc) - did it MUCH later. Anyway, despite being a mixed up kid, I had a great childhood and was fortunate to use some of the first microcomputers in the country (Altair, TRS-80, PET etc - thanks to my Dad) as a child which ignited my love of IT and programming (and I have been developing software for 45 years now - was writing assembly language as a 12yo). I have always been a news hound even as a kid and precocious at science. I remember reading a Sunday Times article at 9yo (with a bit of help) which explained how close we were to nuclear Armageddon and I woke up screaming with ... erm ... a wet bed! People just take this stuff for granted these days and don't realize that all it takes is an unstable leader (foreign or otherwise) to unleash thermonuclear hell. We took a (mixed) Cub Pack (I was a parent helper for a while) to IWM North and they loved it but the older Cubs were really affected by it. One little girl cried - so it in school terms they would have been Years 4-6. We got them to sit down in a quiet area at the side in a circle and talk about their feelings and what it meant. They were astonishingly perceptive given their young ages. I'm an amateur guitarist and love all the songs you mentioned + Magnum "Les Morts Dansant", Scorpions "Winds of Change", Asia "Who Will Stop The Rain", "Countdown To Zero", Rush "Distant Early Warning", U2 "Seconds" - there are too many to list. You are an interesting person and I bet you were a fabulous history teacher 🥰
I've been to the British museum on my own, last times have been on a date.. wow awfull.. and with my son when he was young and was fun.. On my own I had me time to really look around and was Great! Hope u had fun xx
The Imperial War Museum is definitely worth a visit--to be honest, it probably needs a couple of visits to get the most out of it. As an ex-RAF man I must also recommend the two RAF Museums, one in London the other is in the West Midlands at RAF Cosford. I'm most familiar with the latter as RAF Cosford was the site of my technical training (a lifetime ago!) and we spent a lot of Sunday afternoons hanging out around the museum. It's been massively developed since those days over 40 years when it had started as little more than an overflow storage site for the Hendon Museum that just decided to open its hangers to the public. Both museums are a terrific days out with lots of aircraft (of course), informative exhibits, knowledgeable staff and engaging interactive displays. Recommended even if it is over 30 years since I cast off my RAF blues!
Slightly different theme, but for days out you might try some of the great castles, many in and near Kent. Recently I've visited Arundel, Hever, and Rochester. On the list are Leeds and Dover.
If you enjoyed this, and you’re based in Kent, you could try the Royal Engineers museum in Brompton. I’m sure there will be mention of the Royal Canadian Engineers who played a significant role in Normandy as well as many other campaigns
The WW1 museum in Ypres, Belgium (named 'In Flanders Fields') is excellent. On the way out is a display of photos taken in local studios of the soldiers when on leave. The photos were not collected because the men never went back. I was very moved by that exhibit.
The Imperial War museum was originally built for the Bethlem Mental Hospital in the 1800’s. The building remaining was the entrance hall and chapel area, but there used to be large wings for the wards that went off on either side. Bethlem is the oldest psychiatric hospital in the world, having been founded in 1247. The word "bedlam", meaning pandemonium or uproar, is derived from the hospital's nickname.
Given where you live, a trip over the channel to the WW1 front lines is not far. The Canadian memorial at Vimy Ridge and the New Foundland memorial at Beaumont Hamel are recommended.
It sort of jars when refer to yourself as a foreigner - you are a Canadian which makes you family. I'm so proud of the way Canada came to Britain's aide in troubled times - and offered to look after our children too.
I'm incredibly Proud we had the Canadians,Anzacs, Indians ,Gurkhas ..... on our side
I grew up in Sussex as a kid , got a green rover on the bus . Got to Croydon got a red rover ticket. Went all around London visiting museums great. We are talking early sixties. My parents didn’t even know where we were. Times change
I grew up in London (mid sixties) and did the same, from about 8 years old but without the green rover. The red rovers were a godsend. If there was a sight to be seen or a museum to visit, I was there. Some of the best times I ever spent. Sadly, I wouldn't want my grandkids to grow up there nowadays.
The same here. From about 8 years old onwards, my friends and I used to get a Red Rover ticket from Cockfosters tube station, catch a 29 bus and go all over London on our own in the school holidays. We went to almost all the museums at that time. My favourites were the Science Museum, which had loads of models you could operate by turning handles and the Imperial War Museum. I didn't like the Victoria and Albert Museum as it was full of clothing and furniture, which wasn't of interest to me at that age. Strangely, I've never ever been to the British Museum. My mother suggested I wouldn't like it so I never went. I left London for Cambridgeshire in my mid twenties, so probably will never go now even though I would probably love it now I'm older. Unfortunately, the London of my childhood is long gone now. It's not even safe for adults, yet alone for kids to travel around on their own. I can't believe how it's been destroyed when I see what's going on in the news.
Same here. I grew up in North west London and used to get a rover ticket and travel around exploring places I’d never been. Sometimes with my friend, sometimes alone.
Those were the days mate, I was an early 80’s kid, we just up and went, went all over the place, museums, galleries, parks.👍👍
The red bus rover was fantastic
Love the natural way you put your videos together. Not sanitised or edited purely to make it perfect, because nothing ever is. Your natural enthusiasm, personality and character shine through when you do these and you’re honest enough to admit if something doesn’t excite or interest you. Glad you enjoyed the Imperial War Museum, as it focuses on other conflicts rather then just the 2 World Wars.
Nice vid. The Canadians made a huge contribution to the Allied cause, resulting in significant casualties. They were involved in very heavy fighting in Normandy with the 12th SS. We thank the Canadians for their help. 🇨🇦
Not to mention the huge amount of food they sent us.
Im 61 but i remember my Dad took me to this museum when i was a kid. He was in the Navy in WW2 and he was full of stories. i must go back again soon.
if you are at all "costume" or "clothes" interested... the Victoria & Albert museum is a definite "must do"
I think I went back in 2015 but not since - definitely need to add it to the list!
The British Museum is worth a visit.
Actually, all the museums should be visited at least once.❤
@@daftphil9706 The V&A and the British Museum are my favorites; if you are at the V&A then you are next to Natural History and Science which are also great.
@@spacechannelfiver I used to love the science museum as a kid when the exhibits were relevent to what I was being taught at my school. But I went as an adult some 40 years later and It had all changed.😞
Full of stuff even the Museum couldn't get me to understand.
What's Quantum Physics??
Nevermind. The kids that were there seemed to be having a great, boisterous time.
When we visited the natural History museum we got to see the labs and meet someone who worked there who gave my son a fossilized shark tooth which was a treasured possession for ages
Salute to all Commonwealth Countries who supported UK when we were having a bit of bother. Yes please Alanna, more day trips into the big wide world!
And most of them are independant and hate the UK 😂😂😂😂😂 hilarious
@@RoughWalkers You want them to is all.
@@ekspatriat no idea what that means
@@RoughWalkers No power of deduction then UK hater.
@@ekspatriat uk hater? Im british 😂😂 what on earth are you chatting
A really nice video Alana. You saw what the Canadian soldiers did in WW1 and you said your Grandfather was in WW2, that's why many people in Britain do not consider Canadians to be foreigners, (even if they are legally).
As an Englishman who was born and raised in this beautiful country, I must admit that I have never had the opportunity to experience London, our vibrant capital city.
However, after viewing your video, I gained a fresh perspective on its charm and beauty. The sights and sounds you captured truly portray the essence of London, and honestly, it ignites within me a strong desire to visit this iconic city before my time on this earth comes to an end.
I am genuinely grateful for the inspiration your video has provided; it has opened my eyes to the wonders that await in London, making it a place I now long to explore. Thank you for sharing such a delightful glimpse into this remarkable city.
I love that you said "a Lancashire" bomber, whilst the majority of those bombers were built in Lancashire, the bomber was named The Lancaster.
Named after the city of Lancaster in the Duchy of Lancaster a title the sovereign holds regardless of whether it's a King OR Queen. I live there,Lancaster in Lancashire.
It was also built in Canada during the war as the factories could not be bombed.
The world really opens up when you get comfortable with doing things for yourself. I just did a week’s holiday rambling about Spanish cities on my own, stuffing my face with local food and meeting local people. It’s a totally different experience when you’re by yourself.
One of my favourite museums in London
A great place!
The Mary Rose exhibit at Portsmouth historic dockyard is amazing. It’s an incredible experience
Not to mention that you've got HMS Victory and HMS Warrior right there as well.
The Tank Museum comes to mind as a destination for this series...
There's the transport museum..but you have to pay. But there's the artillery museum at Woolwich which is better than one might think - and if you sow interest you may be allowed to look at the shed with Coldwar monster vehicles.
@@ayethein7681 Great suggestions...👍
Tiger Day! Tiger Day!
So pleased you enjoyed going on your own, and hope you make many more solo trips to share with us.. IWM is a brilliant museum, with such human touches throughout- not glorifying war, but showing the cost of conflict. A small museum I love is The Foundling Museum (entry £12:50) and The Wallace Collection, which is huge and free. Both in central London and near tube and bus stops. Love your enthusiasm.
Thank you so much for watching! ☺️
@@AdventuresAndNaps You have come a long way since your first anxious bus journey in the UK.
Kew Gardens, Natural History Museum, British Museum, & etc
Bletchley Park.
Mary Rose
Shuttleworth Collection
Hadrians Wall
The museum at the royal college of surgeons
Another good place is the RAF Museum in Hendon London. Also a hidden gem is The Wallace Collection, a little bit behind Selfridges Central London. It’s free to go into, has a fantastic paintings gallery upstairs, downstairs is quite a few rooms with plenty of historical artifacts, arms and armoury (suits of armour, swords, very old guns). And in the middle is a glass covered cafe and restaurant where you can sit and relax. And as it’s a hidden gem it’s normally not busy, and no school kids!
+1 for the RAF museum, its well off the beaten path but super interesting.
@@spacechannelfiver You can get a bus from edgware station that stops right outside - I went there with the wife and we both love it.
Does that cafe you mentioned charge £7.50 for a half-empty chicken Caeser ciabatta?
@@hughtube5154 Been a while since I've been there. Can't recall the prices.
When I lived in the UK, I would often have an hour or two between or after meetings when I was in London, and I would usually go to one of the smaller London museums. The Wallace Collection really is a gem. I liked the regimental museums, as I was very interested in the Napoleonic Wars at the time. There are also some wonderful specialist museums, based on hobbies, crafts or occupations.
One thing worth adding about the Imperial War Museum is the building it is in.
The museum opened just after WW1 but the building is much, much older and was originally the Bethlehem Hospital for (what we would call today) the mentally ill, or "Bedlam".
It was the the place that gave us the word
I had no idea it was the old Bethlehem hospital!
@@vickylewis8558 Also one just off Smithfield, Bethlehem was a popular name for Asylums in Victorian times. A place of safety for the inmates they were not, the name sounded safe for local residents.
The Bethlehem Hospital was a Medieval Monastic Spital (hospital) for what was those deemed possessed in mind & spirit ,that was situated where the Liverpool Street RailTerminus stands , It was moved around the 17Cty to Moorfields & Thence across the River Thames to Lamberth North In the IWM building,then in late Geogian & Victorian times due to over crowding two new hospitals were built to house the Inmates in the West St Bernards (Hanwell) & in the North(Middlesex assylum for paupers) Shenly/London Colney & later close by middlesex assylem for Imbeciles( this meant non Violent) Leavesden Herts, after WW1 the newly formed IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM was housed in the present day building rather fittingly a redundant Asylum housing the abject lunacy of modern warfare ??
Know is a longer trip but highly recommend Duxford by Cambridge, is under the IWM band and is a original ww2 airfield that is now a museum dedicated to both air and land military history. Interesting fact as well as being a key airfield during the battle of Britain, it was also home to the the very first squadron to receive Spitfires and holds the first combat action for that aircraft
I was also going to recommend duxford museum. It's not free,but we'll worth a visit
Got to agree, of all the IWM I find Duxford my favourite. It's extra special when they have an air show on but it's very expensive, but worth every penny.
There's also a collection of historic civil airliners at Duxford, including a Comet (the first jet airliner) and a prototype Concorde.
I I used to work there and never got fed up with it.
@@jerry2357 Yes, that was the only Concorde I ever went aboard! And to watch a real Spitfire land and move into an actual WW2 hangar gave me goosebumps. Unforgettable...
It's strange how different people find different things nerve wracking. I'd get on a train and go to the IWM without a thought but I'd never film myself and stick it on UA-cam in a million years.
Aren't you spicy...!
Suggestions for future visits: the collection of museums in Greenwich is great for a day out (National Maritime, the Royal Observatory, the Queen's House and the Old Royal Naval College). For something other than a museum, you could try a few days walking on the North Downs Way or a visit to Knole Park on the outskirts of Sevenoaks.
If you're interested in the history of the 'Keep Calm and Carry On' poster, my dear friend, Dr Bex Lewis, wrote a book on the topic; it was probably in the gift shop.
Great suggestions, thank you!
@@AdventuresAndNaps Another walk suggestion could be the Saxon shore way or a visit to the gunpowder works.
The best thing about doing something on your own, is being able to see and do what you want to see/do 😆
That’s certainly a full on museum experience and worthy of multiple visits because there is a hell of a lot to take in and appreciate, great video
10:38 Thanks for sharing this. My grandad was Scottish and I recently discovered that his uncle emigrated to Toronto (Degrassi street no less!) before the war and fought in the Canadian Army in WW1
I volunteer at IWM. If you look on the website before you go you can usually find something special put on for that day. I do WWT (we were there), as its name suggests we have ex service people telling about their experiences (it includes a lady that grew up in the troubles in Ireland), but the best bit is people that were evacuated as children in WW2. They are all in their 90's now but still draw large crowds. You can also go to HMS Belfast (on the river at Liverpool Street station), or the Churchill War Rooms (next to the Treasury). Although they are part of the IWM they do cost to get in.
London Bridge Station is best for HMS Belfast.
I am so jealous. I’m a Brit currently languishing in the US and suffering from severe homesickness 😢. Your videos are amazing. They help take away some of my anxiety and bring a smile to my face and calmness to my heart. Thank you so much and God bless.
Stay there we have a labour government 😢
@@unitedkingdomoffiveeyes9765 Right, because the Tories did such a good job over the past 14 years, didn't they? 🤦♂
And you do know that you are always free to leave, right? 👍
@@seanscanlon9067 no they didn't but Labour are terrifying 😳....
@@unitedkingdomoffiveeyes9765 How do you know, considering that they have been in power for a matter of weeks?
@@seanscanlon9067 its what they have been saying since corbyn was in charge....now I'm not going to explain everything I beleive is wrong and scary about this party but one chilling act is Raynes has said she is going to spread the immergration issue to evey corner of the UK....that worries me and should you to. They also have issues with very far left activists within thier party.
Alanna you missed out on one of the best exhibits in the museum. The collection of Victoria Cross medals and the powerful stories of how they were earned. Moving stuff
That was going to be my comment 🙂 As you say a fascinating part of this fantastic museum.
That could be a whole follow up given the stories behind the medal and recipients
Not only do they have the personal stories but often the personal items the person had on them when they were killed earning the VC
My Canadian WWI story. Sgt Allen Smith came over here with the Canadian Army, in 1916. While waiting to go to France, he met and 'became close with' an English 17-year old girl from a well to do family (not *very* rich, but 'comfortable'). Lucky Stg Allen!
Unfortunately, she became pregnant. Sgt Allen must have been an honourable man, because he quickly married her. And then got sent over to France. Where he died during the 2nd battle of the Somme. His son was born in July 1917, after his father had been killed.
His wife had an 'adventurous' life, marrying another three times and becoming the Ladies Golf Champion of Mexico, among other things. His son was a piano student in a music school in Vienna when the Germans took over Austria and hightailed back to the UK, where he joined the RAF as a pilot in 1938. He flew Mosquitos as a night-fighter pilot defending London from the V-bombs, amongst other things. After the war, he married and had two sons and a daughter (one was me). He became a computer programmer in the early 1970's, and eventually became the foremost expert in hyphenation in computer typesetting programmes, and spent his later years being flown by his employers (Monotype) all over the world to help customers with computer generated hyphenation (mostly for newspapers) in their various languages and alphabets, before dying in 1990.
So Thanks! Sgt Allen and Canada! They could be said to have had a significant positive impact on my life!
Thanks for this. Truly amazing story!
As a graphic designer, I can confirm that most people drastically underestimate the true importance of competent hyphenating … hyphen engineers are the backbone and heart of a literate society -
You shouldn’t refer to yourself as a “foreigner” anymore, your thought of as part of us now, love how your experiencing things, love your posts, lovely to see you getting around more ❤
I like the solo museum trip. With the amount of history in the UK you could probably visit a different place every week for a year.
Watching from Kelowna, BC. Temperature was 37 degrees C today. I am a woman who travels solo all the time and have done since my early 20s (I’m 66 now). I love museums and last week when I was on Vancouver Island I visited the Canadian Air Force Museum at CFB Comox. Loved it! A hidden gem. About exploring solo: just plan for a safe trip and enjoy it!
Very, very interesting. I've never been to the Imperial War Museum! I can see that I am missing out. Thanks for taking us along
Thanks so much!
They have five sites, all different, all worth visiting. Spread across the country.
Great video! I enjoy going to museums solo, you don't feel like you have to keep pace with anyone and just focus on the exhibits that interest you.
So true!
Back in the 1990's my partner an I bought a house in SW London with a very long garden, at the end of which was a large concrete slab. When we had it lifted there was a fully intact Anderson shelter underneath
We had one where we lived when I was a child. I wasn't allowed near it because it was basically a muddy hole and bits of rusty metal. Not small child friendly.
Very unusual as normally they were only half buried, to reduce the risk of flooding. The spoil excavated was piled over the top to provide protection for the exposed area
Some of my family escaped Estonia, and some of them didn’t, through everything from pogroms to WWII, thank you for being respectful, The Shoah is in my soul.
Great idea for a series. I would love to see different museums and perhaps heritage railroads through your perspective...🇨🇦🇬🇧
There are many excellent heritage railways throughout Britain all run by volunteers including several in Kent for Alanna.
Nice 👍 many years ago I used to work in central London and I had a really weird shift pattern where I had a four hour gap in the middle of the day between shifts. It wasn't enough time to go home and back again so I got used to visiting museums and galleries in that time as they were all nearby. I would go to the Museum of Moving Image on the South Bank which was my favourite, the Tate Modern, the Tate, the British Museum, the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum. I look back now and am really grateful for having that opportunity, because I wouldn't have otherwise done it. Literally nobody notices, or cares in the slightest that you are on your own. In fact I struck up many conversations with other people who were on their own and doing a similar thing. I also went to some interesting talks simply because they were happening when I was there! I got so used to it, sometimes I would go to the cafe in the British museum for lunch and read my book, because I had to get up early one time I fell asleep on the comfy sofa - woke up to a family sitting down next to me lol 🤣🤣🤣
Sadly MOMI closed down. They had a green screen where my sons could “fly” over London only the younger one's shirt was the right shade of green so he had a disembodied head arms and lower half flying over London.
@@NickfromNLondon Ah shame - showing my age! It was a fantastic place to visit, I also remember the green screen
As an introvert and an only child I've always been very happy in my own company. In fact I'd say that it's preferable to me to do things on my own. My dad took me to IWM many times as a child, indeed I knew it so well that when we went there on a school field trip I was almost like a museum guide I knew it so well.
I have regularly visited IWM several times on my own and it never bores me.
My Grt Uncle (though English) fought as a Canadian in WW1..Was in the 47th Batt. CEF.....He suffered a severe headwound and was evacuated back to Canada. He spent the remainder of his life in the Westminster Hospital, London, Ontario....when in 1927 he died from drinking corrosive acid (possible suicide). He is buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery, London, Ontario, Canada. He had been living in Union Street, Vancouver, British Columbia in 1916. He was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England...Same place as me.
Tragic story, we owe our forces and that of our Canadian, and other commonwealth friends so much 😢
@@beng7845 Yeah..not great...I was contacted by a lady who's own parents are buried in the same cemetery..and she offered to take a picture of his grave the next time she visited her parents grave....And she did..very kind of her...I also have another Grt Uncle killed on the opening day of the Battle of the Somme...He was 18...It's eye opening what you discover when researching your family tree.
I don’t mind where you go, but please do more of this style of vid. Loved it ❤.
As a child, I was taken (at my request!) to the IWM in London, every time my family went to London. To see actual tanks, planes and kit that was used during D-Day, or WW1, The Falklands and many other conflicts was mesmerising. I'd urge anyone who's in the UK as a resident or tourist to go and have a look. There's plenty for all the family and one thing I can promise, is that you won't have to worry about the kids being bored!
Great video, Alanna!
Brilliant video Alanna, I love the IWM, it's a great place to visit. I also have a lot respect for the Canadian Army as they set up and ran a General Hospital for wounded soldiers at the start of WW2 in Leavesden, close to where I live and are now part of the local history. How about a trip to the London Transport museum next, an interesting way to find out about the modern history of the city.
My mother was a WW11 nurse at Leavesden and lived in Abbots Langley.
The Natural History Museum is a *must see* too..
Please do a solo picnic in Hyde Park. You could show us your shopping trip for goodies (but not what you bought), then your travel to and walk around Hyde Park, then finally what you bought and what you think of what you bought. Love your channel. Nice to see the UK through the eyes of others.
I was returning to the UK by car from a visit to Germany and decided to stop off in France and visit a battle site from the First World War. It was amazing the way it had been preserved with Trenches, Machine Gun Posts and tunnels that were dug to get troops to the front line. The nations take it in turns to oversee the site and when I visited it was the Canadians who were there. They were so knowledgeable and helpful. They were a credit to Canada.
As a long time Western Canadian who was born and grew up in London I would suggest that you visit the Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington. An amazing Museum and close to others such as the Natural History and Science museums.
You might like to take a walk around the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, lots of stuff there, will take you all day to see everything.
An excellent suggestion.
And RHS Wisley
My father was a Newfoundlander, he along 2,500 of his countrymen volunteered to join the Royal Navy at the outset, he survived the war and stayed in England. As a result I’m a duel national, a proud Brit and a proud Canadian.
Top work as usual Alanna. You did splendidly to capture so much footage in a crowded venue. Many great suggestions by others, so looking forward to more outings with you exploring solo!
I love going to museums on my own. I used to visit the British Museum (highly recommend!) of a lunchtime which was down the road from my work. You can take your time to really absorb and understand all the exhibits at your own pace without having to think about where friends/family are. 👍
I also worked nearby and would often pop in at lunchtime. People would sometimes ask me questions about exhibits, where certain things were etc. I then realised that because I was wearing a suit and tie people assumed I worked there 😅
Office workers don't usually dress up these days so it wouldn't happen. I'm not really qualified to give a lecture on Ancient Egyptian funerary customs, although I could direct them to the nearest loo with a high level of competence.
Thank you Alana. Your videos are a pleasant and wholesome break from the real world!
Been over 40 years since my one and only visit there, would love to go back but that would require at least a three day trip (to get there, day to visit, return).
My one piece of history I know about part of the collection there is that in Oct 1918 on the reverse of the ration booklets, was a call by the museum for letters, photos and artefacts relative to the present war to be donated so as to tell the story for future generations.
If you haven't already,, make the trip up to Leeds to visit the Royal Armouries, the polished metal alone will make your jaw drop!
The Armouries are great, but train Kent to Leeds and back?
UA-cam had better be paying well!
I think I was last there in 1998... Looks like it's changed, so will give it a visit on my next trip to London. Visit Great Britain quite regularly as I'm a dual Canadian/UK citizen. As for solo travel, have been doing it for 30 years now. Been all over Great Britain and to New York, Paris, Rome, Geneva. I've found the kids to be relatively well behaved in the museums etc I've been to. I would have given anything as a school kid to be able to go to the vast array of museums all over the UK as my school trip.
I always use the coach to London. It's more comfortable than the train and doesn't take much more time at a much cheaper cost.
My daughter use to, as a student, live round the corner from the museum. At night if you sit in the grounds you can occasionally see a ghost of a man wandering the grounds with a lantern.
I can't believe you didn't buy the "While there is Tea there is Hope" poster, it sees right up you alley.
It's been a few years since I was there but it is a most interesting and thought provoking museum. One section that I particularly enjoyed was the gallery of work of the British war artists. The government has sponsored artists since WW1 to record all aspects of life and some good 20th century artists are included. It was quiet when I was there too - no school kids but their teachers may have caught onto the gallery by now!
There are some great small museums in London. They're not free and you get round them usually in 45 mins to 90 mins. But all the ones I've been to were really worth a look. The museum of garden history. The guards museum. The household cavalry museum. The museum of brands and advertising. The canal museum. The london transport museum. Among others
At 12:03 there is a Siebe Gorman Proto oxygen breathing apparatus - as a firefighter in the 1970's we were still using these, with modifications to mask etc
I grew up not too far from the Imperial War Museum - a short bus-ride or a medium-ish walk away - and visited several times. The free access to so, so many museums is an amazing thing, and as you noted by encountering children on your own visit, makes visiting museums something that almost every school in London will organize regularly for the children to experience. Back in those days (the 1970s) transport in London was also much, much cheaper for kids, with a flat fare of 10p getting you ANYWHERE on the tube network or bus services (but not both together - travelcards came a bit later). That meant that, as a kid, if you had just 50p pocket money available to you you could have a great day out during the school holidays (or weekends) by simply catching a bus and going to a world-class museum of your choosing.
For me, as a young boy, the Science Museum was a top choice (one of the most interactive, with lots of buttons to press), but the Imperial War Museum, The Natural History Museum, and the lesser-known National Maritime Museum (right inside Greenwich, just down the hill from the Royal Observatory) were all top choices that I visited many times with my working, single-parent mother. The Maritime Museum is truly under-rated, and given that it is just a short and very pleasant stroll through the park from the Royal Observatory and the Greenwich Meridian Line, makes for a very cool day out - highly recommended for one of your future adventures. Top tip though - pack your own lunch! Taking a packed lunch is absolutely traditional, and part of why the in-venue cafeterias tend to be an absolute rip-off designed purely to exploit tourists. As a bonus, planning and packing 'supplies' for your 'adventure' really does add to the overall experience.
When you consider that a significant percentage of the entire UK population live in and around London, well above 10% of the whole UK (not just England), you can see how just having those kinds of freely accessible 'experiences' has probably contributed more than we can ever easily account for to the overall education and awareness of the British people. While television programming can do some of the same, I think we all know that a museum, especially when exhibits are interactive, is just a whole other level in both education and in making people aware and thoughtful - putting the Muse into Museum.
As a kid in the 70s, WW2 was a lot more of a recent event. I grew up surrounded by veterans and survivors. My primary school headmaster was a surviving Lancaster Bomber Pilot, and his study (office) was filled with memorabilia including his flight helmet, a model, and a large painting of a bomber. My mother had been a teenager in the latter part of the war and had seen people killed on the street during the air raids. My father was a Dunkirk Veteran (the only one of his medals he really talked about) who was one of the last to board a boat, given that he was one of the ones doing demolition of all the equipment they had to leave behind. He always happily pointed out that the German Artillery helped him immensely by blowing up so much of it all around him, and probably did more of his job than he did. As I say, in the 70s the war hit differently, as everyone would have veterans and survivors as neighbours.
How about a country hike? There are hundreds of miles of public footpaths in Kent. Start small e.g. Faversham and Oare creek circular, and work up to the Saxon Shore Way! I'm a lone female walker who started out nervously walking two miles by myself but your confidence soon grows.
V&A, Natural History, British Museum and the National Maritime Museum (at Greenwich) are all worth a visit.
The Wellcome Collection near Euston Station is great, very interesting and informative and mostly pretty quiet and a good spot for a solo visit.
A mix of medical/biological/anatomical science, an art gallery and a collection of just "stuff" collected by a super wealthy Victorian 'World Traveller' (i.e. stuff he nicked from bits of the Empire), including some full sets of tattooed human skins and a small collection of chairs (a birthing chair, a torture chair and I think maybe an electric chair or something as well).
It's open to the public for free, but parts of the collection are very academic and accessible either online or by request in person. They also provide a lot of the bits for the Science Museum's medical galleries.
They also have possibly the coolest gift shop.
Cannot recommend it enough!
Seconded, brilliant collection. Also, museum at the royal college of surgeons. Fascinating, and after the redevelopment a brilliant sculptural experience too. Although probably not suitable for filming in….
You should go to the royal engineers museum in Gillingham next ! 🫶👍👍👍
I was going to suggest this as well.
I took my daughter here several years ago while she was studying GCSE history, the period she studied covered WW2, so for her it was her lessons made real. But although I obviously knew about that period in history including the Holocaust, I had never actually learned about it in any depth. Like you, the holocaust floor had me in tears, especially the piles of shoes and personal belongings confiscated by the Nazis from those who ended up in the concentration camps, it made it so personal and really brought home to me that the 6 million murdered by the Nazis were all individuals with different stories, and how important it is that everyone knows the horror of what happened. Even though I found it harrowing I would love to revisit.
Thoroughly enjoyed this video. Yes you should do more solo stuff.
The zip line over the quarry at blaenau ffestiniog, which was fun, me and my sisters did it last year.
A surprisingly enjoyable museum was the national army museum in Chelsea, very modern and well set up, plus a big section on the troubles. Just along the street is the Chelsea physic garden which is another hidden gem. Lunch on the king's road and round it off with the Saatchi gallery for a great day out
The Cabinet War Rooms & Churchill Museum. Also joining the National Trust gives you free entry to stately homes and gardens throughout England & Wales.
Being that I only live a 10 mins bus ride away,I’ve only been once,I must go again soon.Great vid Alanna.More please.
On your way in on the train 3m22s I saw a lot of canal boats. Why don't you try a day out on the canal.
There's a canal museum within a stone's throw of St Pancras. (I'm not suggesting anyone throws stones at it obviously 😅)
We went on a school trip a loooooonnnnnggggg time ago. And looking at some of the photographs my friend discovered a picture of his Dad sitting on a tank from the WW2 desert campaign!
Wow!!
A good trip for anyone interested in WW1 is the Stow Maries Great War Aerodrome, near Chelmsford in Essex. It is the most complete and original WW1 airfield in Europe and has most of its original buildings still in place as well as museums and WW1 aircraft.
An excellent video as always from Allan. Brilliantly narrated. Always done with that lovely warm smile. Keep 'em coming.👍
Absolutely loved your video. Canada did so much for the war effort as did all the commonwealth countries. My Dad was a rear gunner in Lancasters, He had a lot of respect for the Canadians, they were involved in so many of the critical campaigns, battles & escapes.🙂👍❤
Doing stuff by yourself is a big step if it’s new, but liberating. 15 years ago, I went on holiday to Washington DC from the UK for a week, best trip ever. As a suggestion a botanical garden is a great shout like Wisley gardens, also Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust places a lovely, wherever you are in the UK should be one relatively close.
South Kensington might be a good bet next. A clutch of museums with the Victoria and Albert the most broadly interesting and the Brompton Oratory close by, the most beautiful Catholic church outside Italy. They don't allow photography in the Oratory but it is a wonderful place just to see.
Walk in one direction from Sth Ken and you have Knightsbridge with all the money and Harrods. Walk another way to find the Royal College of Music, the Royal Albert Hall and Kensington Gardens/Hyde Park.
... or you could forget all that and go to Battersea to see one of London's more interesting parks. As you walk along the edge of the park by the river you can simultaneously get the smell of countryside (from the park) and the smell of seaside ( from the river). It is a most curious sensation.
There is the IWM Duxford as well, they have more than 1 IWM in the UK, they are so good. Duxford specifically has a very large number of aircraft from throughout
Beamish Museum You will love it!
A long way for Alana from Kent but a wonderful museum collection.
Similar museums are Black Country Museum in Dudley, West Midlands and Iron Bridge in south Shropshire.
Great vlog Alanna Very interesting, I get very emotional when I see references to the two world wars, I feel for the soldiers who lost their lives and those who survived, had to try and live their lives must have been terrible reliving the war day after day. Would a visit to the Royal Armouries be too far to travel, it's in Leeds.
I was at IWM recently! Love that place tbh. Definitely one of my favourite museums in London! 👍
Hi Alana,more please if was very informative thank you,cheers.Roly🇬🇧.
I though you did really well. It was engaging, and you present well to the camera. I could see you on mainstream media in a year or two. More solo expeditions please!
I am 76 and my father was gassed in WW1 ,he was a sergeant in the Lancashire Fusiliars he survived of course and never spoke to me about the war as i was only 6 when he died.
It's good to travel on your own. From the UK I've travelled to Sydney,Australia, New York, Dallas, Baltimore on my own. Had a great time.
Ahhh congratulations! I did this exact same thing back in March to try and throw myself in to the deep end and beat my anxiety. Went to a nearby cafe and then went to the IWM and it ticked off so many of my anxieties, glad you enjoyed yourself and thanks for sharing! I look forward to seeing more!
I used to live near the IWM as a child so was always in there, seeing that nose of the Lancaster brought me back. I have been in there again a few years ago but it's changed too much for me. Glad that you enjoyed it. 🙂
I went to the Imperial War Museum with my Dad back in 2010.
Those big battle ship guns out the front were awesome and a lot of people were getting selfies with them in the background. Thanks for sharing your experience there. London is so full of history from the British Museum to the Victoria and Albert to London Transport Museum. Heck even Greenwich and the Royal Observatory and so much more. Then you have all the ancient pubs that are dotted around. There’s so much to do. Even the canals and long boating with a couple of bicycles 🚲 to explore the local villages along the way. 😅
How ever harrowing and upsetting it is to learn about the Holocaust 80 years after the event, just spare a thought for all the poor devils who had to live through it and endure it. It just blows my mind and I thank God that we haven't had to live through anything like it. I also pray that we never do.
Prayer is helpful but it is most important to vigilant. Don’t take things for granted. Question your chosen leaders and don’t follow blindly out of fear of the other.
I've considered watching episode twenty of "The World At War" in 1973 when I was thirteen to be part of my growing up. Heard my parents (who were schoolkids during WW2) mention 'Belsen' and 'Concentration Camp', but I didn't know what it was in any depth.
@@suttoncoldfield9318 Episode 1 deals with the Oradour-sur-Glane massacre which is bad enough. The Bergen-Belsen episode you refer to is - and trust me on this - definitely not for the faint of heart. Let's just say that I know all those cruelties happened and I'm glad that future generations are made aware of them (they have to be told for the sake of humanity) but to have to see images of them is an experience I do not plan to repeat. That's my convoluted way of saying that once is enough.
There is a fabulous Imperial War Museum (North) in Manchester (relatively close to me) which is brilliant too. I think you should hire a narrowboat for the day (with friends or your partner might e a good idea) and experience what it is like to have a trip on the inland waterways in the UK. Piloting the boat yourself is not that hard and it's a wonderful relaxing day out. It would be a peaceful and interesting video to make too. As you love railway travel, another suggestion is a trip out to Leighton Buzzard (Narrow Gauge) and a trip out and back on the little trains.
@@eightiesmusic1984 It really affected me, I have to say especially the bits about the cold war. In terms of Salford Quays, the Lowry Theatre is excellent as well.
@@eightiesmusic1984 (Brian Nash) - that's just ... awesome! I'm three years older than you and transgender. I knew I was a girl at 6yo but had no opportunity at all to transition as a child/teen - oh, if only I had (would have gone under the knife in a heartbeat as a child - so ended up with mental illness etc) - did it MUCH later. Anyway, despite being a mixed up kid, I had a great childhood and was fortunate to use some of the first microcomputers in the country (Altair, TRS-80, PET etc - thanks to my Dad) as a child which ignited my love of IT and programming (and I have been developing software for 45 years now - was writing assembly language as a 12yo). I have always been a news hound even as a kid and precocious at science. I remember reading a Sunday Times article at 9yo (with a bit of help) which explained how close we were to nuclear Armageddon and I woke up screaming with ... erm ... a wet bed! People just take this stuff for granted these days and don't realize that all it takes is an unstable leader (foreign or otherwise) to unleash thermonuclear hell. We took a (mixed) Cub Pack (I was a parent helper for a while) to IWM North and they loved it but the older Cubs were really affected by it. One little girl cried - so it in school terms they would have been Years 4-6. We got them to sit down in a quiet area at the side in a circle and talk about their feelings and what it meant. They were astonishingly perceptive given their young ages. I'm an amateur guitarist and love all the songs you mentioned + Magnum "Les Morts Dansant", Scorpions "Winds of Change", Asia "Who Will Stop The Rain", "Countdown To Zero", Rush "Distant Early Warning", U2 "Seconds" - there are too many to list. You are an interesting person and I bet you were a fabulous history teacher 🥰
I've been to the British museum on my own, last times have been on a date.. wow awfull.. and with my son when he was young and was fun..
On my own I had me time to really look around and was Great!
Hope u had fun xx
The Imperial War Museum is definitely worth a visit--to be honest, it probably needs a couple of visits to get the most out of it. As an ex-RAF man I must also recommend the two RAF Museums, one in London the other is in the West Midlands at RAF Cosford. I'm most familiar with the latter as RAF Cosford was the site of my technical training (a lifetime ago!) and we spent a lot of Sunday afternoons hanging out around the museum. It's been massively developed since those days over 40 years when it had started as little more than an overflow storage site for the Hendon Museum that just decided to open its hangers to the public.
Both museums are a terrific days out with lots of aircraft (of course), informative exhibits, knowledgeable staff and engaging interactive displays. Recommended even if it is over 30 years since I cast off my RAF blues!
I love a free museum. I especially this one, I recommend it completely.
I went on a school trip there is 1981.
I still remember watching the original " All quiet on the western front."
Slightly different theme, but for days out you might try some of the great castles, many in and near Kent. Recently I've visited Arundel, Hever, and Rochester. On the list are Leeds and Dover.
If you enjoyed this, and you’re based in Kent, you could try the Royal Engineers museum in Brompton. I’m sure there will be mention of the Royal Canadian Engineers who played a significant role in Normandy as well as many other campaigns
The WW1 museum in Ypres, Belgium (named 'In Flanders Fields') is excellent. On the way out is a display of photos taken in local studios of the soldiers when on leave. The photos were not collected because the men never went back. I was very moved by that exhibit.
The Imperial War museum was originally built for the Bethlem Mental Hospital in the 1800’s. The building remaining was the entrance hall and chapel area, but there used to be large wings for the wards that went off on either side. Bethlem is the oldest psychiatric hospital in the world, having been founded in 1247. The word "bedlam", meaning pandemonium or uproar, is derived from the hospital's nickname.
Given where you live, a trip over the channel to the WW1 front lines is not far. The Canadian memorial at Vimy Ridge and the New Foundland memorial at Beaumont Hamel are recommended.