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Flanders – … But there *are* no poppies!
Flanders. And no, nothing to do with Ned. I’m sure you’ve all been subjected to the poem at school: “In…
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Pendle Hill – Religion, Witchcraft, and Meteorology
Part of the Pennine range of Northern England, and geologically part of the same branch as much of the Peak…
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Snip Snip Snip – the Cragg Vale Coiners
“I heard the coiners took the scissor to the Union Jack, with a snipper and a clipper and a bloody…
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The Other Dead Sea
The Aral Sea shoreline. It’s pretty cold; I’m even wearing socks. The sky above, coupled with the flat landscape over…
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A morning at Pere Lachaise cemetery
Although the breeze was light, and the rain had stopped before sunrise, I was glad of my fleece. I was…
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Timor-Leste: Occupation and Independence
Timor-Leste had been a country on my ‘hit list’ for quite a few years, although the reason is perhaps surprising.…
Dark Tourism
Dark Tourism. A phrase that’s become popular in recent times. Maybe people are becoming more aware of history, or maybe it’s because it’s becoming the ‘in’ style of destination travel.
For me, the concept of dark tourism is linked to my passion for history. I like visiting places with an interesting backstory. It just so happens that much of history is made up of times when people have been … problematic. This could be to other people, or to the environment. I’m also drawn to places where nature itself has made an impact on human history.
From revolution and fights for independence in Timor-Leste, to genocide and dictatorship in Cambodia. From colonialism and the slave trade in Africa, to the effects of bad planning in the Soviet Union. All these sites count as places I’ve visited for dark tourism purposes.
