#NFHM2022 Week 2 - Travel

 



This is the 2nd week of the #NFHM2022 Blogging Challenge

Week 2 - Travel - who hasn't got the travel bug at the moment? Perhaps you could showcase all the photos of family cars, boats, horses or bicycles over the years.

Better still plan your family history "bucket-list" travel plan. Or tell us about a recent family history jaunt.

Ooh, goody here is my bucket list for travel....




This little frog would love to go back to the UK.  The last time I was there I was 18 years old so I suspect much has changed.  These are the places I would like to go:

I have put all the places on a map here 
https://goo.gl/maps/PK6NioNzRA3oqeBN9

If I had buckets of money, I would also love to visit Malta which is where some of the Conners were born and worked.

It's a lot of territories to cover and I imagine I would want to spend at least a fortnight in London and the same in Ireland and Scotland so I can't see myself getting out of it in under 8 weeks altogether.  I also have friends to visit in Wales and the Cotswolds.   I have never been to Ireland before or Wales so would like to spend a decent amount of time there to get a real feel for the place and to be able to visit repositories.  

One question I would like to ask those a bit more experienced in travel than me is what do you take?  I remember that it is always best to travel light.  You may get sick of seeing yourself in the same three outfits but there's nothing worse than dragging around a lot of luggage.  

If I am going to be doing research there I'm thinking I would need to take a laptop.  What do other family historians do when they go overseas?  Laptops can be very heavy things.  Do you take it on with you as personal luggage?  

What do you keep in your cabin baggage?  Medicines spring to mind and a change of clothes maybe in case your luggage gets lost.  Luckily I'm not taking any medication so that's not an issue for me at the moment but what are the essentials to take in terms of research tools?  

Repositories

Obviously, I would need to check when all the repositories are open.  

Here's a list of which ones I think I need to visit:






Churches

I remember moaning incessantly about all the churches we visited when I was a kid and a teenager.  My father was an architect and wanted to see all the churches he had studied in Banister Fletcher's History of architecture. But of course now I do want to go back and see all the ones that my ancestors were christened or married in and check out gravesites too.


Hampshire

Portsea, Parish church - marriage of James Cook & Caroline Jefferies 25 October 1871
 
 
 
 

 
Portsmouth, Wymering Church - burial place of Caroline Cook et al
 
St Michael's Parish Church Southampton - Samuel Foyne baptized 1792

St Mary's Alverstoke Gosport - Sarah Adams christened here 1825


Lancaster

Eccleston, Portico Chapel - Marriage of Patrick McLoughlin and Margaret Flannagan 15 November 1858
 
Middlesex
 

 
St James Church Clerkenwell - Rebecca Foyne baptised 14 November 1847 aged 17.

St Martin in the Fields - Samuel Foyne christened 1823
 
St Clement Danes - Edward Conner baptized 1829

 
Surrey

St Matthew's Brixton - Mary Ann Pasby christened

Croydon, Church of All Saints - Marriage George Henry Carrett & Mary Ann Pasky (Pasby) 24 September 1855

Deptford, Parish Church - Marriage Edward Connor and Rebecca Foyne 19 January 1851


Sussex

Eastbourne, Holy Trinity Church - Marriage George Forfar & Emily Mercy Hollingham 11 September 1872


Warwick
 

 
St Martin in the Bull Ring - Samuel Foyn Jr married Mary Hocknell 11 October 1847



I've heard it's a good idea to buy a National Trust pass.  

What other travel tips do you have?

How's your National Family History Month going?  Have you been to any events?  I delivered my talk at Arana Hills Library on Friday and seven people were kind enough to come along and listen to me blab on endlessly about blogging.

It was lovely to catch up with old work colleagues and ooh and aah at the refurbished library.


Don't forget to enter the NFHM competition will you?  There are some fantastic prizes on offer.



Comments

First advice…try for two shorter trips. Eight weeks’ research is a lot to take in. Do as much background research as you can before you go so you can focus on the on-site only stuff when you get there.
These days I’d pack even lighter, touch wood, than I have in the past. Luggage is a headache. Look for which Tube stations have lifts - many are there, just further back along the platform. Nothing worse than hauling luggage up steps.
Carry on luggage must include meds, itinerary info on paper or digital. I still like a hard copy in case of flat batteries. I tear up each bit as no longer required. A pashmina to use as a shawl. Noise cancelling headsets are a must for me these days. Backup chargers must be in the carry on…I take two, one heavier duty and one that is very light to carry in my daily handbag. I’ve taken laptops often in the past but not in recent times as now I stick with the iPad. If you do take one it needs to be as light as you can get and carry a light weight external drive. Camera of course for photos of places and docs. (Check repository rules about cameras).
I wrote these two posts a while ago. Some things are no longer relevant, others probably more so. I always take or buy a topographical map with me - incredibly helpful in more rural areas when looking for ancestral places. You could do a A3 copy just for the trip then tear it up and discard.
https://cassmobfamilyhistory.com/2017/02/01/ready-for-rootstech/

https://cassmobfamilyhistory.com/2013/07/26/packing-for-an-overseas-research-trip/
I’ve done lots of research trips and more than happy to bend your ear about tips etc.



Alex Daw said…
Oh Pauleen - thank you for this excellent advice. I hadn't thought about maps - excellent suggestion. I am toying with the idea of buying a laptop and have been agonizing over Mac or the other. I now have an iPhone but I'm thinking is it important what my family tree software is? Maybe not if I keep my Ancestry account up to date. Decisions, decisions. I've just been a Windows girl all my life so making the change is somewhat confronting. And yes to the pashmina or equivalent. Shawls are incredibly useful on those pesky planes. I was interested to read in one repository site that you could take your laptop but weren't allowed to plug it in to a power point. So you had to be sure it was charged before you went.
crgalvin said…
Great advice from Pauleen, but too much concentration on the dead may not leave you enough headspace to enjoy the current surrounds! A walk from a former residence to a church an ancestor attended may indeed be more interesting than the church itself. :)) So many places in the UK have free wi-fi that a tablet and phone should suffice. Travel soon before the next BIG thing strikes, have fun.
Alex Daw said…
Dear Carmel - thank you for swinging by. Great suggestion re tablet. I have one of those and they are certainly smaller. Personally I think I need to spend at least six months there but how to afford it ?????
Anonymous said…
Interesting to read the comments! You started a great discussion.
Alex Daw said…
Hi Kathy - how are you going? We can but dream can't we? And it's good to build dreams on solid foundations :)

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