#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
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
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.
Comments
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.