Jaap van 't Veen's photos with the keyword: Verenigd Koninkrijk

Ledbury is a small, yet bustling and vibrant market town in Herefordshire. It offers quite a lot of beautiful Tudor timber framed black and white buildings. Among them the Market House (PiP 3) on stilts, building started in 1617 and was completed in 1668. It is considered being one of the most beautiful examples in England and still hosts markets. But for me the most picturesque part of the town was Church Lane (main picture, PiP’s 1 and 2). A beautiful medieval cobble stoned street just behind the Market House, lined with stunning timber framed structures, offering tea rooms, a museum and at the end of the quaint street a beautiful church. It felt if I was stepping back in time.

Evesham is a little market town on the banks of the River Avon. This little town was not only the site of the major Battle of Evesham, but also home to one of Europe's largest abbeys. The abbey was founded around the year of 700 by Saint Egwin. The abbey is of Benedictine origin, and became in its heyday one of the wealthiest in the country. At the height of its power and fame, the abbey church had 15 alters, a significance of the affluence enjoyed by the monks of Evesham Abbey Bell tower was built around 1530 by Abbott Lichfield, just ten years before the abbey was dissolved by King Henry VIII. The bell tower is all that survives, because the inhabitants of Evesham bought it. Nowadays this 16th century bell tower - holding 14 bells - is considered being one of the best rings in England. During all the years the iconic bell tower was restored several times; in 2015 and 2016 it had its last extensive restoration.

Stanton was one of the prettiest and picturesque villages of the Cotswolds during our visit. Walking around it looked as if time had stood still and little or nothing had changed in the past years and that all without tourists (and shops). It has a couple of streets lined with ancient houses (PiP1), built in authentic Cotswold style with honey coloured Jurassic limestone walls and pitched gables. The village has some 16th, 17th and 18th century houses and a restored medieval cross (PiP2). Stanton is derived from 'stan' (stone), from which it is built. At the end of the village stands the Mount Inn on a mount. From the terrace one has wonderful panoramic views of the village and the surrounding Cotswold landscape. Just a pitty that we were too early, as the pub was still closed. Mount Inn is a village pub, dating back to the early 17th century, when it was a farm house.

Lower Slaughter is one of the most authentic and beautiful Cotswold villages with its limestone cottages in the traditional style (PiP 1 and 2). During our visit not overcrowded with tourists (like other nearby villages like Bourton-on-the Water or Broadway) and an ideal peaceful place for a walk around the splendid Saint Mary’s Church and along the River Eye, a stream peacefully running through the village crossed by two narrow footbridges. The name of the village of Lower (and Upper) Slaughter derives from the old English name for a wet land 'slough' or 'slothre' (= muddy place) upon which it lies. “The Old Mill” is the main attraction in the quaint village. Already in the year of 1086 a mill is recorded on this site; in the 14th century it had begun to be known as “Slaughter Mill”. The present mill was built in the 19th century. Nowadays it offers a museum, craft shop and tea-room with a wonderful terrace along the River Eye (PiP 3 and 4).

The ‘Cathedral Church of St Mary the Virgin and St Ethelbert the King’ is the mother church of the diocese of Hereford and the seat of the bishop. Its history is stretching back to the 7th century and is one of the nine cathedrals of the ‘Old Foundation’, whose constitution remained undisturbed by the Reformation. The cathedral is a building of great antiquity - the date of its foundation is traditionally given as 696 - and beautiful ecclesiastical architecture. The building has examples of architecture from many periods: the stately nave from the 12th century; the graceful Lady Chapel from the 13th century; the central tower from the 14th century and the Stanbury Chapel from the 15th century. The cathedral is constantly changing. It has been in great peril several times during its lifetime: in 1786 when the west end collapsed and during the 1840’s when the Lady Chapel was in danger of falling. More recently a great deal of time and money has been spent on the stonework of the building. Hereford Cathedral with its impressive interior (PiP1)contains some of the finest examples of architecture from Norman times to the present day, including the 13th century Shrine of St. Thomas of Hereford (PiP2). It also offers the medieval map ‘Mappa Mundi’ and the unique Chained Library (PiP3).

The parish church at Kilpeck, officially Church of St Mary and St David, is one of the finest surviving examples of the Herefordshire School of stonemasons. It is remarkable that so little is definitely known of the history of the church; the date of its commissioning and dedication is not confirmed, but is probably from about 1140 and is little changed since. Until about 1840 there appears to have been nothing written about the church, when a privately commissioned and funded book “The Sculptures of Kilpeck” was written, where the carvings and views were first illustrated. If any church deserves the word “extraordinary” it is the church at Kilpeck. The church is famous for its Norman carvings in the local red sandstone, which are remarkable for the number and fine preservation, particularly round the south door with its double columns (PiP) and a row of 85 corbels, which run right around the exterior of the church under the eaves. Many of the elaborate corbels (PiP) have a distinctly un-Christian nature. Celtic, Scandinavian, Anglo-Saxon and pagan imagery vies with Christian iconography in a riot of dragons, warriors, monsters, animal heads, birds, beasts and obscene subjects. It is generally presumed that these corbels were intended to teach something, however many also seem to be simply entertaining or the ideas of the individual carvers.

Abbey Dore Court is a 18th century coaching inn with a Victorian (PiP 1) wing attached. It is situated within the renowned Abbey Dore Court Gardens: a mature, six acre, plant-lovers’ garden developed by the present owner Charis Ward with formal, wild and river areas set in the Herefordshire countryside. Just over the River Dore bridge is a further four acre meadow full of unusual trees. Abbey Dore Court Gardens - open to the public since 1976 - are made up of a number of very different parts. Just after the entrance one will find a relatively new area with bamboos, trees and shrubs and several borders add colour and interest. The walled garden has nine individual borders, divided by brick paths. Along the River Dore is a wild garden full of trees, shrubs and bulbs. The arboretum offers young and unusual trees but also two large sequoias.

Hay-on-Wye was first - between 1135 and 1147 - mentioned as "Haya" and in 1299 the name of "La Haye" was used. By the 16th century it was simply called "Hay" and the use of the river as a suffix is a later addition Hay-on-Wye is a small characterful market town at the border between Wales and England. With over twenty bookshops, it is often described as "the town of books" and is the National Book Town of Wales. Many of the bookshops are selling specialist and second-hand books, although the number has declined sharply in recent years, many becoming general antique shops.

The Brecon Beacons National Park covers an area of 1.345 square kilometers in Mid Wales between the English border and Swansea. The national park has four mountain ranges with the Brecon Beacons in the north nearby Brecon. Most of the area consists of high plains with grassy slopes, interspersed with moorland. Welsh mountain sheep and ponies run through the entire park. The park was founded in 1957, but only opened to the public nine years later. Twyn y Gaer is a grassy and fern-covered mound north of the visitor center, locally known as the Mountain Centre. It has a height of 367 meters and is the highest point in the area. On the top of the hill some remnants of an Iron Age hillfort can still be found in the landscape. Because of its detached location Twyn y Gaer offers stunning views over the soft rolling hills of the national park and as well as a patchwork pattern of farmland stretching out towards the north.

Brecon Cathedral - or officially “Cathedral Church of St John the Evangelist” - started life in 1093 as the Benedictine Priory of St John the Evangelist, built by the Normans on the site of an earlier Celtic church. At the dissolution of the monasteries in 1537 it became Brecon's Parish Church. It became a cathedral only in 1923 on the establishment of the Diocese of Swansea and Brecon. Adjacent to the cathedral lies the graveyard in one of the most charming, serene and peaceful settings I have ever seen for a graveyard. Old tombstones and Celtic crosses are scattered throughout the yard sometimes overgrown with plants or moss in a park-like area and during my visit with huge fields of wild cyclamen.

At first glance - certainly on a somewhat rainy gray day - the hard gray stone houses of Beddgelert do not look too inviting. But walking around and seeing all the blooming flowers the village became more and more picturesque. Beddgelert (meaning “the grave of Gelert”) is probably named after an early christian missionary and leader called Celert (or Cilert), who settled here early in the 8th century. The earliest record of Beddgelert appears on a document dated 1258 (the name recorded is "Bekelert"); eleven years later it is recorded as "Bedkelerd". Beddgelert lies in a valley at the confluence of the River Glaslyn and River Colwyn. Just above the confluence of the rivers, in the centre of the village, is the old stone bridge with two arches. It is hard to imagine, but the village once was a busy port, when the river was tidal and ships sailed all the way to the centre of Beddgelert.

Caernarfon Castle is probably the most impressive and famous of the many Welsh castles. The site of the castle wasn’t chosen by accident. It had previously been the location of a Norman motte and bailey castle and before that a Roman fort stood nearby. King Edward I started the construction of the castle in 1283, being part of city walls of medieval Caernarfon. It was not only a military stronghold, but also a seat of government and a royal palace. Standing at the mouth of the Seiont river, the fortress with its towers, battlements and colour banded masonry still dominates the walled town, also founded by Edward I. Edwards son was born in Caernarfon Castle. In 1301 he became the recreated title of Prince of Wales and it was the first time the eldest son of the King of England was invested as Prince of Wales. In 1969 the castle gained worldwide fame as the setting for the investiture of Prince Charles as Prince of Wales. In 1986, Caernarfon was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites as part of the "Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd

Borth-Y-Gest wit hits Victorian houses is built in a shallow bowl around a sheltered bay on the edge of the River Glaslyn with a horseshoe shaped promenade. The village is dominated by the harbour, where a number of small boats are moored. The village was a busy shipbuilding centre before Porthmadog was established. The so called ‘pilot houses’ were built at the mouth of the harbour, so pilots could keep a watch for ships needing them. In the past Bort-Y-Gest was starting point for the crossing over the dangerous Glaslyn estuary.

Portmeirion is a coastal resort on a peninsula in North Wales with hotels, cafe and tearoom, restaurants, shops and self catering cottages. Situated in the heart of Snowdonia it is overlooking the stunning coastal scenery of the estuary of the River Dwyryd. Portmeirion was created by the architect Clough Williams-Ellis from 1925 to 1976. He wanted to show how a naturally beautiful site could be developed without spoiling it. Clough Williams-Ellis had conceived of a tightly grouped coastal village on some romantic clifftop site, perhaps on an island or a remote estuary. This idea stayed with him for about 20 years until in 1925 he found the Aber Iâ estate on the Dwyryd estuary near his home. He did not feel Aber Iâ was appropriate as it could mean 'frozen river mouth', which was not ideal for a holiday resort. He changed the change the name to Portmeirion: ‘port’ to put it on the coast. and 'meirion' the correct spelling of Merioneth, the county in which it was located. The Italian-like village of Portmeirion was built in two stages, from 1925 to 1939 and then once post war building restrictions had been lifted, from 1954 to 1976. Today Portmeirion is owned by a charitable trust and can be visited on payment of an admission fee.

Chester Rows can be found in the four main streets in the centre of Chester. They consist of covered and continuous half-timbered walkways at the first floor with shops and other premises. At street level there are also retail premises, which can be entered by going down a few steps. Some original 13th century buildings, have survived the ravages of time, but many of the impressive facades are Victorian copies. The Rows, with its double-decker architectural design, are unique in the world. The earliest written records of the Rows date back to the 11th and 12th centuries, but it’s possible they actually existed in some form for many centuries before that. Most probably they may have been built on top of rubble remaining from the ruins of Roman buildings. Still their origin is subject to speculation. Undercrofts were constructed beneath the buildings in the Rows. The undercrofts were in stone while most of the buildings in the Rows were in timber.

St. Peter’s Church in Melverley is situated on the banks of the River Vyrnwy. The church was rebuilt in 1406 to replace the wooden chapel, which was burnt down during the Welsh uprisings in 1401. All that remains of the old building is the Saxon font, which is still used for baptisms today. It features also a Jacobean pulpit and a lectum (1727) with a chained bible. The current timber-framed, wattle and daub, black and white church is one of only three such churches to be found in Shropshire and one of twenty-seven in England and the oldest of its kind. There is not one nail in the building.

Most of the timber framed houses in Shrewsbury are dating back to the 15th and 16th century and were erected in the ‘golden years’ of wool trade in the city. Abbot’s House in Butcher Row in the centre of town is one of the oldest timber framed houses in Shrewsbury. The house was built in 1459 by the Abbot of Lilleshall as an investment for his abbey. The windows at the bottom of were all separate butchers' shops, used until the mid-1800s; on the floors were tenements.

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct was built by Thomas Telford between 1795 and 1805. The aqueduct over the valley of the River Dee has 18 pillars; the highest ones come 38 meters above the water. The Llangollen Canal runs over the aqueduct through a cast iron trough, which is more than 300 meters long, 3,7 meters wide and 1,6 meters deep; just enough for the narrow boats. Pontcysyllte Aqueduct is the longest and highest in Great Britain. The aqueduct carries a water passage for a single canal narrow boat as well as a towpath for pedestrians. It connects the Welsh villages of Froncysyllte and Trevor. Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and the length of the Llangollen Canal from the Horseshoe Falls to Gledrid Bridge is now a World Heritage Site.