mattCultures and traditions converge in the United Kingdom. Explore the amalgamation of old and new.
The 12 Days Of Christmas Around The UK
United Kingdom
My True Love is not the easiest person to shop for. TL seems to have a fondness for birds and musical entertainers. so I decided to take a 12 day trip around the UK to find the best places in the country to experience the 12 Days of Christmas.
Updated 3 years ago
2🎵 a partridge in a pear tree Looking for a partridge in a pear tree my best bet for 🍐 seems to be Brogdale in Kent which houses the National Fruit Collection with over 502 varieties of pear trees as well as apples, plums and cherries. If a convenient partridge does not land on the 🌲, there is an on site butcher which sells game including partridge.
- +44 1795 536250
Brogdale Farm House, Brogdale Rd, Faversham ME13 8XZ, UK
🎵 Two turtle doves Sadly turtle doves are in extreme decline across the UK. They have suffered a 94% UK population decline since 1995. One of the few places you can see them is at Pensthorpe Natural Park in Norfolk where they have a captive breeding flock. Other popular animals in the park include flamingos, cranes and red squirrels.
- +44 1328 851465
Pensthorpe Rd, Fakenham NR21 0LN, UK
2🎵 Three French hens I was a little distracted on 1st December this year due to the birth of my daughter, so I completely missed the fact the National Poultry Show was taking place in Telford. At the show (don't panic it will return in December 2020) the British Faverolles Society awards prizes. Faverolles are a hardy breed of chickens first bred in the 1860s in France and to which the French Hens of the song refer. 🐔 🐔 🐔
Telford TF3 2BP, UK
2🎵 four calling birds One of the best places to hear songbirds in the UK is Wytham Woods which was beqeathed to the University of Oxford in 1943 and run for the benefit of the public as well as for scientific study. It has a large population of Great Tits, Blue Tits and Coal Tits and scientists have an almost complete lineage of all the birds in the woods since 1950s. There are more than 32km of footpaths through the woods, and regular events are held throughout the year.
Wytham Great Wood, United Kingdom
🎵 five gold rings You'll find a lot more than five gold rings at one of Londons top museums, the V&A. The V&A has one of the biggest collections of jewellery in the world. Over 3,000 pieces tell the story of jewellery in Europe from ancient times to today. And like many London museums, entrance is free!
- +44 20 7942 2000
Cromwell Rd, Knightsbridge, London SW7 2RL, UK
🎵 six geese-a-laying There are only three populations of barnacle geese in the world. Every year a flock numbering 30,000 birds makes the arduous 2,000 mile journey south from Svalbard, the most northerly islands in Europe, to Caerlaverock on the Solway Firth in Scotland. The birds are carefully tracked by the WWT staff. In 2013 one goose got lost and flew an extra 900 miles to Spain! Perhaps he was fed up of the Scottish weather...
WWT Caerlaverock, Dumfries DG1 4UF, UK
2🎵 seven swans-a-swimming Abbotsbury Swannery is the only place in the world where you are able to walk through the heart of a colony of nesting Mute Swans. The Swannery was set up by Benedictine monks in the 11th century. You can feed the swans at noon and 4:00 p.m. daily.
- +44 1305 871858
New Barn Rd, Abbotsbury DT3 4JG, UK
2🎵 eight maids a-milking On the exterior wall of Durham cathedral you will find a sculpture of a monk, a milkmaid and a cow which seems like a strange artwork to place on the exterior of a religious building. The story goes that in the year 995 AD some monks who were following in the footsteps of Saint Cuthbert were attempting to find a place to lay the remains of their saint. In a vision they were told to go to a place called Dunholm but none of the monks knew where that was. Luckily they met a milkmaid who said she had lost her dun cow 🐄 and it had last been seen at Dunholm. Realizing this was a sign they followed the milkmaid to find the cow and when they found it, that is where they built the cathedral and later the city of Durham.
Durham DH1 3EP, UK
🎵 nine ladies dancing To find one lady dancing shouldn't be too hard, but nine? You're going to need to find a place that trains the best young dancers and choreographers in the country. Trinity Laban is a music and dance conservatoire in London ranked in the top 10 music and dance schools in the world. Alumni include choreographer Sir Matthew Bourne. The conservatoire go on tour regularly as well as organising workshops with the local community.
New Cross, London SE14 6NH, UK
🎵 10 lords-a-leaping As 2020 is a leap year, Saturday 29 February is an ideal time to go on a guided tour of the Houses of Parliament. On Saturdays you can take a tour of the House of Lords, Britain's upper house, and have a once-in-four-years opportunity to see some Lords a leaping. More lavishly decorated than the House of Commons, you can see the throne from which the Queen makes her speech to open Parliament.
- +44 20 7219 3000
Houses of Parliament, Parliament Square, Westminster, London SW1A 0PW, UK
3🎵 eleven pipers piping Glasgow is home to the National PIping Centre, an institution dedicated to Scotland's national instrument, the bagpipes. The National Piping Museum includes historical examples of the Great Highland Bagpipes, but also the Scottish smallpipes and Irish uileann pipes. Regular special events like their Hogmanay party are a great way to listen to eleven pipers piping without annoying your neighbours.
- +44 141 353 5551
30-34 McPhater St, Glasgow G4 0HW, UK
2🎵 12 drummers drumming When the Victorian tea trader Frederick Horniman opened a museum he said he "wanted to bring the world to Forest Hill". One of London's most interesting and eclectic museums the museum contained a large collection of items related anthropology and musical instruments (and teddy bears). They have a large handling collection with over 3,000 items so you might have a chance to play on some historic drums from around the world.
- +44 20 8699 1872
100 London Rd, Forest Hill, London SE23 3PQ, UK
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