UK HSSLA Trip
Home to some of the most exalted monumental nonpareils of the world, timeless tales of swashbuckling knights in shining armour, and brilliant minds such as Shakespeare and Turing who pioneered Literature and Science, England has a melange of wonders to offer any tourist.
To give you some background information on why I decided to sign up for this trip, well, let’s just say… I’m a bit of what they would call an Anglophile. As a child, I grew up binging on English folklore, tales of woeful ghosts haunting the living if they wandered too close to forbidden English spots at night. I marvelled at the mechanical beast that was the Big Ben, oathing down on my bucket list that I would someday snap a shot there with my own camera. I did, by the way.
It had always been a distant dream of mine to one day set foot on English cobbled stones suffused with such rich story and history. And finally, when the news rolled in that the school would take a bunch of us there during the June holidays, I just knew I had to sign up for it!
And when I was informed of my successful application to visit the UK under River Valley’s Humanities and Social Sciences Leader’s Academy (HSSLA), I was rendered speechless. I was so excited for the trip, I actually set up a countdown timer for the trip on my phone.
A cheeky representation of how I felt waiting for 19th May to arrive
To my dear reader, I hope this little account of my brief experience with the UK offers you some valuable insights on travelling there, should you ever be galvanized to visit someday!
Because as Singaporeans, we’ll always be curious about the weather, right?
As the winter months melt away to give way to the sunshine, England is a treasure trove with much to offer to any tourist. In summer, the unstinting English foliage thrives and the golden orb is generous with its warmth — the weather is perfect for anyone chasing the sun, but admittedly, not so much for Singaporeans like myself, who are over-seasoned with summer days. Thankfully, during our short stay here, the summer days were mild and therefore, benign. In fact, the first few days were actually really chilly which caught us off guard, with temperatures hitting measly lows of 12 degrees Celsius. (Thank heavens for hot chocolate and heat packs!)
And if nature isn’t really your cup of tea, fear not! The country is also famous for its world class urban sprawls that is bound for any metropolitan lover to fall head over heels in love at first sight!
An overview of our itinerary
Over the span of 10 days, the group of us travelled to various tourist hotspots across Manchester, Liverpool, Stratford-upon-Avon, Cambridge and London. And at the end of everything, we are duly enriched with stories from our visits of museums and libraries, greatly inspired by the general English natural landscapes and gifted with fond memories of being in each other’s company.
Gone, but not forgotten
I am normally not a museum-hardy person, and really dreaded having to while my time away in front of mucky glass cases and lacklustre chunks of information when told we were to visit multiple museums during our time here. I mean, I can hardly sit still and read a book for five minutes; now, I’m expected to visit not one but six museums?! Talk about information overload!
However, I was proud to say that after our visit to the first museum, the Imperial War Museum, I was visibly hooked like a 20th century soldier on nicotine! The various exhibits that interlaced war with its polar opposite, art, really tugged at my heartstrings and made me understand how blessed I was to have it kept far away from my sheltered doorstep.
In particular, I was moved by an emotional poem (pictured above) that memorialized the 911 tragedy and a colossus display of stacked traditional suitcases to show the disruptive element of the world wars to civilian life in the 20th century — how millions were deracinated because of the horrors of war. As Singaporeans, we lead such cushioned and comfortable lives that it is almost all too convenient for us to displace the notion of war from our heads. However, this museum is bound to shake that complacency and nonchalance. A real eye-opener indeed.
Over the course of the next nine days, aside from the Imperial War Museum, we also visited the National Coal Mining Museum for England, Chatsworth House, the Fitzwilliam Museum, British Museum and Tate Modern.
My personal favourite was the coal mining one. With not a single dreaded glass case (yay!) in sight, the entire museum was all about experiential learning. The group of us was loaded onto an elevator that went 140 metres underground, where we had to crawl through labyrinth-like tunnels in the freezing dark and hike carefully through the grimy and coarse coal. Beware, this museum is not for the faint-hearted or the claustrophobic! But, whatever preliminary discomfort this museum brought, it thoroughly made up for in its epilogue.
The museum cleverly told the tale of coal miners during the Industrial Revolution by allowing visitors physically experience life themselves! In the mines, everything suddenly becomes intensified. Oxygen suddenly becomes a luxury, tiny flames could take the entire mine out if it was set alive in the wrong area, too close to methane. An occupation of tough labour, danger and weathered hands grained with coal, not exactly my dream job but definitely a meaningful and selfless one!
Meanwhile, Chatsworth House, the Fitzwilliam Museum and British Museum were really awe-inspiring. From 16th century paintings of domestic life in Italy to pre-dynastic Egyptian burials to luxuriant Victorian gowns, I highly recommend these museums to anyone who has a penchant for world history. In particular, I really enjoyed the British Museum. They had a really cool, well-preserved exhibit of the famous Lindow Man, whose skeleton remains date back to between 2 AD and 119 BC. One can also expect to see the world-famous Egyptian Rosetta stone there. Cool, right?!
Lastly, Tate Modern would prove to be a worthy rendezvous for any art lover. It is an international modern and contemporary art museum, home to international collections from household names such as Picasso. Trust me, even as a non-art lover, I was really drawn into the various artists’ interpretations of life. The museum also has on sale interesting book choices that chronicle the shadowed histories of artists such as Van Gogh and Monet, and unabashed discussions of taboo topics like nudity and suicide. A real gem, if you ask me.
World-class literary scenes
When visiting the UK, it is also quintessential for one to wallow in the rich literary aura. To me, the English literary scene is quite the jewel of the crown. The group of us had the fortune of visiting the esteemed Shakespeare’s birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon and the Bronte family’s home in Haworth.
The Brontë Parsonage Museum is established in the heart of Haworth. Founded in 1893, it is one of the oldest English literary societies and today is responsible for promoting the Brontës' literary legacy within contemporary society. The Parsonage Museum The collections at the Brontë Parsonage Museum houses numerous works by the Brontë sisters and continue to inspire scholars, writers and artists alike.
Every visit to Stratford would be unfinished without scheduling a trip down to visit Shakespeare’s birthplace to learn about the man behind the masterpiece. Behind English literature’s magnum opuses such as Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth and Hamlet, was a simple man of modest background. Many tourists flock to Stratford-upon-Avon to have a glimpse of Shakespeare’s environment in his early years.
Natural landscapes
An escapade from the modern hubbub. A temporary sanctuary from advertisities. A little quiet village in Hathersage provides any damsel in distress a verdant hermitage for restful peace and quiet. Coupled with fresh air and green grass, the serene aura the village exudes is bound to lift one’s spirits and temporarily push out any troubles.
We visited the village sometime in the late morning, when all the children were at school and the adults were working. Hence, it was rather quiet and left to its own devices. Our guide brought us to the empty fields behind the village where we went on a hike and trekked through about 2 miles of grassland with nothing but cows, sheep, buttercups and trees.
Other useful nuggets of information when touring the UK
1) When a British building states that something is on the first floor, it actually means the facility is located on the second storey, above ground floor. This was a rather amusing finding because the group of us got lost in the Merseyside Museum trying to locate a performance on the “first floor” of the museum.
2) The legal tender in England is the British pound, not Euro. Euros are used in Ireland, though.
3) What we call the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) in Singapore, the British call it the London Underground. And just like MRT, they get past the gantries using Oyster Cards. The subway is really busy, so tap fast and don’t block the way or you’re bound to get Tsk-ed!
4) Always pack for all kinds of weather! If you think Singaporean weather is mercurial, you’ll find British weather ten times worse! Somedays, it’ll rain cats and dogs and all you want to do is wrap up in a warm duvet but within a day, it’ll turn into a sweltering summer day.
5) When visiting London, stay within the inner boroughs. That’s where all the major tourist attractions are situated. That way, you can save on travel fare because as you head outwards towards the geographical periphery of the city, it gets increasingly expensive to get around, especially when you cross between zones, which are designated divisions on the map, where one has to pay extra to cross.
6) And last tip, travel with a curious mind and an open heart! You’ll never know what you’ll find in this country. Whether a good book from WH Smith, an Instagram-worthy shot of the Thames or a serendipitous exchange with one of the locals, the UK has something in store for everyone, if you’re willing to look for it!