The Royal Observatory at Greenwich is undergoing a major transformation, which they have named ‘The First Light’ project. First Light will see the Observatory’s interior and external spaces transformed through displays and interactives, alongside architecture, conservation and landscaping. The new galleries will showcase observatory’s impact on our...
The Musée des Arts et Métiers (MuAM) in Paris is opening an 11-month exhibition on the Design and Creation of the Statue of Liberty. Lady Liberté: Sweat, Boldness, Genius traces the technical odyssey behind the universal monument. Marking the 250th anniversary of the United States Declaration of...
It’s hard to imagine the U-boat war being conducted from a group of bunkers in the wooded grounds of a château just outside Angers, miles from the coast and the U-boat bases. But that’s exactly the point. The British raid on Saint-Nazaire in March 1942 (Operation Chariot)...
National Motor Museum engineers have successfully restored the World Land Speed Record breaker Sunbeam 1000hp car, in time for its planned 100th anniversary run at Daytona Beach in the USA next year. The restoration project has taken over three years, with many additional years of preparatory work....
CNN Films has acquired the documentary feature Why We Dream, which follows a group of centenarian WWII veterans as they make a pilgrimage to Normandy, France for the 80th anniversary of D-Day. Directed by Meredith Danluck and produced by Delta Air Lines’ Window Seat Studios, in partnership...
This summer, the three Ford GT Mk IIs that crossed the Le Mans 24hr finishing line (virtually) together in that landmark 1966 race, will appear together once more at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in July and the Goodwood Revival in September. Hands up, who loves the...
The French Ministry of Culture has announced a nationwide festival of photography in 2026 to mark the 200th anniversary of the world’s first permanent photograph recorded by Frenchman Nicéphore Niépce. Niépce’s photograph, ‘View from the window at Le Gras’ dated between 1826-1827 was taken from his study...
The Museum of Science and Technology in Vienna (Technisches Museum Wien) is, like us in the UK, celebrating 200 years of technical and social advances brought about by the railway. Their temporary exhibition Under the Spell of the Railway – 200 Years of Rail Transport, opened in...
The five bridges over the river Dives marked for destruction by Allied airborne forces on the night of 6 June 1944 are rarely visited these days, but they were crucial to securing the eastern flank of the D-Day landings. So it’s definitely worth exploring the area to...
The Marmon Herrington Mk4 SARC (South African Reconnaissance Car) was introduced to Allied forces in 1943 after wheeled vehicles had proved very useful in the first engagements with the Afrika Korps. The SARC was a speedy (85 km/h, 53 mph) reconnaissance vehicle, lightly armoured (12mm – 30mm)...
There’s an interesting 16-min documentary that has just been released by the Hainan International Media Center (HIMC), highlighting a little-known chapter of WW2 history: a daring rescue of Allied Prisoners of War (POWs) on China’s Hainan Island in 1945. Unlocking Pigeon Mission, released in time to commemorate...
The Sir John Soane’s Museum has opened a new temporary exhibition of the life and revolutionary work of British-Italian architect Richard Rogers. Richard Rogers: Talking Buildings was opened yesterday by the Soane’s Director, Will Gompertz and the curator of the exhibition, Richard’s son, Ab Rogers. The small...
The London Canal Museum (LCM) is housed in an historic canal warehouse, just north of King’s Cross. It has displays and artefacts on two floors, telling the story of canals, and London’s canals in particular, from their construction, the goods and industries that relied on them for...
Tomorrow (27 May) in Liverpool, the shipping and cruise line Cunard opens its new ‘Sea of Glamour’ photography exhibition, celebrating the line’s 185 year history. Curated by British photographer and filmmaker Mary McCartney, the exhibition features 185 incredible images – sourced from the Cunard archives, and a...
This is a niche blog about technically-minded travel. It reflects my own interests in the mechanical, technical, historical, engineering, transport and military world.
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