History Archives - Mechtraveller https://mechtraveller.com/tag/history/ Mechanically-minded travel Tue, 13 Oct 2026 10:00:47 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1.3 D-Day Normandy’s ten most poignant but least visited battlefield memorials https://mechtraveller.com/2026/10/d-day-normandys-ten-most-poignant-but-least-visited-battlefield-memorials/ https://mechtraveller.com/2026/10/d-day-normandys-ten-most-poignant-but-least-visited-battlefield-memorials/#respond Mon, 12 Oct 2026 21:56:56 +0000 https://mechtraveller.com/?p=13653 Most of Normandy’s D-Day/Battle of Normandy battlefield and memorial sites are both impressive and emotional, but once you get way from the coast and head inland, you begin to find evocative sites that are comparatively unknown and rarely visited. Here are ten sites, off the beaten path, that I think are particularly poignant and worth […]

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]]> https://mechtraveller.com/2026/10/d-day-normandys-ten-most-poignant-but-least-visited-battlefield-memorials/feed/ 0 The Royal Observatory Greenwich to close for a major upgrade https://mechtraveller.com/2026/09/the-royal-observatory-greenwich-to-close-for-a-major-upgrade/ https://mechtraveller.com/2026/09/the-royal-observatory-greenwich-to-close-for-a-major-upgrade/#respond Wed, 09 Sep 2026 14:15:37 +0000 https://mechtraveller.com/?p=13479 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 everyday lives and highlight the wider scientific developments […]

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]]> https://mechtraveller.com/2026/09/the-royal-observatory-greenwich-to-close-for-a-major-upgrade/feed/ 0 A New Exhibition in Paris on the Inspiration, Design and Creation of the Statue of Liberty https://mechtraveller.com/2026/09/a-new-exhibition-in-paris-on-the-inspiration-design-and-creation-of-the-statue-of-liberty/ https://mechtraveller.com/2026/09/a-new-exhibition-in-paris-on-the-inspiration-design-and-creation-of-the-statue-of-liberty/#respond Thu, 03 Sep 2026 15:39:32 +0000 https://mechtraveller.com/?p=13452 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 Independence, the exhibition highlights the industrial, human, and […]

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]]> https://mechtraveller.com/2026/09/a-new-exhibition-in-paris-on-the-inspiration-design-and-creation-of-the-statue-of-liberty/feed/ 0 Le Château de Pignerolle U-Boat HQ https://mechtraveller.com/2026/08/le-chateau-de-pignerolle-u-boat-hq/ https://mechtraveller.com/2026/08/le-chateau-de-pignerolle-u-boat-hq/#respond Mon, 17 Aug 2026 15:51:03 +0000 https://mechtraveller.com/?p=13410 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) really un-nerved both Kriegsmarine commander Grand Admiral Raider, […]

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]]> https://mechtraveller.com/2026/08/le-chateau-de-pignerolle-u-boat-hq/feed/ 0 Historic Sunbeam 1000hp restoration completed https://mechtraveller.com/2026/06/historic-sunbeam-1000hp-restoration-completed/ https://mechtraveller.com/2026/06/historic-sunbeam-1000hp-restoration-completed/#respond Thu, 25 Jun 2026 11:08:22 +0000 https://mechtraveller.com/?p=13230 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. It has tested the Museum’s workshop team, led […]

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]]> https://mechtraveller.com/2026/06/historic-sunbeam-1000hp-restoration-completed/feed/ 0 CNN Films to broadcast “Why We Dream” documentary about veterans returning to Normandy https://mechtraveller.com/2026/01/cnn-films-to-broadcast-why-we-dream-documentary-about-veterans-returning-to-normandy/ https://mechtraveller.com/2026/01/cnn-films-to-broadcast-why-we-dream-documentary-about-veterans-returning-to-normandy/#respond Fri, 16 Jan 2026 18:21:03 +0000 https://mechtraveller.com/?p=12616 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 with Pulse Films, the film will premiere in […]

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]]> https://mechtraveller.com/2026/01/cnn-films-to-broadcast-why-we-dream-documentary-about-veterans-returning-to-normandy/feed/ 0 Goodwood Events will reunite the legendary 1966 Le Mans 1-2-3 Ford GT MkIIs https://mechtraveller.com/2026/01/goodwood-events-will-reunite-the-legendary-1966-le-mans-1-2-3-ford-gt-mkiis/ https://mechtraveller.com/2026/01/goodwood-events-will-reunite-the-legendary-1966-le-mans-1-2-3-ford-gt-mkiis/#respond Thu, 15 Jan 2026 16:35:43 +0000 https://mechtraveller.com/?p=12611 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 2019 movie Le Mans ’66 starring Christian Bale […]

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]]> https://mechtraveller.com/2026/01/goodwood-events-will-reunite-the-legendary-1966-le-mans-1-2-3-ford-gt-mkiis/feed/ 0 200th Anniversary of the World’s First Photograph to be Celebrated in France https://mechtraveller.com/2026/01/200th-anniversary-of-the-worlds-first-photograph-to-be-celebrated-in-france/ https://mechtraveller.com/2026/01/200th-anniversary-of-the-worlds-first-photograph-to-be-celebrated-in-france/#respond Mon, 12 Jan 2026 15:22:13 +0000 https://mechtraveller.com/?p=12604 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 window on his estate in Saint-Loup-de-Varennes in Burgundy. […]

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]]> https://mechtraveller.com/2026/01/200th-anniversary-of-the-worlds-first-photograph-to-be-celebrated-in-france/feed/ 0 200 Years of Railway Heritage celebrated at the Vienna Museum of Science and Technology https://mechtraveller.com/2025/12/200-years-of-railway-heritage-celebrated-at-the-vienna-museum-of-science-and-technology/ https://mechtraveller.com/2025/12/200-years-of-railway-heritage-celebrated-at-the-vienna-museum-of-science-and-technology/#respond Thu, 18 Dec 2025 17:21:20 +0000 https://mechtraveller.com/?p=12541 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 October and uses impressive models, historical objects, and […]

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]]> https://mechtraveller.com/2025/12/200-years-of-railway-heritage-celebrated-at-the-vienna-museum-of-science-and-technology/feed/ 0 The Dives River Bridge Memorials, Normandy https://mechtraveller.com/2025/10/the-dives-river-bridge-memorials-normandy/ https://mechtraveller.com/2025/10/the-dives-river-bridge-memorials-normandy/#respond Sat, 18 Oct 2025 15:28:40 +0000 https://mechtraveller.com/?p=12339 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 get an understanding of the dangers faced in […]

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