Roadschool Trip to the Poison Garden & WW2 England

 

Downtown Alnwick is full of old-world charm, from its quaint hotels and lively pubs to the cobblestoned streets running through the old city walls. Here you can venture to places such as The Chocolate Shop (yum!), found within the fortressed walls, to the famous Barter Books, found outside the walls.

Barter Books is one of the largest second-hand bookshops in Europe. The bookshop is in the Victorian-age Alnwick Railway Station, dating back to 1887. The station was in use until 1968, and was used as a storage unit during World War II. Just a few years after the station was transformed into a bookstore, the owners discovered a World War II poster from 1939 featuring the slogan, "Keep Calm and Carry On." They began reprinting the design and turned it into a global phenomenon!

Visitors to Barter Books will note that it uses a barter system (in addition to cash), where customers can exchange books for other books. It has many incredible, homey features that bibliophiles will adore, such as the open fires (in winter) and a buffet with coffee, tea, cookies, and light meals. Throughout the store, you'll find several sitting areas, including a children's room with toys. There are glass cases featuring antiquarian books (such as Darwin's 'On the Origin of Species'), and several train station features incorporated into the architecture. There is also a model train that links the various rooms!

Many of England's cities and towns have apothecary gardens — historical plots containing plants turned into treatments centuries ago by doctors, herbalists, and shamans. Most such gardens exist today to teach visitors about the history of medicine, and the Poison Garden at Alnwick Castle is one such.

"These plants can kill." That's what the gate leading into the Poison Garden says, and it's emblazoned with a skull and crossbones for good measure. Behind the bars is the deadliest garden in the world, and you can take a guided tour through it! Here you'll learn about hundreds of deadly plants as well as 100 infamous killers...

The duchess created this garden in 2005, wanting to add something unique to her garden with plants that would tell a good story. The garden's mission is to educate visitors about common (and uncommon) plants that are toxic. Children, particularly, are both educated and entertained by stories such as the "killing jars" of the Victorian era, which held laurel leaves that killed spiders or butterflies but left them intact — great for collectors.

When visiting, you'll be remanded not to smell, touch, or taste anything, though the occasional visitor faints from inhaling toxic fumes. Some of the species found in the garden include the source of strychnine, hemlock, cannabis, coca, the source of ricin, foxglove, deadly nightshade, and opium poppy.

Pick up activities and worksheets to augment your real or virtual trip in the unit study bundle below!

Explore the art, history, geography, food, and culture of England in this cross-curricular unit study….perfect for families getting ready to travel abroad or folks who want to travel via unit studies!  Each stop along the roadschooling trip covers a different facet of history and culture with unit information, resources, worksheets, activities, and more...  

YES!  I want 122 pages of FUN STUDIES!

Table of Contents:

• o Introduction & Geography of England
• o Portsmouth
  • o The Mary Rose & naval archaeology
• o London
  • o The British Museum & archaeology
  • o The Wallace Collection & medieval history
  • o The Tower of London / London Bridge & the Tudors
  • o Buckingham Palace & royalty
  • o Victoria and Albert Museum & medieval art
  • o Thames / Globe Theater & Shakespeare
  • o Sherlock Holmes Museum & British Literature
  • o Abbey Road & British Invasion
• o Leeds
  • o Royal Armouries & middle ages
• o York
  • o Jorvik & Vikings
  • o York Castle & archaeology
• o Haltwhistle
  • o Hadrian’s Wall & ancient Celts
  • o Vindolanda & archaeology
• o Alnwick
  • o Alnwick Castle & architecture
  • o Poison Garden & herbs
  • o Barter Books & WW2 history
• o Alnmouth
  • o North Sea & train history
• o Newcastle o Segedunum & ancient Romans
• o Tips & Tricks for Travelling in England