Following the Footsteps

We can read about people from the past and imagine their lives, but visiting places they lived in, seeing the views that they saw and hearing the same echo of stones underfoot as they heard can evoke a far greater sense of their lives as real human beings.

We have followed in the footsteps of some of the men and women from the Tudor and Stewart era, seeking out places that were important to them. Many of the buildings they lived in have disappeared without trace, but it is surprising how much still remains.

What is also surprising is the extent to which the elite travelled. From King James IV who barely spent more than a week in the same place, to Thomas Cromwell who soldiered around Europe, and Anne Boleyn who served at the courts of Burgundy and France, a picture emerges of people who thought nothing of travelling frequently and over large distances, despite the difficulties and physical discomforts of travel in the 16^th century.