Britain Unleashed:
Have Dogs, Will Travel
Dog-friendly historical travel stories
with a cheeky twist.
Here you'll find intros and links to the five most recent story chapters.
Jerry Lee and Holly in Glencoe, Scotland
Because when you live your best life, you get to tell cool stories.
What are you waiting for?
Read these, then get cracking on creating your own!
Story #2/Chapter 16
The Tour de GB—Richmond Park
Originally published 28 September 2019
Revised 24 February 2020
10. Rambling, Dogs, and Beer.
One fun thing about both stories and boxes of chocolates is that you never know what you're going to get (unless you're Harry from When Harry Met Sally and you read the last page of a
book first). So far, Richmond Park's story has been full of fun things: fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants... oops, scratch that. That's The Princess Bride.
Now, they might not be giants, but we have found other fun things in the park: odd names, big houses, film sets, herons, lazy politicians, secret wartime tests, balloons, bikes, and parachutes, just
for starters. But we've saved the best thing about Richmond Park—and by extension, Great Britain—for last:
Walking.
Story begins with Story #2/Chapter 1
Story #2/Chapter 15
The Tour de GB—Richmond Park
24 August 2019
9. Aeronautical Firsts.
Here's an easy question for you: when you think of aviation firsts, what names come to mind straight away? If I were a betting gal, I'd put money on the Wright brothers, Charles Lindbergh, and Amelia Earhart being at the top of the list.
It's a good list to be sure, but it's just the merest tip of the iceberg—and by now, it might not come as a surprise to you that back in the day, Richmond Park was the scene of one notable, if not well-known, aeronautical first.
It wasn't the first time the park saw a bit of aerial action, of course: on 21 September 1917, a year and a half before this new particular first, Richmond Park had hosted Britain's first barrage balloon tests, with, as you might recall, rather mixed results. (It's near the end of Chapter 5.)...
Story begins with Story #2/Chapter 1
Story #2/Chapter 14
The Tour de GB—Richmond Park
Originally published 27 July 2019
Revised 3 November 2019
8. Traffic.
Unless you've been living on a desert island your whole life (and lucky you if you have), there's an excellent chance that at some point, you've sat in traffic... horn-blowing, temper-flaring, get-out-of-my-way-you-idiot traffic. Invariably when you're running late for The Most Important Event in Anyone's Life, Ever.
Of course, if you're a driver, there's also a better-than-average chance you've been stuck behind a Lycra-clad cyclist struggling up a hill. (And why do you always find yourself behind a cyclist on both a hill and a curve at the same time?)...
Story begins with Story #2/Chapter 1
Story #2/Chapter 13
The Tour de GB—Richmond Park
Originally published 29 June 2019
Revised 21 March 2020
7c. Fun and Games: Golf... or a Good Walk Spoiled.
There seem to be a lot more funny golf jokes than there are funny horse jokes (feel free to draw your own conclusions as to why), so for our stroll around the links, we'll tee off with thanks to Jeremy Ellwood of Golf Monthly:
Golfer to caddie: “Why do you keep looking at your watch? I find it very distracting.”
Caddie: “It’s not a watch, sir—it’s a compass.”
I'm not a golfer—I'd rather enjoy my walks—but if you are, then hie yourself over to Richmond Park, where you'll find not one but two royally-named courses waiting for you....
Story begins with Story #2/Chapter 1
Story #2/Chapter 12
The Tour de GB—Richmond Park
Originally published 1 June 2019
Revised 22 February 2020
7b. Fun and Games: Just Horsing Around.
[Insert non-eye-roll-inducing horse joke here.]
I did try to find a funny horse joke to start off the second period of our sports romp around Richmond Park, but my efforts were to neigh avail, so we'll skip the joke and get straight to the serious horsing around.
If you caught Chapter 1 of the Richmond Park saga, you might remember that the park owes its existence to horses—or at least to one king's obsession with horses and hunting. (And given what ended the rein... I mean, reign... of King Charles I, you have to wonder if author Washington Irving spent any time reading British history for inspiration.)...
Story begins with Story #2/Chapter 1
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