See what piece of history you can find in your local area
With Olympic fervour at its peak and long summer evenings, what better a time for families to explore the great British outdoors and discover new and interesting international connections with the competing nations of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games?
Britain has a wealth of international links in its geography and history and with the Olympic and Paralympic Games taking place in our country it is a great time to explore and discover..."
The Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), as part of its Walk the World project, is calling on families to explore their own local areas, and to find and put forward suggestions of links with the competing nations of the games. The project website www.walktheworld.org.uk includes hundreds of examples of links found across the UK, along with 20 diverse walks in cities and towns across the country, that illustrate a myriad of geographical and historical links between the Olympic host nation and those competing.
Families can follow in the footsteps of sailors and soldiers looking at Greenwich’s maritime history or stroll in Newcastle 'a city of bridges’ exploring its worldwide connections that have helped develop the town from a Roman town to an individual city to a vibrant centre for arts, among many others across the UK.
RGS-IBG Director, Dr Rita Gardner, said: "Britain has a wealth of international links in its geography and history and with the Olympic and Paralympic Games taking place in our country it is a great time to explore and discover the unexpected on your own doorstep.
"We hope that local residents, students and families will find this another exciting way that they can get involved with the Olympics and look forward to reading what suggestions they put forward for links in the region with other Olympic nations," she adds.
Thanks to this local involvement the Society is discovering many fascinating and unexpected stories about the UK’s global links with the rest of the world over thousands of years: from wheat came to the UK roughly 5000 years ago and was originally grown in Syria and Jordan, to East Anglian roof pantiles which first came to the country as ballast in sailing ships from the Netherlands in the 15th century, and to how sheep were ‘imported’ centuries ago from the Caucasus where the wild ‘Mouflon’ still roams.
FemaleFirst @FemaleFirst_UK
Shabana Adam