Medieval painted churches in England and Wales

by Sean McLachlan on


England and Wales are full of beautiful medieval churches. From the famous like Christ Church cathedral to the lesser-known like Dorchester Abbey, they offer breathtaking architecture and decoration, and since many are free, they make good budget travel destinations.

Some even preserve fragile paintings from the Middle Ages, like this one photographed by Roger Rosewell, author of Medieval Wall Paintings in English and Welsh Churches. This is a thorough and richly illustrated guide to an art form many travelers know little about. He takes us through the history of these paintings and their sometimes obscure meanings, and delves into how they were seen by their contemporaries.

The above illustration shows the “Harrowing of Hell” and was painted in the late 15th century at the church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Pickering, Yorkshire. It’s a scene from The Gospel of Nicodemus, when between Christ’s burial and the third day, God undid Christ’s death and Christ released Adam, Eve, and other righteous souls from Hell. If you haven’t heard of this gospel, it’s because it’s one of the many books that didn’t make it into the final standard version of the Bible we know today. Scenes from this book and many other so-called Apocryphal texts were well-known to medieval Christians, though.

Other subjects include the Virgin Mary, the lives of saints, the Doom or final judgement, and the Warning to Blasphemers–a grisly scene in which those who have taken the Lord’s name in vain are shown tearing apart his body.

Rosewell also looks at the patrons who commissioned the work and the painters themselves, telling us a lot about medieval society. Interestingly, it appears some of the painters were women, yet little is known about any church painters, male or female. There’s also a handy gazetteer and subject guide to help you locate any church paintings along your trip itinerary.

I only have two minor criticisms of this work. Firstly, while Rosewell explains Christian iconography very well, sometimes he leaves architectural terms undefined. Despite having written two books on medieval history, I had to look up “soffit” and “voussoir”! Also, while many of the photos are lovely, some have less than ideal lighting and look like simple snapshots. Granted, many medieval wall paintings are so faded it’s virtually impossible to get good photos of them, yet I feel a bit more effort would have enhanced these photos considerably.

All in all, I highly recommend Medieval Wall Paintings in English and Welsh Churches to anyone interested in the Middle Ages, art, or travel in England in Wales. It’s the perfect mixture of art, history, and guidebook, something I wish the travel industry would give us more of.

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Next week is Food Week on Gadling: Submit your photos

by Grant Martin on


It is well-known on the Gadling team that I’m a terrible foodie, and it’s the subject of a great deal of jest (I’m looking at you, David Farley). There’s no doubt that I enjoy heading out with a group of friends for a creative night of eating and drinking, but for me, it’s more about the social aspects rather than the gastronomic.

With that said, I’ve been either on the sidelines or in the press box for most of this food revolution, from the days of Iron Chef and Rachael Ray to our current gastrocompetitive culture. Just last week as I sat at my local Intelligentsia I heard a young woman bragging about how nearly-orgasmic her upcoming meal at Grant Achatz’s Next would be. Delicious? No doubt. $300 delicious? Up to you.

Indulge in it or not, food is a critical part of the travel experience. We travel through our food, by eating it, by remembering the tastes and aromas and experiences from the planet. In a way, it can define the very reason and color of our journey.

That’s why we’re launching food week at Gadling next week, a celebration of all things food about travel, from the richest, most exotic fare in the far reaches of India to the simple pleasure of eating KFC with plastic gloves in Hong Kong.

On Friday, October 21 we’d like to host a series of photos from our readers on the topic of the most exotic foods from across the planet. This could be your favorite food, your least favorite food, you eating your favorite food or any of the above. Just please promise us that the picture is original and is okay to publish on Gadling (a part of the Huffington Post Media Group). Image sizes between 580px and 1000px wide are best and in jpg format. You can email your submission to editor[-at-]gadling{dot}com, and we’ll publish our favorites on Friday, October 21.

Need some inspiration? Check out some of our favorites below.


Matador Network‘s CEO Ross Borden on a fishing trip outside of Rotorua, New Zealand


Blogger Jeremy Kressmann trying out the duck tongue in Hong Kong.


Gadling friend and food advisor Jodi Ettenberg experimenting with the Baba-Nyonya laksa in Malaysia.


Lunch salad? Yes please.


Occasional Gadling contributor Celeste Brash (@radioceleste) considering rat on a stick


Among the finer tacos in the Zocalo of Mexico City, Mexico


Blogger Libby Zay roasting guinea pigs in Quilotoa, Ecuador

Ajungo, the new social network platform just for travelers

by Jessica Festa on

Sick of searching through advice sites and hearing reviews from who only knows? Wish you could connect with other travelers about past or upcoming trips and events? Love social networking but wish you could interact with others in your travel niche? Then there is a brand new social media website just for travelers that brings together all of these platforms into one site.

Ajungo, created by Ben Barton and Steve Shea, is a brand new networking site that allows travelers to connect before, during, and after a trip. Here is how it works:

1) Create a profile and link all of your social networking sites. What this does is allows the site to funnel through your social networking platforms to pull information and funnel it around specific
destinations.

2) Find others who have been to your destination of choice and look through their posted trip or ask them for advice. Or, you can find others who will be in your destination of choice and plan to meet up or travel together.

3) Create your trip canvas, which consists of enabling the sites real-time travel guide feature so that the site can pull your photos and updates while you’re on your trip. This allows other travelers to learn from your experience as well as acts like a blog or trip journal by keeping your trip memories organized and sharing them with friends.

The goal of the site is to make travel more social as well as more comfortable for people going to new destinations. And, if there is any information that you do not want shared, the site will not post it without your permission.

Make connections with travelers, view their trips, find travel buddies, or just interact with others in the travel community. It is all possible on Ajungo.

Young climber falls to his death in the Adirondacks

by Kraig Becker on

A young climber by the name of Matthew Potel was leading a group of college classmates on a hike through the Adirondacks last week when he slipped and fell to his death. Potel, who was the co-president of his university’s outdoors club, was assisting two other hikers past a waterfall when he lost his footing on slick rocks.

The seven-person group, all from Binghamton University in New York, were climbing up Trap Dike, a popular route on Mount Colden, when the accident occurred. That approach is a steep and challenging, non-technical, climb to the top of the 4715-foot peak that can present some challenges to inexperienced hikers. Potel reportedly helped one of his classmates negotiate a particularly tricky section, then turned to assist another when he lost his footing and fell 25-feet. The 22-year old, who was not wearing a helmet, died from an injury to his head.

Potel was an experienced outdoorsman who loved the Adirondack Mountains. In fact, he had recently become a member of the “46ers,” a term given to anyone who has climbed all 46 of the mountains in that range that are at least 4000 feet in height. He had also served as a camp counselor and was majoring in environmental studies.

This is a sad story that underscores the importance of safety in all of our outdoor endeavors. Matthew wasn’t climbing an especially tall or dangerous mountain, and yet he still lost his life while on the trail. According to his father however, this is exactly how the young man would have wanted to go – doing something he loved.

Our condolences to his friends and family.

Video of the day: Air New Zealand’s Economy Skycouch, sheep, and David Hasselhoff

by Elizabeth Seward on

A commercial for Air New Zealand’s Economy Skycouch might not be what you would expect in a Video of The Day post, but truly, these guys have outdone themselves on this one. Bound to be an internet hit, the airline is using the finest of all tools to promote their new comfy seating options: comedy. Air New Zealand has now launched a video series on YouTube starring a pair of inseparable sheep, Mason and Jason. But that’s not all. This quirky little ad features none other than Mr. David Hasselhoff riding a playground pony.

The product: a trio of seats forming an Economy couch. The news of these seats is actually kind of old (we covered it in January 2010), but the videos are new. These seats are, of course, a coveted resting post for bleary-eyed travelers and a loveseat for in-air lovebirds, but the question remains… does this or doesn’t this help expand the membership of the Mile High Club? (And how much does that even matter for this cozy tradeoff?).