World War 2

WHO can say they don’t love being embroiled in the world of spies in the world of fiction at least?

Well, soon Brits will get to learn more about the actions of some of the real-life secret agents of World War II at a historic mansion that’s been closed since 2012.

Trent Park House in Enfield has announced it will reopen this year with its new ‘House of Secrets‘ museum.

Inside will be renovated rooms and a dedicated space to its history of espionage.

During World War II, Trent Park House was used by the War Office for the secret British Intelligence unit, MI9.

It was used to hold German generals and staff officers captive between 1939 and 1945 as part of an operation codenamed M-Rooms.

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The soldiers were treated fairly well with rations of whisky and they were allowed regular walks on the grounds

But what they didn’t know was that they were under surveillance from bugs that were planted all over the estate.

Listening devices were everywhere, in the walls, light fittings, plant pots, window ledges – even the garden benches.

In the basement of Trent Park House were the ‘squads’ who worked in three ‘M’ (miked) rooms, who listened to and transcribed the recordings to aid the British during the war.

All of this will be able to be explored when part of the house reopens later this year.

Trent Park House will also transform back to its former glory during the 1920s and 30s when it was owned by Sir Philip Sassoon.

The British politician and aristocrat turned the estate into a grand country home and hosted high profile guests like Winston Churchill, Fred Astaire and Charlie Chaplin.

Some of the furnishings and artworks once belonging to Sassoon will return to the house and be displayed there for the first time since the 1930s.

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When it reopens, the house will have a new visitor café with terrace seating area on the ground floor.

Trent Park House was later used for education with the Middlesex University using the site until 2012.

It was then bought by the Berkley Group who are converting part of the estate, including some of the mansion, into luxury homes.

The house is currently undergoing renovation and will reopen in summer 2026 – although no opening date has been revealed yet.

But visitors are welcome on Trent Country Park estate to explore its 413-acre park.

The grounds are open year-round with woodlands, trails, lakes and meadow with free parking and a café.

In the meantime, when it comes to other attractions in the UK, the Natural History Museum has been recently named the most popular in the country.

The Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA) revealed 7.1million people visited last year.

Over the next couple of years, the Natural History Museum is also working on new openings.

A new Human Nature pop-up display will open in September 2026, inside a gallery that has been closed for 80 years.

There will also be a prototype of one of the Crystal Palace dinosaurs, a monk seal called Jenny ‘the talking fish’ and a handaxe that was discovered alongside the remains of a woolly mammoth in 1859.

Later in 2027, there will be a new permanent gallery specifically for young children.

For more on UK attractions, here are 20 of the most-visited in England that are free to enter.

And check out London’s ‘best family attraction’ is about to get even better – with huge new outdoor play area and cafe next month.

The Peak District village was systematically demolished and submerged in the 1940s to provide water for the industrial industries during the second world war – but it’s ruins remain

It lies beneath a beloved hiking destination in Derbyshire, but this was once a thriving community before it was deliberately flooded and lost forever.

During the 1940s, the picturesque village of Derwent was methodically demolished and submerged beneath what is today known as Ladybower Reservoir.

The expansive, stunning expanse of water frequently serves as a stopping point for visitors admiring the scenery whilst exploring the Peak District, yet few realise what rests beneath its surface.

The reason for its submersion was to supply water to the booming industrial centres throughout the East Midlands during World War Two.

Locals were relocated, and by 1945 the valley had been flooded, with remnants of the former settlement now resting underwater.

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Derwent before it drowned

Prior to the outbreak of war across Britain, Derwent had seemed like a permanent fixture in the moorlands, characterised by its century-old structures and tight-knit community.

Two initial dams were constructed after the water board selected a remote section of the valley. This decision impacted numerous residents. Those who owned farms or smallholdings were relocated to safer areas including Derwent and the neighbouring village of Ashopton.

What they couldn’t have anticipated was that this stretch of the valley, and their cherished village which they’d made their home, would shortly vanish entirely.

The village church conducted its final service for parishioners on March 17, 1943, before being submerged beneath the reservoir. Remnants of the church can be found scattered throughout Derby, with the bell now rehung at St Philip’s Church in Chaddesden.

Whilst nearly the entire area was deliberately flooded, a small number of homes survive above the waterline. Reports indicate that five properties from the original village endure, including several farms and the former village hall.

Mabel, a former Bamford resident who was 92 at the time of her interview, spoke to BBC Travel about growing up nearby and her memories of Derwent.

She revealed: “I may be the last person who remembers Ashopton and Derwent,” explaining that her school was located in Derwent, which she attended whilst the reservoir was being built.

The village emerged

During periods of extreme heat or reduced water levels, the reservoir has receded, and hauntingly, remnants of the village have surfaced. This phenomenon has been documented on several occasions, with the first instance occurring in 1976, leaving locals astounded.

The most recent, and consequently most significant, reappearance of the village occurred in 2018, when reservoir levels dropped dramatically and visitors flocked from across the region to witness the extraordinary spectacle.

An enormous crowd assembled, and the attention drawn to the old structures – which are largely piles of rubble and bricks – resulted in various complications.

On 3 November that year, a man found himself in a sticky situation, requiring mountain rescue assistance after becoming severely stuck in the dense mud surrounding the ruins of Derwent.

In a similar vein, due to the influx of visitors, the remnants were defaced with graffiti, prompting park rangers to discourage further visits as additional items were also taken from the site.

A travel vlogger visited a stunning island nation in Southern Europe with a historic capital city he described as “one of the most beautiful places” he’s ever seen

A vlogger who enjoyed a trip to an English-speaking island boasting 20C warmth in April has hailed it as “one of the most beautiful places” he’s ever been to. Alex Daltz, a YouTuber on a quest to chronicle his worldwide travels “one vlog at a time”, recently visited a spectacular European nation merely three hours from the UK.

Starting off, Alex pointed his camera towards the stunning panorama from his hotel room balcony, featuring undulating hills and a peaceful expanse of water in the distance, set against brilliant sunshine and clear blue skies.

Switching to a street view, Alex disclosed he was in the ancient capital of Malta, the 16th-century city of Valletta. An island nation in Southern Europe, Malta is positioned south of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea and north of the north African coastal country of Libya.

SkyScanner reports that the average flight duration from the UK is 3 hours and 16 minutes, with prices beginning at just £29 at the time of writing. TUI suggests travelling between April and October, with April temperatures varying from 15 to 20°C.

A fortified city and UNESCO World Heritage site, Valletta was designated Europe’s Capital of Culture for 2018. Alex swiftly highlighted the city’s cultural appeal, evidently captivated by its characteristic Baroque architecture.

Indeed, he described the capital as “beautiful” with a “chilled out touristy vibe”. He said: “We have just made it to Valletta. One of the most beautiful places I think I’ve ever been because it’s so, so medieval, the whole place.”

Alex added: “It’s literally like you’re walking through the 1500s. I already get like a chilled out touristy vibe already, and I’ve been here like five minutes.”

Venturing out to find water, Alex could be spotted outside St. John’s Co-Cathedral, a landmark that houses two masterpieces by the renowned Italian painter, Caravaggio, The Beheading of St John the Baptist and St Jerome Writing.

Alex displayed the bustling Valletta streets and subsequently found himself near Fort St Elmo – constructed in the Early Modern period – and the National War Museum, which provides visitors with 7,000 years of Maltese military history.

Among the museum’s highlights are the Gloster Sea Gladiator N5520 FAITH aircraft, Roosevelt’s Jeep “Husky”, and, as pointed out by Alex, the George Cross, the nation’s honour for gallantry during the Second World War.

Subsequently, Alex visited the city of Mdina, another breathtaking Maltese location that functioned as the country’s previous capital. Also referred to as the “Silent City”, inhabitants have resided in the area since before 4000BCE.

Throughout the centuries, the city has been controlled by Phoenicians, Romans, Arabs and even the Normans. For Alex, who recorded himself as he wandered the honey-coloured streets, it was “astonishing” and “mind-blowing”.

Other Maltese highlights showcased by Alex included local catacombs and the Blue Lagoon, where the fortunate YouTuber experienced some of the “most blue water” he’s ever seen.

The village was evacuated in 1943 when residents were given just one month to leave – now frozen in time, it’s a haunting tourist attraction

A deserted Dorset village stands as a unique place in Britain, a relic from the past that hasn’t been erased from memory. Tragic events forced inhabitants to abandon their cherished homes many decades ago.

Tucked away on Dorset’s breathtaking Jurassic Coast, a visit to Tyneham village feels like travelling through time. Visitors can catch a window into the existence of the residents who were compelled to desert the village during the Second World War.

It was 1943 when the thriving settlement of Tyneham saw their world turned upside down forever. Britain was deep into World War Two when the military commandeered the village for training operations.

This meant heartbroken locals were handed just one month’s warning to evacuate their properties where countless families had resided for centuries.

The wartime government seized Tyneham village and its surrounding territory to establish a training facility for the Allied forces, due to its proximity to the Lulworth firing range.

Residents were convinced they were sacrificing their properties for the nation’s benefit and expected to come back after the war ended.

A message was attached to the church door, which stated: “Please treat the church and houses with care. We have given up our homes where many of us have lived for generations, to help win the war to keep men free. We will return one day and thank you for treating the village kindly.”

Tragically however, the villagers were never able to return to their homes in Tyneham as even after World War Two concluded, the village and surrounding area remained a training ground for military exercises.

Today the village, still preserved in time after more than 80 years, serves as a ‘thought-provoking and interesting’ visitor attraction. It welcomes guests at certain periods throughout the year and tourists praise its ‘fascinating insights into the lives of residents’.

When the village closes to visitors, the gates preventing entry are secured at dusk each evening.

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One TripAdvisor review states: “This deserted village has such an interesting history. The boards within the church detailing the villagers fight to be allowed to return to the village and the current position are very moving.”

Another TripAdvisor user called it ‘a wonderful place – very atmospheric and sad but in a way that keeps drawing you back to visit’.

Tyneham’s final resident, Peter Wellman passed away aged 100 in April this year – the centenarian made one last journey to the village in 2024, to revisit the location where he was born and raised.

During his 2024 visit to Tyneham, Peter recalled his early years, telling the Dorset Echo at the time: “We had no electricity, no mains gas and no running water – we had to pump that from near the church.

“I remember going to the beach and fishing and we often had mackerel. We were happy until we got moved out.”

Tyneham village sits within the Isle of Purbeck, though it’s not truly an island but rather a peninsula surrounded by the English Channel in Dorset.

All episodes have found a new home on the streaming platform

What some consider as the ‘best series ever made’ that is based on an award-winning novel is now streaming on Netflix.

In the latest significant update for the streamer’s library, all episodes of The Man In The High Castle have been added to the service. While it was originally a Prime Video exclusive released back in 2015, running for four season until 2019.

It is an alternate history period drama, loosely based on the novel of the same name written by Phillip K. Dick. The author was one of the most celebrated sci-fi writers, with many of his works adapted for the screen including into films such as Blade Runner, Minority Report and Total Recall.

The story takes a look at what the world might look like had the outcome of World War II turned out differently. In this dystopian scenario, the Axis powers won the war, leading to the United States being divided into three parts, an area controlled by the Japanese, a Nazi-controlled section, and a buffer zone between the two.

Despite the oppression, a new hope emerges when films turn up that seem to show a different world. A woman believes the films contain the key to freedom and is determined to find their mysterious guardian as she begins to build a network of resistance.

The series was created for television by Frank Spotnitz who previously worked as a writer for The X Files. Alien director Ridley Scott served as an executive producer.

It boasts an 84% rating on website Rotten Tomatoes. One reviewer claimed: “a superb, frightening experience filled with unexpected twists and (some sci-fi) turns.”

A different critic penned: “unlike anything else on television, impeccably acted and packed with vivid, multi-layered characters, gut-wrenching twists and dark, dark moments of human misery”.

It would go on to last for three more seasons and years after the final episode released, many fans still hail it as one of the more superior historical fiction shows. One went so far as to post on Rotten Tomatoes declaring it as “one of the best shows ever made.”

Another added: “a haunting alternative history vision implemented in a extremely authentic fashion.”

While a third confessed how they were hooked upon discovering the series for the first time. They said: “Beyond impressed, stayed up until 2am on a week day… I decided to squeeze in the pilot. Needless to say, seven episodes later I was still watching.”

They continued: “The storyline is incredible. The acting is great. The emotions that it brought out of me was real and raw. It made me appreciate and think differently about the word/idea/concept that we all throw around ‘FREEDOM'” Yes, it’s fictional, and yes it’s just a TV-show, but boy they hit on something, at least in me. I’m beyond impressed!”

Someone else commented: “This is the best series since Breaking Bad. I think every one under the age of 40 needs to see this.”

The Man In The High Castle is streaming on Netflix.

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