Book/Movie Recommendations?

We will be cruising to Britain, Scotland and Ireland in 2018. We have never been to Scotland or Ireland before. We have found that reading books or watching movies prior to travelling increases our knowledge or enhances our experiences on the journey. Can anyone recommend books or movies for Scotland and Ireland that would help increase our enjoyment of our upcoming cruise? We have a long wait until this cruise so might as well start reading/watching while waiting.

Specifically, our ports are Newcastle upon Tyne, Rosyth (Edinburgh), Ullapool, Londonderry, Belfast, Dublin, Portland (Weymouth), St. Peter Port, Guernsey and Dover.

Thanks very much!

We will be cruising to Britain, Scotland and Ireland in 2018. We have never been to Scotland or Ireland before. We have found that reading books or watching movies prior to travelling increases our knowledge or enhances our experiences on the journey. Can anyone recommend books or movies for Scotland and Ireland that would help increase our enjoyment of our upcoming cruise? We have a long wait until this cruise so might as well start reading/watching while waiting.

 

Specifically, our ports are Newcastle upon Tyne, Rosyth (Edinburgh), Ullapool, Londonderry, Belfast, Dublin, Portland (Weymouth), St. Peter Port, Guernsey and Dover.

 

Thanks very much!

I found a lot of very interesting historical documentaries from Lucy Worsley on you tube. She is the chief curator at several of the royal palaces i.e. Hampton Court Palace but she gives a lot of history and general background that you might find interesting. Also, Fiona Bruce has a video on Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh.

Check out Samantha Brown videos while you are on you tube for short videos of both Scotland and Ireland.

I have used Rick Steves guide books for Amsterdam and Rome and they were great. I would think his book on the Scotland and Ireland would be good too.

Happy travels!

Thanks for that information. I'll check them out on the weekend.

I'm not as interested in guide books (but will still check them out) as I am in the historical background. For example, when we went to St. Petersburg a few years ago, we read about Catherine the Great and Nicholas & Alexandra. That really added to our trip as we could understand more of what we were seeing in person.

To better explain, I'm looking for historical information or to get a flavour of the surroundings. For example, I understand that Thomas Hardy wrote many of his books set in the Dorset area. Even though it's fiction, it's the flavour that interests me. I've read the Outlander series, Tess of the d'Urbervilles, and the Canterbury Tales (in case we go to Canterbury from Dover).

For films, I'm wondering if I should be watching Braveheart, for example. It's not typically a film that interests me which is why I've never seen it before now. I'm wondering if I should watch it either because it's accurate or if the scenery is what we would be seeing at our ports (I have no idea as to either). Are there any films that were filmed near our ports, that would give a flavour of the area?

Thanks for any additional information.

Almost every town has a Tourist information centre, easily found on Google. Newcastle is http://www.newcastlegateshead.com/ for example.

I suggest that you email each one and ask for suggestions, they are usually very helpful.

There is a very popular book about the German occupation of the Channel Islands during WWll called The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. It's fictional but based on real life.

I have also seen videos regarding the underground hospital. If it's a movie you want there's Rob Roy.

I would agree with the recommendation - The Guernsey Literary and Potato Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer. This novel describes the life of the residents during the **** occupation during world War II.

Braveheart is notorious for its inaccuracies these are just some.

The Battle of Stirling Bridge in the film lacks a bridge, which was a major strategic point during the battle.

Scots at the time did not paint their faces blue they stopped that centuries before hand nor did they wear kilts which were a later invention.

William Wallace did not meet the Queen of England, and could not have fathered her son who was born years after he was executed anyway.

We will be cruising to Britain, Scotland and Ireland in 2018. We have never been to Scotland or Ireland before. We have found that reading books or watching movies prior to travelling increases our knowledge or enhances our experiences on the journey. Can anyone recommend books or movies for Scotland and Ireland that would help increase our enjoyment of our upcoming cruise? We have a long wait until this cruise so might as well start reading/watching while waiting.

 

Specifically, our ports are Newcastle upon Tyne, Rosyth (Edinburgh), Ullapool, Londonderry, Belfast, Dublin, Portland (Weymouth), St. Peter Port, Guernsey and Dover.

 

Thanks very much!

I often did the same thing prior to travel (or afterward) and watched movies, listened to music - the more I could soak up the better. For Scotland I had already seen Braveheart before I visited and the historical inaccuracies were corrected by the information provided by the guide on the Highlands tour I took. She mentioned Rob Roy quite often and so when I went home, I got that movie to see - it brought back memories of the trip.

As for England, there's really NO shortage of films made in or about England/Wales/Northern Ireland so it matters more what you'd be interested in or which period of English history....do you want to see movies about the royal family or parliament or general interest, crime capers etc? Do you have access to Netflix or any other streaming service - Hulu, Amazon, Apple TV? They all have a wide variety of imports - insofar as a UK film is an import. A recent film called Sing Street is kind of funny and set in Dublin, it received some praise - young kids wanting to be in a band. There's an Amy Adams movie called Leap Year set in Ireland (Dublin and the countryside) - that's more of a romance. Daniel Day Lewis starred in In The Name Of The Father which is partly set in Belfast - it's an intense story however, as it's about the IRA and bombings but a great film.

There's a movie called Mr Turner which is about the painter J.M.W. Turner - part of it is set in the seaside where he goes to live (and sails from at times) and is quite an interesting story - plus, there's amazing art work. Other recent English films, The King's Speech, The Queen and the recent Netflix series The Crown if you want 20th Century royalty - though the Queen is into this century now. I watch so much of the BBC and lots of British film so I honestly don't know where to begin with recommendations - there are free movies to watch on YouTube but not sure what you like. One shot in Cardiif, Wales is called Tiger Bay - quite good and is about a merchant seaman who gets into some trouble, helped out by a young Hayley Mills - her dad John Mills is also in it.

I don't know - maybe this helps get you started. If you narrow down your interests, can suggest more. :)

I too love to read books based in the areas we will be cruising. It helps me get a feel for the people, cultures and places we will be visiting. Tour books are also useful, but fiction or non fiction help to pass the time before a cruise and help me to prepare. I have just started reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and can't put it down. I noticed Princess Cruises offers an excursion with stops based on places in the book. I'm not saying I would book the excursion, but may consider it by the time I finish the book :)

Mr Turner feature the town of Margate on the northern Kent coast, Dover is on the southern coast of the same county.

It has a recently opened gallery names in his honour.

https://www.turnercontemporary.org

Since the vast majority of my ancestors came from Britain and Ireland, I have always been interested in their history.

I highly recommend History of Britain by Simon Schama. The history is three volumes and takes a while to read, but is excellent. Also, there was a TV series by Schama based on the books and narrated by him.

Also, A History of the English Speaking People, by Winston Churchill is excellent.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Pie Society was an excellent read. A family member did go to Guernsey on a cruise and thoroughly enjoyed the area.

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Thanks for that information. I'll check them out on the weekend.

 

I'm not as interested in guide books (but will still check them out) as I am in the historical background. For example, when we went to St. Petersburg a few years ago, we read about Catherine the Great and Nicholas & Alexandra. That really added to our trip as we could understand more of what we were seeing in person.

 

To better explain, I'm looking for historical information or to get a flavour of the surroundings. For example, I understand that Thomas Hardy wrote many of his books set in the Dorset area. Even though it's fiction, it's the flavour that interests me. I've read the Outlander series, Tess of the d'Urbervilles, and the Canterbury Tales (in case we go to Canterbury from Dover).

 

For films, I'm wondering if I should be watching Braveheart, for example. It's not typically a film that interests me which is why I've never seen it before now. I'm wondering if I should watch it either because it's accurate or if the scenery is what we would be seeing at our ports (I have no idea as to either). Are there any films that were filmed near our ports, that would give a flavour of the area?

 

Thanks for any additional information.

I would recommend that you visit You Tube. If you use the search feature, you will find videos (not feature films/movies) on all the the ports that you will visit on your cruise.

Braveheart is a great film - it focuses on William Wallace and, if you plan on visiting Stirling Castle, it may be a good choice for you.

Other films/movies that I have enjoyed include:

Scotland: Highlander; The Queen (much takes place in Scotland at a fictional version of the Queen’s Balmoral Castle); Rob Roy; Mary, Queen of Scots (with Vanessa Redgrave); Macbeth / McKellen, Dench (Thames Shakespeare Collection); The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (Maggie Smith - about an Edinburgh school teacher)

Ireland: Out of Ireland; St. Patrick: The Irish Legend ; Ryan's Daughter (great story, gorgeous filming location); Barry Lyndon; Fools of Fortune; Ballyvaughan Story; Michael Collins; The Wind that Shakes the Barley; Nora; A Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man

That should be enough to get you started :D

We will be cruising to Britain, Scotland and Ireland in 2018. We have never been to Scotland or Ireland before. We have found that reading books or watching movies prior to travelling increases our knowledge or enhances our experiences on the journey. Can anyone recommend books or movies for Scotland and Ireland that would help increase our enjoyment of our upcoming cruise? We have a long wait until this cruise so might as well start reading/watching while waiting.

 

Specifically, our ports are Newcastle upon Tyne, Rosyth (Edinburgh), Ullapool, Londonderry, Belfast, Dublin, Portland (Weymouth), St. Peter Port, Guernsey and Dover.

 

Thanks very much!

Off the top of my head I must admit that I can't remember where all of her novels are set, but I've read everything Rosamunde Pilcher has written and loved how descriptive they were. I'd recommend researching some of her books and see if any of them might fit with your ports.

Her son, Robin, is also an author and so his books might also be worth researching. Maeve Binchy is an Irish author, so perhaps add her to the list as well.

Wow, thank you all for the great responses/suggestions. I've downloaded the Guernsay Literary and Potato Pie Society book, plus some guide books. I currently do not have access to Netflix or a similar site but may consider that. As for likes/dislikes, we've watched all of Downton Abbey, and are currently enjoying Victoria. We enjoyed The King's Speech and The Queen. I've seen In the Name of the Father but I'd have to watch it again it was so long ago. We're not into intense history, tomes and the like but would like something depicting the places, scenery, and the people. And I haven't read Shakespeare since high school and can't say that his works are something that I love.

I think we were spoiled with the wonderful books by Robert Massie for the Baltic cruise. I grew up in Britain but like you am finding it a little challenging to find a good read or film that encompasses an area. I find books by Edward Rutherford give good historical context. On Amazon I do a search that says something like "historical fiction Ireland" and see what comes up. A few years ago I read a wonderful book about the fossil hunters of Dorset (like Mary Anning) -- I'll post once I remember the name. Ann Cleeves books set in the Shetland Islands are great. She also has a series set in the north east of England whose protagonist is Vera Stanhope -- "Vera" became a TV series that sometimes is on Amazon Prime video.

Will add more as I think of them.

I enjoyed this series by Candace Robb https://www.amazon.com/Trust-Betrayed-Margaret-Kerr-Book-ebook/dp/B014FV2JG2/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1486935916&sr=8-15

This is in my to-read pile https://www.amazon.com/Ireland-Novel-Frank-Delaney-ebook/dp/B000TU16QS/ref=pd_sim_351_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B000TU16QS&pd_rd_r=BWM7NETHQAJD762BW4HT&pd_rd_w=BwxDP&pd_rd_wg=xQJWx&psc=1&refRID=BWM7NETHQAJD762BW4HT

https://kccmediahub.net/the-kent-movie-map-detailing-the-countys-filming-history745

Dover: English Heritage managed Dover Castle is one of Kent’s most popular filming locations having featured in productions such as Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Into The Woods (2015), Wolf Hall (2015) and The Other Boleyn Girl (2008).

The Dover coast including the iconic White Cliffs of Dover have featured in films such as Sherlock Holmes – A Game of Shadows (2011), On A Clear Day (2005) and TV dramas including Legacy (2013) and Poirot – The Clocks (2009).

For your Portland stop, I would recommend Remarkable Creatures by Tracey Chevalier (I think someone else was trying to remember this, it's about Mary Anning and fossil hunting). Also The French Lieutenants Woman by John Fowles (also a film). Both of these are set in Lyme Regis. Also Persuasion by Jane Austen has quite a section set in Lyme. You will be able to see chesil beach from your ship and you could try the classic Moonfleet by J M Falkner which is about smugglers. My favourite Hardy would be Far From the Madding Crowd but any of them are very descriptive of the countryside. there is also a very good biography by Claire Tomalin on Hardy called Time Torn Man which is a good read. One of my favourite authors is Natasha Solomons, all her books are set in Dorset to a greater or lesser extent. My favourite would be Mr Rosenblum's List set under the lee of Bulbarrow hill. You could also try The Novel in the Viola set in the ruined village of Tyneham. That lot should keep you going!

For a general travelogue of Britain then Bill Bryson is very humerous. On a similar theme Tom Fort wrote Channel Shore which describes his journey from Dover to Penzance.

I think we were spoiled with the wonderful books by Robert Massie for the Baltic cruise. I grew up in Britain but like you am finding it a little challenging to find a good read or film that encompasses an area. I find books by Edward Rutherford give good historical context. On Amazon I do a search that says something like "historical fiction Ireland" and see what comes up. A few years ago I read a wonderful book about the fossil hunters of Dorset (like Mary Anning) -- I'll post once I remember the name. Ann Cleeves books set in the Shetland Islands are great. She also has a series set in the north east of England whose protagonist is Vera Stanhope -- "Vera" became a TV series that sometimes is on Amazon Prime video.

Will add more as I think of them.

I never even considered the BBC television series. I do really enjoy Vera, Father Brown, Grantchester and Midsomer Murders. I have also recently purchased The Doctor Blake Mysteries and Shetland. I have found the characters in Shetland hard to understand. I hope to figure out the accent before we go to Orkney in September, so that I might be able to understand what they are saying.

I never even considered the BBC television series. I do really enjoy Vera' date=' Father Brown, Grantchester and Midsomer Murders. I have also recently purchased The Doctor Blake Mysteries and Shetland. I have found the characters in Shetland hard to understand. I hope to figure out the accent before we go to Orkney in September, so that I might be able to understand what they are saying.[/quote']

 

Don't worry about the accent, most people in the rest of the UK have trouble understanding folks from the North of Scotland...:eek::eek::eek:

Don't worry about the accent, most people in the rest of the UK have trouble understanding folks from the North of Scotland...:eek::eek::eek:

Surprised about that. Think there are far more difficult accents that most people are likely to struggle with - Geordie? Brummie? Essex? Glaswegian? South Wales?

Surprised about that. Think there are far more difficult accents that most people are likely to struggle with - Geordie? Brummie? Essex? Glaswegian? South Wales?

Was meant more tongue in cheek and personal experience from being in the RAF and serving around the UK and with people from all over the UK.

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Surprised about that. Think there are far more difficult accents that most people are likely to struggle with - Geordie? Brummie? Essex? Glaswegian? South Wales?

Was meant more tongue in cheek and personal experience from being in the RAF and serving around the UK and with people from all over the UK.

 

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Oh my; here at home, we have a Chicago accent. We do get the occasional Southern drawl, Texas western, and even the Urban slang. Having watched the afore mentioned British mysteries for years, I found I needed to ask for less clarification of terms and such on our last two cruises from England. After watching one episode of Shetland, I felt like I needed to watch more and school myself on the way peoples spoke as it is not like what I have experienced before. I really look forward seeing more of the UK and hope I don't make a fool of myself saying "huh?" all of the time.