Follow Burke’s Backyard travelling throughout Europe, the Americas and Asia
Entombed Warriors In 1974, three farmers digging a well in a field near Xi’an found fragments of the first, life-sized terracotta warrior. This was perhaps the greatest archaeological discovery of the 20th century. Around 6,000 more entombed warriors have been...
Forbidden City The Forbidden City, known as Gugong, is the largest and best-preserved cluster of ancient buildings in China. Completed in 1420, it was home to 24 emperors of the Ming and the Qing dynasties, and was the seat of supreme power for over 500 years. The...
Lion Grove Garden Don visited Shizi-Lin, known as the Forest of Lions Garden. It contains the largest rocks and most elaborate rockeries of any garden in Suzhou. Also known as Lion Grove, it was first built in 1342 during the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368 AD) by Monk...
Leeds Castle Leeds Castle, near Maidstone in Kent, is said to be the most romantic and beautiful castle in England. It is built on two adjacent islands on the River Len, and is set in 500 acres (200 hectares) of wonderful gardens. History In 857 AD the Saxon royal...
Sissinghurst Don visited Sissinghurst Castle Garden, at Cranbrook in Kent. This garden belonged to a very interesting couple: poet, novelist and gardener Vita Sackville-West, and her husband, diplomat Harold Nicolson. Both took same sex lovers – Vita was involved with...
Don visited the Suzhou No. 1 Silk Factory Co, Ltd. He looked at silkworms feeding on mulberry leaves, cocoon boiling and silk spinning. The Chinese first domesticated silkworms about 5,000 years ago, and for 3,000 years only the Chinese knew how to produce silk....
Shanghai Pet Street Don visited the Jiangying Lu Bird and Flower Market in Shanghai. The largest of its kind in the city, the market is 200 metres long and has over 100 stands. During the week it is busiest in the morning, and extremely busy on weekends. As...
The 2nd most quoted book in the western world was written in a room above the quadrangle at Christ Church College, Oxford University. The author was the Mathematics Lecturer, Rev Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, but this wasn’t a learned treatise on mathematics. Alice...
Heligan is one of the great archaeological discoveries in horticulture. Created mainly in the 19th century by three generations of the Tremayne family, it included 57 acres of gardens, 100 acres of woodland and 300 acres of rides. Henry Hawkins, John and John Claude...
Don and the Burke’s Backyard team travelled to the city of Bath, in Somerset. The city is famous for its Roman Baths and natural thermal spring. It is also known for its Georgian architecture, which has received UNESCO World Heritage Site status. The famous...