Transcription
Today we are going to be showing you some very interesting places in the UK and teaching you some English at the same time. This weekend we are in Cannock and Lichfield. You might not have heard of these places, but they're less than an hour away from Birmingham. They're very central in the country.
Today we are in the beautiful Cannock, which is an area of natural beauty. So if you're in Birmingham and you want to get out in nature, come to Cannock Chase. During this video, if we say some words that I think might be new to you, they will appear on the screen with the definitions.
Okay, action verbs time. Show me skipping. Show me marching. Show me stomping. Show me leaping. Show me strutting. Is that quite good? [laughter] Oh, that was quite good. >> Show me um tiptoeing.
Okay. Plan for this weekend. >> I'm excited for this weekend. It's going to be really nice. >> Me too. Me too. So, we're starting in Cannock. Cannock Chase specifically. We're having a lovely walk. We're getting out into nature. I think the UK is brilliant for that. If you love a walk, if you love nature, if you love being in the fresh air, try to get to some area of natural beauty.
>> And we will visit London on this channel. But we want to show you some other places as well. You know, some places that might be a bit quieter, you know, cuz London's very busy. It's very expensive. >> Yeah. A bit of a hidden gem. I I do think that somewhere like Cannock Chase is just one of those places where if you came here, you just you'd feel like you were in >> Wuthering Heights. >> Yeah, Wuthering Heights. [laughter] I feel like Cathy. You can be Heathcliff. >> Cheers. >> And I need a big skirt. >> Heathcliff. Cathy. >> What is that song? >> It's Wuthering Heights by Kate Bush.
So, today we're here in Cannock Chase first. Um then um I fancy just having a little bit of um a go at the driving range. Golf. Um so we're going to go to the driving range. >> Going to the driving range. Then we're going to >> go to Lichfield, have some food. >> Yeah. >> Have some dinner. And then >> I fancy some Thai food. >> And then tomorrow morning we're going to go to one of the most beautiful cathedrals in the country. And it's outside of London. I know everyone thinks of St. Paul's Cathedral, which is beautiful, but we have a lot of amazing cathedrals. So, we want to show you Lichfield Cathedral because it's beautiful.
>> It's getting a little bit steep here, isn't it, Laura? >> It is a bit steep, but I go to the gym. I exercise my legs. I can handle a steep hill. [laughter] >> Did you see that? >> That's funny. [laughter] >> Imagine just So, we are currently walking on a path. a path. And there is a nice idiom where we say don't stray from the path. To stray means to go off somewhere else, to not stay on the path. So don't stray from the path. I saw a sign just here. I don't know what bird it was, >> but it did say to not let your dog stray from the path, Laura, >> because they said that not all birds nest in the trees. Some of the birds nest on the ground >> um between the months of like April and June.
The trees the trees right now look quite bare because it's only the beginning of March. So the trees are still quite bare. The leaves have fallen but very soon it's going to start being spring. We're going to get the blossom and the leaves are going to come back. I'm very excited for that. I do associate Cannock Chase with more of those kind of autumnal colors though. >> Yes. >> Um coming >> I've got my best white trainers on. >> These are your best. >> Yeah. >> Oh, you should have come better prepared, Laura. >> I I didn't. >> You are ill-prepared. >> I know I'm ill-prepared, but I didn't think we'd be in a bog. >> I thought we were having a lovely a lovely >> Well, it's been raining, isn't it? Typical British weather. >> How are you supposed to get over this? >> I'm going to stand on this. >> There's no way. here, Laura. >> Okay. >> And I'm going to stand there. >> Do we have to come back this way? >> No, no, no, no, no. This No, it's looping around. >> Okay. >> So, stand there. Hang on. Then there. So, you know what to do. Go there. >> There. >> And then here. >> Good thing I got long legs, isn't it?
There's actually a lot of deer that live in Cannock Chase. Notice how I said deer and not deers because the plural of deer is deer. So there are a lot of deer and we've seen a lot of them and they're beautiful and sometimes if you go to the right places and if you're very quiet you can see them. We actually um I always feel that being amongst the trees is really good for perspective um and kind of uh perspective on life and things and things like that. I think there's some kind of research into that of like when you're in in trees in particular because the trees are so tall and big it kind of makes you realize that the problems you have are quite small >> um in in uh in comparison.
Okay, back in the car now. We are going to a driving range >> so Bez can practice his swing and I can watch. >> You can have a go. >> I'll have a go. I'm not. I tried before. Horrific. So, let's see if I'm any better now. Let's go. Woohoo. [music] I'm just a spectator today. I'm just enjoying [music] the fact that it's not raining. Huh? >> Bez can have a go. >> I will have a go at the very end. >> Well, don't expect anything good cuz it's not going to be >> I think I've hit two golf balls in my life. Yeah, it's got to have you got to have a lot of control. >> Oh. Oh, I did just just missed that one. Try [laughter] again. [music]
>> [music] >> This is probably my favorite design of buildings in the UK. This kind of Tudor black and white style. It's very classic in this country. You get some areas where you see buildings like this everywhere. But obviously when you go to places like London, you don't see as much cuz everything was burnt down in the fire of London. So you don't really see a lot of that, but in places like Lichfield, York, um places like that, you see a lot of this. And I just think it's stunning. So it's actually a Sunday today, so most shops are closed, I think. So we'll have a proper look at the shops tomorrow cuz we're going to come back. Right now, we just need to find somewhere to eat.
>> [music] >> So this is a very interesting place. Um uh as English learners, I'm sure you'll be interested in this. This is where Dr. Samuel Johnson was born. He wrote the dictionary. I I don't know if it was the first dictionary. I don't think it was the very first, but uh it was definitely the most popular and universally used one.
So, we have just checked into our hotel for the night and surprisingly they gave us a complimentary upgrade. >> Yeah, very surprising. >> That's never happened to me before, but loving it. Have a look at this. Oo, >> lovely. We can sit here and have some chats. And then there's the lovely bed here. Oh, it's lovely. I haven't looked at the the bathroom. >> Yeah, the bathroom. >> Let's have a look. What have we got? Oo, this is nice. >> Is there a bath? >> There's a bath. >> Oh, bathrobe. >> Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm definitely putting that on. And these biscuits. these biscuits in a hotel room. Just >> What's the What's the What's the pink thing? >> That's hot chocolate. >> I think. Yeah, >> so we can have a cup of >> I'm going to have a hot chocolate tonight. >> And these biscuits. >> Oh my gosh. >> How exciting. >> That's perfect. >> I told you I would wear this bathrobe.
Let's learn some useful hotel English. So, one thing I really want to look at is the room service menu. I don't often get room service because I think it's a little bit [snorts] overpriced, but this doesn't look too dear, though. It looks okay. You can get a margarita pizza. Is there a mini bar? I don't know. I haven't seen one. It doesn't look like there's a mini bar. There's a safe. Every hotel needs a good safe. If anything, it's probably a good thing there's no mini bar because then we won't accidentally drink a £10 bottle of water or something. But there is free toiletries. Yeah, I love little free toiletries from a hotel. Good night, everybody. Oh, that's so soft. [laughter] Actually, that's really nice. [music]
>> [music] [music] >> Good morning. How did you sleep? >> Like a log though. >> Lovely. It was a very comfortable bed. Actually, I slept about 8 hours and we've got a lovely view out of the window which is great. Again, it's looking very Wuthering Heights. >> It is. It's very misty. It's lovely. We're going to go down for breakfast now. Um I've heard the breakfast is really good. So, I'm really excited. >> It's one of your favorite meals of the day is breakfast. >> I love breakfast. I love fruits and pastries and like a continental breakfast. [music]
I've just come to explore the outside of this hotel and it's beautiful. It feels like Yeah, I love misty mornings. I love misty mornings. I think they feel so atmospheric and so um haunting, but in a really beautiful way. Oh, look at this. [music] I bet getting married here is so nice. I bet you feel like a Gothic princess. This morning is actually quite exciting because Bez is being interviewed on the radio. So, I've left him in the hotel room um because yes, he's being interviewed on um the Welsh BBC radio station about the videos he makes cuz he's made a channel similar to this one about learning Welsh. Um and they want to interview him about it. So, he's doing that.
>> [music] >> We are back in Lichfield today going to the cathedral which was built well this building was completed in 1340. >> Wow. Wow. Wow. That's so old. >> That is really old which I find very strange. >> Me. >> Um. Yes, of course. And this fact. >> Oh, yeah. >> Well, not this fact. I'm we nor we it's very normal for us to see these things every day that are so old. >> Um but to people like from America or something >> um >> for them they would consider something in like the 1800s really old and this is like >> 700 years old basically that's ridiculous. That's mental.
Look at that. So this is the only medieval cathedral in the UK with three spires. Spires. And they call them the Ladies of the Veil which is quite nice. >> There are around [music] 113 statues on the facade. Most of [music] the original ones were destroyed. So most of these were recreated in the Victorian era. It's amazing that every corner you go into, there's like these incredible marble statues, all these intricate designs in the stone. Like every single corner there is something amazing. Like the time and attention to detail that goes into building some place like this. I just don't think we do it anymore. Like we don't make buildings like this. It's just amazing to walk around. The craftsmanship in every corner of this building blows my mind. I think a place like this is a a lesson for lots [music] of pe well people all over the world that there are things on your doorstep that other people would appreciate and love. Like a place like this is such an amazing building and like tourists would come here. Um but then I'm not saying it's not appreciated by British people, of course not. But it's it's it's interesting how much people can normalize what's on their doorstep. And it's interesting that people always want to go abroad. I'm sound like my dad now. My dad always used to say when I was a kid that we don't need to go abroad. There's lots in the UK to see. And it is true. The UK is amazing. There's lots of things to see in the UK.
>> So this is the Chapter House. And it's estimated to have been built around 1249, which is insane to be inside a room that was built in 1249. You just can't get your head around it. Like, look at this. Someone painted this and did this with their hand and now I'm looking at it with my fancy technology and my camera. Crazy. So this is where the cathedral's clergy met daily to discuss business. I'm sure there was a lot of business to discuss. Okay. So this is the Lichfield Angel and it was discovered in 2003 under the floor during an excavation and it dates to around 800 AD. So apparently it originally formed part of a stone shrine to St. Chad. You can still see traces of red paint which suggests that medieval sculptures used to be very brightly colored.
Okay, useful English words we can learn in this cathedral. So hallowed, sacred, holy. They're very common words to describe a cathedral. This hallowed place, this sacred place, this holy place. In terms of the actual architecture, majestic, magnificent, and grand, we use those not necessarily to talk about the religious side of it, but just what it looks like. Majestic, magnificent, grand. A lot of cathedrals can be quite echoey. So, you say something and you hear hello, hello, hello, hello. Very echoey. And a really nice one, which I think applies to this place or inspiring. Or inspiring. It makes you feel awe. [music]
And right opposite this amazing cathedral is Erasmus Darwin's house, who is Charles Darwin's granddad. [music] I don't know why I love British history. I just love it. [music]
So behind me, Bez is dressing up. There are two different types of dress up. You can dress up to be really formal. You can dress up in a nice dress or a suit. Or you can dress up to look like someone else, like at Halloween, you dress up as a skeleton. You dress up as whatever this is. >> [music] >> I do find it interesting that there's so [music] many figures in British history that uh like the average Brit wouldn't know about. Um like the woman on in the reception on the way in, she said that at one point he was the most famous man in Britain, which is mad. And we didn't know about him >> until today. I think I can pull this off. I think weirdly I'm pulling this off. Do you think I pull this off? [laughter] I think I need to take this off. [music]
Try your hand at Georgian Skittles. Uh if you try your hand at something, it's just like you're just going to try it. You're going to attempt this thing. You're going to try your hand at something. So, I am going to try my hand at some Georgian Skittles. that that's Yeah, I feel very educated that to be honest. Turns out he invented loads loads of things. He had lo he >> he was part of the the Lunar Society um with like Benjamin Franklin and people like that and they they kind of invented so many things that were mind-blowing at the time. They just they they kind of discovered that the earth was older than 4,000 years old. It's like he was part of this kind of society of just really intelligent >> carbonated water. >> I think I think there's in lots of places in the UK there are lots of like little museums. So there'll be like a house where someone used to live and they've turned it into a museum. So you can find loads of places like that. If you're anywhere in the UK just look up museums and there will be some really interesting places you can have a look around. >> And I would just say like ask questions. Go in there. The people are happy >> to just talk to you and to educate you. >> [music]
>> I'm exceedingly happy because I got a coffee with pistachio syrup in it. And if you know me, there are two flavors in this world I love more than any other. And it's pistachio and matcha. Oh my good, this is really good. M. Oh, I could have about seven of them. So, yes, we're going to the theater after this. I love going to the theater. >> Okay, it's time to head on in to the Lichfield Garrick Theatre. We're going to go see this children's show >> and then see our friend. >> And then see our friend >> for a coffee. I feel like I've had so much coffee today. I'm going to be bouncing off the walls. Laura, >> I know. I have decaf coffee, so I'm safe. >> I know. I'm feeling a bit >> You might be stuck to the ceiling in the theater. I'm I'm feeling a bit woozy to be honest. >> Right. Wish us luck. Bye.
>> What a lovely weekend we've had. >> It's been so nice. Very relaxed. >> I feel like I've I feel like a new man. >> Look at that. Thank you so much for watching. If you enjoyed this, please subscribe and give it a like. And don't forget that members get a PDF for every video which will have all the vocabulary you've learned in this video along with some quizzes and questions. So, click join to become a member. Head to smashingenglish.com to see our amazing courses. >> Thank you so much for watching and we'll see you next time. Ta >> ta [music] [music]