Quick links to virtual activity online

There is so much to do online – here are some quick links to keep you occupied whilst at home.

Virtual tours, and live webcams

• NASA Live:  – Watch the earth from space
• Crystal Bay webcam – Lamai, Koh Samui, Thailand
• Fly over Italy’s  Cinque Terre Coast by Drone
• National Park tours
• Explore Venice – through multiple webcams
• European palaces
• Arctic Travel Experts created ‘virtual lights over Lapland’ tour
• Future Learn – Explore the architecture and history of Rome, walking around a 3D digital model of the ancient city, with this free online course.
• Explore a Roman fort
• Take a virtual tour of York Minster
• Safari Live
• Disability Horizons – 18 places around the world to ‘travel’ to while in self isolation

Arts and culture

• Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musicals – streaming free online
• 10 best Broadway shows to watch online free
• Stream a free full-length play thanks to National Theatre 
• J P Brewer – View classic paintings online
• Walter’s Museum – houses the highest artistic achievements from nearly every corner of the world. View some of the past, present, and future exhibitions
• Rob Biddulph an artist posting draw-along videos
• British Museum – free videos
• BBC Radio 4 – The history of the world – podcasts
• 50 things that made modern economy – podcasts
• Love in Isolation by Globe Theatre.  A choice of free Shakespeare plays including Romeo & Juliet and As You Like It. Coming soon, Macbeth.  Ideal for GCSE and A level students who are studying English.
• Marquee TV – streaming arts and culture
• Museums with virtual tours (includes Guggenheim)
• Teaching history – 100 objects from museums across the UK with resources, information and teaching ideas to inspire your students’ interest in history
• Exploration of the day – Artistic website connecting people from around the world
• Drama Online  online theatrical performances including Donmar Warehouse
• Black history  telling the story of the black British experience
• The Queen’s  Royal Collection
• U3A talking about art and visual literacy
• 100 places North East historic places across the North East
• 100 Objects North East  creativity and innovation in the North East
• The Sofa Singers
• Mirthy is an online platform for professional public speakers, often retirees themselves, to provide online talks to older adults in the comfort of their homes.
• Discover Beamish Museum from home – they’re sharing ways to experience the museum from home.
• Northern Stage have produced a series of digital stories available to view on YouTube anytime.

Children and family

• Solomon Kingsnorth – books in PDF, Word and audio book format – Alice in Wonderland, Wind in the Willows, The Railway Children, The Jungle Book, Peter Pan, Black Beauty
• David Walliams has launched, Elevenses, a free audio children’s story every day from 30 March
• Explore the wizarding world with Harry Potter
• Cirque du Soleil
• The Art of Rest – Hay Festival 2020 – you may need to subscribe.

Fitness

• Try the  Make Movement Your Mission‘ short videos taking you through a range of key exercises for people in later life three times a day.
• Stay in, Work out Sport England
• InformationNOW article including chair based exercise. We link you to pictures and diagrams to help visualise the workout.
• Newcastle Gateshead CCG has introduced a new toolkit –  HowFit  is a new fitness plan designed to help members of the public get fit in their own homes.
• Run the Dales shows you historic races and information.

Food and recipes

• University of the 3rd Age Newcastle, (U3A) has set up a recipe exchange

Gardening

• Get growing with the RHS in your garden
• Radio 4 Gardener’s question time
• DIY and crafts how to grow food at home from food scraps
• Vertical veg – tips for growing in small spaces

Geography, nature, and history

• National Geographic
• Tutorful top Geography websites, YouTube videos, and resources
• Project Noah  global site where you can view and share wildlife
• Kent Wildlife association simple ideas you can do in the garden to help wildlife
• World games  geography games

Learn a new skill

• Craft projects – sew, knit, crotchet, quilt, and fun for the family too. Some free and some £.
• Learn to touch-type – free access
• Get creative with Digital Making at Home – New videos each week for 3 levels of experience
• Future learn ideas for courses
• Northern Learning Trust have short e-learning courses to develop your skills for adults and family learning
• Newcastle College has a programme of free online courses for adults

Literature online

• Library services is expanding its range of electronic books, magazines, comics and audio books.
• join, read online and listen Choose RB Digital or Borrow Box
• Kindle Unlimited – 2 months free access
• Gutenburg – Download free books, e.g. Shakespeare, Edgar Allen Poe, Frankenstein, etc.
• Listening books.org – For people with Parkinson’s Disease, visual impairment, fibromyalgia, ME/CFS, mental health difficulty or learning difficulty such as Dyslexia, which impacts the ability to read or hold a book
• Read Free Literature – also includes study guides
• Open Library Access – Free but you need to create an account

Music

*Check the location/time zones of live-streamed concerts to calculate the UK start time. Time Zone calculator

• Rotterdam Philharmonic musicians team up online to play Beethoven’s 9th
• Free Chamber music – Live streaming
• Berlin Philharmonic orchestra – Live streams and performance archive
• Facebook Virtual Choir – Duet with a choir online
• Chris Martin (Coldplay) streaming from his home – YouTube
• Jess Gillam Virtual Scratch Orchestra – listen to recent collaborations and make a note to get involved next time.

Podcasts

Podcasts are pre-recorded radio shows that are available at your fingertips in audio libraries on your smartphone or tablet.  You can enjoy them anywhere, whilst you are cooking and when you are walking. They have seen a surge in popularity since the lockdown as they keep you company and help you sidestep boredom.  Shows cover everything from current affairs to books; wellbeing to true crime.  They provide debate, comedy, and  teach you something new. There are lots of platforms such as Spotify, Acast, MixCloud and Podbean. Download these from your app store.

How to listen

1. look for your podcasts app on your smartphone or tablet.
2. see what is trending
3. use the search button to find what you want (see list below as a starting point)
4. when you click on subscribe, each time a new episode is released it will automatically download, ready for you to listen
5. download at home or using WiFi

Shows people talk about

• Ted Talks Daily
• Desert Island Discs on Radio 4

Current Affairs:

• Woman’s Hour on Radio 4 daily
• The High Low weekly
• Today in Focus, the Guardian
• The Bunker

Books and Authors:

• The Sunday Salon
• Backlisted

Wellbeing:

• Postcards from Midlife
• Power Hour
• Couch to 5k

Fashion and Beauty:

• My Wardrobe Malfunction
• Dressed: the history of Fashion

True Crime:

• Fake Heiress
• Serial

Comedy:

• The Guilty Feminist
• Griefcast

Travel and Escapism:

• The Travel Diaries
• National Trust
• The Big Travel Podcast

Educational:

• Stuff you should know
• Coffee break French and Spanish
• Revisionist History

Older People

Later Life Audio and Radio Cooperative – a network of people providing content for older people.

Last updated: June 29, 2022