Lucy Worsley on “disgracing” herself in New York

The celebrity historian shares her travel stories, including smuggling a kettle into Notre Dame and a packing disaster that left her “dressless”.

Lucy Worsley with part of the Boston skyline behind her showing an archival picture of the American Revolution

By Gaby Huddart | Published - 27 May 2026

While many of her early documentaries focused on British history, more recently Lucy Worsley has travelled overseas for her programmes. It’s something she is relishing.

Visiting a number of locations for her new BBC Two series, Lucy Worsley Investigates: The American Revolution, Lucy discovered a number of destinations that she’d highly recommend to visitors. She has also had the recent opportunity to visit several stunning European castles for a four-part series, due to air later this year.

Lucy Worsley's travel stories

Where would you recommend from your recent trip to America?

The Yorktown and Jamestown area of Virginia. It was on the battlefields at Yorktown that the British were finally defeated and there are fantastic re-enactments on the aptly named Surrender Field. There's a wonderful museum to visit, too.

Meanwhile, just up the road, you can go and see the Jamestown settlement, which was the first British settlement in North America. So, somewhat ironically, the first and last locations of British rule are very close to each other.

These days as a Brit, you're really welcomed there. We had a such a lovely experience. It was very hot during our visit and, at the end of filming, we all jumped into the Chesapeake River – a fantastic place for a swim.

The Neuschwanstein castle in Bavaria, on a beautiful clear day — Getty

Is there anywhere you would like to go again?

Unfortunately, when we were filming in New York, I had awful jet lag and it was really hot and humid, so I didn’t have the best time. We went to visit the New York Historical Society to see the remnants of a statue of George III that was pulled down in the Revolution. It was an incredible thing to see, but I was really out of it. I was given this pink drink called Gatorade and felt really sick.

I’m afraid as soon as the camera stopped rolling, I disgraced myself and the drink came up again – bright pink sick all over the steps of the museum. It was so shaming and the worst thing was that I was sick on these lovely red shoes I had on. But, for continuity purposes, I had to wear them for the rest of the fortnight’s filming. They smelled awful and travelled in a zip-lock plastic bag so that they didn’t infect the rest of my luggage.

I would like to revisit the New York Historical Society under different circumstances.

What do you always take with you when you travel?

A travel kettle because it’s essential to be able to make a cup of tea. It came with me around America and I always take it to France as well. In fact, when I made a programme about the restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral, it was with me. It was hard work getting on and off the building site because of the lead contamination – you had to have showers and take off all of your clothes when you left.

So, I snuck in my travel kettle and plugged it in in the portacabin ladies’ loos at the building site and secretly made my tea. That's how I survived.

Which destinations do you love going to in your role as a historian?

I spent 20 years working at Britain's Royal Palaces, and as soon as I left that job, I went to the BBC and said, “How about you send me to some other royal palaces in other countries so I can get out and about a bit?” And they said yes! So, I've done another series that's coming up later this year where I got to hang out at the Palace of Versailles for one episode, and I got to hang out at the Doge's Palace in Venice for an episode.

Those were both incredible to visit. So, too, was Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, which is the castle from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and it’s extraordinary. I had always wanted to visit, so it really was a dream come true.

Fisherman sailing boat in Kawaguchiko Lake and Sakura blossoms with Fuji Mountain in the background — Getty

Where is still on your bucket list?

I'd like to go to Japan. I've never been and long to visit. I am working on it!

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Where do you go to relax from life as a historian?

I struggle with that enormously because my work is also my pleasure. But I do sometimes go on a tennis holiday or a swimming holiday or a walking holiday, and then I get there and I think, “Oh, yes, there is more to life than libraries”.

But it's always very nice to go back to a library afterwards, as well as a castle.

Have you ever had a packing disaster?

Yes, once we were filming a programme about the 18th century called the First Georgians, and I rushed out of the house with all of my stuff, except I forgot the dress I was supposed to be wearing.

So, there's this whole sequence we shot in Bristol where I'm mysteriously wearing my coat, even indoors, and my coat is buttoned up entirely to the top.

Underneath the coat, I am, in fact, dressless!

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