[Nell]

There's nothing like going to a records office to bring your family to life. I remember going to Cambridge RO and then having found my ancestors in their records, going out to trace their footsteps in the streets where they lived.

Gravestones don't always survive and sadly lots of graveyards are overgrown and the stones illegible. But its a thrill to imagine our ancestors going to the church to be baptised or married or buried.

Similarly, finding a transcription online is no substitute for looking at a handwritten record mentioning your ancestor!