Peeking past the porter’s lodge is looking through a window into another world; a world of privilege, beauty, tradition, history and at least a thousand stories. Here is a bit about Balliol College, one of more than thirty academic communities…
Chiddingstone’s Chiding Stone
You’ll find a curious thing at the end of a little path beside the school in the Kent village of Chiddingstone. It’s a great lump of sandstone, formed about 135 million years ago when this part of the world was…
Beautiful Bodiam Castle
Bodiam Castle was ostensibly built to help defend England from the French. Now it just sits there, looking beautiful, a teeny bit brooding, and very medieval. From a distance, you could be forgiven for thinking that it’s still a functioning…
R&R at Uppark
Nudging along the lush borders of Hampshire and West Sussex, not far from the charming town of Petersfield, is Uppark. Pronounced ‘Up Park’ (a corresponding ‘Down Park’ lies a few miles to the north), Uppark’s south-facing Regency rear looks remarkably…
Blooms and a mystery at Exbury Gardens
The wealthy banker Lionel de Rothschild bought the Exbury Estate, in Hampshire, in 1919. In 1922, work began on creating what is now a 200 acre garden, internationally famous for its rhododendrons, azaleas, rare trees and shrubs. Exbury Gardens are…
Memorial to James Tillet
There are so many stories behind every memorial. Of course, there are exceptions, but outside graveyards most memorials tend toward the grand. However, if you happen to be wandering about the southern slopes of Portsdown Hill, just north of Fareham…
Bosham, Cnut, the king’s daughter and Harold
For centuries, Bosham was a fishing village, famous for its oysters. You’ll find it on a small peninsula in Chichester Harbour in West Sussex; a bit of a yachting place, also beloved by artists, walkers, cyclists and casual visitors. Yes,…
On top of Seven Sisters
Before anyone gets carried away with gratuitous salacity, the Seven Sisters are chalk cliffs on the south east coast of England. Do not confuse them with another Seven Sisters, an area of London in N15, near Tottenham. Exciting and attractive…
Rufus Stone
Just past Stoney Cross, in a woodland clearing down a leafy lane off the busy east-bound A31 in Hampshire, is a memorial to one of England’s least popular kings. We are told that William II, known as ‘Rufus’ and who…
The Loveliest Castle in the World?
This is Leeds Castle, nowhere near the city of Leeds in Yorkshire, but located some 240 miles to the south, in Kent. It was once described as “the loveliest castle in the world” by historian Lord Conway and understandably, but…