Castles, forts, hillforts, fortifications and other similar attractions and places in Britain. They may have been primarily built for defence – but may also be symbols of power.
I took the afternoon off and went in search of mild adventure. Nothing too exciting – just the memory of a drowned and forgotten village, some ancient stones, a bit about a saintly 7th century king, a couple of long-ruined castles not many people have heard of – and a cockatrice. Surprisingly few people have
The cockatrice of Renwick and other tales Read More »
North West England
North-West England’s River Lune meanders around 50 miles from the Cumbrian fells to Lancaster. It seems attractive and tranquil, a mixture of woodland, meadows and beckoning hills, punctuated by attractive stone-built villages. Yet, once upon a time, it must have been a very different, possibly even violent, place – because it possesses an apparently disproportionate
The Castles of the Lune Valley Read More »
North West England
I don’t really know why we went to Clun. It was there, of course, which I suppose is some sort of a reason to go anywhere at least once. Was the name vaguely familiar? It has a ruined castle, anyway, which might have been the deciding factor and, indeed, that became our target. Whatever the
Once upon a whenever, Wales is said to have had more than 640 castles. We may have mentioned that before. Of those 640, at least 100 have survived. Some, such as Caernarfon or Conwy, are recognisably mighty fortresses; others are little more than remote ruined forts; and then there are the ones in between, like
Cilgerran Castle and the Princess Nest Read More »
Wales
We went to the small town of Montgomery, in Powys, for some much-needed peace and quiet – and found it. Girdled by lush landscape, the old county market town of Montgomeryshire has a Georgian appearance and is a peach, a place to mentally recharge. There is little to attract the seeker of brash entertainment, or
A walk round Montgomery Read More »
Wales
Richborough has always fascinated me. Caesar may have landed near Deal but it was at Richborough, a century later, that the story of Roman Britain really began. It was in this corner of Kent that part of Emperor Claudius’ 40,000 strong invasion force landed in 43 AD. They quickly established a beachhead, throwing up defensive
Rutupiae, gateway to Britain Read More »
South East
We strolled to Walmer Castle from Deal in September sunshine. Infamous as the place where the Duke of Wellington died, Walmer Castle was one of Henry VIII’s so-called ‘device forts’, a network of artillery strongholds built to protect England against possible French invasion. Naturally, we have retained a few of these, just in case. Walmer
Walmer and the Warden of the Cinque Ports Read More »
South East
England’s King Henry VIII is usually thought of as the nasty big bloke with all the wives; the chap who officially stopped his subjects being Roman Catholic, gave them the Church of England instead and closed down all the nice monasteries. He is not usually seen as a builder – but he was; picture him
Done Deal Castle? Read More »
South East
Britain has 29 World Heritage Sites. The United Kingdom has 30, including the Giant’s Causeway and Causeway Coast in Northern Ireland but excluding overseas territories. It would have been 31, but Liverpool’s maritime mercantile city was, sadly, stripped of its status in 2021. Don’t let that put you off; Liverpool is more than worth spending
World Heritage Sites in Britain Read More »
British Stuff
Clearly, something serious went on at Strumble Head. Pembrokeshire’s Strumble Head, aka The Pencaer Peninsula, is known for its stunning scenery and the Strumble Lighthouse. It was also the location, at Carregwastad Point, of a minor, unsuccessful, French invasion in 1797. Long before that, however, our distant ancestors seemed to be particularly busy over on
Stumbling round old forts on Strumble Head Read More »
Wales
Near the little town of Bonnybridge, west of Falkirk, you will find the largely buried remains of Rough Castle. This was no fairy-tale fortress, with stone battlements and banners fluttering from romantic-looking towers. The lumps and ditches in the ground mark the location of a business-like frontier fort, built almost 1900 years ago on the
Rough on the frontier Read More »
Scotland
People often compare the relative merits of Britain’s two largest membership heritage organisations, the National Trust and English Heritage. In fact, there are several heritage organisations in the United Kingdom that offer membership, the main ones being Cadw, Historic Houses, Historic Scotland and the National Trust for Scotland – as well as English Heritage and
English Heritage or the National Trust? Read More »
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