Churches are places of Christian worship, of any denomination, that serve, or once served, a community of any description. Most of Britain’s parish churches are medieval in origin.
It’s hard to beat soaking up the atmosphere of an elegant historic house, or imagining life being restored to the grim ruins of a once-mighty castle. But there’s also a special kind of magic getting off the well-beaten tourist track to explore some less obvious aspect of our past, an attraction that isn’t widely advertised,
Touching the lost past of Ninekirks Read More »
North West England
Of all the thousands, or millions, of memorials in Britain, there aren’t many one arrogant enough to be known by the definite article. The Monument in London is one and, for the benefit of those bursting to know, it is the monument to London’s Great Fire of 1666. The Great Fire is so much a
Sifting through the ashes of the Great Fire Read More »
London
To visit Lindisfarne, a tidal island at the tip of north-east England, is to enter a different world. It is a world of saltwater, seabirds and saints, a world of mudflats, mead and mystery that is still revealing its secrets. Our story begins in the shadow times before places like England, Scotland and Wales had
A pilgrimage to Lindisfarne, the Holy Island Read More »
North East England
We stepped down the lane in the dappled sunlight of a still frosty winter afternoon. It has an ancient, lived-in, feel to it, does the hamlet of Chapel-le-Dale. Sitting astride a Roman road, evidence of long-vanished communities are shown on the Ordnance Survey map with the word ‘settlement’ printed over various places close-by, in old
St Leonard’s, Chapel-le-Dale Read More »
Yorkshire and the Humber
Had I led a better life, perhaps spending more time with saints than sinners, maybe I would have heard of St Cyriac before stumbling ignorantly into his church in Lacock. For the benefit of anyone else who has somehow managed to cope thus far without this knowledge – and I’m sure there’s at least one
St Cyriac and the tour party Read More »
South West
What is all the fuss about Robert Burns? Robert – Robbie or ‘Rabbie’ – Burns was a prolific poet and lyricist, who died more than 200 years ago. He is Scotland’s favourite bard, still revered throughout the land, the world over by those of Scottish descent – and, in fact, by many non-Scots as well.
Robert Burns, an’ a’ that Read More »
British Stuff Scotland
Every Christmas Eve, millions of people all round the world tune in to their TVs or radios to listen to carols from King’s – or ‘Nine Lessons and Carols’ – from King’s College Chapel, Cambridge. The broadcasts are an essential part of Christmas for many; for some, they mark the beginning of the Christmas celebrations,
The great tempest broke rapidly and without warning in the darkness. The sea around Whitby convulsed, waves rising in growing fury, over-topping one another, beating white-topped on the sands, rushing up the cliffs and breaking with great spumes over the piers of the harbour. Adding to the difficulties and dangers of the night, a huge
Dracula and Whitby Read More »
Yorkshire and the Humber
Who was the third Brontë sister? It’s a good question for quiz night down at the Olde Rupturede Ducke. There was Charlotte and Emily, of course – the authors of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights respectively. But who wrote The Tenant of Wildfell Hall? Tracy Brontë, perhaps? Or Chelsea? No – if you’re a literary
Our Brontë tour begins in Haworth Read More »
Yorkshire and the Humber
Constantly keep your eyes open when wandering round the old City of London. Behind the steel and glass and beneath your feet are about two thousand years of history. Reminders of the past are everywhere – some obvious, others not; and some are real hidden gems. One of the finest of those hidden gems is
Dunstan in the East Read More »
London
The key to Keld Chapel is hanging by the front door of the house opposite. It’s that kind of place, if you know what I mean. Keld is a tiny Cumbrian hamlet, just outside the straggling village of Shap and a little south east of long abandoned Shap Abbey. Travellers on the M6 will be
Christ Church Greyfriars is one of those places you stumble across in London without meaning to. That’s exactly what I did a few years ago, anyway, drifting in search of somewhere to eat a sandwich after a tedious business meeting. Close to the Stock Exchange, I found myself in a peaceful garden planted inside the
The ghosts of Christ Church Greyfriars Read More »
London