Places in Britain associated with legends, or legendary people; or a story – a British legend – often a traditional one, that may or may not be true!
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 Valentine’s Day all about? When you are old and grey, and full of sleep, shall I compare thee to a summer’s day; or do you walk in beauty, like the night, down by the Sally Garden? Shall I count the ways I loved you, will they stop the clocks, cut off the telephone,
A version of this feature is included in the book, ‘A Bit about Britain’s High Days and Holidays’. Of course, Christmas is Christmas and the basics are ubiquitous in any country with a Christian tradition. That said, everybody celebrates it, if they celebrate it at all, in their own way. Each family seems to have
The A-Z of Christmas in Britain Read More »
British Stuff Events
There are several reasons why you may want to visit Kirkby Lonsdale. Not least, because it’s a fine old Cumbrian market town, with a lovely church, St Mary’s, and, beyond that, Ruskin’s View – a panorama allegedly described by the Victorian polymath, without a trace of hyperbole, as “One of the loveliest views in England,
Kirkby Lonsdale’s Devil’s Bridge – and the bikers who live there Read More »
North West England
Wayland’s Smithy was my next stop on a visit that included Uffington’s White Horse and hillfort. The Smithy is a Neolithic tomb – technically a chambered long barrow, similar to the one at West Kennet – and it is located about a mile and a quarter to the west of the ramparts of Uffington Castle,
The legend of Wayland’s Smithy Read More »
South East
I’d tell you a tale of a battle fought and won, a dragon slain near an old fortress, an ancient trackway and a magical metalworker that flies through the skies and will shoe your horse for a few coins. True, at first glance, what some may dismiss as a few arty scrapings on chalk downs,
Uffington’s White Horse – etc Read More »
South East
This is an appropriate question, since it is rumoured that couples creep up to the Cerne Abbas Giant at night in order to make babies. As the Giant is cut into a hill with a reasonable degree of slope on it, the mechanics of their actions must be somewhat of a challenge; but each to
Is the Cerne Abbas Giant one of Britain’s most loved figures? Read More »
South West
Flora MacDonald is celebrated as a heroine of the Jacobite rebellion of 1745. The part she played in helping the defeated Bonnie Prince Charlie escape “over the sea to Skye” has even been immortalised in song: “Speed bonny boat like a bird on a wing, Onward the sailors cry. Carry the lad that’s born to
Flora MacDonald’s resting place Read More »
Scotland
It should be simple enough to write a bit about Easter, I thought. After all, it is the most important festival in the Christian calendar, and a good deal of Britain’s heritage, at least for the last fourteen centuries or so, has been informed by a Christian tradition. So we should be sure of our
Easter, eggs, bunnies and buns Read More »
British Stuff Events
Scotland’s national saint, St Andrew, has his day on 30th November. As well as being the patron saint of Scotland, St Andrew is the patron saint of Amalfi, Barbados, Greece, Romania, Russia, the Ukraine, singers, spinsters, would-be mothers, fishmongers and fishermen, gout and sore throats. According to the Scottish Government’s website, St Andrew’s Day “is
St Andrew, patron saint of Scotland Read More »
British Stuff Events Scotland
The water flows red from a natural spring at the foot of Chalice Hill in Glastonbury. It is said to be infused with, or at the very least represent, the blood of Christ: or maybe it was rusty nails from the Cross; you decide. It was here, at the Chalice Well, so the stories tell,
Beyond Scotland, ex-pat Scots and a few informed corners of Britain as a whole, not many people would have heard of William Wallace before the 1995 film, Braveheart. The American, Mel Gibson, directed and starred in the movie, playing the downtrodden, noble, medieval Scottish hero battling the evil English, led by Patrick McGoohan – who
National Wallace Monument Read More »
Scotland