Legend

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!

The enigma of Silbury Hill

Silbury Hill, prehistoric, Wiltshire

Silbury Hill is so regular in shape, so obviously artificial; yet it is large enough to be a natural feature. It stands some 130 feet (39.6 metres) high with a circumference at its base of about 1,640 feet (500 metres) – and is Europe’s largest manmade prehistoric mound. You will find Silbury in the midst […]

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Mungo’s Glasgow Cathedral

Glasgow Cathedral

Glasgow, one of Britain’s great cities and Scotland’s largest, is famous for many things; but probably not for its cathedral.  Indeed, at first glance, Glasgow Cathedral appears a little drab compared with some of its squeaky-cleaned up, maybe wealthier, siblings elsewhere; there is not much trace of a busy, comfort-blanketing close, or precinct, as you

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Give us a song, Caedmon

Parish Church of St Mary's, Whitby

This is the story of England’s first known poet. Once upon a time, many many years ago, there was a good herdsman who lived on a cliff top called Streaneshalch.  The herdsman’s name was Caedmon; he was no spring chicken and was actually quite shy.  Nearby on the cliff top was a great Abbey, ruled

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The spine-tingling tale of Greyfriars Bobby

Greyfriars Bobby, Edinburgh

Every now and again you come across a story so terrible, so utterly bone-chilling, that you need a mug of cocoa and a lie-down to calm yourself.  This particular narrative concerns (the clue is in the picture)… a small dog. Our tale begins in the year 1814, in Forfar (that’s a town, not a stutter),

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A journey to Glastonbury Tor

Glastonbury Tor, Somerset, Britain

Legendary Britain is a more illusive place than it once was.  But there are still places where it is sometimes hard to tell where fact ends and fiction begins.  Mysterious Glastonbury Tor, a natural feature rising some 500 feet above the watery Somerset Levels, has been a sacred site since before the Romans came.  It

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Middleham Castle, home of kingmaker and king

Middleham, fortress, Neville, Richard III

Though undeniably a ruin, and built about 800 years ago, Yorkshire’s Middleham Castle is a place where the past doesn’t seem that far away. I am sure this is some kind of subliminal sensation due to the personalities associated with Middleham, particularly Richard Neville, the Earl of Warwick, known to history as Warwick the Kingmaker,

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Swinside Stone Circle

Swinside Stone Circle, Cumbria, looking east

You cannot visit a stone circle, not even a little one, without being impressed.  Think about it.  Apparently, there are around 1,000 stone circles in Britain.  Each one would have taken organisation, willpower and a heck of a lot of muscle to build.  Imagine a conversation starting, “Hey, I’ve got this great idea…” Stone circles

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Bosham, Cnut, the king’s daughter and Harold

Bosham, Sussex, Holy Trinity, church

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, Bosham (say ‘Bozzum’) can be a busy spot, particularly on a fine day.  There are

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Rosslyn Chapel

Rosslyn Chapel, moody and mysterious

Sooner or later, the curious traveller will end up at Rosslyn.  Not far from Edinburgh, it is a magnet for mystics, myth-lovers, madmen, movie-goers and the mildly interested.  It has been claimed that the chapel was built by the Knights Templar, on the site of a temple of Mithras, and modelled on Solomon’s Temple in

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The dastardly shooting of Lorna

Exmoor, Lorna Doone

The Victorian novel, “Lorna Doone – a Romance of Exmoor”, is generally assumed to be a work of fiction, set in a stunning location on the borders of Devon and Somerset and against the turbulent historical backdrop of the Monmouth Rebellion of 1685.  Yet some believe that the author, R D Blackmore, drew upon illusive

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Castle of the Pendragon?

Pendragon Castle, Mallerstang, Cumbria, England

The River Eden begins life high on the moors above the valley of Mallerstang.  It’s a remote place, harshly beautiful.  The water bubbles northward on its journey to the Solway Firth, flanked in these parts by Wild Boar Fell to the west and Mallerstang Edge to the east.  Alongside the Eden in the valley bottom

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