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!
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,
Middleham Castle, home of kingmaker and king Read More »
Yorkshire and the Humber
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
Swinside Stone Circle Read More »
North West England
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
Bosham, Cnut, the king’s daughter and Harold Read More »
South East
Do you believe in Christmas magic? Some years ago, when my children were very small, I was dismayed to hear my son pipe up that little Johnny at school said that his dad had told him there was no such person as Santa Claus. I knew the family kept Christmas and wondered how such a
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
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
The dastardly shooting of Lorna Read More »
South West
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
Castle of the Pendragon? Read More »
North West England
Tumuli, tombs or burial chambers, in varying shapes and sizes, litter the British Isles. Long barrows are (roughly) rectangular tumuli, ranging from about 60 feet to more than 300 (28 – 100 metres) in length, usually with a stone (or wood) burial chamber at one end, the whole covered with soil and rubble dug from
West Kennet Long Barrow Read More »
South West
Everywhere in Britain, we walk in the footsteps of the past; it’s just not always that obvious. However, a relatively short, lung-bursting, stagger up to St David’s Head (Penmaen Dewi) in Pembrokeshire will take you to a reminder of a 5th century saint, the remains of an Iron Age settlement and field systems, a feature
The local supermarket is pretending to be the props department for “Night of the Living Dead”. There are plastic skulls, axes, hairy hands, spiders, broomsticks, masks more gruesome than many of the weekend shoppers in the Trafford Centre – and even life-size ravens with glowing red eyes. Also, a plastic fish skeleton – the relevance
Durham’s story is a fascinating piece of the story of England. It is partly a tale of saints and kings and moving bones, and it begins back in the 7th century. The founding of Durham Cathedral Actually, it was mostly Cuthbert’s fault – with some help from the Danes, a lost cow and perhaps a
A complete working historic estate of 900 acres in rural Staffordshire, Shugborough has everything an aristocratic country pile should have – imposing Georgian mansion, parkland, formal gardens, a walled garden, farm (including labourers’ houses, watermill, workshops and rare breeds), river walks, monuments, servants’ quarters, stables, a brewery…enough to please most day trippers, and even keep
