Places, people or events associated with the Prehistoric period in Britain, before the Romans came.
The Yorkshire coastal town of Whitby is celebrated for its fish and chips, the semi-precious gemstone, jet, its associations with the explorer Captain Cook, Dracula – and its abbey. It is less well-known as the place where the timing of Easter was decided. “When is Easter this year?” I hear you say; I’m very glad
Whitby Abbey and the Easter problem Read More »
Yorkshire and the Humber
You’ll find a curious thing at the end of a little path beside the school in the Kent village of Chiddingstone. It’s a great lump of sandstone, formed about 135 million years ago when this part of the world was a swampy mess. And this large rock is called the Chiding Stone, because (so they
Chiddingstone’s Chiding Stone Read More »
South East
The British Museum is regularly at the top of the list of the most visited attractions in Britain. Something in excess of 6 million people – considerably more than the population of Denmark – walk through its doors and tour its galleries every year. It is an astonishing place which, in its own words, tells
The British Museum – origins, controversy and internationalism Read More »
London
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
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
Yorkshire’s Ingleborough is a curiously shaped hill, large and looming. That said, there are bigger features in the world, even in our ever-modest Britain; but being over the benchmark height of 1,000’ (2,372’ or 732 metres to be precise), Ingleborough qualifies to call itself a mountain. Locally, it’s known as a ‘peak’ – one of
Introducing Ingleborough Read More »
Yorkshire and the Humber
Castell Henllys (‘Castle of the old court’) is just off the A487, between Newport and Cardigan and is a recreated ancient Celtic hill-fort. Park your chariot (or time machine) in the maes parcio (car park) and carefully follow the path through woodland by the pretty Nant (river) Duad. Here there be bats, otters and more
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum comes under the heading, ‘Not to be missed in Glasgow’. A Spitfire rubs shoulders (or undercarriage/trunk) with Sir Roger the elephant; there’s a stuffed eagle (and other animals), lumps of rock (aka ‘geology’), ancient Egyptian coffins, suits of armour, guns, Charles Rennie Mackintosh bits, fearsome dinosaurs – and loads and
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum Read More »
Scotland
The Devil was a busy little bee in days gone by. Some might say he still is, but in any event he crops up all over the British landscape – including at the Tarr Steps, a famous clapper bridge over the river Barle, Somerset, in the Exmoor National Park. Clapper bridges, river crossings of dry-stone
There’s a ruined castle in the valley bottom, beyond the grand, Victorian, house. A round, machiolated, tower peeks through multi-coloured shrubs and trees. It draws the eye through the garden, overwhelming the desire to linger amongst the flowers. Closer in, down the hill, and the heady scent from rhododendrons and azaleas is almost overpowering. The
A visit to Scotney Castle Read More »
South East
Different rules apply in some of the remoter parts of Britain. Allegedly, fairies – described as “resembling little children in clothes like soldiers’ clothes and with red caps” – have been seen around the old Neolithic burial chamber at Pentre Ifan* in Pembrokeshire. Pentre Ifan – the name means “Ivan’s village” – is all that
