Interesting villages to visit in Britain, including hamlets, whether in England, Wales or Scotland.
Portmeirion is one of those places you hear about and think you really should visit. Or you want to go because the 1960s cult TV series, The Prisoner, was filmed there. The Prisoner was ‘No 6’, played by Patrick McGoohan, held captive in a plainly weird village from which he tried to, unsuccessfully, escape in […]
It is hard to associate the Northamptonshire village of Ashby St Ledgers with one of the most notorious terrorist plots of all time. In fact, despite nestling between Dunstable’s tired industrial estates and the fearsome Daventry International Rail Terminal to the north, you may actually struggle to associate Ashby St Ledgers with the 21st century
Terror plot planned in peaceful village Read More »
Geddington is an attractive Northamptonshire village, with Saxon roots. It boasts an ancient church, St Mary Magdalene, and a ford over the River Ise with an attractive old bridge, said to date from 1250, alongside. However, it is probably most famous for its Eleanor Cross, the best preserved of three of the twelve original crosses
Geddington’s Queen Eleanor Cross Read More »
You’ll find the small village of Dent, sometimes known locally as Dent Town, on the western edge of the Yorkshire Dales. This was once part of Yorkshire’s West Riding but is now inside the county of Cumbria. The narrow roads through achingly beautiful Dentdale seem never-ending; it’s almost a relief to arrive amongst Dent’s old
The Vampire of Dent (and other stories) Read More »
By the time the soldiers came, the villagers had gone. They had moved, under a blanket of secrecy, to new homes while they waited for the war to end and the troops to leave; while they waited patiently to return to whatever was left of their homes. But they never went back, not one of
Toki lost his lands when the Normans came. The new foreign aristocracy following Harold’s defeat at Hastings in 1066 swept aside Anglo-Saxon landowners, and poor Toki was one of the casualties. He was a thegn – which could mean a variety of things – but in any event a man of property in the settlement
The Castle at Castle Acre Read More »
Robin Hood is one of England’s enduring legendary heroes. Deprived of his rightful inheritance and outlawed, Robert of Locksley (or Loxley) shelters in the King’s forest of Sherwood, where he assumes natural leadership over the vagabonds and other outlaws in hiding there, all victims of medieval England’s harsh laws and brutal penalties for infringement. Robert
In search of Robin Hood Read More »
Burton Bradstock was on the List of Places to See in Dorset. The National Trust guidebook tempted us to visit the beach which, as you may have gathered, is not called Burton Bradstock at all. Burton Bradstock is a ridiculously pretty looking village and the beach, Hive Beach, is a little farther on. Unfortunately, it
Hive Beach at Burton Bradstock Read More »
This is a story about bravery and love. It covers just one chapter in the long history of the village of Eyam (pronounced ‘Eeem’ *), tucked away in Derbyshire’s Peak District just north of Bakewell. Casual travellers between Chesterfield and Chapel-en-le-Frith would pass it by without comment – unless they knew: in that case, they
There’s a kind of benign magic about Avebury; it’s the sort of place where you can have fun communing with your ancestors. Like faded signposts painted in a language we do not understand, the remains they have left behind are scattered across the countryside in these parts. They point to unknown places and alien lives.
Here is your mission today, should you choose to accept it: take the ferry across Ullswater from Glenridding to Howtown and walk back. It’s a low-level stroll of about 7 miles (11km), so you don’t need to be Sherpa Tenzing to tackle it, but you do need to be able to cope with the distance,
