Silbury Hill is the largest man-made prehistoric mound in Europe. It was built in around 2,400BC, roughly at the same time as some Egyptian pyramids, and is about 130 feet (39 metres) high and 1,640 feet (500 metres) round. Its purpose is completely unknown. One story (with variations) is that Silbury Hill was created when
It is believed that St Winefride’s Shrine has been a place of pilgrimage for 1300 years, following the decapitation of a young, devout, girl by a brutal chieftain in the 7th century. Where Winefride’s head came to rest, a well sprung up. On the site now is a visitor complex that includes an architecturally unique
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Eliseg’s Pillar is the broken shaft of a 9th century inscribed stone that was probably originally topped with a cross. It gives the valley and nearby Valle Crucis Abbey their names. The stone was erected by Cyngen, prince of Powys, in memory of his great-grandfather, Eliseg. Illegible now, Eliseg’s Pillar once documented the family tree
Shaftesbury’s Gold Hill is a magnet for visitors and one of the most famous and photographed streets in Britain. It appears in countless guides and is generally believed to have been launched on an unsuspecting universe via a 1973 television advert for Hovis bread. The advertisement was an early directing endeavour by Ridley Scott before
The church of St Dunstan in the East is essentially an atmospheric garden inside the ruins of a medieval-Baroque church destroyed during the Blitz. The church dates from 1100 and was part of the community for some 800 years. It was severely damaged in the Great Fire of 1666 and repaired, with a new tower
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Normanton church is a historic neoclassical church – or half a one, anyway – saved from a watery fate at the bottom of Rutland Water. Apart from being Instagram fodder, it is used as a wedding venue.
Portmeirion is a unique and colourful fantasy village in North Wales created by architect Clough Williams-Ellis from 1925-1976. It has an other-worldly feel and no other purpose than as a place of enjoyment. It was made famous as the setting for the 1960s cult TV series, ‘The Prisoner’.
