There have been lighthouses of sorts for thousands of years, most notably the ancient wonder of the world at Alexandria in Egypt. Even Dover Castle is home to some tall ruins of the Roman equivalent of a lighthouse. The first modern and purpose built lighthouse was the Eddystone Lighthouse which opened for business this week in… Continue reading The Eddystone Lighthouse – The first modern English Lighthouse
Category: history
Posts predominantly history related.
All About the SBS: The Special Boat Service
People all around the world have heard of the elite SAS and countless bad people are no longer around because of them. The SAS though are the special forces for the Army; less well known is the SBS which are the special forces for the Royal Navy and the men are drawn from the Royal… Continue reading All About the SBS: The Special Boat Service
Penny for the Guy and other forgotten Guy Fawkes Night traditions.
Before we go anywhere, have you read my old post Remember, Remember The 5th Of November which explains all the glorious goings on behind Bonfire Night / Guy Fawkes Night or simple Fireworks night. If not, please do 🙂 and come back here afterwards. Bonfire night has changed a lot even from when I was little. … Continue reading Penny for the Guy and other forgotten Guy Fawkes Night traditions.
My close encounter with a London Ghost last week!
It’s still a few days before Halloween and I have a whole plethora of Halloween themed posts as well as from history such as Corpse Roads and Dancing on the Dead at Enon Chapel – The Victorian Sensation! to more recent scary goings on such as The Enfield Poltergeist. For a simple post today though, just… Continue reading My close encounter with a London Ghost last week!
Glaciers, ciders, blow-outs and the helping hand of Wayland Smithy
Having been blown about for a few hours it was time to return to the car but not before I took a look at The Manger. An incredibly steep and beautiful valley formed during the las ice-age. In fact you can see the markings on the walls of the valley which show how the ice… Continue reading Glaciers, ciders, blow-outs and the helping hand of Wayland Smithy
Dragons Hill – Where Saint George killed that dragon!
We’re nearing the end of my series of posts set on and around Whitehorse Hill and the Ridgeway. It would be easy to think that surely there is nothing else to see within the short walk of the car park here but incredibly there is still more and if we have already visited the smith… Continue reading Dragons Hill – Where Saint George killed that dragon!
The Uffington Whitehorse
This beautiful hill carving, lying close to Uffington Hillfort in Oxfordshire is best viewed from a distance but can be accessed by walking uphill from the signposted carpark. The horse is 110m long and carved through the grass into chalk and has been dated to between 1400 and 600BC making it roughly 3,000 years old!… Continue reading The Uffington Whitehorse
Uffington Iron Age Castle
Just a short walk from the Ridgway and a little under 2 miles from Waylands Smithy is the old Iron Age hillfort which is known as Uffington Castle. It sits atop the summit of Whitehorse Hill. This is not the sort of castle you might want to visit to see dungeons and towers and… Continue reading Uffington Iron Age Castle
Waylands Smithy – The neolithic monument which is home to a supernatural Elf!
Monday saw my post on the ancient Ridgeway road and I used that to visit another ancient place, Waylands Smithy. I’ve wanted to visit here for years but never got around to it as despite being not too far from London, it’s in a rather isolated spot and only accessible from the Ridgeway on foot,… Continue reading Waylands Smithy – The neolithic monument which is home to a supernatural Elf!
Walking The Ridgeway, one of the oldest roads in the world
On Saturday I had my first and likely only real day out all year went to Oxfordshire to visit various ancient and picturesque sites. One of the places I was looking forward to travelling on was the Ridgeway which is one of the oldest continually used roads anywhere in the world For at least 5,000… Continue reading Walking The Ridgeway, one of the oldest roads in the world
Stephen Liddell 