Category: Life

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

Amazon have a special offer on my #1 best-selling book – Secret Gardens of the City of London

I don’t normally do this but my new book Secret Gardens of the City of London is still number 1 in its section on Amazon! It’s quite an achievement given that the algorithms are always changing the ranks moved on an hourly basis. Amazon have themselves reduced the price from £10.99 to £9.21 which they… Continue reading Amazon have a special offer on my #1 best-selling book – Secret Gardens of the City of London

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

The Excluded UK March – Westminster 30th September 2020

As many of you may know I have been without any real work since the 6th February this year due to the government understandably shutting down inbound tourism to contain the Coronavirus outbreak. I was also told not to work, in fact it was illegal for me to do my job and yet 8 months… Continue reading The Excluded UK March – Westminster 30th September 2020

My new book made it to number one best-seller on Amazon! AND my first pitch to a newspaper is the Travel Feature in the Independent newspaper!

I’ve had such a busy week as I so often do that I was only aware of one of these events last night. Namely my new book Secret Gardens of the City of London which had been climbing in the charts since its release just over a month ago reached the number 1 ranking in… Continue reading My new book made it to number one best-seller on Amazon! AND my first pitch to a newspaper is the Travel Feature in the Independent newspaper!

Coronavirus Diary 71 – Taking part in the legislative process

Yesterday I was fortunate to be invited to a small protest march in Westminster in aid of furthering the cause of the 3 million #ExcludedUK group of people who have had no income or government support since the virus started. I may well do a full post tomorrow but I thought I would share a… Continue reading Coronavirus Diary 71 – Taking part in the legislative process

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!