Innholdsfortegnelse for History Explorer i History Extra

“Welcome to the BBC History Magazine History Explorer, your guide to enjoying history on day trips in the UK – and on overseas breaks too. In this special issue, you’ll find inspiration for fantastic heritage visits in Britain this year, from Ruthven Barracks in the Scottish Highlands to Tintagel Castle in Cornwall. You’ll discover thousands of years of Britain’s past, with features on some of the key events and places that shaped the country’s history, from the Norman invasion to the rise of industry in the 18th century. You’ll also find out how people lived in the past, by exploring a Bronze Age settlement in East Anglia and visiting the palatial home of Queen Victoria on the Isle of Wight. If you’re venturing further afield, we’ve got a dozen history…

“It is impossible to imagine a prettier spot,” said Queen Victoria of Osborne, the palatial family home where she and Prince Albert chose to periodically retreat from the public eye to spend quality time together, and raise their children. Tucked away on the Isle of Wight, just an hour’s ferry journey from Southampton, Osborne commands impressive panoramic views of the Solent, a prospect that is said to have reminded Albert of the Bay of Naples. The sprawling 342-acre site was purchased in 1845, with building contractor Thomas Cubitt commissioned to create a family home that could function at both a domestic and court level. By 1851, most of the house had been completed, with a central pavilion block housing the royal family’s private apartments (completed in 1846). “Osborne was very…

VISIT Hastings and St Leonards • visit1066country.com 1 Midland Hotel, Morecambe • midlandhotel.org When the London, Midland and Scottish Railway decided to replace its two existing Morecambe hotels in 1933, it employed the best designers of the day. Architect Oliver Hill responded to the curve of the promenade with a streamlined building three storeys high. Its central circular tower contains the entrance and an elegant spiral staircase above which is the ceiling medallion of Neptune and Triton by Eric Gill. Other decorative works by Gill also survive and can be enjoyed if you choose to stay at the restored hotel or just take afternoon tea in its circular cafe. 2 Rothesay Pavilion, Argyll and Bute • argyll-bute.gov.uk The fashion for sunbathing began in the 1920s, famously championed by designer Coco…

There is a moment, just as you come up through the car park, with the solid stone squares of St Olav’s Church on your left, when your breath is taken away by the view. It’s an unspoilt long sweeping slope down to the sparkling sea of a typical Norwegian fjord of bleak beauty, where the gulls shatter a pewter sky with cries akin to those of lost children. This is Avaldsnes on the west coast of Norway, seat of Norway’s Viking kings and a powerhouse of politics and warriors in the time when I would most like to have visited it – the 10th century. It is an era that Norwegians still treat with reverence. Today, the area’s history is celebrated at the Nordvegen History Centre, an ultramodern and high-tech…

Despite its obvious size and grandeur, there is a certain intimacy to Coughton Court, home to the Throckmorton family since 1409. Walking up the main staircase, generations of Throckmortons stare down from their gilded frames – a deliberate celebration of what is said to be the oldest Catholic family in England. In the drawing room – a light, airy space situated on the first floor of the central gatehouse – roundels and shields of heraldic glass commemorate dynastic marriages with other notable Catholic families. Next door, in what is known as the little drawing room, a 17th-century veneered cabinet opens to reveal a secret, mirrored recess, which was used during the celebration of Mass in a period where openly practising Catholicism was strictly forbidden. Indeed, above the drawing room, at…

VISIT Chislehurst Caves • chislehurst-caves.co.uk 1 Coventry Cathedral • coventrycathedral.org.uk Many places of worship were destroyed or badly damaged during the Blitz, most famously Coventry Cathedral, which was bombed in 1940. Indeed, its devastation was shown in newsreel cinemas around the UK to exemplify the extent of Germany’s barbarism. Basil Spence, the designer of its Grade I-listed modernist replacement, insisted that the ruins of the old cathedral were kept alongside as a symbol of remembrance and reconciliation. Other churches were also left in ruins as a memorial to Britain’s wartime suffering, including the 13th-century Christchurch, Greyfriars, in the City of London and St Luke’s in Liverpool. 2 Guards Chapel, Wellington Barracks • army.mod.uk/chaplains/23369.aspx A V1 flying bomb – known as a ‘doodlebug’ or ‘buzz bomb’ – hit the Royal Military…

I have only discovered one place that combines all the things I love in a holiday: nice beaches, cricket and interesting history. That place is Antigua, an island first settled by the British in 1632. Antigua is a perfect location for the maritime-minded, boasting 365 beaches – one for each day of the year. I admire the marketing ingenuity of this bold claim but doubt its authenticity: I suspect there are far more. This is no place of huge windswept beaches but of intimate coves everywhere you look. As with all Caribbean islands, there is a satisfying difference between the windswept beaches of the eastern coast and the sheltered beaches of the west; in that difference is the answer to a number of fascinating historical questions. Antigua lies roughly in…

There are few more awesome sights in the depths of winter than the ruins of Fountains Abbey in North Yorkshire. Abandoned and ruined it may be, yet the abbey stands proud and majestic, its crumpled walls bearing the scars of Henry VIII’s campaign to dissolve the monasteries nearly 500 years ago. We’re visiting in February half-term, so the shrieks of children fill the chilly air while a procession of dog-walkers take to the paths of the 273-hectare (674-acre) National Trust estate in which the abbey sits. The only sign of conflict is when a cocker spaniel strains at his lead in an attempt to disturb a brace of pheasants lurking in the undergrowth. Things weren’t always so peaceful. During the early decades of the 16th century, Fountains was the country’s…

1 Queen Street Textile Museum, Burnley • visitlancashire.com/things-to-do Queen Street Mill is a late Victorian cotton weaving mill powered by a steam engine. At its peak it contained 1,266 looms but was down to operating fewer than 400 by the time it closed in 1982. There were hundreds of such businesses in England when the mill was first built but today it is the only steam-powered mill left in the world. When the looms are powered up the sound is deafening and it is possible to comprehend the sheer power of King Cotton in the British industrial revolution. 2 Ancoats Mills, Manchester • ancoatsbpt.co.uk A&G Murray Mills in Ancoats, Manchester are worth quite a long detour to see, though they are now converted into fashionable flats. They were built between…

My first visit to Bali five years ago was a huge culture shock. Though I had explored other Indonesian islands, nothing could prepare me for such a unique culture. This beautiful island has weathered the storm of modern times rather well, and remains a cultural gem with an idyllic landscape. International tourism has certainly had an impact, but the Balinese people are infallibly friendly, and there is always something new to discover. The beliefs of maritime south-east Asia find their focus in Bali. The island is known as a Hindu enclave in largely Muslim Indonesia, but the Balinese also piously respect their ancestors and carefully placate the indigenous spirits dwelling in the island. Nothing is considered to be inanimate, be it a stone, a tree or a motorcar. During the…

Perched high on a hill in the Spey valley, surrounded by mountains, Ruthven was once one of four infantry barracks built across the Highlands in an attempt by George I to put down further Scottish rebellions in the wake of the great Jacobite uprising of 1715. The strategic position of the fortification, lying as it does at an important junction of military roads from Perth, Fort Augustus and Inverness, meant that Ruthven was a key stronghold for the British Army – and a target for rebelling Scots. But, despite being completed in 1721, Ruthven didn’t see its first military action until 1745, when a 300-strong Jacobite force attempted to besiege the barracks. (Remarkably, it took just 14 Redcoats to repel the attack, with the loss of just one man.) Although…

VISIT Glasgow University • gla.ac.uk 1 Arniston House, Gorebridge, Midlothian • arniston-house.co.uk In 1726 Robert Dundas, Lord Arniston, commissioned the Enlightenment architect William Adam to build a new country house on the site of the existing tower house. Completed by William’s son John, this truly magnificent Palladian building, incorporating two rooms of the original tower house and with amazing baroque plaster-work by Joseph Enzer in the hall, remains largely unchanged. There have been Dundases at Arniston since 1571. 2 Siccar Point, near Cockburnspath • scottishgeology.com Siccar Point, on the North Sea coast, 40 miles east of Edinburgh, is famous for displaying vertical strata of rock jutting up through horizontal strata of less resistant rock. The rocks’ remarkable formation helped James Hutton, a genius of the Scottish Enlightenment, formulate the idea…

Since reading William L Shirer’s The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich as a teenager I’ve been hooked on that dark period. My academic life has been fixated on its history, and research for several of my books has led me to Berlin on numerous occasions; I’m now passionate about the city. Because of the division of Berlin during the Cold War, the city has a strange layout, with no real centre, and you can find something new each time you go. A good starting point is the Brandenburg Gate. The famous monument suffered heavy bomb damage during the war but has been impressively restored. Nearby, important historical landmarks include the Reichstag. On 27 February 1933 it was set on fire by Marinus van der Lubbe, a Dutch communist…

1 Cadbury Castle SOMERSET Where an ancient fort was upgraded This Iron Age fortress was first linked with Arthur in 1542, when the antiquary John Leland claimed that Cadbury had been ‘Camelot’. Excavations here in the late 1960s demonstrated that there was indeed significant remodification of the prehistoric fort in the post Roman period, but whether this was the headquarters of a monarch who inspired the myth of Arthur is unknown. visitsomerset.co.uk 2 Glastonbury Abbey SOMERSET Where ‘Arthur’ was reburied Glastonbury today has strong popular associations with King Arthur. This is in part due to the romantic setting of both the ruined abbey and the Tor, but also because it was here, in 1191, that monks disturbed two graves, supposedly those of Arthur and Guinevere, establishing Glastonbury as ‘Avalon’. The…

1 Brandeston village SUFFOLK Where witchfinder generals roamed During the Civil War, witch-hunting gained momentum again, and self-appointed ‘witchfinder generals’ sprang up. The most notorious of these was Matthew Hopkins, who was responsible for one fifth of the total number of executions in England over the period. One target was John Lowes, vicar of Brandeston, who was ‘swum’ in the moat at Framlingham Castle and hanged in 1642. The castle is still open. brandeston.net 2 Exeter Castle DEVON Where English witches died England’s last executions for witchcraft took place in 1682 at Exeter Castle. Three women from Bideford were accused of using witchcraft against Grace Barnes, who subsequently became ill. Little of the original castle remains but a plaque near the gatehouse names Temperance Floyd, Mary Trembles and Susanna Edwards…

1 The White Tower LONDON Where William asserted his rule The White Tower was William I’s ultimate power statement. Begun on the edge of the largest city in his new kingdom, it was built to awe Londoners and to demonstrate authority. The stone keep was probably completed by 1100 – it remains the centrepiece of the Tower of London, Britain’s most popular tourist attraction. hrp.org.uk/TowerOfLondon 2 Winchester Cathedral Where Norman architecture wowed Few Norman buildings can match Winchester Cathedral in terms of scale and beauty. In many ways, the building is typical of the Norman conquest: the old Anglo-Saxon minster was reduced to rubble and in its place, completed in 1093, appeared a building boasting the longest nave in Europe. But multiculturalism is present again – a major inspiration was…

1 Kensington Palace LONDON Where a princess became queen Victoria was born at Kensington in 1819 and grew up there under the watchful eye of her mother and her father’s former equerry, John Conroy, a man the young princess despised. On 20 June 1837 Victoria was visited at the palace by the archbishop of Canterbury who informed her that she was queen. hrp.org.uk/KensingtonPalace 2 Beaumaris Castle ISLE OF ANGLESEY Where Victoria was greeted with joy In August 1832, 13-year-old Victoria, then Princess of Wales, visited Beaumaris as part of a tour of England and Wales. Despite an outbreak of cholera in the town, Victoria was greeted with much excitement and a festival of literature, music and performance was held at the castle in her honour. beaumaris.com 3 Windsor Castle WINDSOR…

Castles and crusaders, cathedrals and heretics – Languedoc is a medievalist’s dream destination. Add to the mix the snow-capped mountains, sweeping valleys, stunning vistas and regional cuisine, it makes for a perfect holiday, too. Languedoc is a region of south-western France bordering the Pyrenees and the Mediterranean. I visited the area for the first time in 2013 while researching my book on the early 13th-century Albigensian Crusade launched against the area’s Cathar heretics. The book’s title, Kill Them All, reflects the widespread, shocking savagery and destruction of this episode. The crusade began in earnest at Béziers. On the very first day, thousands of its townspeople were massacred by the crusaders for not handing over the Cathars who lived among them. Hence the infamous (and largely genuine) order of “Kill them…

It comes at you all of a sudden. One minute you’re driving along an astonishingly pretty side-street in the Oxfordshire town of Woodstock, thinking – as you enter what seems to be just a shoppers’ car-park – you’ve reached a dead-end. But then there’s a grand archway, which offers one of the most extraordinary views in Britain – the majestic sweep of the grounds of Blenheim Palace, the vast country house that, as well as being the birthplace of Winston Churchill, is a designated Unesco World Heritage Site. This stunning view is what we’ve come to recognise as quintessentially English – undulating grasslands framed by enchanting woodland and, at the park’s epicentre, a Cotswold-stone bridge mirrored in the silver waters of a giant lake. Blenheim Palace was designed by the…

1 Baddesley Clinton WARWICKSHIRE Where persecuted Catholics once hid Baddesley Clinton was known as a haven for persecuted Catholics during the 1590s, and was home to Father Henry Garnet for nearly 14 years. The house boasts three priestholes: one of these is a lath and plaster hutch in the roof above a closet. It measures 6ft 3ins by 4ft and is just 3ft 9ins high. nationaltrust.org.uk/baddesley-clinton 2 Syon House LONDON Where a plotter dined Built in the 16th century on the site of a medieval abbey, Syon House was purchased by Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland in 1594. Henry’s kinsman Thomas Percy dined here on 4 November, and later reported to his co-conspirators that all seemed well, and that the authorities were seemingly unaware of the plot. The house…

Sicily is distinct in so many ways from mainland Italy, of which it is an autonomous region. Washed by the waters of the Mediterranean, Tyrrhenian and Ionian Seas, this strategically placed ‘three-cornered isle’ has been a battleground for Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, Ostrogoths, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans and other great powers of the ancient, medieval and early modern world. Today, Sicily is perhaps most famous for food, wine, townlife, beaches and, unfortunately, its association with organised crime. For me, however, it is the diverse, unspoiled and monumentally impressive nature of its rural heritage that is its greatest attraction, although food and wine are a close second and third. Mount Etna, Europe’s largest active volcano, grumbles petulantly at the eastern margins of Sicily, forever threatening to smother the towns, villages and farms…

Sitting on the north-eastern edge of the south Wales coalfield – an area of about 1,000 square miles, stretching from Pontypool in Torfaen, to St Brides Bay in Pembrokeshire – the huge, red winding tower of Big Pit is an impressive and unmissable sight for visitors as they pull into the museum car park. Once the heart of mining operations at the site, its powerful engine still winds people up and down the 90-metre mineshaft, although these days the only passengers are visitors who have chosen to embark on a 50-minute guided tour of the former mine. The shrieks and groans of the winder – introduced in 1952 as a replacement for the steam-powered original – echo constantly across the site. Those wishing to take the underground tour are provided…

1 Bath Abbey SOMERSET Where a king’s work was undone Bath Priory was surrendered to the crown in 1539 during the Dissolution, after which it was stripped of its fabric and abandoned. In 1574, Elizabeth I sought to repair the damage caused by her father’s campaign, and ordered that funds be raised to restore the building to its former glory. bathabbey.org 2 Furness Abbey CUMBRIA Where the ruins run red This 12th-century abbey at the northern edge of Barrow-in-Furness was England’s second-richest Cistercian monastery after Fountains Abbey. Built from red sandstone in a shallow valley, it’s the subject of the William Wordsworth poem At Furness Abbey, where because of “rash undoing / Man left this Structure to become Time’s prey”. english-heritage.org.uk 3 Glastonbury Abbey SOMERSET Where an abbot met a…

I’ve only visited Cartagena de Indias once, but it cast an enduring spell on me. I arrived in the old walled city after dark. Wandering past Spanish colonial houses, their balconies overflowing with bright pink bougainvillea, I was seduced by the music echoing through the cobbled streets. Like the city itself, the music was a fusion of cultures: the dancers below the statue of Simón Bolívar (Venezuelan leader, and president of Gran Colombia from 1819–30) moved to the sounds of African drumbeats and South American pipes. Standing beneath the statue of India Catalina – outside the city wall – it’s hard not to be reminded that indigenous peoples inhabited this area for some 5,000 years before the Spanish arrived. Catalina was the daughter of a Kalamari chieftain, and was captured…

The drive from Peterborough Station to Flag Fen crosses a former marshland, drained centuries ago and now covered with industrial buildings. But beneath the modern factories lie the remains of prehistoric settlements, says archaeologist Francis Pryor as he throws his battered Land Rover into gear. Formerly an expert on Channel 4’s Time Team – now a sheep farmer and author – Pryor has excavated much of Peterborough in his 40-year career. He is perhaps best known for his discovery of Flag Fen – a 3,500-year-old site comprising more than 60,000 vertical posts and 250,000 horizontal timbers that once formed a near 1km-long wooden causeway across the fens. The site is the only place in the world where original Bronze Age timbers can be seen in their original location. And entering…

1 Edinburgh Castle EDINBURGH Where the Jacobites laid siege In 1715, Jacobite forces tried unsuccessfully to lay siege to the castle, attempting to break in at night by scaling the north-facing cliffs. A second – also failed – attempt was made during the 1745–46 rising, under Bonnie Prince Charlie. During this attack, the Jacobites captured Holyrood Palace at the far end of the Royal Mile, but failed to take the castle. edinburghcastle.gov.uk 2 Culloden battlefield INVERNESS Where the final battle was lost The battle of Culloden was a bitter defeat for Jacobite forces. The battlefield, which can still be visited today, features a 20-foot memorial cairn (mound of stones), while headstones on both sides of the road through the battlefield bear the names of dead clan members. You’ll find information…

I still remember arriving in Venice for the first time. It was late (I had made the most of the many budget flights on offer), and there was an eerie stillness as I stood, somewhat disorientated, outside the Piazzale Roma – the city’s tenuous link to the mainland and the last place you will see any cars. Travelling everywhere either by boat or on foot seemed an alien concept, particularly for one whose sea legs are none too steady, but I made my way to the nearest vaporetto stop and caught a water-borne bus that seemed to be heading in vaguely the right direction. It was then the magic began. As the boat slowly wound its way around the gentle twists and turns of the Grand Canal, the 21st century…

King Arthur. Heroic British warlord who led the fight against marauding Anglo-Saxons, or a figment of a writer’s fertile imagination? It’s a question that’s been puzzling poets, chroniclers, historians and film-makers for more than 1,000 years. And nowhere does this question have more resonance than on a small, windswept, rain-battered headland projecting into the sea off north Cornwall: Tintagel. Numerous sites across north-west Europe – from Glastonbury Abbey in Somerset to the Forest of Paimpont in Brittany – have trumpeted their connections to King Arthur. Yet surely none are as intimately linked to the legendary warlord as Tintagel. That this is the case is almost exclusively down to the endeavours of one man: a Welsh cleric going by the name of Geoffrey of Monmouth. In the 1130s, Geoffrey set about…

“One voice for 10 dragged this way once by superstition, ignorance. Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.” So begins the first verse of Carol Ann Duffy’s 2012 tribute to the so-called Pendle witches – the eight women and two men who were sent to the gallows following one of the most sensational witch trials in British history. Lancaster Castle, where the alleged witches were tried at the August assizes of 1612, must have been a formidable sight to the men and women who had travelled to Lancaster on foot from the remote village of Pendle, some 50 miles away. Dating back to the Roman period, the castle has held prisoners for much of its long history – serving as a female penitentiary and debtors’ prison in the 19th…

It’s hard to imagine the Norwich skyline without its great Norman keep. It’s there – staring imposingly down on you from atop its lofty motte – when you step out into the city from its bus station. It’s there as you pick your way through Norwich’s market place, the so-called French borough. It’s even there, in the middle distance, as you approach the city’s other triumph of Norman architecture, Norwich Cathedral. Today, the castle is a popular tourist destination, a fascinating symbol of Norwich’s rich history. Yet, 900 or so years ago – as it was constructed, partly from massive Caen stones shipped across the Channel on behalf of England’s new masters – it would have had many meanings to a local population reeling in the aftershock of regime change.…

VISIT The Golden Hind • goldenhind.co.uk 1 Castle Cornet, Guernsey • museums.gov.gg James Chappell, African servant to Christopher Hatton (1632–1706), saved the lives of the viscount and his small daughters when lightning set fire to the powder magazine at this large island fort in 1672. After the explosion, which killed Hatton’s wife and mother, the household moved to Kirby Hall, Northamptonshire. The fact that Chappell’s second wife was Mercy Peach, daughter of the licensee of the Hatton Arms in Gretton, lends some credence to the local legend that Chappell himself eventually became landlord there. More certain is that Hatton’s will of 1695 specified a bequest of £20 a year for the rest of Chappell’s life. You can explore the fort’s 800-year history at the Story of Castle Cornet Museum. 2…

My first impression of Plovdiv, the second largest city in Bulgaria, was not terribly promising. A few hours earlier, my travelling companions and I had crossed the Turkish border in an inter-city bus. It was shortly before dawn when the bus jerked to a halt and the driver shouted: “Plovdiv! English! Plovdiv!” Nobody else got off the vehicle: just us. As the bus rolled away, we saw that we were at the entrance to an underpass, dark and forbidding. As we trudged through the puddles, a dog howled somewhere in the night. Once we were through the damp underpass, however, things started to look up. As darkness became daylight, the city revealed itself. Plovdiv is not merely one of the oldest cities on the planet; it is, I think, one…

1 Alnwick Castle NORTHUMBERLAND Where Brown deftly employed trees Commissioned by the 1st Duke of Northumberland, Brown returned to his home county to reconfigure the land to the north of the castle as it rolled down towards the river Aln. He flattened the land and planted plenty of trees. These deliberately obscured a view of the castle until its finest aspect was revealed. alnwickcastle.com 2 Harewood House LEEDS Where Brown reshaped 1,000 acres Brown rarely designed the grounds of a just-built house. But shortly after Harewood House’s final brick was laid in 1771, he embarked on one of his most impressive designs yet, reshaping 1,000 acres of the existing landscape into the gently sweeping sight it remains today. harewood.org 3 Petworth House and Park WEST SUSSEX Where he shifted heaven…

I first holidayed in Corfu, a large leg-shaped island on the north-west frontier of Greece, when I was 11 years old. We drove all the way in a VW camper van, covering the last leg from Bari to Corfu Town in a ferry. After a week and many adventures on the road, we set up camp in a beautiful twobedroom cottage on Corfu’s unfashionable south-west coast, near the town of Agios Gordios. With not enough beds to go round, some of my family (myself included) slept in hammocks. In the morning we’d stroll down a rough track to the nearby beach for breakfast in a cafe. We’d often pass the same old Greek lady, clad from top to toe in black, riding a donkey. During that trip, and on subsequent…

1 National Mining Museum Scotland MIDLOTHIAN Where mining history is on show This four-acre site – located at the former Lady Victoria Colliery – captures the developments in mining over generations. Highlights include the most powerful steam winding engine in Scotland and an extensive collection of mining-related artefacts and equipment. nationalminingmuseum.com 2 Woodhorn Museum NORTHUMBERLAND Where you can view miners’ art Woodhorn is sited in original colliery buildings, along with a new building, inspired by the huge coal-cutting machines once used underground. Displays paint a picture of life in this former mining community, which is also home to a series of paintings by artists known as the ‘Pitmen Painters’. experiencewoodhorn.com 3 Welsh National Mining Memorial CAERPHILLY Where victims are remembered This monument and memorial garden commemorates the explosion at Universal…

My first glimpse of Penang was from the ferry at dusk – a shadowy presence across a shimmering expanse of inky sea. As we got closer, the first buildings began to take shape. Ramshackle wooden houses sprawled along the waterfront, while an imposing white stone facade stretched away to the right. Behind them was a lone concrete skyscraper, and the hills in the distance were studded with twinkling lights. Later my taxi sped through the streets of George Town, along busy streets of Chinese shops with flashing neon signs, passing ornate temples and mysterious crumbling mansions fronted by vast green lawns. When I reached the faded grandeur of the Eastern & Oriental (E&O) Hotel on Lebuh Farquhar, with its fraying rattan chairs and creaky ceiling fans, I felt as if…

1 Dover Museum KENT Where a prehistoric boat is seen In 1992, a Bronze Age boat was discovered during construction of the A20 between Folkestone and Dover. Thought to be around 3,500 years old, the vessel once carried cargos of supplies, livestock and passengers across the Channel, and is tangible evidence of Bronze Age trading. A 9.5m section of this, the world’s oldest known seafaring boat, is on display. dovermuseum.co.uk 2 Stonehenge WILTSHIRE Where a megalithic stone circle sits Built in c2500 BC, Stonehenge was an important site of early pilgrimage until the early Bronze Age, when one of the greatest concentrations of round barrows in Britain was built in the surrounding area. The henge monument at Avebury, a 26-mile walk away, was built and altered between 2850–2200 BC but,…

From the ramparts of the medieval castle of St George, perched high above the city, it’s possible to understand why Lisbon exists. I’ve been coming here to research Portugal’s voyages of exploration and have grown to love this surprising place, rich in history. With its line of hills and the river Tagus beyond, wide as the straits between continents, gleaming in the sunlight, Lisbon is a gateway to the Atlantic. The Tagus gifted Lisbon the finest harbour on Europe’s western seaboard. From the Phoenicians onwards everyone has stopped off here. The Arabs held it for four centuries; their original settlement, Alfama, a dense souk of steep lanes through which antique trams hurtle, bells clanging, is where I like to stay. You can get pleasurably lost in its evocative labyrinth, eat…