‘Drink weary pilgrim, drink and stay. Rest by the well of Sybil Grey.’
Found this old well up on Flodden Hill. Quite mysterious. It’ll be a reference to Sir Walter Scott’s Marmion in which the fictional knight, mortally wounded at Flodden, is brought refreshment from a local spring. This little well will be Victorian but it will have been built on a natural spring with a fitting quote for the location.
Found this old well up on Flodden Hill. Quite mysterious. It’ll be a reference to Sir Walter Scott’s Marmion in which the fictional knight, mortally wounded at Flodden, is brought refreshment from a local spring. This little well will be Victorian but it will have been built on a natural spring with a fitting quote for the location.
Working on a new video and filming in the obscure & forgotten locations associated with the story.
This is the Bridle Stone at Spindlestone Heugh, found southwest of Bamburgh. It’s here that in the old Northumbrian legend of the Laidly Worm that the hero, Childe Wynd, tied his horse’s bridle before tackling the creature.
Few people would enjoy spending half a day looking for a stone but it was good fun. Always a pleasure seeking out forgotten history.
This is the Bridle Stone at Spindlestone Heugh, found southwest of Bamburgh. It’s here that in the old Northumbrian legend of the Laidly Worm that the hero, Childe Wynd, tied his horse’s bridle before tackling the creature.
Few people would enjoy spending half a day looking for a stone but it was good fun. Always a pleasure seeking out forgotten history.
In September I took a boat from Ballycastle to Rathlin Island. By chance I happened to meet a fellow enthusiast for folklore and mythology and we swapped information.
I was on the island filming and when we got talking he told me of a Banshee story that was linked to a cottage that I remembered passing. He said that he was working on making a video about this particular Banshee. I’ve just watched it and it’s brilliant.
https://youtu.be/wBofTCNKv1w?si=CBoG5iJ2j8d-4tzj
I was on the island filming and when we got talking he told me of a Banshee story that was linked to a cottage that I remembered passing. He said that he was working on making a video about this particular Banshee. I’ve just watched it and it’s brilliant.
https://youtu.be/wBofTCNKv1w?si=CBoG5iJ2j8d-4tzj
YouTube
The Kebble Banshee: A Rathlin Island Story
Rathlin Island is a special place on the Irish North Coast that seems to have completely evaded the hustle and bustle of the modern world. Old values and ways of life are preserved there as the island is steeped in ancient folklore. For instance on the western…
Been a couple of months since I’ve uploaded a video but next weekend I’ll be posting again. My first video of 2024 will be the story of the Laidly Worm (loathsome dragon), a creature that terrorised Bamburghshire. Using old ballads and maps that show features lost to time, I’ll be showing you all of the spots that were mentioned in the story to create an extremely detailed retelling.
**NEW VIDEO**
The Laidly Worm of Bamburgh
My first video of 2024. A lot of research went into this one, hence why I’ve not posted for a couple of months. Hope you enjoy! 🏴
https://youtu.be/3ymL5uD_w7M?si=HP3fUHyEgmA4WCLh
The Laidly Worm of Bamburgh
My first video of 2024. A lot of research went into this one, hence why I’ve not posted for a couple of months. Hope you enjoy! 🏴
https://youtu.be/3ymL5uD_w7M?si=HP3fUHyEgmA4WCLh
YouTube
The Laidly Worm of Bamburgh | A Northumbrian Legend
The Laidly Worm of Spindlestone Heugh, also known as the Laidly Worm of Bamburgh, is an old Northumbrian legend that dates back centuries. Closely associated with Bamburgh Castle and the Spindlestone crags, this story is about an unnamed king of Northumbria…
I try not to post anything controversial or political. So a post like this is not something that I’ll be doing regularly.
But recent events in the news regarding conscription and the debate about it got me thinking and I started to reread what I consider to be one of the most important books on my bookshelf. Nicholas Pringle’s ‘The Unknown Warriors’.
In 2005, Pringle wrote to local papers across Britain and appealed to WW2 veterans, as well as people that lived through the war as civilians, to share their thoughts on modern Britain.
He receives hundreds of replies. And honestly, you’d be hard pressed to find a more sobering and upsetting book. The overall consensus is:
• A feeling of regret at having even bothered to fight at all
• A deep worry about what kind of country their grandchildren will inherit
• Despair at the collapse of morals and community
• Feeling like strangers in their own towns and cities
• Fear of going out at night
This was 2005.
What would they think now?
A must read. Buy this book.
But recent events in the news regarding conscription and the debate about it got me thinking and I started to reread what I consider to be one of the most important books on my bookshelf. Nicholas Pringle’s ‘The Unknown Warriors’.
In 2005, Pringle wrote to local papers across Britain and appealed to WW2 veterans, as well as people that lived through the war as civilians, to share their thoughts on modern Britain.
He receives hundreds of replies. And honestly, you’d be hard pressed to find a more sobering and upsetting book. The overall consensus is:
• A feeling of regret at having even bothered to fight at all
• A deep worry about what kind of country their grandchildren will inherit
• Despair at the collapse of morals and community
• Feeling like strangers in their own towns and cities
• Fear of going out at night
This was 2005.
What would they think now?
A must read. Buy this book.
The Jolly Reiver
I try not to post anything controversial or political. So a post like this is not something that I’ll be doing regularly. But recent events in the news regarding conscription and the debate about it got me thinking and I started to reread what I consider…
I do encourage you to read this yourself. But I’ll give one example. This is part of a response submitted by an elderly woman from Sheffield. A war widow named Elsie. Sadly she’ll have passed on now, but her words and feelings remain.
Dear Mr Pringle,
Thank goodness someone wants to find out what people think of Britain today. I am a widow of Harry Formess, Royal Engineer killed in Burma. I hope you can read my writing. I’m partially blind now. My town is like foreign country to me. My feeling is that men that offered their lives have been betrayed and the dead gave their lives in vain. Most of the older people, me too, say thank goodness we are at the end of our lives. It is no longer the Britain that was fought for.
Dear Mr Pringle,
Thank goodness someone wants to find out what people think of Britain today. I am a widow of Harry Formess, Royal Engineer killed in Burma. I hope you can read my writing. I’m partially blind now. My town is like foreign country to me. My feeling is that men that offered their lives have been betrayed and the dead gave their lives in vain. Most of the older people, me too, say thank goodness we are at the end of our lives. It is no longer the Britain that was fought for.
Since 1900, 1,200 country houses have been demolished in England. This was 1/6 of all our country houses. Another 378 were demolished in Scotland. The majority of these came after the Second World War.
By 1955, one stately home was being demolished every 5 days!
For centuries, the country house had been a bedrock of British rural life. They provided large scale employment, housing and patronage to the village school, the parish church, and the local hospital. In addition to the destruction of community, an unimaginable amount of history was erased. Not to mention countless collections of art, antiques, furniture dispersed, sold, lost.
There was no legislation in place to protect the houses, and the government hasten their destruction through increasing tax on them. Public opinion at the time was total indifference. This is one of the biggest cultural tragedies in Britain’s history. It’s so recent, yet barely anybody knows about it.
By 1955, one stately home was being demolished every 5 days!
For centuries, the country house had been a bedrock of British rural life. They provided large scale employment, housing and patronage to the village school, the parish church, and the local hospital. In addition to the destruction of community, an unimaginable amount of history was erased. Not to mention countless collections of art, antiques, furniture dispersed, sold, lost.
There was no legislation in place to protect the houses, and the government hasten their destruction through increasing tax on them. Public opinion at the time was total indifference. This is one of the biggest cultural tragedies in Britain’s history. It’s so recent, yet barely anybody knows about it.