History

The river that built a kingdom, Scotland's Tay

From an Iron Age crannog to Dundee's whaling wharves, the Tay has shaped the fortunes of central Scotland for two thousand years.

Cornwall's tin mines built an empire and broke the men who worked them

Along the cliffs of Cornwall's Tin Coast, ruined engine houses and abandoned shafts tell the story of an industry that once supplied the world.

How Scotland's clans bound kith and kin for centuries

From ancient Celtic loyalty to the brutal aftermath of Culloden, the clan system shaped Highland life long before it was outlawed.

Chasing wizards through the wild heart of the Scottish Highlands

From Glencoe's misty glens to the Glenfinnan Viaduct, Scotland's real history proves just as spellbinding as its Hogwarts fame.

A perfect day out in Ely, the fenland city where eels rule and ghosts still roam

England's second-smallest city packs a soaring cathedral, Oliver Cromwell's old home and a haunted evening tour into a single easy day trip from London.

England's old coaching inns still have stories to tell

From Stilton's cheese-famous Bell to Stamford's ancient George, the Great North Road's historic inns reveal how travel in England truly began.

Scotland's holiest ground, from Whithorn's shrine to Wigtown's bookshops

Long before Iona, this quiet corner of Galloway was where Scottish Christianity first took root.

Inside Balmoral Castle, the Highland retreat that gave the royals a taste of freedom

The 50,000-acre Scottish estate offered Queen Elizabeth something Buckingham Palace never could, real privacy.

Wessex, from Alfred the Great to Thomas Hardy country

Two very different kingdoms share one name in England's storied southwest.

Fife’s secret bunker - how Scotland planned for nuclear war

Aspiring travel writers are invariably advised to avoid the clichéd opening: “This well-kept secret” but, in this particular instance, it is 100 percent appropriate.

Scotland's mysterious Rosslyn Chapel

Long the focus of folklore and legend, including Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code, what about an email from Mary Magdalene? Why not?!

Who were the Druids? A history of Druidism in Britain

Our knowledge of Druidism is often full of misconceptions, here's everything you need to know about the history of Druidism and Druids in Britain