On the north-eastern edge of the Chilterns, seven miles north of St Albans in the ancient village of Flamstead, a bizarre annual celebration has resumed after a four year hiatus. The Flamstead Scarecrow Festival first ran in 2002 and now … Continue reading When Harry met Crow-ie: the scarecrows return
It’s a bold claim, by no less an authority than Country Life magazine (which must have profiled some eccentric estates in its time). The comment relates to Fawley Hill, near Henley-on-Thames. You can see why the esteemed magazine on country … Continue reading The ‘most bonkers estate in Britain’?
First: Merry Christmas! Or, at least, as merry a Christmas as circumstances will allow. Our thoughts go, in particular, to everyone who’s alone and doesn’t want to be, and/or those who have lost loved ones and friends in 2020. The … Continue reading World go local
Hildreth’s in Prestwood isn’t quite as old as the dinosaurs, even though a model tyrannosaurus rex used to adorn the entrance to the garden centre. These days it’s reproductions of a boar, a couple of chickens and a bear whose … Continue reading Old business, new cafe: bear with us
As we all try to follow the official instructions and/or guidance about social distancing, it’s great news that some of the open spaces that the National Trust and English Heritage manage will remain open for the public to enjoy. Our … Continue reading This weekend: open spaces to enjoy
Can local people help to revive their high street while addressing the implications of the world climate emergency? A new café in the central Chilterns village of Prestwood is giving it a try. The Pantry at No 51, which opened … Continue reading Something old, new… or refilled
A little piece of history has returned to the hamlet of Ford in the Vale of Aylesbury. Just before Christmas, the Dinton Hermit – a historic coaching inn and pub which closed in 2013 – re-opened for business. It’s being … Continue reading The Hermit is back
If you’re a sucker for science fiction and fantasy, especially in the movies and on TV, the ‘Robot’ exhibition at Bucks County Museum in Aylesbury has been – to quote the Cybermen – an ‘excellent’ place to visit in the … Continue reading To boldly go in search of our only hope…
If you’re one of those people who laments the lack of variety in British high streets these days, a display in the newly re-opened North Hertfordshire Museum may interest you. It’s a reconstruction of part of Parks and Llewelyn, a … Continue reading Blood, bone and a snappy opening
You don’t tend to come across the phrase ‘licence to crenellate’ too much these days. I found it in the Buckinghamshire volume of Nikolaus Pevsner’s Buildings of England (1960). Pevsner uses the phrase in his description of Boarstall Tower – … Continue reading Boarstall Tower: a frank and Ernest history
Slow Travel: The Chilterns and Thames Valley 