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Archive for the ‘british history’ Category

The Stonehenege Landscape

Posted in british history, History, Stonehenge, tagged , , , , on April 16, 2010| Leave a Comment »

West of Amesbury on Salisbury Plain in south Wiltshire

Walk in the steps of our ancestors at one of the world’s best-preserved prehistoric sites.  If you have the luxury of time whilst visiting the Stonehenge area please take the time to explore these sites:

Don’t miss
■Great views of the famous Stonehenge circle
■Mysterious ceremonial landscape of ancient burial mounds, processional walkways and enclosures
■Haven for wildlife, from brown hare and butterflies, to birds such as the skylark
■Colourful displays of downland wildflowers in June and July

Stonehenge Down
The long grassland shrouded in mist at Stonehenge Down. © NT / Margriet van VianenHome to skylark and brown hare, Stonehenge Down is a wide open landscape with fine views of the famous stone circle. From here you can also explore Bronze Age barrow cemeteries and prehistoric monuments, such as the Stonehenge Avenue and the mysterious Cursus. SU125425


King Barrow Ridge on a beautiful summer's day. © NT / Lucy EvershedHere Bronze Age burial mounds stand among impressive beech trees, with views of Stonehenge and the downs. The hazel coppice provides shelter for wildlife along the ridge, while in summer, chalk downland flora attracts butterflies such as the marbled white. SU134423

King Barrow Ridge


Normanton Down on a bright summer's day, showing a field of daisies in the foreground. © NT / Margriet van VianenNormanton Down offers one of the best approaches to the stone circle. The round barrow cemetery dates from around 2600 to 1600BC and is one of the most remarkable groups of burial mounds in the Stonehenge landscape. The downland and arable fields here are home to a variety of farmland birds such as corn bunting and stonechat. SU117415

Normanton Down


The red and gold hues of autumn at Durrington Walls. © NT / Stephen FisherIn 2005 Durrington Walls was revealed to be the site of a rare Neolithic village, with evidence of shrines and feasting. You can still see some of the banks of this circular earthwork, the largest complete ‘henge’ in Europe. Post holes show that there were large timber structures here, like those at nearby Woodhenge. SU150437

Durrington Walls


The Chalkhill Blue, common to chalk grassland, can be seen in the summer months. © NT / Margriet van VianenAnother fascinating example of a prehistoric cemetery. The wide range of barrow shapes found here show that this site was used over a long period of time for burials of people of high status. Newly sown chalk downland flora covers the landscape – look out for brown hares too. SU101417

Winterbourne Stoke Barrows

I would be happy to email you a free walking tour route, just email me

David – Stonehenge Tour Guide
HisTOURies UK – Stonehenge and Salisbury Guided Tours

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Election Fever hits Britain – Some light relief………

Posted in british history, England facts, Funny on April 15, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Gordon Brown is my shepherd, I shall not work.
He leadeth me beside still factories.
He restoreth my faith in the Conservative Party.
He guideth me in the path of unemployment.
Yea, though I wait for my dole, I own the bank that refuses me.
Brown has anointed my income taxes, my expenses runneth over my income,
surely, poverty and hard living will follow me all the days of his term.
From hence forth we will live all the days of our lives in a rented home with an overseas landlord.
I am glad I am British, I am glad I am free.
But I wish I were a dog and Brown were a tree.

Thought you would all like that
Nicholas – Voting Tories this time!
Histouries UK – British Tour Guide

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ENGLAND MY ENGLAND

Posted in british history, England facts, Funny, History, UK Tourism updates, tagged , , , , , , , on April 5, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Goodbye to my England, So long my old friend
Your days are numbered, being brought to an end
To be Scottish, Irish or Welsh that’s fine
But don’t say your English, that’s way out of line.

The French and the Germans may call themselves such
So may Norwegians, the Swedes and the Dutch
You can say you are Russian or maybe a Dane
But don’t say your English ever again

At Broadcasting House the word is taboo
In Brussels it’s scrapped. In Parliament too
Even Schools are affected.  Staff do as they’re told
They must not teach children about England of old.

Writers like Shakespeare, Milton and Shaw
The pupils don’t learn about them anymore
How about Agincourt, Hastings, Arnhem or Mons ?
When England lost hosts of her very brave sons.

We are not Europeans, how can we be ?
Europe is miles away, over the sea
We’re the English from England, let’s all be proud
Stand up and be counted – Shout it out loud!

Let’s tell our Government and Brussels too
We’re proud of our heritage and the Red, White and Blue
Fly the flag of Saint George or the Union Jack
Let the world know – WE WANT OUR ENGLAND BACK!!

IF YOU ARE ENLISH, PASS IT ON

Copyright 2010 – Histouries UK – British Tour Guide

St George

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British Summer Time begins……

Posted in british history, England facts, History, UK Tourism updates, tagged , on March 29, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Changing the clocks

In the UK, we all change our clocks and watches by one hour, twice a year.

Last Sunday in March
We add an hour and go onto what is called British Summer Time (BST).

Last Sunday in October
We put our clocks back one hour and adhere to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).

Why do we change our clocks?
We’ve been changing our clocks forwards and backwards in the UK since 1916. It’s all to do with saving the hours of daylight, and was started by a man called William Willett, a London builder, who lived in Petts Wood in Kent (near our school).

William Willett first proposed the idea of British Summer Time in 1907 in a pamphlet entitled ‘The Waste of Daylight’. Willett had noticed that the summer mornings light was wasted while people slept, and that the time would be better utilised in the afternoon by putting the clocks forward. After campaigning for years the British Government finally adopted the system a year after Willett’s death

What time do the clocks change?

The clocks are always changed at 01:00 GMT (02:00 BST).

In the Autumn (October), as we are on BST (British Summer Time) before the clocks change, we change the clocks at 02:00.

In the Spring (March) we are already on GMT so change the clocks at 01:00

Henry – Stonehenge Tour Guide
Histouries UK – Travel through time on one of our tours

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