DISCOVER BRITAIN WITH BRITAIN’S BEST GUIDES GUIDEthe WINTER 2016

THE OF BRITAIN The spellbinding history of druids, wizards and witches INSIDE SEVEN TALL TALES – LEGENDS, LIES AND LORE OUR GUIDES’ GUIDE TO NORTHERN IRELAND AND GOING UNDERGROUND WITH THE ROYAL MAIL’S SECRET RAILWAY

From Bollywood A CHILD’S EYE VIEW A HULL OF A TIME to St John’s Wood Landscapes from children’s literature Getting naked in the City of Culture THE EVENT #1

ATTRACTIONS | DESTINATIONS | HOTELS

Over 2 days, explore the very best hotels, JOIN US AT attractions and destinations from the length and THE ESSENTIAL breadth of the British Isles. Offering a great opportunity to meet existing and source new EXHIBITION DEDICATED suppliers and service providers, your visit will leave TO YOUR INDUSTRY you packed up and ready to go for your next trip!

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2 16 4 8Tour deForce 28 TheGuides’ Guide 26 AChild’s Eye view ofBritain 16 Legends, Lies andLore 14 The MagicofBritain 8 The Guides’ Guide 6 What toseethiswinter 4 British GuildofTourist Guides©2016 Publisher: E: [email protected] Editor: Email: theguide association for BlueBadgeGuides(thehighest guidingqualification inBritain.) national the This magazineisproduced by theBritishGuildofTourist Guides – Front Cover: DruidsatStonehenge, photo: Marc Zakian Contents NLN ODNWLSNORTHERN WALES h 07Ct fClue–to anIndianlove affair withLondon the 2017CityofCulture – Two BlueBadgeGuidestell usabouttheirtours: from Hull– Our guides’ top ten places to visitinHampshire children’s literature The landscapes andlocations thatinspired Fact andfictionfrom Britishhistory and thespellsthey cast onusto thisday The spellbindinghistory ofdruids,witches andwizards top ten places to visitinNorthernIreland From giantsto monsters, ourguidesreveal their London’s Charterhouse; burialbarrows make acomeback Go underground withMailRail;a600year waitto visit Marc Zakian @ blue-badge.org.uk •www.britainsbestguides.org 28 IRELAND 8 Blueprint Travel MediaT: +441743 231135 Display advertising: W: www.mypec.co.uk T: +44 113 257 9646 MYPEC Design andprint: CTADGREENBADGE SCOTLAND

ISSN: 2053-0439 TO ‘THEGUIDE’... British GuildofTourist Guides Mark King,Chairto the A WARM WELCOME discovering more ofthiscountry intheentertain- wishes forahappy andenjoyable 2017. unforgettable experience. Iextendmy very best have donetomakevisitingthis country an advertisers, office staffandcolleaguesforallyou our visitors, alongwitheditorialteam, designers, would I liketothankourreaders and Guides – Owen asChairoftheBritishGuild Tourist andasItakeover from Philippa thanksgiving – website at:www.britainsbest guides.org previous editionsare nowavailable onournew finding outmore, you may liketoknowthat print oreven afirst-timereader interested in Blue Badgeexams–that’s truededication! both gave birthtobabieswhilestudying fortheir bond shared by boththeseguidesisthatthey extensive Bollywood filmconnections. A unique leaders andsportinglegendstothecapital’s modern captainsofindustry, historicpolitical adoptive citycelebrates connectionsranging from of anIndian-bornguide. Shivani’s passionforher cultural tour, asweseeLondonthrough theeyes colleagues ready toshare theirregion withyou. course, itspeople. You’ll findSarah andher history, architecture andtraditions aswellas, of encourage visitorstodiscover acity’s wonderful power ofculture andprovide opportunitiesthat festivals suchasthisreflect thetransformational Hull, theUKCityofCulture for2017. Grand insight intotheattractions awaiting visitorsto their ‘Tour deForce’. Sarah givesusanearly London. Eachconveys very different interests in from andShivani Vahalia-Pareek from children andadultsalike. those two themesofferplentytoentertain down withyour familytoenjoy agoodyarn and children’s literature. Nothingbeatssnuggling people connectedwithBritain’s richheritageof enchant you withhertouroflocationsand magic andsorcery; thenSophieCampbellwill discover placestraditionally connectedwith Let Marc Zakianweave hisspell, inspiringyou to in theirtours:children’s literature andwitchcraft. feature two themesthatmany guidestalkabout During theselong, darknights, it’s fittingto ing company ofBritain’s bestguides! Now, settleback, turnthepageandenjoy In thisseasonofgoodwill andofgeneral If you are aregular reader ofthismagazinein Shivani takesusonanaltogetherdifferent Our two featured guidesare Sarah Milne-Day 3 NEWS History, Culture and Events

Mail Rail Train, Mail Rail Photos © Miles Willis and The Postal Museum Willis and The Postal © Miles Photos

Russell Nash, Blue Badge Guide BRITAIN’S BEST GUIDES Blue Badge Tourist Guides are the official, professional tourist guides of the United Kingdom – recognised by the local tourist bodies and VisitBritain. There are over 1000 Blue Badge Guides in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – each region and nation has its own badge. They guide in all the UK’s major tourist attractions, as well as its cities and countryside.

Green Badge Guides have expert local knowledge of particular towns and cities. White Badge Guides Mail Rail Tunnels have detailed knowledge of their specific site.

Institute of Tourist Guiding is responsible for setting and maintaining guiding standards across England, Northern Ireland and Jersey. The Institute’s blue, green and white badge qualifications are world renowned and represent a benchmark in quality and professionalism. To gain one of the Institute’s badges guides typically study LAST POST? for up to two years, taking a combination of written and practical examinations to ensure Beneath the streets of the capital lies a miles are deep under London, criss- they reach the Institute’s high standards. For secret railway. Known as Mail Rail, for crossing tube lines and linking six more information visit www.itg.org.uk over a century it transported millions of sorting offices with the mainline railway letters between London’s sorting offices stations at Street and British Guild of Tourist Guides until its closure in 2003. . Operating for 22 hours a is the national association of Britain’s From 2017, visitors will be able to ride day, employing over 220 staff, it once guides. Since its foundation in 1950, the the mail rail as part of a new Postal carried more than four million letters Guild has dedicated itself to raising and Museum. Located in Clerkenwell, the a day. maintaining the highest professional museum will celebrate the life of letters The Mail Rail ride will take visitors on standards and meeting our visitors’ needs. in a series of historic zones. These will a 15 minute journey through a one- Our guides work in the UK’s museums, include the development of the horse- kilometre section of tunnels and around galleries, churches and lead walking, drawn mail coach (and their encounters the original platforms at the Mount cycling, coach, car and driver-guided tours with highwaymen), the history of the Pleasant sorting office station. The trip throughout the country. Our members work modern postage stamp (starting with the will be on a specially-made passenger in over 30 different languages. iconic Penny Black) and the evolution of train. For more information go to the humble pillar box. www.postalmuseum.org To find out more or to book: But the centrepiece is the railway and For walking tours on postal history, +44 20 7403 1115 the tunnels that once ran for over six search www.britainsbestguides.org www.britainsbestguides.org 4 from around the UK

Charterhouse Monk Business From 27 January 2017, London’s merchants fallen on hard times, or those Charterhouse will open to the public ruined by calamity’. Sutton also founded for the first time in 600 years. Charterhouse School, whose alumni The former Carthusian monastery was include novelist William Thackeray, built in 1371 on a medieval plague burial scouting pioneer Robert Baden-Powell site. When the monks were brutally and Methodist cleric John Wesley. The purged during the dissolution of the school moved out of London in 1872, monasteries, Charterhouse became a but the brothers – and, in the near mansion for wealthy noblemen and future, sisters – still live in the ancient royalty – met her ministers community. here before her coronation in 1558. Architect Eric Parry has designed a new In 1611, England’s richest citizen museum, and a ticket will give visitors Thomas Sutton bought Charterhouse, access to a tour through the grounds, establishing a charitable foundation for up gardens and buildings. to 80 Brothers: ‘either decrepit or old For a tour of the surrounding area, captaynes, maimed or disabled soldiers, visit www.britainsbestguides.org

The British countryside is home to thousands of ancient burial sites. Stonehenge is famous for its beautiful Bronze Age round barrows, and the mysterious long barrow at West Kennet once held the remains of dozens of ancient Britons. But what about a 21st century burial barrow? Sacred Stones is building a series of ‘ancient’ colombaria across England. The first – at Willow Row in Cambridge – is a round barrow with 345 hand-crafted niches containing cremation urns. Each niche holds between one and five urns, is made of Portland Stone and sealed with beeswax. This is the first round barrow built in Britain for 3,500 years. “Our barrows are here to serve the community,” explains Sacred Stones’ Toby Angel. “They are places for quiet contemplation and to mourn those who have passed – a timeless way of remembering a life.” OPPORTUNITYNiche The price of a niche starts at £2,000 and the first project has proved so popular that Sacred Stones is building a second barrow in Hertfordshire, with plans for further chambers in Hampshire and Shropshire. Angel hopes to build a burial barrow in every county of England, each with a different design. “A key part of the Sacred Stones project is the preservation of ancient crafts,” says Angel. “The masonry skills involved are way beyond basic dry stone walling and we have apprentices who are learning trades on the job so that these traditional techniques will not be lost”. For more information go to www.sacredstones.co.uk Travel back in time to visit an ancient burial barrow with a Blue Badge Guide www.britainsbestguides.org

5 1 ST. PATRICK’S COUNTRY 6 ARMAGH CITY – ECCLESIASTICAL Ireland’s patron saint lies buried in a simple CAPITAL OF IRELAND From Giants to grave on a hill above Downpatrick in County Armagh, ancient capital of Ulster, has been Down. Take a journey with Blue Badge Guide Ireland’s ecclesiastical capital for Monsters, our Nollaig Neill through the beautiful rolling centuries. The city boasts two cathedrals guides give us countryside and discover where Patrick named after St Patrick and is the site of the began his conversion of the Irish people to burial place of Brian Boru, the only High their Top Ten Christianity in 432. Visit Saul, site of Patrick’s King to govern all of Ireland. Like Rome, very first church in Ireland, enjoy magnificent Armagh was built on seven hills that offer places to visit in views over the countryside and explore the panoramic views. Local Blue Badge Guide centre at Downpatrick, the only museum in Donna Fox will walk you through the Northern Ireland the world dedicated to St. Patrick. Sample ancient streets to discover its architectural, delicious home-made food in the Garden sporting and Christian heritage. The tour Cafe, spot the fairy tree in the roof-top takes in a public art trail, stunning The Guides’ Guide Guides’ The garden or stroll into one of the local bars for Georgian architecture, museums and something a little stronger. old libraries in this, the Orchard County of Ireland. 2 ENNISKILLEN AND THE 5 MARBLE ARCH CAVES 7 THE ARDS PENINSULA AND Enniskillen is situated between the upper MOUNT STEWART HOUSE LONDONDERRY and lower sections of Lough Erne in County The Ards Peninsula and Strangford Lough Fermanagh. At the town’s centre is a 14th are home to a fascinating array of birds century castle, now a museum. Nearby are and wildlife. The peninsula is 20 miles the stunning Marble Arch Caves, one of from north to south and was settled 9,000 Europe’s first Global Geoparks. Tour the years ago. Blue Badge Guide Bibi Barratt’s caves on walkways or by boat. John tour includes castles, ancient wells, Cunningham is an Irish National Tour Guide monasteries and coastlines. The jewel in and author of 47 books on the history of the the crown is the National Trust’s Mount area – let him bring this ancient landscape Stewart House and Gardens, former alive with its castles, glaciated landscape, residence of one of Ireland’s wealthiest lakes, Irish history and heritage. and most influential families, the 3 Marquises of Londonderry. BELFAST The Gardens at Mount Stewart include CITY OF LONDONDERRY/DERRY This museum is an architectural landmark tropical plants and tree varieties not often says Blue Badge Guide Wendy Hood. The seen in Ireland – they were recently voted ship’s association with Belfast has led to us into the top ten gardens in the world. naming part of the city centre the Titanic NEWTOWNSTEWART CASTLEDERG Quarter. The story unfolds over eight floors 8 GIANT’S CAUSEWAY as we delve into the life, industry and Northern Ireland’s first World Heritage Site politics of Belfast at the start of the 20th and one of its most visited attractions. Myths century. It’s extraordinary how a museum and legends have surrounded the unusual with so few original exhibits has won basalt formations and columns for international accolades. Other Titanic centuries. In Irish mythology, they were built Quarter maritime attractions include the by Finn McCool, an Irish giant, hunter- OMAGH SS Nomadic, Titanic’s tender ship, and a warrior and leader of the Fianna. Join guide fully restored WWI warship HMS Caroline. Charles Howell to discover this unique geological site with its dramatic views of the 4 THE GOBBINS CLIFF PATH AND Atlantic Ocean. Visit nearby Dunluce Castle ISLAND MAGEE and cross the Carrig-a-Rede rope bridge. Experience the dramatic path that clings to the coast beneath 200 ft cliffs on Island 9 SEAMUS HEANEY HOME PLACE FINTONA Magee along the Causeway Coastal Route. Born in County Londonderry in 1939, Attracting over 100,000 visitors annually, in Seamus Heaney became one of Ireland’s IRVINESTOWN the 1920s the cliff path became derelict, but most successful and prolific poets. He drew has recently undergone a multi-million his inspiration from the place of his boyhood pound restoration. After a safety briefing at a and many of his poems describe the area, BALLINAMALLARD nearby interpretative centre, travel by capturing the landscape and its people. In minibus to the access path. Tourists are 2016 Seamus Heaney Home Place opened at FIVEMILETOWN rewarded with fantastic vistas of the Irish Bellaghy. Blue Badge Guide Eugene Kielt Sea and coast across 12 bridges and a cave. has been running award-winning tours of Join Blue Badge Guide Justin McCartney Heaney Country from his family-owned ENNISKILLEN for a visit to this beautiful peninsula and guest house. They include sites associated historic sites that include the location for with the poet’s work and provide an insight Ireland’s last witch trial. into the inspiration of a poet described as ‘the most important of our generation’. 5 THE WALLED CITY OF 2 LONDONDERRY/DERRY 10 GAME OF THRONES LISNASKEA Northern Ireland’s second largest city, This medieval fantasy series has become a Derry was the last walled city built in broadcast sensation that attracts screen MARBLE ARCH CAVES Europe. A tour of the walls offers great tourists to Northern Ireland from around views of the city, says Blue Badge Guide the world, captivated by stunning CLONES Finola Faller, and includes the historic gate landscapes and historic filming locations closed by the Apprentice Boys during the used in the HBO series. Blue Badge Guide siege of 1689. Hear about more recent Maureen Maginnis’s tours visit sites political events known as ‘The Troubles’, including The Dark Hedges – one of the including the fateful ‘Bloody Sunday’. Tour most iconic settings in the series – includes a visit to St Columb’s Cathedral Audley’s Castle and Castle Ward Stables, and the award-winning Tower Museum. location for ‘Winterfell’.

6 8 BALLINTOY BUSHMILLS THE GUIDES’ GUIDE TO PORTRUSH TORR CASTLEROCK NORTHERN IRELAND COLERAINE ARMOY CUSHENDUN

CUSHENDALL BALLYMONEY GOBBINS CLIFF PATH LIMAVADY

CARNLOUGH

DUNGIVEN GIANT’S CAUSEWAY CLAUDY FEENY BROUGHSHANE BALLYGALLEY PORTGLENONE BALLYMENA LARNE 4 9

MAGHERAFELT SEAMUS HEANEY HOME PLACE ANTRIM

BANGOR COOKSTOWN 3 BELFAST POMEROY NEWTOWNARDS 7 DUNMURRY COALISLAND BALLYWATER LISBURN ARMAGH CITY DUNGANNON MOUNT STEWART LURGAN HOUSE MOY PORTADOWN ST PATRICK’S COUNTRY BALLYNAHINCH

PORTAFERRY 6 1 ARMAGH BANBRIDGE 10 DOWNPATRICK GLASLOUGH GAME OF THRONES

ARDGLASS CASTLEWELLAN RATHFRILAND NEWCASTLE

Find out more about and contact the NEWRY guides featured in this Top Ten at www.nitga.co.uk or visit www.itg.org.uk

WARRENPOINT ANNALONG

 KILKEEL

7 8 Feature while 11,766saidthey were followers THE Marc Zakianlooksatthehistory ofdruids, wizards and religion; some56,620selectedPagan 4,189 peopledeclared druidastheir ancient times. Inthe2011census, was officially recognised asa more druidstoday thanin of . In2010, druidry religion by theCharity There are probably Commission. MAGIC OF BRITAIN witches and uncovers the story of modern magic

The druids are Britain’s most famous magicians. We know that they worshipped in small oak These mysterious Celtic leaders were healers, woods where they cut mistletoe – regarded as high priests and astrologers who divined a magical plant, because it flowers in winter – information about the past and future from the from the trees. stars. They made predictions by sacrificing Druid traditions – though, thankfully, not animals and also – according to one historian – sacrifices – were revived in the 18th century. humans, plunging a dagger into a victim and The poet and mystic William Blake became ‘observing the way the limbs convulse and fall a druid, taking part in ritual ceremonies. and the gushing of blood’. The most unlikely modern druid was The word druid means ‘wise person of the oak’. Winston Churchill.

The word druid means ‘wise person of the oak’. We know that they worshipped in small oak woods

9 10 Feature King Arthur. an intimatetryst withIgraine, aunionthatledtothebirthof Uther Pendragon sothathecouldenter Tintagel Castlefor blade andbecamethe ‘once andfuture king’. one was abletodraw thesword untilyoung Arthur freed the only therightfulheircouldpullbladefrom therock. No king. Merlinthrustasword intothestone, declaringthat became aroyal advisor taskedwithfindingBritain’s true stories. Bornthesonofanincubus(demon)andanun, he many historiansinsistthatnosuchkingever existed. leader, anadvisor tofifth-century king Vortigern –though claims thatMerlinwas actuallyareal lifeRomano-British somewhere betweenmyth, legendandhistory. Oneexpert Merlin isBritain’s mostcelebrated wizard. Helivesontoday, MERLIN In anotherlegend, Merlinaltered theappearance ofKing For mostofusMerlinisthemagusfrom the Arthurian right across thecountry, oftennexttosacred monuments. cross over asyou move over theline. There are linesrunning the two rods heldlooselyinyour handandtherods should from acoathanger). StandtothewestofStonehengewith need two metalrods bentatrightangles(they canbemade fields. that thelinesfollowedmysterious magnetic underground and dowsetheley lines, withmany enthusiastsclaiming with mystical andspiritualpowers. People startedtotry attributed any supernatural significancetoleys. whose namescontainedthesyllableley. Watkins never coined theterm ‘ley’ becausethey passedthrough places ancient trackways, pathways across thelandscape. He archaeologist Alfred Watkins whobelieved thelineswere monuments andmegaliths. These are knownasley lines. the earth. Pathways thatconnectourmostsacred ancient Imagine asequenceofinvisible energy linesthatrunbelow THE LEYOFLAND near andfarthroughout theyear. but theplaceweaves itsownspecialmagiconvisitorsfrom druids, particularlyduringthesummerandwintersolstices, the druids. culture, butmany peoplestillassociatethemonumentwith Stonehenge was builtthousandsofyears before theCeltic archaeology hasshownthat it a ‘Temple Druidum’. Modern was builtby thedruids, calling claimed thatthestonecircle antiquarian John Aubrey from Ireland to Wiltshire. caused thegiantstonestofly was builtby Merlin, who According tomedieval legendit most mysterious monuments. in Wiltshire isoneofEngland’s The great Neolithicstonecircle STONEHENGE If you would liketotry todowsetheley linesyou will During the1960sideaofley linesbecameassociated The phrase was coinedin1921by theamateur Stonehenge continuestobeapilgrimagesiteformodern During the1700s

Some 2,000 so called witches were unmarked graves and with iron rivets WITCHES burned at the stake in Scotland. In driven through their joints. This was In medieval England witches were England, however, it was fewer than to make sure a witch could not return folk healers – local people or family 500 and the punishment was usually from the grave. members who performed magic to death by hanging. Hopkins was responsible for over cure illnesses, banish bad weather Almost half the English death toll 300 executions, but eventually people and prevent crops from failing. was accounted for in one county: grew tired of him and villagers Many witches were employed to Essex. Here the self-appointed refused him entry. Legend says he undo evil spells. Girdle-measurers witchfinder general, the Puritan returned to Manningtree where he specialised in diagnosing ailments fanatic Matthew Hopkins persecuted himself was accused of . caused by fairies, while charmers hundreds of women. He began his In reality, he died of consumption gave magical cures for burns or work in Manningtree accusing seven in 1647. toothache. Toad Doctors cured the women of talking to imps and The enthusiasm for killing witches sick by placing a live toad in a muslin attempting to kill him by conjuring waned. The last witch-hanging in bag and hanging it around the sick up the devil in the form of a bear. England took place in 1682. But the person’s neck. Witch fever gripped East Anglia in Witchcraft Act was not repealed During the 1600s witches became 1645 and 1646. Hopkins had 68 until 1951. the target of persecutions. The attack people put to death in Bury St. was led by King James I who wrote Edmunds and in a single day 19 an 80 page treatise on witchcraft hanged at . He then set off THE called Daemononlogie. The king even for Norfolk and Suffolk. Aldeburgh In August 1612, three generations participated in witch trials. paid him £6 for clearing the town of of one family known as the Pendle Most people accused of witchcraft witches, King’s Lynn £15. This at a Witches, were marched through were poor, old women. Those time when the daily wage was 2.5p. the crowded streets of Lancaster unfortunate enough to be ‘crone-like’, Hopkins identified witches by their and hanged. snaggle-toothed, sunken cheeked and Devil’s Marks – a wart or mole or Six of the eleven ‘witches’ on trial having a hairy lip were assumed to even a flea-bite. He used his ‘jabbing came from two feuding families, the possess the ‘Evil Eye’; if they also had needle’ to see if these marks were Demdike and the Chattox – both a cat, this ‘’ was further proof. insensitive to pain. His ‘needle’ was a headed by old, poverty-stricken three inch long spike which retracted widows. Old Demdike had been into the spring-loaded handle. known as a witch for fifty years; it There were other proofs for was an accepted part of life in the witches. Mary Sutton of Bedford was 16th century that there were village put to the swimming test. With her healers who practised magic and Hannah Green was a thumbs tied to her big toes she was dealt in herbs and medicines. Yorkshire woman known as flung into the river. If she floated she The story began when one of the the ‘Ling Bob Witch’. She worked was guilty, if she sank, innocent. Poor accused, Alizon Device, asked a local as a fortune teller during the Mary floated. pedlar for some pins. When he late 1700s, reading people’s A last reminder of Hopkins’ reign refused her she cursed him and he tea leaves and making prophesies. of terror was discovered in St. Osyth, suffered a stroke. Alizon was hauled When she died in 1810, she had Essex in 1921. Two female skeletons in front of the justice and confessed, accumulated a personal fortune were found in a garden, pinned into accusing her grandmother Old of £1,000, the equivalent of £1m in modern 11 money. Demdike and several members of the Chattox family of witchcraft.

The trials were held at Lancaster. Old Demdike never Gallery © National Portrait reached trial; the dark, dank dungeon in which they were

Feature imprisoned killed her. Nine year old Jennet Device was the key witness, allowed to testify under the King James witch trials rules – someone so young would not normally have been able to give evidence. When Jennet testified against Elizabeth (her mother), she had to be removed from the Issac court – screaming and cursing her daughter. Gallery © National Portrait Photos This one series of trials in the summer of 1612 accounts The manuscript containing the formula was found in the for 2% of all witches executed in England. documents of Sir Isaac Newton. The father of modern science, who defined the motion of the planets and the properties of light, spent half his career dabbling in the THE QUEEN’S SCRYER illicit magic of alchemy. In 1547 an audience gathered in Cambridge for a Newton wrote more than one million words about performance of a play by Aristophanes. When a giant flying alchemy throughout his life, most of it in secret code beetle took to the stage the terrified onlookers fled the because anyone caught practicing this dark art would be theatre, convinced that the devil had entered the building. punished by public hanging from a gilded scaffold. The story is testimony to the superstitious world of Tudor In his notebooks, Newton gave his ingredients bizarre coded England. They were convinced that spirits, wizards and alchemic names such as the ‘green lion’ and the ‘sworded witches moved among them – anyone who collaborated whore’, elements he used in hours of chemical experiments. with these demons risked execution. A deeply religious man, Newton calculated the date of the The flying insect was actually a stage illusion created by end of universe and came up with the year 2060. , who was accused of sorcery and questioned by In the 1980s researchers analysed locks of Newton’s hair the authorities. Evading formal charges, the great magus and found they contained high levels of mercury – quick- left for London to make his way as a philosopher, diviner silver was considered one of the magic metals that was the and astronomer. key to alchemy. Dee drew up astrological charts for Bloody Mary and was promptly accused of ‘lewd practices of conjuring to enchant Queen Mary’. Imprisoned for months, he was eventually THE BEAST AND THE BEATLES released without conviction. Aleister Crowley was one of the most controversial figures When Mary died, the superstitious Elizabeth I took the of the first half of the 20th century. This wizard and occultist throne. Dee’s moment had arrived, he was commanded to held ritual gatherings at his home involving robed figures determine the best day for her coronation. He was also dancing around pentagrams, esoteric rituals and potions recruited as an agent by the Queen’s spymaster made from apple juice mixed with opiates and mescaline, all Walsingham, who gave him the code name 007. When an drunk from golden bowls. image of the queen was found in Lincoln’s Inn Fields with a Crowley himself was a witty, wealthy, maverick author pin stuck through the heart, Dee was responsible for and the self-titled ‘Great Beast’. He founded the religion counteracting this evil. of Thelema, naming himself as the prophet entrusted with John Dee is celebrated as England’s last royal wizard. guiding humanity into the Æon of Horus in the early 20th century. Having burned his way through a family inheritance – an MERCURY MAN estimated at £3m – Crowley died in poverty in 1947. But his Take one part Fiery Dragon, add some Doves of Diana, mix influence on British popular culture lives on. Crowley was in seven Eagles of Mercury. This is the ancient alchemical included as one of the figures on the cover art of The Beatles’ formula for ‘sophick mercury’, the key ingredient of the album Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and his motto of philosopher’s stone, that magical substance that will turn ‘Do What Thou Wilt’ was inscribed on the vinyl of Led base metal into gold. Zeppelin’s album Led Zeppelin III.

John Dee experiments in front of Queen Elizabeth I CROSS PURPOSE John Dee was a member of a society of mystics known as the Rosicrucians. Originating in ancient Europe, its symbol is a cross with a rose at its centre (the Rosy Cross). Rosicrucians believe that secret wisdom has been handed down to them from ancient times. This knowledge was laid out in the book The Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz, published in 1616. JK Rowling’s Harry Potter stories were influenced by this book. Fans have noted dozens of similarities; both books feature mystery beasts, such as the phoenix, the unicorn and the griffin, and meals are served up by invisible servants in a hall lightened by floating candles. 12 Visits

Blue Badge Guides offer guided tours on the theme of magic or ghosts across the UK. We take people to Stonehenge, and some of our guides will show you how to dowse the ley lines. To unlock Britain’s hidden treasures visit www.britainsbestguides.org

THE MUSEUM OF Is JK Rowling a WITCHCRAFT AND MAGIC modern alchemist? In 1998 Witchcraft Museum (pictured the Harry Potter author said: “I’ve left), is dedicated to witchcraft never wanted to be a witch, but an and magic. Located in the alchemist, now that’s a different matter. village of Boscastle in , To invent this wizard world I’ve learnt a it is the largest exhibition ridiculous amount about alchemy. dedicated to folk magic, Perhaps much of it I’ll never use in the ceremonial magic, books, but I have to know Freemasonry and Wicca in detail what magic in the world. can and cannot do.” museumofwitchcraftand magic.co.uk

Visits

THE LAST TUESDAY SOCIETY IN HACKNEY is London’s museum of curiosities. Created by Viktor Wynd, it features a unique collection of curios and curiosities, including two- headed kittens, a merman and many other objects from the world of magic. www.thelasttuesdaysociety.org

THE MAGIC CIRCLE MUSEUM IN LONDON is home to the magic world’s most important memorabilia, including handcuffs used by Harry Houdini and props used by HRH Prince of Wales during his induction into the mysterious Magic Circle. By appointment only. www.themagiccircle.co.uk 13 Tall Queen Elizabeth II sent her first email Stories in 1976

King Charles I’s favourite amusement was to have the queen’s 18-inch-tall dwarf, Jeffrey Hudson placed between two pieces of bread, and for the 7’6” court giant, the Welshman William Evans to pretend to eat him. In 1644 Hudson challenged the brother of William Crofts, the Master of the Horse, LEGEN to a duel. Crofts thought the dwarf was joking and arrived with a water pistol. Hudson shot Crofts and was condemned to death – a sentence that was commuted to exile. LIE Monkey Business

Following his victory and death at the Battle of Trafalgar, Admiral Horatio Nelson’s body was transported back to England preserved in a FACTS AND cask of ‘refined spirits’ – supposedly either French brandy or rum. The story goes that when the barrel was opened the liquor was gone, the sailors having drilled a hole in the bottom of the cask and drunk all the spirits through straws – a naval tradition known as ‘sucking the monkey’ or ‘tapping the admiral’.

Notorious philanderer King Edward VII earned himself the nickname ‘Edward the Caresser’. An Indian maharaja was so was impressed by the king’s passion FWOOAR! for women (and golf) that he presented him with a gift of a golf bag made from an elephant’s penis.

14 High-Brow Ladies 2007 Fairy © The Graphics During the 18th century many aristocratic women wore false eyebrows made of mouse fur. They would trim a glossy mouse pelt into shape and glue it to their forehead. Unfortunately, these glued-on brows had a habit of coming unstuck, and many a society lady had trouble keeping her dignity whilst covertly trying NDSto reposition a wayward eyebrow. ES, AND

Bacon’s Rash FICTION FROM BRITISH HISTORY Experiment In 1626 Sir Francis Bacon stuffed a chicken with snow in an ❄ ❄ attempt to prove that ✳ meat could be frozen and ❄ preserved. Bacon died of ❄ a chill following the experiment. The ghost of the chicken is said to haunt Pond Square in London’s Highgate Village. Cecil Calvert, Lord Baltimore and the first governor of Maryland ruled for 42 years without ever visiting his state or setting foot in America.

❄ ❄ ❄ ❄ ❄ ❄ 15 Feature A child’s EYE VIEW of E Photos © National Trust Images/Chris Lacey © National Trust Photos

It’s difficult not to look at the southern Lakes – rocky shores plunging into water of fathomless depth, distant fells and sturdy stone farmhouses – without thinking of Jemima Puddleduck or

www.britainsbestguides.org the hearty, dinghy-sailing Walker children Coniston Water 16 ENGLAND

Sophie Campbell visits the landscapes and locations that inspired some of our greatest children’s literature Every so often, while pottering through urban streets or countryside, I find myself wondering if a rock might split open to reveal a tunnel, or birds start speaking, or passing walkers turn out to be controlled by some darker power. It’s not impossible – or it’s certainly not if you read a lot as a child. So many authors of children’s fiction, from Malcolm Savile to Michael Morpurgo, from Alan Garner to J K Rowling, from Rosemary Sutcliffe to Philip Pullman, have placed their books firmly in our landscape, sometimes overlaid with fantasy, sometimes using real landscape features – or real streets in a town or city. Then there are the writers themselves; the places they lived in, or loved. It all adds an extra dimension to a place, a pleasing, borrowed nostalgia. It’s a fine reason for going somewhere. And it makes a great tour.

17 Feature

Loughrigg Tarn

substantial Lakeland landowner (she Beatrix Potter’s first view of the Lakes LAKE DISTRICT left the lot to the National Trust). as a 16-year old. From April to It’s difficult not to look at the southern Almost simultaneously, baby Arthur November you can take the bike- Lakes – rocky shores plunging into Ransome – later journalist and author friendly boat from Brockhole Visitor water of fathomless depth, distant fells of the Swallows & Amazons novels – Centre (once owned by Beatrix’s and sturdy stone farmhouses – without holidayed south of Coniston Water cousin), then bus or bike to Hill Top, thinking of Jemima Puddleduck or the with his family, learning to sail in a her first farmhouse, slate-roofed and hearty, dinghy-sailing Walker children. dinghy called Swallow. sturdy among lush woods. Film buffs Beatrix Potter, countrywoman, Start at Wray Castle, a Victorian can visit the isolated pool of Loughrigg naturalist, author and illustrator, first Gothic confection overlooking Tarn, north of Windermere, with views Corbett Images/Val © National Trust visited as a teenager and ended up a Windermere; this would have been to Langdale Pikes. Or stay at the

Stay at the white washed, seventeenth- century Yew Tree Farm, which doubled as Hill Top in the film Miss Potter – and where Mrs Tiggy-Winkle might emerge at any second with the washing

Beatrix Potter

Yew Tree Farm 18 A young Beatrix Potter whitewashed, seventeenth-century Yew Tree Farm, north of Coniston Water, which doubled as Hill Top in the film Miss Potter – and where Mrs Tiggy-Winkle might emerge at any second with the washing. Arthur Ransome lived on the far side of Windermere but set the books in an amalgam of both lakes. There is something eerie about Coniston, a blackness to the water, and the National Trust’s Peel Island, the original Wild Cat Island, is the perfect antidote. It looks like a richly-wooded humpback whale and you can hire a canoe or boat and paddle (or sail) down for the day. If not duffers... © National Trust Images/Paul Harris Images/Paul © National Trust

Grounds of Wray Castle, Cumbria

19 The church at Cookham Feature

Henley-on-Thames

The village green at Cookham

aiming for a minnow or stickleback. stoats and weasels. THAMES VALLEY There are herons and crested grebes Upstream at Henley (Salter’s In 1908 Kenneth Grahame sat down to and vole holes owned by Ratty’s Steamers are a lovely way to skive the write The Wind in the Willows in descendants. The path detours walk in summer) find Temple Island, Cookham Dean, Berkshire. His house, through Cookham Village (home to start point for the annual Regatta and Herries, is now a prep school, but the the Stanley Spencer Gallery) and over once the boathouse for Fawley Court. gentle, sylvan atmosphere of the tale is the river; re-cross at Marlow to explore This handsome seventeenth-century easily recreated on the 20-mile stretch Quarry Wood, a 400-year old mansion is a strong contender for the of Thames Path running west from Woodland Trust beech forest between original Toad Hall. End your day with Cookham Lock to Henley-on-Thames. Marlow and Cookham. It was almost a visit to The Wind in the Willows Get up early and you may see a certainly the inspiration for the Wild exhibition at Henley’s River and kingfisher arrow into the water, Wood, home to Badger and the odious Rowing Museum. 20 St Paul’s Cathedral

Paddington Bear at Paddington Station

to the stucco splendour of Portobello; LONDON Paddington found a home here in its Three towering children’s literary stars shabbier days – with the Browns in have emerged from the smoke and fictional Windsor Gardens – and creator chimney pots of London town – Peter Michael Bond still lives in the area. The Pan, Mary Poppins and Paddington Bear. original bear came from , West of the Serpentine in Kensington merged with Barkers of Kensington in Gardens is a bronze statue of Peter – in the books to become ‘Barkridges.’ full crow atop a cairn alive with animals From the Roof Gardens next to the and fairies – that appeared overnight in former Barkers, you can survey several 1912, although commissioned by his billion pounds’ worth of chim-chiminey creator J M Barrie a decade earlier. pots. It’s one of the little reminders all Walk up to the Italian Gardens and left over town that although Mary Poppins on the (Barrie has a Blue was shot in Burbank, the story belongs Plaque at No 100) before doubling back here, P L Travers’ home at 50 Smith to Paddington Station. Here, in the Street, Chelsea; George Gilbert Scott’s soaring train shed built by Brunel in the house on Admiral’s Walk, Hampstead – 1850s, a small Peruvian bear was found a surely, with two roof decks once adorned century later sitting on his suitcase with miniature cannon, the original wearing a battered hat. His statue is Admiral Boom’s house; the Bank of under the Victorian clock on Platform 1 England, where young Michael Banks and until the new Paddington Shop caused a currency panic. Oh, and St opens in 2017 (in time for Paddington 2), Paul’s Cathedral. Remember ‘Feed the there’s a pop-up on Platform 12. Go west birds, tuppence a bag’? In a snowglobe?

Admiral’s House, Hampstead

21 Oxford’s Bodleian Library

alumnus and mathematics don its blind arcading in golden stone, OXFORD Charles Dodgson, aka Lewis Carroll, lintel inscriptions denoting mediaeval Where to begin in the city of dreaming and Dean Liddell, whose daughter was ‘scholae’ and ancient chain library, authors? Perhaps with Philip Pullman, the ‘real’ Alice. The panelled Hall – its where Harry Potter and Dark Materials whose Dark Materials trilogy begins in long tables glittering with glass and filming took place. Leave by the north Jordan College, home to anti-heroine cutlery, stained glass windows door and pop left to see the Lyra. It’s a wickedly irreverent portrait featuring characters from Alice and contemporary grotesques on the of Pullman’s own college, Exeter, with tiny doors behind High Table, Divinity School; the dodo refers to hints of others thrown in. Lyra’s Oxford apparently, inspiration for the Charles ‘Do-Do-Dodgson’ (his own is not golden but dark and menacing, disappearing White Rabbit – found reference to his stammer). connected to London by zeppelin. Start new fame in 2001 as the model for Finish at the Eagle & Child on St west in Jericho, by the Oxford Canal, Hogwarts’ dining room in the Harry Giles, a pub owned by St John’s where much early action is set and Potter films. Its fan-vaulted staircase College whose arch nickname ‘The traverse the golden heart – including supported Maggie Smith as Minerva Bird & Baby’ was bestowed by the the ‘Bodleian Library’ and ‘green- McGonagall, admonishing small glitterati who drank there in the domed Sheldon’ – to one of the world’s trainee wizards. 1930s-40s – authors J R R Tolkien and oldest Botanic Gardens and ‘Lyra’s The Bodleian Library is a must, with C S Lewis among them. Bench’, which figures in a later book. Christ Church, ‘The House’, is rich in The Bodleian Library is a must, with its blind literary references; it was famous first for its Alice in Wonderland pedigree, arcading in golden stone, lintel inscriptions including dining hall portraits of denoting mediaeval ‘scholae’

Christ Church College Hall The Eagle and Child pub, Oxford. JK Rowling 22 Home to the Inklings writers Radcliffe Camera, Oxford. Inspiration for Sauron’s temple to Morgothon Númenor in The Lord of the Rings and Lyra’s Oxford in His Dark Materials

Oxford grotesque 23 • Famous Sites • Museums and Galleries • Walking Tours • Themed Tours • Contemporary Britain JOIN US FOR A

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24 No one has captured the otherness of the British landscape better than Alan Garner Alderley Edge, Cheshire

and the Golden Stone (on which, in Don’t write it off as a ‘bunny boiler’, CHESHIRE the book, a stromkarl sits playing a his leporine world is as complex as No one has captured the otherness of harp), actually a mediaeval boundary that of any Hobbit, written from a the British landscape better than Alan stone and Scheduled Monument. rabbit’s viewpoint. If quiet, there’s a Garner, who set his bestselling 1960 Walk through beech woods to Stormy lay-by up on White Hill (off the B3015 novel The Weirdstone of Brisingamen in Point: on a clear day there is south of ), turn west and the Cheshire of his childhood, Manchester, 12 miles to the north. walk through stands of trees to the borrowing some of its legends while Even the copper mines open every so high chalk; great swoops of open grass he was at it. Many landmarks he often, courtesy of the Derbyshire with views north over the real mentions are real and quite easy to Caving Club. Start from The Wizard’s Nuthanger Farm, Andrew Lloyd find, especially when armed with OS Inn in Nether Alderley; a pint or two Webber’s Sydmonton estate, the Explorer Map 268. Alderley Edge, for of Bosley Cloud and you’ll be seeing Baldings’ stud at Kingsclere and even, starters, a whopping great sandstone stromkarls all over the shop. to the west, Downton Abbey (Highclere escarpment rearing up over the Castle). It’s one of the wealthiest parts Cheshire Plain, long associated with a of England, but up here there is wind, myth of sleeping warriors in a HAMPSHIRE peace, the bowl of The Warren – where subterranean cave. Garner even There really is a place called Watership the rabbits dug their new Honeycomb describes the chimneys of huge Down and it happens to be a glorious home – and the remains of an Iron mansions peeking above the trees at part of the North Wessex Downs. This Age outpost fort at Ladle Hill. Early in one end, now probably owned by steep hillside in north Hampshire was the morning you might see thorough- Premier League footballers. Look for immortalised by writer Richard Adams breds thundering past on the gallops. the Wizard’s Well, the Druids’ Circle in his eponymous 1972 rabbit novel. Or a stray rabbit.

Many Blue Badge Guides specialise in children’s literature tours. To visit the places featured here with one of our guides go to: www.britainsbestguides.org

25 1 tangible history, simply presented, as you Home to the most famous ponies in the watch staff weaving silk today. The visit is From almshouses world, this is also Blue Badge Guide Diana rounded off with coffee and cake in the Mill to Jane Austen’s Callaghan’s favourite place to take visitors. Tea Room, or with the ducks on the lawn by There’s plenty to see, including Exbury the river. house, our Gardens with its fabulous flower collection 10.30am-5.00pm Tues to Sun. and the car fans’ paradise at the National Hampshire guides 7 Motor Museum, Beaulieu. Tours by WINCHESTER CATHEDRAL foot, bike or car take you from nature The only cathedral with an international tell us about their to sea side. chart-topping pop song to its name. This magnificent medieval church has been at Top Ten visits 2 the heart of the city for 900 years, says CITY ART ANDOVER GALLERY Green Badge Guide Kate Colwill. Its The Guides’ Guide Guides’ The Home to one of the finest collections treasures include a beautiful 12th century outside the capital, the gallery spans eight bible, tombs of English kings and the THRUXTON centuries of Western art housed in a grave of author Jane Austen. In 2005, the magnificent classical 1930s gallery. Green building was used as a film set for The Da GOODWORTH Badge Guide Nigel Philpott always makes a Vinci Code. CLATFORD point of showing visitors Lowry’s famous 9.30am-5.00pm Sun 12.30am-3.00pm painting of Southampton’s Floating Bridge. winchester-cathedral.org.uk Once you have enjoyed the art, pop next 8 door to the wonderful SeaCity Museum HOSPITAL OF ST CROSS, 10.00am-3.00pm southampton.gov.uk WINCHESTER Founded in 1132, it has been called 3 ROMSEY ABBEY ‘England’s most perfect almshouse’. It is STOCKBRIDGE Sitting in a picturesque valley next to the also England’s oldest charity, says you’ll discover one of England’s Winchester City Green Badge Guide Colin finest Norman churches, according to local Cook, and today its medieval buildings WINCHESTER CATHEDRAL Green Badge Guide Annette Lodge. Apart continue to be home for 23 elderly from its remarkable architecture and ‘Brothers’ in surroundings little changed setting, the abbey is home to medieval wall since the Reformation. Visitors may still paintings, a Titanic memorial, 10th century claim the ‘Wayfarer’s Dole’ and enjoy its crucifixes, the grave of Earl Mountbatten tranquil setting that featured in the BBC’s and an extraordinary relic of the hair of a adaptation of Wolf Hall. Saxon princess. Summer 9.30am-5.00pm Sun pm only. Mon-Sat 7.30am-6.00pm Sun 11.00am- Winter 10.30am-3.30pm 6.00pm romseyabbey.org.uk hospitalofstcross.co.uk

4 BISHOP’S WALTHAM 9 CHAWTON ROMSEY This residence recalls the power and Blue Badge Guide Christina Reid runs wealth of baron bishops of the 12th tours for literature fans to Chawton, the 3 century. Commissioned by Bishop Henry de Hampshire village where Jane Austen Blois, brother of King Stephen, the palace spent the last and most productive ROMSEY ABBEY was destroyed during the English Civil War. years of her life. In 2017, Chawton will The last bishop to reside here, Bishop commemorate the bicentenary of the Walter Curl, had to escape by hiding in a writer’s death with special exhibitions at dung-cart. Join Blue Badge Guide Don Jane Austen’s House Museum and garden Bryan to discover the stories behind the where she lived and wrote, and at Chawton ruins, before exploring the charming House Library in the Elizabethan Manor TOTTON town centre. House that belonged to her brother. Weekends 10.00am-4.00pm. jane-austens-house-museum.org.uk 10.30am-4.00pm chawtonhouse.org 1 5 HAMBLEDON 1.30pm-4.30pm Sun-Fri. Hambledon is not just a pretty village New Forest nestling in a wooded valley in the South 10 D DAY MUSEUM, National Park Downs National Park. The Saxon church Specifically built to house the stunning with its ancient yew looks out over the Overlord Embroidery, which in 34 vibrant NEW FOREST village where the modern rules of cricket panels recounts the build up to the were codified in the 18th century; here, Normandy Invasion in June 1944. Blue King George VI reviewed his troops before Badge Guide Madeleine Salvetti’s tours D Day in 1944, and here the first British follow the stories of spirit and teamwork of vineyard since medieval times was planted the combatants, brought to life by the BROCKENHURST in the early 1950s. collection of artefacts and vehicles. Next to Local Blue Badge Guide, James King the museum is Southsea Castle where will show you this beautiful corner of Henry VIII watched his Mary Rose flagship Hampshire. capsize in 1545. Apr-Sep 10.00am-5.30pm Oct-Mar 6 WHITCHURCH SILK MILL 10.00am-5.00pm ddaymuseum.co.uk Let Blue Badge Guide Steve Heath LYMINGTON introduce you to the world of silk weaving. NEW MILTON This 19th century water-powered mill in a beautiful River Test setting is at the heart of Whitchurch. This is a chance to see MILFORD ON SEA

26 TADLEY

WHITCHURCH SILK MILL

CHINEHAM FARNBOROUGH HOOK THE GUIDES’ GUIDEFLEET TO BASINGSTOKE OAKLEY OVERTON WHITCHURCH HAMPSHIRE 6

SUTTON SCOTNEY ALTON

9 MEDSTEAD CHAWTON FOUR MARKS BORDON

SELBORNE NEW ALRESFORD LIPHOOK 7 WINCHESTER HOSPITAL OF 8 ST CROSS LISS BISHOP’S WALTHAM

PETERSFIELD EASTLEIGH 4

SOUTHAMPTON 5 HAMBLEDON CITY ART GALLERY HAMBLEDON 2 SOUTHAMPTON

HYTHE HAMBLE-LE-RICE FAREHAM HAVANT

BEAULIEU Take a tour with the guides featured in this TopTen by visiting PORTSMOUTH • winchestertouristguides.com HAYLING • romseyguidedwalks.org.uk GOSPORT ISLAND • wessextourguides.org.uk 10 • southamptontouristguides.com or for more information go to www.itg.org.uk

 D DAY MUSEUM 27 Tour de Force Tour www.britainsbestguides.org

Hull Marina

28 One day last summer Sarah Milne-Day found a mysterious trail of blue marks in her house. “They were all over the floor, the Yorkshire furniture, kitchen and bathroom,” she explains. “I was convinced someone had broken in – until my boyfriend walked in covered in Blue Badge body paint. His ‘explanation’ was that he had been walking around town all night naked.” Guide Sarah Sarah’s partner – along with several thousand Hull residents – had stripped off for a night-time photo series by the celebrated Milne-Day American artist Spencer Tunick. The images will be part of a celebration of everything Hull as it steps into the spotlight as the invites us to 2017 UK City of Culture. “It’s a fitting way to commemorate the city,” says Sarah. “Hull go to Hull has a long history of being unconventional. It refuses to be typecast and defies the cliché of being a run-down end of the line place where all trains terminate. A visit here will reward you for the effort. “Hull’s contrarian outlook is best summed up by its phone boxes. While in the rest of the UK they were all red, Hull – which was never part of the national network – went it alone with Yorkshire white cabins. These beacons of independence are proudly maintained. When local boxer Luke Campbell won a medal at the 2012 Olympics, they celebrated him by painting both a post box and phone cabin gold. “This rebellious spirit is reflected in the city’s politics. During the Civil War Yorkshire was a Royalist county, firmly behind Charles I. But when the king’s forces tried to enter Hull they were blocked by Parliamentarians. The leader of the rebels was Sir John Hotham, the five-times-married governor of Hull. He called a meeting at his residence; now called Ye Olde White Hart Inn – in Hotham’s time it was known as ‘The Plotting Parlour’. Following a majority vote, the gates of Hull were closed and the town besieged.

A HULL OF A TIME

29 Tour de force Tour

Sir John escaped the siege, but was arrested and taken to “But perhaps the ultimate symbol of independence is London where he was executed in 1645. Today the old inn is Britain’s greatest aviatrix. Amy Johnson was born in Hull, one of the city’s best-loved buildings, celebrating Hull’s the daughter of a wealthy fish factory owner. She learned to republican sympathies – rather ironic in a city originally named fly in 1928 and her hobby soon became an all-consuming Kingston-on-Hull in 1293 for King Edward I. mission to prove that women could be top-class aviators. “Nobody sums up this rebellious politics more than the man “In 1930, Amy set off alone from Croydon and flew 11,000 behind the abolition of the slave trade. William Wilberforce was miles to Darwin. She was the first woman to fly alone to born in Hull in 1759 and rose to become the city’s MP. He Australia and returned home to a hero’s welcome, greeted fought for years to abolish slavery and continued the struggle by a million people. She died 75 years ago; flying for the Air after resigning from parliament due to failing health. In 1833 Transport Auxiliary her plane crashed into the Thames the Slavery Abolition Act was passed; Wilberforce died three estuary – Amy’s body was never recovered and her death days after the legislation passed into law. remains a mystery. “The city felt so warmly to him that just five days after “Another of Hull’s contrarians is Phillip Larkin. He took a his death the mayor petitioned for a memorial to be built, job as a Hull University librarian, but spent his working a 102-foot high column, with his statue at the top – a hours writing poetry. He had a great affinity with the city, Nelson’s Column for Hull. Today his birth house is one of remarking ‘I never thought about Hull until I was here. the city’s museums. Having got here, it suits me in many ways. It is a little on the

William Wilberforce was born in Hull in 1759 and rose to become the city’s MP. He fought for years to abolish slavery and continued the struggle after resigning from parliament due to failing health

Olde White Harte The oldest pub in Hull

30 “When the fireworks are launched above the Humber Bridge on 1 January at 20.17pm to mark the start of Hull’s year as City of Culture, it will signal the start of 365 days of events – one for every day of the year”

For a tour of Hull with Sarah email [email protected]

edge of things’. Larkin chronicled the mundane details of daily life in verse, as one observer put it, ‘deprivation for him was what daffodils were to Wordsworth’”. Hull’s ‘modern poet’ is Paul Heaton. The musician arrived in the city over 30 years ago, made it his home and created two of its biggest cultural exports – The Housemartins and The Beautiful South. His first album was titled London 0 Hull 4. Heaton is excited about the City of Culture, noting that ‘people from Hull aren’t used to selling themselves and this accolade will give them a boost in self-confidence. I’ve spent years explaining to people where Hull is – at least now people will know’. “When the fireworks are launched above the Humber Bridge on 1 January at 20.17pm to mark the start of Hull’s year as City of Culture, it will signal the start of 365 days of events – one for every day of the year,” says Sarah. “It’s a great moment to welcome people to a city most people have never thought of visiting. For me it’s an opportunity to introduce visitors to the city’s maritime history, the revitalised dock area where HMS Bounty was built and from where Robinson Crusoe set sail. Everyone should take the train to the ‘city at the end of the line’”.

Wilberforce statue Museum Quarter and fountain

31 Blue Badge Guide Shivani Pareek talks about the Indian love affair with London

It was a visit from her aunt that inspired Square, for example, is forever

Tour de Force Tour Shivani Pareek to become a guide. “I associated with the 1995 blockbuster sent her on a tour of Westminster Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. The Abbey”, Shivani explains, “something I opening scene features the main did when I first arrived in London from character feeding the pigeons in Mumbai. I loved it. But when I asked my – my visitors are aunt if she’d enjoyed it, she smiled disappointed that pigeon feeding is sheepishly and confessed that she now banned. couldn’t understand the guide. “London’s political associations with “Many educated, older generation India are an important part of my tours. Indians are accustomed to Indian In the 1880s, Mahatma Gandhi came to English. British English, with its local London to study law. He was a student expressions and accent, can be almost at UCL and his room in impossible for them to follow. It was was so cold that during winter he spent clear that London needed some Indian- most of his time in born guides.” keeping warm. Though he tried to adopt Shivani’s road to becoming a Blue ‘English’ customs – including dancing Badge guide was a bumpy one. She lessons – he could not reconcile himself became pregnant during the course, to his landlady’s bland vegetarian food gave birth to her daughter two months and frequently went hungry, until he before the final exams and found herself found one of London’s few vegetarian doing tutorials from the maternity ward. restaurants. But the hard work paid off and she won “Gandhi returned to London in 1931 the annual student prize for best Tower for a political conference. The delegation of London guide. was invited for tea with King George V “The great thing about guiding at and Gandhi Indians in London is that they feel they attended dressed in his dhoti and shawl. already know the city,” says Shivani. And When one official remarked ‘sir, don’t while empire and immigration play an you think you were a little underdressed enormous part in this story, the biggest for the occasion, Gandhi replied ‘no, the single connection is Bollywood films. king dressed for both of us’”. “Many big Bollywood productions “Winston Churchill also passed film in London – often with amusing comment on Mahatma’s dress, cuts that show characters walking remarking that he was ‘posing as a directly from Buckingham Palace onto fakir… striding half-naked up the . It as has made these palace’. Gandhi calmly responded: ‘You locations famous across India – Trafalgar never left any clothes for us’. So there is

FROM www.britainsbestguides.org Photos: Marc Zakian Marc Photos: www.britainsbestguides.org The 32 “So when I tell tourists that Chicken Tikka Masala is the UK’s national dish, they just laugh. ‘If the British gave us cricket’, they say, ‘we gave them spicy food. ’”

BOLLYWOOD TO ST JOHN’S WOOD

33 Caxton Hall Tour de force Tour Basaveshwara Statue

an amusing irony that a statue of Gandhi – the second one in London – was unveiled in in 2015, directly opposite the statue of Churchill. Gandhi is the only non-politician commemorated in the square, as he never held office. “Across the river from Parliament in Lambeth is another statue of a celebrated Indian. The 12th century philosopher, poet and social reformer Basaveshwara is known as the ‘Father of Democracy’ and creator of the ‘Indian Magna Carta’. His bust was unveiled by the Indian Prime Minister in 2015. “One of the darker episodes in British-Indian politics took place at Caxton Hall in Westminster. Michael O’Dwyer was Governor of the Punjab in 1919 at the time of the massacre of peaceful protesters in Amritsar, which he condoned. Some 1,000 people were shot and killed. A young orphan, Udham Singh, was present at the massacre and narrowly avoided death. “In 1940 Singh made his way to London, to a meeting at Caxton Hall where O’Dwyer was due to speak. Singh shot O’Dwyer with two bullets, killing him outright. The Indian was tried and hanged at Pentonville Prison, and was buried within the grounds. “One of the darker episodes in “Many Indians are mystified by Britain’s imperialist rule. It’s British-Indian politics took place the question of size that baffles them. The UK is smaller than any of India’s 29 states and they find it hard to understand at Caxton Hall in Westminster.” how ‘such a small country managed to rule a country as big as ours’. “They are also intrigued by the wealthy Indians who have set up home in London. When the Hinduja brothers became the wealthiest men in Britain – with a fortune of some £15 billion in 2014 – their Carlton House residence became a ‘must see’ on a tour. “In recent years, some of these London-based businessmen have become rather notorious. Vijay Mallya, the Kingfisher Beer baron, made huge losses on an airline. He owes millions in India and has been hiding out in the UK. Subrata Roy, the owner of London’s Grosvenor House hotel, mortgaged the building to pay his bail in Delhi. I am thinking of offering an infamous Indians tour. “The most famous Indian personality to have a house in London these days is Sachin Tendulkar. His residence in St John’s Wood is a tourist stop-off on the way to Lord’s cricket ground. For the Indian tourist, cricket and food are our national symbols. “So when I tell tourists that Chicken Tikka Masala is the UK’s national dish, they just laugh. ‘If the British gave us cricket’, they say, ‘we gave them spicy food. That’s a good deal’”.

For a tour with Shivani Pareek go to www.namastebritain.co.uk

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