The Merry Maidens stone circle near Lamorna in Cornwall. Said to be local girls turned to stone for dancing on a Sunday. Three tall monoliths nearby are called “The Pipers”.
A Saxon cross shaft in the churchyard of St Peter in Heysham Lancashire. The carving shows the Holy Trinity. The cross was smashed by the hammers of the 17th Century Puritans and the upper half now houses a sundial in the same churchyard.
A stone coffin from Norman times in the churchyard of St Peters in Heysham Lancashire. Possibly it is the coffin of the Norman rector who had the Saxon church restored.
The chapel of St Patrick on the headland at Heysham, Lancashire. Legend says that St Patrick landed here on his journey from Ireland to Scotland. The chapel remained in use until it was destroyed in a Viking raid. The nearby church of St Peter was built shortly afterwards in 976 AD
Coffins hewn out of the bare rock, shaped for the head and with a socket for a cross above the head. Thought to have been made just prior to the Norman invasion in 1066. Heysham. Lancashire
A choir stall arm carving in St Mary's Priory Church, Lancaster
Lytham windmill, Lytham St Annes, Lancashire. The mill was burnt out when the wind started the sails turning the wrong way in 1905, causing a fire.
The tiny fire station at Singleton, a small village near Blackpool Lancashire, has found a new use as an electricity sub-station.
The “Lower” lighthouse at Fleetwood, Lancashire. There is a larger lighthouse situated a little inland. Boats approaching Fleetwood used to line up the two lights, thus knowing they were in the deep channel of the River Wyre.
The wreck of a boat on the beach at Fleetwood Lancashire. Should have turned left...
Lancaster Castle has some Roman remains and is still in use as a prison. In a dungeon here the Lancashire witches awaited their execution in the 1600s.
This strange building is a radar station operated by Blackpool & The Fylde College's Nautical Campus. Situated on the beach at Fleetwood, students can plot the comings and goings of craft in Morecambe Bay.
Clitheroe Castle, Lancashire. Legend has it that one window was made by the Devil, throwing rocks.
Saxon cross shaft in churchyard at Whalley Lancashire. Three arms of the cross have been broken off or weathered.
The churchyard at Whalley houses some ancient cross shafts. These can be seen to the right of the photograph behind and right of the cross shaped headstone.
The Devil's Bridge at Kirby Lonsdale, north Lancashire is so called because legend has it that it was made by the Devil, who dropped some of his stones during the building. They can still be seen in the foreground of the photograph!
Hodder Bridge, Lancashire. The Hodder runs into the River Ribble. During the English Civil War, Cromwell crossed this bridge on his way to direct the Battle of Preston.
Dun Cow Rib Farm. According to legend, in a great drought a farmer let his cow roam the Fylde area so that needy folk could milk her. The local witch milked her into a seive which never filled and the cow died. Her rib can still be seen over the doorway of the farm and bad luck follows if it is removed.
The first bales of cotton seen in Lancashire were landed at Sunderland Point, where this tree grew shortly afterwards. The locals christened it the Cotton Tree. It was in fact a kapok and was detroyed in gales a few years ago.
The Roman road over Blackstone Edge moors has a gradient of 1 in 4 and has a rare central gutter.
The picturesque ruins of Wycoller Hall near Colne, Lancashire. Charlotte Bronte stayed here and it was her inspiration for Ferndean Manor in her book, Jane Eyre.
The great fireplace of Wycoller Hall has a seat to allow guests to sit around the fire. The small opening on the right is thought to be where wigs were powdered.
Packhorse bridge at Wycoller, Lancashire
The imposing gate and portcullis of Lancaster Castle which as one of Her Majesty's prisons has held prisoners for almost 1000 years - some must surely be due for parole...
Gargoyle on the wall of St Chad's church, Rochdale, Gt Manchester
Meg Shelton the Fylde Witch was buried in Woodplumpton churchyard, but kept coming back to haunt the locals. Eventually she was buried head down and this huge stone placed abover her grave. As late as the 1930s a schoolboy said he had been frightened in the church by “an old woman in old-fashioned clothes”...
The “Written Stone”, Dilworth. Said to have been placed in the bank of earth to lay an evil spirit or boggart. Legend says the farmer used six horses to drag it to his buttery but was plagued with poltergeist activity. Eventually he replaced it in the roadside, the uphill return journey requiring only one horse...
St Chad's church at Rochdale is on the summit of a huge hill. Legend says that the building materials were moved from the intended site down below each night by supernatural means.
Caister Castle, Norfolk. It was first built in 1432 by Sir John Fastolfe. Born in 1378 he was ambitious, brave, educated and religious, a statesman and a soldier with 40 years service. It seems a shame that Shakespeare was to defame him so badly in his character of Falstaff. Fighting against Joan of Arc with extended supply lines he chose correctly to withdraw. Shakespeare depicted this as cowardice. However in real life he was awarded Governorship of Normandy for the following four years.
“Pockerley Waggonway” - a recreation of an early railway in 1825 at Beamish Open Air Museum in the North East.
An unusual sculpture of a bridge structure turning into a tree stands on the banks of the Wear at Sunderland.
The famous Angel of the North sculpture overlooks the A1 major north-south route.
The lighthouse at Souter Point north of Sunderland is said to be haunted.
Castlerigg stone circle near Keswick in the Lake District has one of the most spectacular mountain settings for this type of structure.
Dove Cottage in Grasmere, the Lake District was the home of poet William Wordsworth.
Long Meg and her Daughters. The large monolith has ancient Celtic carvings and stands over the circle of stones which make up Meg's daughters.
The Bridge House at Ambleside in the Lake District is a tiny one up and one down cottage which never the less once was home to a family of six!
The single remaining stone (of an original four) in the centre of Mayburgh Henge near Penrith in Cumbria.
Few people realise that Blackpool (which has the oldest electric tram system) was also the first electric street tramway. This is one of the original fleet of 1885, running on battery power as originally Blackpool had a central slot conduit system instead of wires and poles.
The Devil's Arrows, at Boroughbridge, Yorkshire are a set of three huge monoliths with fluted ends like the flights of arrows.
Men-An-Tol in south Cornwall has a legend that it had healing powers if ill folk passed through the holed stone. Not as crazy as it sounds as Cornwall's granite bedrock has a high background radiation and passing through the hole would give mild radiotherapy!
Lanyon Quoit in Cornwall is the remains of a chambered tomb. At one time high enough to ride a horse underneath, it collapsed in a storm in 1826 and the supporting stones were sunk deeper when it was re-erected.
The Yeomen of the Guard, or “Beefeaters” at the Tower of London wear the same design of uniform as those installed by Henry VIII - he of the head chopping tendencies! I tried my best but they wouldn't accept my mother as a prisoner... The black uniforms are standard - the red ones are only worn when the Queen visits.
The old blacksmith's shop at Gretna Green was the scene of many a hasty marriage as in Scotland it was not necessary for a 16 year old to have parents' permission.
King Arthur's Round Table is the name of this henge structure at Eamont Bridge in Cumbria. Thought to be a place of festivities rather than worship.
The bridge at Ironbridge in Shropshire was the first ever cast iron bridge. Ironworking was local industry.
The Old Wellington Inn in Manchester has been moved and re-erected from its original site but has parts that date back to the 1200s. The beer is a bit more modern...
A Roman archway, part of the Roman walls that once surrounded the city of Lincoln. It survived the impact of a lorry which crashed into the side in the 1960s.
One of the series of Martello Towers ranged along the south coast of England as a defensive chain against Napoloean's expected invasion.
An ancient oak coffin inscribed “Dust to Dust” is built into the wall of Chester's ruined first cathedral.
Chester's market cross stands before the “Rows”, 14th century shops on two levels with a covered walkway along the upper level.
The imposing sight of Edinburgh Castle sitting on a huge basalt column that was once the core of a volcano.
The town public wells of Axbridge, near Cheddar Gorge. Once the main water supply for the villagers. They must have been made of hardy stuff - the wells were full of green water and alive with tadpoles!
King John's Hunting Lodge, Axbridge, Avon
Cairn Holy I in Dumfreishire, southern Scotland is the remains of a chambered tomb. We see the remains of the front and entrance to the tomb which would have been covered with a mound of earth behind the stones.
Crop circle, seen in 1998 near West Kennet Long Barrow. Made by Martians - or Earthmen with bits of string?
West Kennet Long Barrow has some impressively large stones at the front, hiding an entrance just behind.
Inside the West Kennet Long Barrow's central courtyard. Off this are five chambers to hold human remains.
The chain of canal locks at Devizes in Wiltshire.
“The Avenue” of standing stones heads from Stonehenge to Avebury's huge henge monument.
The White Horse at Westbury in Wiltshire. The grass has been scoured from the chalk hills, uncovering the white chalk beneath.
Woodhenge was a wooden structure of similar age to Stonehenge. The single neolithic grave in the centre is in the foreground of the photograph.
The remains of the buildings at Old Sarum, a hill fort with staggeringly huge earthwork defences which remained in use longer than most Iron Age hillforts. New Sarum - Salisbury - is a few miles away.
The Roman great bath at Bath. Natural springs deliver a daily flow of water at a constant 42 degrees celcius.
Bath is famed not only for the Roman Baths but for the healthy effects of the mineral water served in the Georgian Pump Room by bewigged attendants. It tastes absolutely ghastly... (personal opinion - others of less discerning taste may enjoy it!)
Pulteney Bridge at Bath is a rare example of a built-up bridge with shops lining both sides.
Belas Knapp long barrow. We see here the false entrance - the real entrances to the burial chambers are spread around the sides and rear of this structure.
The interior of one of the burial chambers at Belas Knapp long barrow.
The Rollright Stones near Oxford
The cross on Crooklets Beach at Bude in north Cornwall is not a memorial to some tragedy but a tide marker. When the water reaches the level of the cross bars it is exactly halfway in or halfway out!
The shipwreck museum at Padstow in Cornwall has the means to ensure a steady stream of exhibits...
England has several of these structures that can be found on village greens and in churchyards. This is a lock-up, a small windowless jail, this particular example being found in the grounds of Lincoln Cathedral.
Banbury Cross, is the subject of a famous English nursery rhyme although at one time Banbury had three monumental crosses. This is the only survivor as the Puritans destroyed the other two. This is a late cross - built in 1859 to commemorate the marriage of Queen Victoria's eldest daughter to Frederick Wilhelm of Prussia.
