Most places in Britain have had a local history written about them. Up until this century these histories have addressed more parochial issues, such as the life of the manor, rather than explaining the features and changes in the landscape in a factual manner. Much of what is visible today in Britain's landscape is the result of a chain of social and natural processes, and can be interpreted through fieldwork as well as from old maps and documents. Michael Aston uses a wide range of source material to study the complex and dynamic history of the countryside, illustrating his points with aerial photographs, maps, plans and charts. He shows how to understand the surviving remains as well as offering his own explanations for how our landscape has evolved.
After losing her job and her partner in one fell swoop, journalist Elspeth Reeves is back in her mother’s house in the sleepy village of Wilsby-under-Wychwood, wondering where it all went wrong. Then a body is found in the neighbouring Wychwoods: a woman ritually slaughtered, with cryptic symbols scattered around her corpse. Elspeth recognizes these from a local myth of the Carrion King, a Saxon magician who once held a malevolent court deep in the forest. As more murders follow, Elspeth joins her childhood friend DS Peter Shaw to investigate, and the two discover sinister village secrets harking back decades.
This book brings together the results of recent research on the Neolithic long cairns lying in the shadow of the Black Mountains in south-east Wales, focusing upon Penywyrlod and Gwernvale, the two best known tombs within the group, previously excavated in the 1970s. Important results lie in both new site detail and reassessment of the wider context. Small-scale excavation, geophysical survey and geological assessment at Penywyrlod - the largest of the Welsh long cairns - gave further information about the distinctive external and internal architecture of the monument. In turn, this opened the opportunity to reassess the pre-monument sequence at Gwernvale, with re-examination of both Mesolithic and Neolithic occupations, including timber structures and middens, lithic and pottery assemblages, and cereal remains. The frame for wider reassessment is given by fresh chronological modelling both of the monuments themselves, suggesting a sequence from Penywyrlod and Pipton to Ty Isaf and Gwernvale, probably spanning the 38th to 36th centuries cal BC, and of early Neolithic activity in south Wales and the Marches across the same sort of period. A detailed study of the major assemblages of human remains from the Black Mountains tombs includes evidence for diet, trauma and lifestyles of the populations represented. Recent isotope analysis of human remains from the tombs is also reviewed, implying social mobility and migration within local populations during the early Neolithic. This book makes a significant contribution to the study of tomb building, treatment of the dead, place making, and Neolithisation in western Britain. Viewed within the context of tombs within the Cotswold-Severn tradition as a whole, it leads to an appreciation of the local and regional distinctiveness of architecture and mortuary practice exhibited by the tombs in this area of south-east Wales, emerging as part of the intake of a significant inland area in the early centuries of the Neolithic.
Make the most of your time on Earth with The Rough Guide to the Cotswolds. Completely revamped for the second edition, The Rough Guide to the Cotswolds brings the Cotswolds up to date like no other guidebook does. Illustrated in color throughout, it reviews the best places to eat, drink, and stay, and explains how to get around by public transport. Food is a special focus: take in the best of the region's gastronomy with features on specialist farmers' markets and local farm shops, then sample fine dining for all budgets at rural gastropubs and new contemporary restaurants. Discover the best of the area's boutique-styled hotels and top-rated country pubs. In each chapter, highlights point to the author's favorites, while there are lively, entertaining accounts of attractions from stately homes and wildlife parks to modern art galleries and country walks. The introduction features what not to miss and itineraries that make the most of the region. This essential guide is aimed at all budgets, with easy-to-use maps that make sure you don't miss the unmissable.
This fascinating selection of photographs traces some of the many ways in which the North Oxfordshire Cotswolds have changed and developed over the last century.
Each book in this highly-respected series offers a selection of the finest -- but not necessarily the most expensive -- lodgings, most shown in high-quality color photos. These are the special places you dream of, but seldom find, including small B&Bs, grand chateaux, historic old homes and rustic lodges. Over 250 are profiled in each pocket-size book, with candid evaluations on everything from service and level of privacy to amenities. Colorful descriptions allow you to get a real feel for each place. Practical information (telephone number, address, price scale, pet policies and seasonal opening times) are given in an easy-to-read format.Stay at the Bradford Mill in a four-story windmill. Or perhaps Fairhill, an old manor set in the Welsh hills with orchard, walled garden, trout stream and lake, suits you better.
