Hidden Wiltshire Podcast

Another location recording and once again it didn’t quite go to plan. The never ending rain led to some of the worst flooding we’ve seen in years and when faced with the sight of a car marooned up to its windows in a flood we decided the sensible thing to do would be to turn round and find another location. But as ever you will have to listen to the podcast to find out where we were.

In this episode we welcomed a guest. Emma Heard runs the Weird Wiltshire website, and we asked Emma to join us to tell us some of the stories she’s gathered over the years about strange goings on in Wiltshire. 

But first we had a quick rundown of what the Hidden Wiltshire team have been doing since the last podcast. 

Glyn delivered a talk at Trowbridge Museum about all things hidden Wiltshire. He must have done something right as they’ve asked him to go back and do another one!

We wanted to congratulate our friend Paul Whitewick after he clocked up 100,000 subscribers to his YouTube channel. He began by making films about abandoned railway lines, canals and roads but this has evolved over time. Basically anything intriguing that Paul has discovered from looking at old maps is fair game. You’ll find a link to his channel in the links section below. 

Meanwhile our own Paul attended a public drowning in Salisbury. This was not some sort of gruesome form of Medieval torture but a demonstration of how drowners would have flooded meadows years ago in order to raise the temperature of the fields to promote earlier grass growth. The demonstration was at the water meadows in West Harnham and was attended by a couple hundred people. We’ve talked about this practice often at Hidden Wiltshire so it was fascinating to see it in action, and interesting to hear that the practice may be reintroduced in some places as a flood defence measure.  You can find out more at the Harnham Water Meadows Trust website using the link below. 

Glyn wrote a blog about Rybury Camp in the hills above Pewsey Vale after he was asked by local farmer Tim Daw to take some drone footage of the area. Tim is famous for building a modern day long barrow at All Cannings. (We interviewed Tim a couple of years ago in Podcast 35 – there’s a link to this below.) Glyn filmed the area in a time of drought when crop marks can reveal many previously hidden historical features. Tim had a theory that there may once have been a henge in the area. You can read Glyn’s blog using the link below. 

Next Elaine talked about her blog on the subject of the Knights Templar entitled Temple Bottom and of the Last Templar. She gave us a brief history lesson on the Knights Templar and their link to the Knights Hospitaler. You can read Elaine’s blog by using the link below. 

Finally Paul talked about his most recent walk in the countryside around Tisbury. You will find a link to the associated blog below. This walk included visits to three castles - two obvious ones (Old and New Wardour Castle) but also the lesser known Iron Age hillfort of Castle Ditches that commands the heights above Tisbury. 

We then moved onto the special topic of this episode of the podcast. Emma Heard began Weird Wiltshire as a lockdown project in 2020. Since then it has developed and grown, and despite having a day job Emma spends a lot of her time exploring and listening to stories of ghosts, spirits and strange goings around Wiltshire, thereby keeping alive a folklore tradition dating back many hundreds of years. She shared with us just a few of the stories she has come across, and we finished by sharing some of our own. 

Then on to the wrap up for this episode: 

There are still a few copies of the Hidden Wiltshire book available on the website – link below. 

Thanks as always go to Steve Dixon for the music. As usual the piece at the beginning and the end of the podcast is called “The Holloway”, whilst the piece in the middle is called appropriately enough, “Play Dead”. 

Podcast Specific Links: 

Paul Whitewick’s YouTube channel can be found here Paul Whitewick 

The Harnham Water Meadows Trust website can be found here Harnham Water Meadows Trust 

Our interview with Tim Daw can be heard here All Cannings Long Barrow - An Interview with Tim Daw 

Glyn’s blog about Rybury Camp can be found here Rybury Camp

Elaine’s blog, Temple Bottom and the Knights Templar can be found here Temple Bottom and the Last Templar 

You can read Paul’s blog about his most recent walk in the countryside around Tisbury here Tisbury and its Three Castles 

You can find Emma Heard’s Weird Wiltshire website here Weird Wiltshire. She is also on Twitter (or whatever it is called these days) where she is known as @WeirdWiltsBlog and Bluesky (whatever that is!) at Emma Heard Bluesky 

Other Links: 

Glyn’s photographs can be seen on this website and on his Instagram feed @coy_cloud

He is also very active on Twitter where his username is @Glyndle 

Paul’s photography can be found on his website at Paul Timlett Photography and on Instagram at @tragicyclist 

Steve Dixon’s sound art can be found on Soundcloud where his username is River and Rail Steve Dixon River and Rail. His photographs can be found on Instagram at @stevedixon_creative and his graphic design business website is at Steve Dixon Creative 

And finally you’ll find the Hidden Wiltshire online shop here Hidden Wiltshire Shop 

It only seemed like a few days since our last podcast recording – and that’s because it was! Glyn, Elaine and Paul assembled at a secret location to record our first podcast since June. There was much to catch up on and, though we say so ourselves, it went swimmingly with much hilarity and spontaneity. However, there was one small problem – the mics failed to record. Anything. Anything at all. So we reconvened three days later in the same outdoor location to do the whole thing again. You will have to take our word for it when we say that the loss of the original recording will forever be a loss to humanity! 

We’re not going to tell you where we recorded. You will have to listen to the podcast to find out. But it provided lots of wonderful ambient noise as we waffled on! 

But first we opened with a review of some of what has been going on in the Hidden Wiltshire world since June. And there was a surprising amount to talk about. So we picked out some of favourite moments. 

In what was a busy six months Elaine highlighted her blog entitled The Selwood Triangle, which you can find using this link - The Selwood Triangle. It had over 5,000 views in just four months and whilst the record is held by Glyn’s Boxhill Circular Walk blog with over 12,000 views that particular blog was published a few years ago. However, Elaine’s blog attracted a huge amount of attention on social media and sadly brought out some of the worst of the social media warriors with one or two particularly unpleasant comments. But the overwhelming number of people enjoyed it, understanding that it was just a bit of fun! 

Elaine also highlighted her Fisherton Anger blog which you can read here - The Lost Settlement of Fisherton Anger. A little known village whose name has long since been lost as it became subsumed by Salisbury. But some of its streets and monuments can still be found if you know where to look. Fortunately Elaine does as she used to live there. 

Paul had his usual sojourn across the Channel in the last couple of months so his activity was mainly confined to November with two longer walks - Egbert's Stone, The Harrow Way and a Splendid Bottom, and Tisbury and Oddford Vale. Both were suggested by Hidden Wiltshire follower Jill Caudle. The first provided a rather neat connection with the location for today’s recording. 

Meanwhile Glyn has been concentrating on his talks and delivered one at Royal Wootton Bassett Library and another at Salisbury Library. Glyn also led three walks for Wiltshire Museum in support of Anna Dillon and Hedley Thorne’s exhibition there entitled Wessex Airscapes, which was accompanied by a wonderful book – Elevating Wiltshire written by Anna’s father Patrick Dillon and illustrated with her paintings and Hedley’s aerial photography. Finally Glyn wrote an article on his Top Ten Secret Spots for Emma Heard’s Weird Wiltshire. 

Before moving onto our main theme we had a good old rant. We have been collaborating with the aforementioned Hedley Thorne and Paul Whitewick (of YouTube fame) to highlight the challenges the public have in accessing many of our green and blue spaces. In particular we talked again about the anomaly of Open Access areas in which there is a right to roam, but as an example of extreme irony cannot be reached without trespassing in so many cases. Paul Whitewick supported by Hedley Thorne recorded a great YouTube video about this which you can see here - How is it illegal to access public land. 

Our main theme in this podcast was a look at some of the 39 rivers that flow through Wiltshire, which include three River Avons and even the Thames! But it was also an opportunity to have a bit more of a rant – this time about the pollution of our rivers. However, on a more positive note we focused on some of our better known rivers including the Bourne and the Hampshire Avon. Of course Paul got in more than one mention of his beloved Till. And we couldn’t not mention the Wylye and in particular Steve Dewey’s blog The River Wylye and of course his blog about The Nine Mile River. Which isn’t. Nine Miles. Nine Mile River 

Then on to the wrap up for this episode: 

There are still a few copies of the Hidden Wiltshire books available on the website – link below. 

Thanks as always go to Steve Dixon for the music. As usual the piece at the beginning and the end of the podcast is called “The Holloway”, whilst the piece in the middle is a new one from Steve entitled, appropriately enough, “Sprung”.  

Other Links: 

Glyn’s photographs can be seen on this website and on his Instagram feed @coy_cloud

He is also very active on Twitter where his username is @Glyndle 

Paul’s photography can be found on his website at Paul Timlett Photography and on Instagram at @tragicyclist 

Steve Dixon’s sound art can be found on Soundcloud where his username is River and Rail Steve Dixon River and Rail. His photographs can be found on Instagram at @stevedixon_creative and his graphic design business website is at Steve Dixon Creative 

And finally you’ll find the Hidden Wiltshire online shop here Hidden Wiltshire Shop 

and a link to Glyn’s blog about our latest book and how to purchase a copy here Hidden Wiltshire from near and far

Glyn, Elaine and Paul are back with another episode of the Hidden Wiltshire podcast, and once again have returned to record outside at a mystery location. You’ll have to listen to find out where we were. There are lots of links to things we discussed in this episode in these show notes.

Before we moved onto the main topic we had the usual run down on what we’ve been up to since the last podcast. And there was an awful lot to talk about so some of it was consigned to the cutting room floor!

Glyn led a Wiltshire Museum walk with David Dawson which was timed to enable a visit to Oare House whose gardens were open to the public for the day. They took in some of the scenes for paintings by Eric Ravilious who was invited to stay there in 1932. The walk took in Gopher Wood, one of the most stunning sites for bluebells in the county.

Glyn also ventured north, not to Yorkshire but to Royal Wootton Bassett to deliver his Wiltshire Blind House talk at the library.

Meanwhile Elaine has been as busy as ever and has posted a few new blogs on the website including one based on the border of Hampshire where she followed the Shire Rack footpath and discovered connections with Jack the Ripper! You can read her blog here: The Borderlands, Shire Rack and Jack the Ripper

Elaine also touched the border of Dorset with a soggy but inspiring visit to Mere, a town worthy of an entire blog in itself. You can read about her visit on the Hidden Wiltshire Facebook page.

Glyn also finally wrote up his visit to another Wiltshire town, the beautiful and historic Malmesbury with tales of flying monks and tigers. You will find his blog on the website here Malmesbury - St Aldhelm, King Athelstan and Eilmer the Flying Monk

Paul has only recently returned from his Spring residency in France (complete with wife who broke her ankle there) so had little to share that was Wiltshire related. However, it was interesting to discover that on Wiltshire Day, 5 June, the Thames Path National Trail tweeted a recommendation of Paul’s walk around Inglesham Church and the Thames Path which you will find in his blog on the website here Medieval Inglesham - Three Counties Walk

Long term followers of Hidden Wiltshire may be familiar with the story of Alan Dodson who contacted us after our podcast about Imber, podcast number 2! Alan lived in Warminster for a few years as a child when his father was transferred here in the last war. Alan was trying to locate a cottage he used to visit somewhere on the Imber Range, long since demolished. Some people may be aware of the archaeological dig which is taking place at Imber at the moment led by Operation Nightingale, the veterans’ charity. Paul contacted them about Alan’s story and within a day or so two people both identified a possible location for the cottage. Paul has written to Alan to see if he thinks this is the place.

Finally in our round up we wanted to mention the work of some friends – Hedley Thorne (Hedley Thorne), and Paul and Rebecca Whitewick (Paul and Rebecca Whitewick). They are prolific bloggers, You Tubers and podcasters (Wessex Ways) writing and filming about ancient trails, railways and canals amongst other things, much of it in Wiltshire. We share a common passion about rights of ways and in particular blocked or lost footpaths and bridleways. In the podcast we had an extended chat about this, particularly as both Elaine and Glyn have had walks thwarted by blocked rights of ways recently. We mentioned the tool that has been developed by The Ramblers called Don’t Lose Your Way which seeks to save lost paths before the Government closes the book forever in 2031 on any chance of having them reinstated. You can read about the tool here Don't Lose Your Way.

We then began our discussion of some of our favourite woods in Wiltshire. Elaine chose the much loved Bentley Wood just to the south of Salisbury close to the border with Hampshire, a historic Royal hunting ground mentioned in the Domesday Book but which dates back even further. We mused over the origins of the name which Elaine subsequently established derives from the following – “the name Bentley comes from the Old English words beonet and leah, meaning "the clearing where bent grass grows". It was written in the past in various ways, such as Bentelwoda, and first recorded in the 13th century.” Elaine and Paul collaborated on a blog about Bentley which you will find here Bentley Wood.

Elaine shared her love of Chase Woods, also down in the borderlands, this time with Dorset. Chase Wood is part of the Rushmore Estate. It’s a fantastic place for wildlife and in particular for birds. Elaine and Paul are recent converts to the Merlin phone app from Cornell Lab which is very effective at identifying birdsong. Merlin

Next up was Paul and two of his favourite woods, or are they forests? Firstly we talked about Grovely Wood. Paul wrote a blog about it here Grovely Wood and the Woodsman.  Hardly hidden and well known to many but its huge scale and open access to much of it mean there are many hidden corners and opportunities to be completely alone. Its history dates back to the Romans and beyond, being the route for the Lead Road which enabled the Romans to transport lead from Mendip to the rest of southern England. It is also a place of great folklore and stories of murder and hauntings. The famous Witch Trees are to be found here and it is key to Great Wishford’s fabled Oak Apple Day which takes place each year on 29 May. We mentioned two books during our discussion - Wildwood - Roger Deakin and The House in the Woods - Mark Dawson. Grovely features in both. 

Paul’s other favourite wood is Great Ridge, which is even bigger than Grovely! Sadly access is restricted to designated rights of way but that if anything adds to its mystery. Little has been written about it but you can read about Paul’s 2020 walk through the wood here Great Ridge. It seems Wikipedia also struggled to find out anything about the wood as Paul’s blog is both referenced and a chunk quoted on its page about Great Ridge! However, the Lead Road also passes through here and later history features in W H Hudson’s marvellous book A Shepherd’s Life. A Shepherd's Life - W H Hudson. Hudson was a great lover of Great Ridge and frequent visitor. There are again stories of mystery and folklore surrounding the wood. And the newly established Stone Daisy Brewery located on the Fonthill Estate, owners of Great Ridge, have picked up on the significance of the wood naming one of its excellent beers Snail-creep Hanging after this bizarrely named location in the wood.

Finally Glyn talked about his favourites. Biss Wood is where Hidden Wiltshire began. Tipped off by someone about the simply stunning Autumn colours Glyn went for a walk in the wood in 2016. On a whim he put up his drone and was staggered by the rainbow of colours seen from above. His aerial photograph is now widely known and used, and features in both of the Hidden Wiltshire books. You can read about that first visit here Biss Wood. Once just a meadow it was re-planted with trees in the 1940s/50s and is now managed by the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust.

Not far from Biss Wood is Clanger Wood and Picket Wood, south east of Trowbridge. Glyn’s blog about it can be found here - Clanger Wood. Managed by the Woodland Trust these woods were once part of the ancient and vast Selwood Forest recorded in the Domesday Book. Little remains of Selwood but Clanger Wood is still large enough to find seclusion without becoming lost. It is listed as one of top 10 places in England for its display of bluebells, which may explain Glyn’s love of the place.

Finally Glyn wanted to add Southleigh Wood in view of its historical connections and its mystery. When King Alfred marched his troops to engage Guthrum and the Danes at the Battle of Ethandun (Eddington) in 878AD, the Saxon Chronicles say that Alfred assembled his men at Iley Oak the night before the battle. The location of Iley Oak is not known for sure but is thought to be in Southleigh Wood. The wood is now host to the mysterious and frankly creepy Robin Hood's Bower, about which Glyn wrote in 2019. The bower consists of monkey puzzle trees planted by Lord Bath in 1965-67. Here will be found many votives and tokens together with wicker circles. It is clearly a place of relevance to some!

Then on to the wrap up for this episode:

There are still copies of the second Hidden Wiltshire book available on the website. The first book has sold out.

The aforementioned Hedley Thorne and another friend of the podcast, artist Anna Dillon, have an exhibition of aerial photographs and paintings entitled “Wessex Airscapes: Elevating Wiltshire” which opens at Wiltshire Museum in Devizes on 8 July 2023. As part of this Glyn will be leading some walks visiting some of the locations portrayed by Hedley and Anna Wessex Airscapes: Elevating Wiltshire

Thanks as always go to Steve Dixon for the music. As usual the piece at the beginning and the end of the podcast is called “The Holloway”, whilst the piece in the middle is a new one from Steve entitled “Forgive”. 

 Other Links:

Glyn’s photographs can be seen on this website and on his Instagram feed @coy_cloud

He is also very active on Twitter where his username is @Glyndle

Paul’s photography can be found on his website at Paul Timlett Photography and on Instagram at @tragicyclist

Steve Dixon’s sound art can be found on Soundcloud where his username is River and Rail Steve Dixon River and Rail. His photographs can be found on Instagram at @stevedixon_creative and his graphic design business website is at Steve Dixon Creative

And finally you’ll find the Hidden Wiltshire online shop here Hidden Wiltshire Shop

and a link to Glyn’s blog about our latest book and how to purchase a copy here Hidden Wiltshire from near and far

We’re back. After a break of what feels like years, but may only be about five months, we’re reinvigorated and ready to beguile our audience with more Hidden Wiltshire nonsense.

Towards the end of 2022 Glyn and Paul had reached burn out after 41 episodes. We needed a break to think about what to do and where to go next, whilst sticking firmly to Wiltshire. Whilst we were away from the podcast we continued to pepper the Facebook page and website with blogs. But if we’re honest our survival was mainly due to the new member of the Hidden Wiltshire family – Elaine Perkins. Elaine has been posting blogs for some time now and has brought fresh impetus to what we do. But we weren’t going to let her get away with just that!

So, please welcome Elaine to the podcast. This is her first and she took to it like a duck to water.

 We had planned to record this episode on location at Morgan’s Hill to the north of Devizes. But with winds of 60mph and heavy rain forecast we decided the top of a hill was not the most sensible place to be! As it was, despite being ensconced in a spare bedroom at home, Paul still sounds like he was recording in a wind tunnel.

 As usual we began this episode by looking back at what we’ve been doing since the previous episode. And since that was in November 2022 the answer is - quite a lot. So we had a not so quick run through the blogs. You’ll find links to them below.

 Firstly, Elaine revisited Vernditch Chase in an effort to find the mythical Kitt’s Grave (spoiler alert – she failed). Different maps show the grave in different places so is it any wonder it is so difficult to find? Folklore says it is the grave of a young woman who killed herself and, as was the custom, was buried on the parish boundary at a junction of tracks. Others say that it is a prehistoric long barrow, and one person at least claims to have found it in the adjacent wood. Will you find it?

 Next Elaine wrote about her visit to Great Durnford and Ogbury Camp, an Iron Age univallate hill fort south west of Amesbury located above the Woodford Valley. The manor of Great Durford has existed since the 11th century and whilst in the village church Elaine believes she may have found evidence of a 16th century murder!

 Then Elaine ventured to Clarendon Palace and the forest, which she visited shortly after Storm Eunice. A hunting ground for Saxon and later Norman kings, it would once have formed part of a much larger area of forest but it is now little more than a wood.

 Next it was Paul’s turn and in February he returned to Fisherton de la Mare for the first time in nearly 30 years, where he met the current owners of a house he so very nearly bought all those years ago. From here, it was a walk across the flood plain of the Wylye River, along the road then up to the small National Nature Reserve of Wylye Down.

 During Valentine’s week Elaine decided on a walk to Lover, Bohemia and Paradise all in one day! Lover is famous for its Valentine’s Day stamps that can be bought and posted from the village for those of a romantic disposition. It transpires that Paradise was misnamed, it being a wood plastered with “Private” signs.

 Then Paul (together with his trusted walking buddy Stu) undertook what turned into an epic walk taking in West Lavington, Market Lavington and the Wessex Ridgeway. In heavy snow it felt like an arctic expedition. Plans to visit the churches in both villages were thwarted as they were both locked. Which is a shame as All Saint’s Church in West Lavington contains a stunning engraved window, the work of Simon Whistler nephew of the artist Rex Whistler. It can though be seen from the A360 below as you sit in queues of traffic trying to squeeze through the narrow bends to the south of the village.

 Finally, Paul did the relatively short George Herbert Walk in Salisbury, following in the footsteps of poet, rector, writer and musician George Herbert who, in the early 1630s, walked twice a week from his parish in Bemerton to Evensong at Salisbury Cathedral. Modern development means it is impossible to follow what was his likely route precisely but on a warm dry day this is a delightful walk across the water meadows by the Nadder.

 Eventually we got on to the main subject of this episode of the podcast. Glyn, Elaine and Paul wrote a joint blog about some of their favourite Wiltshire nature reserves. It was neatly divided up according to the volunteering that three of us do. 

 Paul is a volunteer for Natural England who are responsible for six National Nature Reserves in Wiltshire. Paul focused on his three favourites, all of which he has worked at as part of his volunteering duties – Pewsey Downs, Prescombe Down and Parsonage Down.

 Glyn is a volunteer at Wiltshire Wildlife Trust who have nearly 40 reserves in the county. Glyn does livestock checks for them at Dunscombe Buttom but in the podcast (and in the blog) he focuses on Morgan’s Hill, Blakehill Farm and Stoke Common Meadows. 

Finally, Elaine takes a look at Wiltshire’s two RSPB reserves - Winterbourne Downs and Franchises Wood. Elaine is a volunteer at the beautiful Winterbourne Downs reserve outside Newton Tony and is also helping a PhD student at Southampton University who is doing a thesis about chalk streams. This involves Elaine visiting the River Bourne, a winterbourne that flows through Winterbourne Downs and Newton Tony, on a regular basis. Francises Wood is a relatively new and small reserve close to the New Forest. 

Then on to the wrap up for this episode: 

There are one or two copies of the first Hidden Wiltshire book together with a few more of the second book on the website. 

Thanks as always go to Steve Dixon for the music. As usual the piece at the beginning and the end of the podcast is called “The Holloway”, whilst the piece in the middle is a new one from Steve entitled “Wansdyke”. Because of course we had planned to record this episode on a hill looking down on Wansdyke! 

 Elaine’s blog about Kitt’s Grave can be found here Searching for Kitt's Grave Revisited

 Elaine’s blog about Great Durnford and Ogbury Camp can be found here Great Durnford, Ogbury and the Flood

 Elaine’s blog about Clarendon Palace is here Clarendon Place After Storm Eunice

 Paul’s return to a French outpost in Wiltshire (it isn’t) can be found here A French Enclave in Wiltshire?

 Elaine’s search for romanticism during Valentine’s week can be found here Lover, Bohemia and Paradise

 You can read about Paul’s arctic adventure on Salisbury Plain here The Lavingtons and the Wessex Ridgeway

 And finally, Paul’s attempt to retrace the steps of George Herbert can be found here George Herbert Walk

 If you are interested in becoming a volunteer for Wiltshire Wildlife Trust you can contact them here Wiltshire Wildlife Trust Volunteering

 If you are interested in becoming a volunteer for the RSPB you can contact them here RSPB Volunteering

 If you are interested in becoming a volunteer for Natural England they tend to do it on a reserve by reserve basis so we’d suggest contacting Paul via the Hidden Wiltshire Contact page on our website at Hidden Wiltshire Contact Us

 Glyn’s photographs can be seen  on his Instagram feed @coy_cloud

He is also very active on Twitter where his username is @Glyndle

 Paul’s photography can be found on his website at Paul Timlett Photography and on Instagram at @tragicyclist

 Steve Dixon’s sound art can be found on Soundcloud where his username is River and Rail Steve Dixon River and Rail. His photographs can be found on Instagram at @stevedixon_creative and his graphic design business website is at Steve Dixon Creative

 And finally you’ll find the Hidden Wiltshire online shop here Hidden Wiltshire Shop

and a link to Glyn’s blog about the latest book and how to purchase a copy here Hidden Wiltshire from near and far

This episode is a bit of a special, as most of it was recorded outside over a year ago and it contains a special guest - David Carson MBE.

David's family have farmed the land around Milk Hill for over 100 years, and we recorded a video with him in 2021, where he took us through much of the local history around the villages of Alton Barnes, Alton Priors and the Pewsey Vale. The video can be found on YouTube (link here: Hidden Wiltshire video)

This podcast is the audio from that video, which it was always planned to release as a podcast special at some point !

But we also have an important announcement to make. After 41 episodes and almost two years, the Hidden Wiltshire podcast is coming to a pause. We will still be creating content for the website at www.hiddenwiltshire.com and we have plans to do more video so if you follow the website you can keep up to date with the latest information. We may be back in the future with some podcast specials.

Thanks for listening !

Glyn’s photographs can be seen on his Instagram feed @coy_cloud

He is also very active on Twitter where his username is @Glyndle

Paul’s photography can be found on his website at Paul Timlett Photography and on Instagram at @tragicyclist

Steve Dixon’s sound art can be found on Soundcloud where his username is River and Rail Steve Dixon River and Rail. His photographs can be found on Instagram at @stevedixon_creative and his graphic design business website is at Steve Dixon Creative

And finally you’ll find the Hidden Wiltshire online shop here Hidden Wiltshire Shop

and a link to Glyn’s blog about the latest book and how to purchase a copy here Hidden Wiltshire from near and far

Back to recording indoors this month, and back to recording from different countries. Whilst Glyn remains in Wiltshire Paul is once again doing battle with French rural internet which seems to be arriving by means of a telephone cable lying in a ditch outside the village. But it’s amazing what Glyn can do with his editing software so the audio was fine.

Bearing in mind Paul has been away for a few weeks and Glyn has been tied up with work, there was a surprising amount to report in terms of activity since last month’s podcast.

Once again Elaine Perkins has been busily producing some terrific blogs and Facebook posts including a little history and fascinating secrets to be found in Fisherton Anger in Salisbury (Facebook post); a blog about The Village of Alderbury on the website (link below); and a blog about The Borbach Chantry also on the website (link below). Elaine seemed to spend a lot of her time trying to link two sections of a right of way interrupted by a river!

Contributors to the Closed Facebook Group will have seen some stunning aerial shots by Hedley Thorne of Hippenscombe and Fosbury Camp, and Wansdyke. The latter was part of a collaboration with You Tubers Paul and Rebecca Whitewick who posted a fascinating video about Open Access areas. You can find a link to the video below.

Facebook Contributor Colin Fry posted some images of Stanley Bridge and nearby Tytherton Lucas which were in the area of Paul’s blog entitled Maud Heath’s Causeway.

Meanwhile Paul has gone all spiritual and posted a couple more blogs featuring churches on his doorstep – the two churches at Orcheston, and St Andrew’s Church, Orcheston. Links to the blogs can be found below. But it wasn’t all about churches. Paul and his walking buddy Stu undertook a long day’s walk from Shrewton to Stapleford and back to search for the end of the River Till where it joins the River Wylye. The walk was particularly long as it involved an hour or so in the pub! A link to this blog can be found below.

To be fair to Glyn he did actually manage to get out and led the final Wiltshire Museum Guided Walk on Fyfield Down taking in the Devil’s Den and the Polissoir Stone.

But before we moved onto this week’s main subject we talked about cats. Large black cats. Whilst reading Robert Macfarlane’s beautiful book The Old Ways – A Journey on Foot, Paul came across Macfarlane’s story about his encounter with what he was certain was a black panther on the Marlborough Downs. There have been many sightings of these big cats in Wiltshire including one by Paul outside Shrewton. So Glyn has decided to start a new thread about black panther sightings on Facebook. Meanwhile there’s a link to Robert Macfarlane’s superb book below.

Finally we got onto the main subject of this episode of the podcast. A walk Paul and Stu did in March 2022 starting from Aldbourne taking in Liddington Castle and the abandoned village of Snap. You can follow the map and walk description in Paul’s blog, linked below. This is a walk rich in history from the Bronze Age right up to World War II. Aldbourne was the base for the US Army’s 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, or Easy Company as they came to be known, and as featured in the film series Band of Brothers. And of course the walk was accompanied by some spectacular wide reaching views of Wiltshire.

In the discussion about the walk Paul mentioned a website containing some great historical facts about the history to be found along the way in this walk. The site in question was actually that for Aldbourne Heritage Centre and we’ve included a link below.

Then on to the wrap up for this episode:

Steve Dixon’s piece leading into our main subject is called “Round the Downs”.  As ever the piece in the introduction and at the end of the podcast is entitled “The Holloway”.

Finally, don’t forget to check out the Hidden Wiltshire online shop on the website if you’d like to help us keep the lights on. The first Hidden Wiltshire book has now sold out but the second book is still available from the website. The book is also available at Devizes Bookshop, Wiltshire Museum in Devizes and now Wiltshire’s libraries. And don’t forget to subscribe to the Hidden Wiltshire Newsletter from the website. You can also subscribe to alerts about new Blogs.

Elaine Perkins’ blog about Alderbury can be found here The Village of Alderbury

Elaine’s blog about The Borbach Chantry can be found here The Borbach Chantry and The Woods

Paul and Rebecca Whitewick’s video about Open Access areas with aerial footage by Hedley Thorne can be found here The UK's Mystery Inland Islands

Paul’s blog about Orcheston’s two churches can be found here Orcheston and the Tale of Two Churches

Paul’s blog about Rollestone St Andrew’s Church can be found here St Andrew's Church Rollestone

Paul’s blog about the River Till and where it joins the River Wylye can be found here Stapleford and the end of The River Till

Robert Macfarlane’s book  – The Old Ways: A Journey on Foot The Old Ways - Robert Macfarlane

Paul’s blog about the Aldbourne Circular Route and the Abandoned Village of Snap can be found here Aldbourne Circular Route

Aldbourne Heritage Centre’s website can be found here Aldbourne Heritage Centre

Glyn’s photographs can be seen on his Instagram feed @coy_cloud

He is also very active on Twitter where his username is @Glyndle

Paul’s photography can be found on his website at Paul Timlett Photography and on Instagram at @tragicyclist

Steve Dixon’s sound art can be found on Soundcloud where his username is River and Rail Steve Dixon River and Rail. His photographs can be found on Instagram at @stevedixon_creative and his graphic design business website is at Steve Dixon Creative

And finally you’ll find the Hidden Wiltshire online shop here Hidden Wiltshire Shop 

and a link to Glyn’s blog about the latest book and how to purchase a copy here Hidden Wiltshire from near and far

This could be the last outside recording of the podcast this year, unless of course this crazy weather continues. We found a spectacular location to record with views of a stunning sunset as we chatted. As ever, you’ll have to listen to the podcast to find out where we were, a place so hidden even Glyn didn’t know it existed.

During our review of the last month in Wiltshire we talked about the walks and blogs that Glyn, Paul and star contributor Elaine Perkins have posted on the Hidden Wiltshire Facebook pages and website. These include a walk undertaken by Elaine in the Nadder Valley taking in Dinton and Compton Chamberlayne; visits to four churches by Paul in search of historic graffiti – the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary Old Dilton, St Mary’s Maddington, and the churches of St George and St Mary in Orcheston, each fascinating in their own way; two walks by Paul – one along Maud Heath’s Causeway and the other to Marden/Hatfield Henge, the largest henge in the British Isles. And last but not least Glyn’s walk which is the main subject of this month’s podcast. You’ll find links to these blogs below.

We also take the opportunity to name check a few people - Adrian the Brush and Ann who Paul and his walking buddy Stu met at the Moravian Church in East Tytherton; Hidden Wiltshire follower Mark Routledge of Gallybagger Learther in Devizes; and someone who has featured several times in the podcast and in blogs – sculpture, poet, wit and raconteur Mark Whelehan for whom Glyn and Paul were asked to write the blurb for the back of his new book of poems. Mark made an appearance in the Folly Wood blog and Paul’s photograph of him appears on the back of the book.

On the subject of ancient graffiti Tony Hack of the Wiltshire Medieval Graffiti Survey is doing a talk at the Bratton History Association on 18 September 2022. That should be a fascinating talk. You’ll find a link to the WMGS website below where it mentions some of the churches we’ve talked about in our blogs.

Finally in terms of links and mentions, Glyn talked about a book by Robert Twigger called Walking the Great North Line: Up England Another Way about the author’s walk from Stonehenge to Lindisfarne. Except Glyn could remember neither the name of the author nor the book whilst we were recording! You’ll find a link below.

Next we have a chat about our secret location for the recording and you’ll hear how our minds become increasingly blown by the sunset unfolding before our eyes.

So the main topic of this edition of the podcast is a walk Glyn did back in 2019. You’ll find his description, route map and YouTube video including his stunning aerial images on the website using the link below. Ludgershall Castle was the starting place for the walk. Dating back to the late 11th century it became a royal hunting lodge which was popular with Henry III who visited it at least 21 times. Collingbourne Wood is a substantial area of woodland and Glyn had it almost to himself during his first walk there and when he re-visited it recently. By following tracks through the wood you can connect with Chute Causeway at Scots Por from where you can drop into Hippenscombe. This is very much a place for peaceful contemplation and it is unusually under-utilised in comparison to Savernake Forest not so far away.

Then on to the wrap up for this episode:

Steve Dixon’s piece leading into our main subject is called “Canopy”.  As ever the piece in the introduction and at the end of the podcast is entitled “The Holloway”. By the way Steve, we’re still waiting for the new pieces you promised!

The next and final Wiltshire Museum walk for 2022 guided by Hidden Wiltshire is a repeat of the popular Devil’s Den walk we did last year. This is a ticket only event and you can get these from the Wiltshire Museum website at Wiltshire Museum Walk

Finally, don’t forget to check out the Hidden Wiltshire online shop on the website if you’d like to help us keep the lights on. The first Hidden Wiltshire book has now sold out but the second book is still available at a specially discounted price from the website. The book is also available at Devizes Bookshop, Wiltshire Museum in Devizes and now Wiltshire’s libraries. And don’t forget to subscribe to the Hidden Wiltshire Newsletter from the website. You can also subscribe to alerts about new Blogs.

Elaine’s blog about her walk in the Nadder Valley can be found here A Walk Around the Nadder Valley

Paul’s blog about Old Dilton Church can be found here Old Dilton Church

Paul’s blog about St Mary’s Maddington and its graffiti can be found here St Mary's Maddington

And Paul’s blog about Orcheston’s two churches can be found here Orcheston and the Tale of Two Churches

The blog about the Maud Heath’s Causeway walk can be found here Maud Heath's Causeway

The blog about the walk that takes in Marden/Hatfield Henge can be found here Britain's Largest Henge and the Hanging Stone

The blog starring Mark Whelehan can be found here Folly Wood and the Tale of the Headless Horseman

Glyn’s walk around Ludgershall Castle and Collingbourne Wood can be found here A Walk Around Collingbourne Wood, Ludgershall

Wiltshire Medieval Graffiti Survey Wiltshire Medieval Graffiti Survey

Robert Twigger’s book Walking the Great North Line: Up England Another Way Walking the Great North Line

Glyn’s photographs can be seen on this website and on his Instagram feed @coy_cloud

He is also very active on Twitter where his username is @Glyndle

Paul’s photography can be found on his website at Paul Timlett Photography and on Instagram at @tragicyclist

Steve Dixon’s sound art can be found on Soundcloud where his username is River and Rail Steve Dixon River and Rail. His photographs can be found on Instagram at @stevedixon_creative and his graphic design business website is at Steve Dixon Creative

And finally you’ll find the Hidden Wiltshire online shop here Hidden Wiltshire Shop 

and a link to Glyn’s blog about the latest book and how to purchase a copy here Hidden Wiltshire from near and far

We’re making the most of the weather again and recording the podcast outside on location. As before you’ll need to listen to find out where we were.

As ever we start with a chat about what’s been happening in the world of Hidden Wiltshire since the last podcast. And if it weren’t for one or two of our wonderful contributors the answer would be “not much”.

Elaine Perkins has “delivered” once again (this seems to be the word of the month at the moment)! She posted some great photos in the contributors' Facebook Group of a short evening walk she did taking in Old Sarum, Little Durnford and the Avon Trail. Elaine also ventured on an exploration of Amesbury and the surrounding area which we have now posted as a blog on the open Facebook site and the Hidden Wiltshire website. Amesbury may not be hidden but some of what Elaine found certainly was. You’ll find a link to her blog below.

Glyn managed to squeeze in one walk before he went on holiday, based around East and West Knoyle. There’s a link to his blog and photos below. This is a beautiful part of Wiltshire and well worth a visit.

Meanwhile Paul has once again deserted the county and undertaken walks in the New Forest (just over the Wiltshire border in Hampshire) and further afield on the stunning Dorset coast. But we can’t talk about those!

There have been a couple of Wiltshire Museum guided walks since the last podcast. A select few guests accompanied Glyn on a walk in the countryside around Castle Combe, an abbreviated version of the walk Paul did just after lockdown in July 2020. You’ll find a link to Paul’s walk below but Glyn managed to shorten this to a more manageable five miles. We’ve added a map of his walk to Paul’s original blog.

Glyn’s article about Wiltshire’s Blind Houses was featured in the August edition of Wiltshire Life. His original blog can be found below.

Glyn also attracted a lot of attention on Twitter when he posted some aerial photographs of the parched landscape around Rybury Camp in Pewsey Vale. Local farmer (and constructor of long barrows) Tim Daw had noticed some interesting crop marks in his fields and invited Glyn to photograph them with his drone. You can see the photographs on both Hidden Wiltshire Facebook pages and on Glyn’s Twitter feed. There appears to be a previously unknown enclosure and henge in the fields together with multiple possibly Iron Age storage pits. Whilst the hot dry weather creates many problems it does enable the land to reveal many of its hidden secrets.

Finally in our review we wanted to mention a couple of Hidden Wiltshire followers. Firstly Bill Parncutt,who emailed us with some very kind comments about the podcast, and secondly Simon Lovett and his dad John for whom Simon bought a copy of our book as a birthday present. Paul delivered the book personally to John but stupidly didn’t get the name of his lovely wife. But it was great to meet you Mrs Lovett!

Before we moved onto the main subject of the podcast we had a chat about our location for the recording so do have a listen.

The main subject in this episode was the walk Paul and his regular walking buddy Stu did in February 2022 starting in Lacock, their target being the Wilts & Berks Canal. Everyone knows Lacock so we didn’t dwell on that for too long. But the canal is something that many don’t know about. Completed in 1810 the canal stretches for 52 miles and its primary purpose was to carry coal. Ironically its heyday was the 1830s when it was used to carry the raw materials for the construction of the Great Western Railway which was to see its ultimate demise and abandonment in 1914. Then in 1977 a group of volunteers formed to begin the monumental task of restoring its entire length, a task that continues to this day under the auspices of the Wilts & Berks Canal Trust. If you want to support them in their endeavours, you’ll find a link to their excellent website below.

The rest of the walk takes in a number of fine Wiltshire houses including Ray Mill House, Pewsham House, Kilima Farm, Bowden Park and Bewley Court together with a rather pathetic looking Iron Age hillfort at Naish Hill and finally Lacock Abbey.

In all the walk was about seven miles and you will find a link to Paul’s blog with route map below.

Then on to the wrap up:

Steve Dixon’s piece leading into our main subject is called “Dark and Lonely Water”.  A rather depressing piece it includes the voiceover from a public information film from 1973 about the dangers of playing near water, narrated by Donald Pleasence! As ever the piece in the introduction and at the end of the podcast is entitled “The Holloway”. The great news is that, whilst Steve has provided us with a sizable library of music, he has of late become enthused and promised us some new work.

Finally, don’t forget to check out the Hidden Wiltshire online shop on the website if you’d like to help us keep the lights on. The first Hidden Wiltshire book has now sold out but the second book is still available at a specially discounted price from the website. The book is also available at Devizes Bookshop, Wiltshire Museum in Devizes and now Wiltshire’s libraries. And don’t forget to subscribe to the Hidden Wiltshire Newsletter from the website. You can also subscribe to alerts about new Blogs.

Glyn’s article about Blind Houses can be found on our website here Blind Houses

Elaine Perkins’ blog about hidden Amesbury can be found here Exploring Amesbury

Glyn’s blog about his walk around East Knoyle and West Knoyle can be found here East Knoyle and West Knoyle

Paul’s blog about the Castle Combe walk, amended to include a map of the shorter walk Glyn did, can be found here Castle Combe and a Hint of Ancient History

Paul’s blog about the Lacock and Wilts & Berks Canal walk can be found here  Lacock and The Wilts & Berks Canal

The Wilts & Berks Canal Trust website can be found here Wilts & Berks Canal Trust

Glyn’s photographs can be seen on his Instagram feed @coy_cloud

He is also very active on Twitter where his username is @Glyndle

Paul’s photography can be found on his website at Paul Timlett Photography and on Instagram at @tragicyclist

Steve Dixon’s sound art can be found on Soundcloud where his username is River and Rail Steve Dixon River and Rail. His photographs can be found on Instagram at @stevedixon_creative and his graphic design business website is at Steve Dixon Creative

And finally you’ll find the Hidden Wiltshire online shop here Hidden Wiltshire Shop 

and a link to Glyn’s blog about the latest book and how to purchase a copy here Hidden Wiltshire from near and far

Another location recording this month where we pack up the equipment and take to the Wiltshire landscape. As with last month you’ll have to listen to the podcast to find out where we were, but it wasn’t Bincknoll Castle or Broad Town White Horse. As a clue – it was very windy!

Before we got onto the main topic, we did our usual review of activity and news since the last podcast, which was a whole month ago.

Regular contributor Elaine Perkins wrote an excellent blog for the website following her exploration of Clearbury Ring, and the villages of Odstock and Nunton. All of it new to us. Once again her photographs are superb. There is a link to her blog below.

After a long break Paul and his regular walking buddy Stu completed a superb walk on the border of Dorset starting at Win Green before exploring the Iron Age hill fort at Winkelbury Hill then on through the Rushmore Estate to Tollard Royal before returning to Win Green via Guy Ritchie’s Ashcombe Estate. This had the potential to be controversial due to a blocked Open Access area but had a happy ending. You’ll find a link to Paul’s blog below.

We have also undertaken a couple of guided walks for Wiltshire Museum since the last podcast – Hippenscombe and Folly Wood, both of which we have written blogs about in the past and for which you can find links below. Unless you listen to the podcast on a Sunday morning, by the time you hear this Glyn will have led another walk based on Castle Combe. It starts at 2:00pm on Sunday 3 July. Paul will be absent from this particular walk.

We then have a chat about our location for the recording before moving on to our main topic. - Bincknoll Castle and Broad Town White Horse. The strong wind at our location had the potential to disrupt our recording as Glyn wrestled with his notes to stop them blowing away. But our recording equipment seems to have done a great job of screening out the wind noise.

You can follow Glyn’s blog about his walk to using the link below. This was an eight mile walk that Glyn completed in March which meant it was boggy in places. The summer would be a great time to try it though. It starts and finishes at Wroughton, and being close to Swindon we couldn’t resist a few jokes about the town. But we love Swindon really. Maybe.

During the recording Glyn talks us through his best Tommy Cooper impression as he passes back and forth repeatedly through not one but two isolated gates that served no useful purpose other than to act as a comedic prop. We needed no further invitation as the podcast degenerated into farce.

Bincknoll Castle is best viewed from the air where its location can be appreciated, and Glyn has posted some drone shots in his blog. The same can be said of Broad Town White Horse where this almost childlike depiction of a horse is hidden by long grass from ground level. Again Glyn’s drone shots in the blog show it in all its simple glory.

Then on to the wrap up:

Steve Dixon’s piece leading into our main subject today is called “From the Edge of Grey to Green”. We tend to use this piece in podcasts that feature white horses.  As ever the piece in the introduction and at the end of the podcast is entitled “The Holloway”. The great news is that, whilst Steve has provided us with a sizable library of music, he has of late become enthused and promised us some new work.

Finally don’t forget to check out the Hidden Wiltshire online shop on the website if you’d like to help us keep the lights on. The first Hidden Wiltshire book has now sold out but the second book is still available at a specially discounted price from the website. The book is also available at Devizes Bookshop, Wiltshire Museum in Devizes and now Wiltshire’s libraries. And don’t forget to subscribe to the Hidden Wiltshire Newsletter from the website. You can also subscribe to alerts about new Blogs.

Elaine Perkin’s blog about Clearbury Ring can be found here Clearbury Ring, Odstock and Nunton

Paul’s blog about this walk from Win Green can be found here Win Green, Winkelbury Hill and the Rushmore Estate

The blog about the Hippenscombe walk can be found here Tidcombe, Hippenscombe and the Devil's Waistcoat

The blog about Folly Wood can be found here Folly Wood and the Tale of the Headless Horseman

And Glyn’s blog which is the main topic of today’s podcast can be found here Bincknoll Castle and Broad Town White Horse

Glyn’s photographs can be seen on his Instagram feed @coy_cloud. He is also very active on Twitter where his username is @Glyndle

Paul’s photography can be found on his website at Paul Timlett Photography and on Instagram at @tragicyclist

Steve Dixon’s sound art can be found on Soundcloud where his username is River and Rail Steve Dixon River and Rail. His photographs can be found on Instagram at @stevedixon_creative and his graphic design business website is at Steve Dixon Creative

And finally you’ll find the Hidden Wiltshire online shop here Hidden Wiltshire Shop 

and a link to Glyn’s blog about the latest book and how to purchase a copy here Hidden Wiltshire from near and far

In this episode of the Hidden Wiltshire Podcast we pack up the recording gear and head for the hills to record the whole podcast outside. You’ll have to listen to the podcast to find out where we were, but suffice to say it wasn’t Grovely Wood!

We begin with our usual canter through what we’ve been up to in Wiltshire since the last podcast. Since we’re now recording once a month you’d think we had loads to talk about but since Paul was in France for the entire time and Glyn has been exploring the Avebury landscape in depth there hasn’t been a huge amount of activity. But we still managed to post a couple of new walks on the website.

The first walk was described in a blog by Elaine Perkins who has rapidly become a popular and valued contributor to Hidden Wiltshire. Elaine did a shorter walk in the Vale of Wardour taking in the pretty villages of Teffont Magna and Teffont Evias. There is a link to her blog below.

Meanwhile Glyn did a seven mile walk from Calne to the Bowood Estate on which he photographed hidden corners of the estate and the wider landscape, including a length of the Wilts & Berks Canal. You will find a link to his blog below.

We also completed our first guided walk of the season for Wiltshire Museum, undertaking a shortened version of the walk around the Fonthill Estate that we posted on 9 April 2021. If you’d like to join us on future walks you’ll find a list on Wiltshire Museum’s website using the link below. Wiltshire Museum has also just launched a new exhibition entitled Hardy’s Wessex and again you’ll find details on their website. The exhibition is spread across four museums – Wiltshire Museum in Devizes, The Salisbury Museum, Poole Museum and Dorset Museum in Dorchester. It runs from 28 May to 30 October 2022.

The main subject of this episode of the Hidden Wiltshire podcast was the walk that Paul and his regular walking buddy Stu did to Grovely Wood. We mentioned it in the last episode but we have a longer discussion about it today. But not before we talk about the location for our recording which prompted a wide ranging discussion about the landscape in this part of Wiltshire and of course its prehistoric past! Francis Pryor’s fantastic book Scenes From Prehistoric Life has been a great source of information for both of us and we discuss the book in this episode of the podcast, hence the link to it below.

Then on to the wrap up:

Steve Dixon’s piece leading into our main subject today is called “Eyes Looking East”. We used this because of Grovely Wood’s role in the Second World War, as you’ll hear in the podcast.  As ever the piece in the introduction and at the end of the podcast is entitled “The Holloway”.

Don’t forget to check out the Hidden Wiltshire online shop on the website if you’d like to help us keep the lights on. The first edition of the Hidden Wiltshire book has now sold out but the second edition is still available at a specially discounted price from the website. The book is also available at Devizes Bookshop, Wiltshire Museum in Devizes and now Wiltshire’s libraries. And don’t forget to subscribe to the Hidden Wiltshire Newsletter from the website. You can also subscribe to alerts about new Blogs.

Glyn’s blog about his walk through the Bowood estate can be found here Bowood - a circular walk from Calne

You can read Elaine Perkins’ blog about her walk around the villages of Teffont Magna and Teffont Evias here A Short Walk in the Vale of Wardour

You can find a list of the guided walks we lead in conjunction with Wiltshire Museum here Wiltshire Museum Hidden Wiltshire Walks

You can read Paul’s blog about Langford Lakes and Grovely Wood here Grovely Wood and the Woodsman

Francis Pryor’s wonderful book Scenes From Prehistoric Life can be found here as well as many other good book sellers Scenes From Prehistoric Life

Glyn’s photographs can be seen on his Instagram feed @coy_cloud

He is also very active on Twitter where his username is @Glyndle

Paul’s photography can be found on his website at Paul Timlett Photography and on Instagram at @tragicyclist

Steve Dixon’s sound art can be found on Soundcloud where his username is River and Rail Steve Dixon River and Rail. His photographs can be found on Instagram at @stevedixon_creative and his graphic design business website is at Steve Dixon Creative

And finally you’ll find the Hidden Wiltshire online shop here Hidden Wiltshire Shop 

and a link to Glyn’s blog about the latest book and how to purchase a copy here Hidden Wiltshire from near and far