The church of bones and lost souls
In the old streets of Naples, there’s a small church of bones, mystery and cult worship – an offshoot of the Neapolitan Cult of the Dead. Advertisements
Sunrise to sunset: walking Kolkata
Kolkata has been called a city of furious energy, the city of joy, a dying city. It is teeming, intense, broken and modern, old British empire and a stronghold of Bengali pride and culture. It’s crumbling and developing, wealthy and poor. It’s digested a tragic history but has a unique soul where it’s almost obligatory…
Walking 450 miles to freedom
In 1918, my grandfather and seven other British officers escaped from a Turkish prisoner of war camp. That was the easy part. They then faced 450 miles of deadly heat, hostile terrain and trigger-happy brigands.
Abandoned railways, restored heritage
Exploring abandoned and restored industrial railway heritage in south Scotland and Yorkshire.
Hello my friends, this murder of crows
Daily winter encounters with the local murder of crows, and exploring crow folklore.
London, I remember: horses
Once, London was a city of horses. Humans lived cheek by jowl with the 300,000 horses of cabmen, traders, laundrymen, grocers and rag-and-bone men. You can see the traces of that time everywhere: old stone drinking troughs, hidden cobbled mews, mounting blocks, slips and ramps.
Tea: its strange history and curious folklore
Dreams, gods, ghost guards, emperors, a lovestruck moon – tea has a rich and often macabre heritage of superstition and stories.
Finding our ghosts: at a Victorian séance
Finding ghosts and spirits at a Victorian séance in one of Britian’s oldest music halls.
