Rather English - See the Uffington White Horse

Though a number of white horses and other white figures exist on the chalk downland of Southern England, the Uffington Horse is particularly special as it is believed to date from the the Iron Age or the late Bronze Age, making it significantly older than many of its contemporaries.

The horse is found close to the ancient trackway known as the Ridgeway and sits just below Uffington Castle, an ancient hill fort with which it is often assumed to be connected.

For more, see http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/white-horse-hill/

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Rather English - Walk with the Festival of Winter Walks

The Ramblers' annual Festival of Winter Walks has been taking place since 22nd December, but it isn't too late to join in, with walks taking place around the country until 6th January.

Today's agenda includes walks in Oxfordshire, the Lake District, East Staffordshire, the New Forest, the Wandle Valley, Canterbury and scores more.

For more, see http://www.ramblers.org.uk/winterwalks

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Rather English - Wander in Westonbirt Arboretum

Started in the mid-1800s by Victorian landowner Robert Holford, Westonbirt Arboretum is a collection of 16,000 trees from 2,500 different species, covering plants from all over the world including Britain, China, North America, Japan, Chile and many other countries.

The arboretum covers some 600 acres, with 17 miles of pathways through the trees and was taken on by the Forestry Commission in 1956, who still open it to around 350,000 visitors a year with the assistance of the Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum.

For more, see http://www.forestry.gov.uk/westonbirt

<sub>^Picture © stephendgardner used under a Creative Commons license^

From November 2012 until January 2013, Tired of London, Tired of Life will briefly be posting as RatherEnglish.com and featuring interesting things to do in England</sub>

Rather English - Watch the Marshfield Mummers

A seasonal tradition dating back centuries, Mummers Plays are live interpretations of folk tales which were once taken on house visits and to public houses by the performers to raise a few pennies. They are still performed in many areas and every Boxing Day, the town of Marshfield in Gloucestershire still has an group of mummer called 'Old Time Paper Boys' who turn out to perform a play.

The Marshfield Mummers perform their play several times along the High Street, wearing costumes featuring strips of different types of coloured paper and beginning in the Market Place around 11am and featuring Christmas Hymns, a performance of an authentic mummers play.

For more, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshfield,_Gloucestershire#The_Mummers_of_Marshfield
<sub>^Picture © Bob Embleton used under a Creative Commons license^

From November 2012 until January 2013, Tired of London, Tired of Life will briefly be posting as RatherEnglish.com and featuring interesting things to do in England</sub>

Rather English - Do the Hunstanton Christmas Swim

For more than 50 years the people of Hunstanton have been celebrating Christmas by charging headlong into the North Sea and swimming in its chilly waters.


This year is just the same, with hundreds showing up to swim this morning at 11am, some for charity, some in fancy dress and others who just want a challenge, under the organisational talents of the Round Table.

For more, see http://www.hunstantonroundtable.com/xmas-swim.html
<sub>^Picture © simonhunstanton^

From November 2012 until January 2013, Tired of London, Tired of Life will briefly be posting as RatherEnglish.com and featuring interesting things to do in England</sub>

Rather English - Attend Christmas Eve at York Minster

Amongst the largest Gothic buildings in northern Europe, York Minster dominates the skyline of York. Started around 1230, it was not completed until the late 15th century, and since then it has been an important landmark for generations of those who live in York and the surrounding areas. On Christmas Eve, its draw for local people is understandable, and a number of services take place today, attracting up to 2,000 people.

Three main services make up the programme at the Minster today, with a crib service at noon, promising the largest unrehearsed nativity in the country, and inviting everyone to come dressed as a shepherd, angel, star – or even a Power Ranger, to embrace the season. After a 3pm evening prayer, the Service of Nine Lessons and Carols takes place at 4pm with a traditional sequence of nine readings is interspersed with carols from the Minster Choir, and finally Midnight Mass at 11:30pm promises a special service to see in Christmas Day, with with music provided by the St William’s Singers and York Young Soloists.

For more, see http://www.yorkminster.org/whats-on/2012/12/24/christmas-eve-services.html

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Rather English - Celebrate Tom Bawcock's Eve

To the tiny village of Mousehole in Cornwall, where today locals and visitors will be celebrating Tom Bawcock's Eve, as they do every 23rd December, remembering 16th century fisherman Tom Bawcock, who set out onto a stormy sea when no other boats were able to fish and the residents faced starvation, and returned with fish for everyone in time for Christmas.

The festival combines with the annual Christmas lights in the village to make it a festive hotspot, and still sees the making of Stargazy pie, a pie of baked pilchards, egg and potatoes, with the heads of the pilchards poking out to prove that there are fish inside.

For more, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Bawcock's_Eve

_{^Picture © Rod Allday used under a Creative Commons license^
From November 2012 until January 2013, Tired of London, Tired of Life will briefly be posting as RatherEnglish.com and featuring interesting things to do in England}

Rather English - Shop at Bakewell Farmers Market

Boasting over 70 stalls, Bakewell Farmers Market in the Peak District claims to be the second biggest Farmers Market in the country. Whilst it usually takes place on the last Saturday of the month, the Christmas one is early and is taking place today.

Like many farmers markets, Bakewell features a wide range of locally grown and produced goods, and whilst the setting at the modern Agricultural Business Centre near the town centre is perhaps not as atmospheric as some, at least it keeps the rain off.
For more, click here.
_{^Picture © dave hudson used under a Creative Commons license^
From November 2012 until January 2013, Tired of London, Tired of Life will briefly be posting as RatherEnglish.com and featuring interesting things to do in England}

Rather English - Sing village carols at the Paper Mill, Whitehough, High Peak

For those who find singing ordinary carols in chilly churches a bit underwhelming, the people at the Paper Mill Inn in Whitehough, Derbyshire, have the perfect solution. Tonight they are holding a carol singing session at their pub, featuring traditional village carol singing session starting at 8pm.

Village carols were once common in areas like the Peak District, Cumbria and Yorkshire and have seen a resurgence in recent years, and this evening promises experienced carollers, teaching village carols and other traditional tunes and helping to breathe new life into traditional village carol singing.
For more, see click here or visit http://www.papermillinn.co.uk/

<sub>^Picture © Graham Hogg used under a Creative Commons license^

From November 2012 until January 2013, Tired of London, Tired of Life will briefly be posting as RatherEnglish.com and featuring interesting things to do in England</sub>

Rather English - Visit Mompesson's Well, Eyam

In the summer of 1665 a parcel of material arrived from London in the sleepy little Derbyshire village of Eyam for the village tailor. Within a week he was dead, and within two months thirty more villagers had died. Under the direction of the Reverend William Mompesson, the village took the decision to seal itself off from the outside world.

By November 1666 when the plague came to an end in Eyam, 260 out of 350 villagers had died, but the courageous decision of the villagers had helped to protect neighbouring communities, who had played their own part by leaving food and supplies at a well above the town, and collecting money left in the water in exchange. Today the well is known as Mompesson's Well, after the man whose decision played such a vital role in containing the plague.

For more, see http://www.flickr.com/photos/tiredoflondon/8213650916/sizes/h/in/photostream/

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Rather English - Visit the Ridgeway Gallery, Bakewell

The Ridgeway Gallery is a small private art gallery set in an old pub in the Peak District town of Bakewell.

The gallery exhibits art for sale by a number of artists and sculptors, with a focus on local artists and inevitably some works which capture the beauty of the surrounding area. Your author was particularly taken with some of the landscape works, which were sadly out his price range.

For more, see http://www.theridgewaygallery.co.uk/

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Rather English - Seek out the grave of Little John

Whilst some question whether he was real or just a legend, the people of the Peak District village of Hathesage claim that Robin Hood's faithful friend Little John was a real man who died in a cottage beside their church.

We are told that the man who appeared alongside Robin Hood in ballads from around the 15th century onward was buried in the graveyard in a spot where a yew tree now stands and he is still commemorated with a rather more recent gravestone which marks the rough location of his supposed resting place.

For more, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_John

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Rather English - Climb Mam Tor

An popular hill in the Peak District, topped off with an Iron Age hillfort, Mam Tor stands 517 metres high at the head of the Hope Valley, and its name translates as something along the lines of 'mother hill'

Despite the wind, your author thoroughly enjoyed the brief climb to the top, and even enjoyed the approach by car via the atmospheric limestone gorge of Winnats Pass. From the top, there are excellent views down into Edale and the Hope Valley, where trains can be seen working their way along the Hope Valley Line, and the outline remains of the hill fort are still visible.

For more, see http://www.peakdistrictinformation.com/visits/mamtor.php

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Rather English - Drink from St Ann's Well, Buxton

Thanks to ubiquitous plastic bottles of the stuff, Buxton is now known around the country for its mineral water, and the Peak District town still takes great pride in its waters. For those seeking a more authentic experience than getting it off the shelves at their local corner shop, it still comes straight out of the ground at St Ann's Well on the Crescent in the centre of town.

The current well casing was installed around 1940 as a tribute to Councillor Emelie Dorothy Bounds, on a site where wells have stood since Roman times. The well sees water gush from the mouth of a bronze lion's head, and features a statue of St Ann and child.

For more, see http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-463339-st-anns-well-derbyshire

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Rather English - Sing carols by candlelight at Eastleach Martin

Back down south in spirit today to God's own county of Gloucestershire to mention a Christmas carol service by candlelight at the Church of St Michael and St Martin at Eastleach Martin near Cirencester.

This evening from 6pm this beautiful Medieval church - which is cared for by the Churches Conservation Trust - hosts a rare service on the banks of the River Leach, celebrating the season just as one might imagine hundreds of congregations doing since the church was founded in the 12th century.

For more, see http://www.visitchurches.org.uk/Whatson/Fulleventslist/2012-12-15/Candlelit-Carol-Service-Eastleach/

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