Shrine, prison cell, Knights Templar meeting place, Augustinian monks’ wine cellar, burial site or Neolithic flint mine? Nobody knows, but fascination prevails.
Royston Cave was discovered in 1742, cut into the chalk bedrock beneath crossroads in the centre of town. Shaped like a beehive, 16ft wide and 26ft tall, its walls are covered in crude carvings dated to the mid 1300s of Christian saints, animals and pagan earth goddess Sheela-na-gig.
Holes beneath the figures show they were once illuminated by candles and, whoever might have visited this subterranean oddity, most believe it has held a sacred energy for thousands of years.
See more of Secret Britain
Binevenagh, Northern Ireland: Lava-hewn crags and cliffs at the end of one of the planet's great railway journeys
Our Secret Britain piece today takes a look at the view from the top of Binevenagh in Co Londonderry.
Beinn Dubh, Argyll and Bute: 'It'll take you a while to climb it, simply because you’ll have to stop repeatedly to admire the view'
Annunciata Elwes takes a look at the magnificent view from Beinn Dubh, found in the Luss Hills in Argyll and
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The real name of a 'ghost' rainbow, the first ever omnishambles, and golf on the moon: Country Life Quiz of the Day 20 February 2025Some real brainteasers for you in our Quiz of the Day. Good luck!
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Tom Parker Bowles's favourite recipe: French onion soupThis dish is no mere Gallic broth, rather pure bonhomie in a bowl — a boozy, beefy, allium-scented masterpiece that cries out for the chill depths of winter
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St Patrick’s Chapel ruins, Heysham: The mythical Lancashire ruins with a heavenly viewAnnunciata Elwes takes a look at St Patrick’s Chapel ruins, a Morecambe Bay landmark.
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Suisnish, Isle of Skye: The atmospheric ruins of a Clearance villageBeauty now reigns in a tragic spot where hundreds of villagers suffered during the Clearance
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Covehithe beach, Suffolk, where the cliffs crumble like cakeThe most eroded beach in Britain has a post-apocalyptic feel.
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Clydach Ironworks, Monmouthshire: Ruins in the gorge that inspired ShakespeareAn oasis of quiet now stands where the steam hammers thudded at this Welsh ironworks, in a river valley that may have moved Shakespeare to write A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
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John Bunting War Memorial Chapel, Scotch Corner: The painstaking transformation of rubble to War MemorialAnnunciata Elwes celebrates the effort that turned a derelict house into a memorial.
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The Garden of Cosmic Speculation: The surreal space where Lewis Carroll and Willy Wonka meet Capability BrownSurrealism, philosophy, nature and gardening come together at the Garden of Cosmic Speculation, as Annunciata Elwes explains.
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The Airman’s Grave, Ashdown Forest: A touching and little-known memorial to victims of war and fateA wartime tragedy in East Sussex's Ashdown Forest is among our Secret Britain picks, as chosen by Annunciata Elwes.
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St Lythans chambered long barrow, Vale of Glamorgan: A place to make a Halloween wishAnnunciata Elwes looks at the myths and legends surrounding St Lythans chambered long barrow.
