Hidden Wiltshire Podcast

About Hidden Wiltshire Podcast

Join photographers Glyn Coy and Paul Timlett as they work their way around this ancient, historic county and talk about what they have found.

Publisher

Hidden Wiltshire

Category

arts · health & fitness · leisure

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

3 Jan 2021

Latest episode

25 Feb 2024

Latest episodes

45 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   25 Feb 2024

   45: Weird Wiltshire

   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 (https://www.youtube.com/@pwhitewick/featured) The Harnham Water Meadows Trust website can be found here Harnham Water Meadows Trust (https://www.salisburywatermeadows.org.uk/) Our interview with Tim Daw can be heard here All Cannings Long Barrow - An Interview with Tim Daw (https://hiddenwiltshirepodcast.com/episodes/35-all-cannings-long-barrow-an-interview-with-tim-daw-598) 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 (https://www.hiddenwiltshire.com/post/temple-bottom-and-of-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 (https://www.hiddenwiltshire.com/post/tisbury-and-its-three-castles) You can find Emma Heard’s Weird Wiltshire website here Weird Wiltshire (https://weird-wiltshire.co.uk/). She is also on Twitter (or whatever it is called these days) where she is known as @WeirdWiltsBlog (https://twitter.com/WeirdWiltsBlog) and Bluesky (whatever that is!) at Emma Heard Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/weird-wiltshire.bsky.social) 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 (https://www.paultimlett.co.uk/) and on Instagram at @tragicyclist (https://www.instagram.com/tragicyclist/) Steve Dixon’s sound art can be found on Soundcloud where his username is River and Rail Steve Dixon River and Rail (https://soundcloud.com/stevedixon). His photographs can be found on Instagram at @stevedixon_creative (https://www.instagram.com/stevedixon_creative/) and his graphic design business website is at Steve Dixon Creative (https://www.stevedixoncreative.co.uk/) And finally you’ll find the Hidden Wiltshire online shop here Hidden Wiltshire Shop (https://www.hiddenwiltshire.com/shop)

2. 

   23 Dec 2023

   44: A Meander Along Some of Wiltshire’s Rivers

   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 (https://www.hiddenwiltshire.com/post/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 (https://www.hiddenwiltshire.com/post/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 (https://www.hiddenwiltshire.com/post/egbert-s-stone-the-harrow-way-and-a-splendid-bottom), and Tisbury and Oddford Vale (https://www.hiddenwiltshire.com/post/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 (https://youtu.be/b0GiPtOHI7U?si=omgs9t0fR44HbYm4). 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 (https://www.hiddenwiltshire.com/post/the-river-wylye) and of course his blog about The Nine Mile River. Which isn’t. Nine Miles. Nine Mile River (https://www.hiddenwiltshire.com/post/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 (https://twitter.com/Glyndle) Paul’s photography can be found on his website at Paul Timlett Photography (https://www.paultimlett.co.uk/) and on Instagram at @tragicyclist (https://www.instagram.com/tragicyclist/) Steve Dixon’s sound art can be found on Soundcloud where his username is River and Rail Steve Dixon River and Rail (https://soundcloud.com/stevedixon). His photographs can be found on Instagram at @stevedixon_creative (https://www.instagram.com/stevedixon_creative/) and his graphic design business website is at Steve Dixon Creative (https://www.stevedixoncreative.co.uk/) And finally you’ll find the Hidden Wiltshire online shop here Hidden Wiltshire Shop (https://www.hiddenwiltshire.com/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

3. 

   25 Jun 2023

   43: Some of our Favourite Woods

   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 (https://www.hedleythorne.com/)), and Paul and Rebecca Whitewick (Paul and Rebecca Whitewick (https://www.youtube.com/@pwhitewick)). They are prolific bloggers, You Tubers and podcasters (Wessex Ways (https://www.youtube.com/@wessexways)) 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 (https://www.ramblers.org.uk/support-us/dont-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 (https://www.hiddenwiltshire.com/post/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 (https://www.hiddenwiltshire.com/post/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 (https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/54385/wildwood-by-roger-deakin/9780141010014) and The House in the Woods - Mark Dawson (https://markjdawson.com/book/the-house-in-the-woods/). 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 (https://www.hiddenwiltshire.com/post/the-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 (https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/296425/a-shepherds-life-by-w-h-hudson/9780241273357). 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 (https://stonedaisy.co.uk/) 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 (https://www.hiddenwiltshire.com/post/biss-wood-trowbridge). 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 (https://www.hiddenwiltshire.com/post/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 (https://www.hiddenwiltshire.com/post/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 (https://www.paultimlett.co.uk/) 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 (https://soundcloud.com/stevedixon). His photographs can be found on Instagram at @stevedixon_creative (https://www.instagram.com/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 (https://www.hiddenwiltshire.com/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

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Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

2 ratings

Spotify

4.3 / 5

9 ratings

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.