Category Archives: british traditions

Family cycling trails in the UK: readers’ tips

What better way to explore the UK than on a bike ride? From Morecambe Bay to the Mendips, here are our readers’ favourite family cycle trails

Hut stuff: Bournemouth’s new beach lodges

The seaside resort has re-imagined the classic British beach hut as a chic bolthole that makes for an idyllic family break

Turtle Rinsing in London

It’s a little known fact that every turtle that swims up the River Thames past Tower Bridge into the Pool of London becomes the property and responsibility of the monarch. This rule is part of the Common Law of England and dates back to the time of Queen Matilda in the 12th Century. The RoyalContinue reading “Turtle Rinsing in London”

Skipping around the windmill

The concept of the Village Idiot is a long-held tradition that was refined to its highest degree in rural Somerset in the 1300s. At that time the position of Village Idiot was an official job title and had a salary, though it was paid in acorns. Both men and women could apply for the roleContinue reading “Skipping around the windmill”