Greetings one and all, and welcome to my humble blog, a place where you can escape the madness of modernity and lose yourself in another time – a far distant time, when people lived a different life by different rules.

I’m a medieval historian with a First Class Honours Degree from the Open University, a mum of two, a longbowman and a keen walker. And I have a passion: a driving, all-consuming passion for castles and all things medieval. I became this way thanks to just one TV programme and one book (more on those later), and together they completely changed my life. My long-standing passing interest in history grew overnight, like Jack’s fabled beanstalk, as I learned the wonderful stories and met the colourful characters that peppered these lands during the Middle Ages. It was as though a switch had been flicked on and my world lit up. The medieval period is crammed with big personalities, vibrant colours and fascinating tales, and it’s my mission to bring them all back to life.

Now I combine my two loves of walking and medieval history, as I wander back in time as often as I can. I wander, and I wonder. I also have a pilots licence, so occasionally I’ll even fly over a castle and admire its magnificent and enduring presence within the landscape. The more I learn of the Middle Ages, the deeper I fall in love with the people, their intriguing lives and the stunning buildings they left behind.

So join me on a quest through a thousand years of the best stories, and places our islands have to offer.

We ride at dawn…