Thread by @MikeStuchbery_

So here's a break from the chaos and noise of the outside world, just for a little bit.

Today, despite the horrid weather, I headed up to Sharpenhoe Clappers, a @nationaltrust property near my home.

Sharpenhoe is a chalk escarpment and surrounding countryside, gifted to the nation after WW1 in honour of William Robertson's two younger brothers who died in the conflict.

It's an easy walk from the car park to the escarpment itself.

Sharpenhoe Clappers has over two thousand years of human interactions.

Here you can see that it makes an excellent defensive site. The Celts of the Iron Age thought so. They made it the site of one of their hillforts.

Sharpenhoe Clappers is an example of a promontory hillfort - that is to say, a hillfort that stood on the edge of a range of hills, rather than taking up an entire hilltop.

From this point, you would have had a wooden palisade overlooking the lowlands beyond.

There have been a few digs at Sharpenhoe & a number of artefacts found - nothing to suggest that this was a local hub of trade & admin - more an outpost.

Legend has it that it was one of several forts used by the Celt chieftain Cassivellaunus during the first Roman incursions.

Now, there's a bit of a ghost story attached to Sharpenhoe Clappers, but rather than tweet it out, I thought I'd tell you.

There's a vibe here atop Sharpenhoe Clappers. Pretty sure I was the only soul for 3/4 of a mile in every direction. Didn't feel like it though.

In fact, it got pretty darn spooky as I clomped around the site of the hillfort.

I'm a sucker for gloomy windswept spots. I can give or take the rain.

In the middle ages, Sharpenhoe Clappers became the site of farmed rabbit warrens - rabbits providing a good, cheap source of protein for the locals.

If you're very quiet, you may even still see a few.

I find places like Sharpenhoe Clappers to be incredibly important - not just as a place to go ramble on a wet bank holiday weekend, but as essential in teaching us who we are...

I had a great time rambling about Sharpenhoe Clappers today - so much so that I think that I'm going to start experimenting with these little documentary bits a bit more ..

Anyhoo, hope you enjoyed that. Let me know if you have any questions.

PS. I found these on the way back to the carpark. Can I eat them? If not, pray for Mikey. FIN.