Aberystwyth is the unofficial capital of Mid Wales. Situated on Cardigan Bay, it attracts many as a seaside resort and university town, as well as being a gateway to the Cambrian Mountains inland. The ruins of the castle, destroyed in the Civil War, attest to the town’s importance in the Middle Ages, and with the coming of the railways in the nineteenth century, which brought an influx of visitors, many hotels and grand houses were built. Many buildings and the pier were damaged or destroy...

Variously called the ‘Biarritz of Wales’, the ‘Cambrian Brighton’ and, by Wynford Vaughan Thomas, ‘A town for the unambitious man’, Aberystwyth has been mid-Wales’s premier holiday resort for over 200 years. It is also the home of a vibrant university. Both these functions have contributed to a rich visual culture documenting the town. In Aberystwyth Reflections, local author William Troughton has brought together a fascinating collection of historic and modern photographs that are individ...

Aberystwyth started life as a garrison town for the Normans in 1277. For centuries fishing, sea faring, lead mining and agriculture were the mainstays of the local economy. Today's vitality originates from a few tumultuous years during the 1860s which changed Aberystwyth from being a remote market town, port and watering-hole for the wealthier classes to a bustling holiday resort with a new university. With a mile of promenade, beaches, a harbour, ruined castle, medieval street plan, Unive...

Basking in the summer sunshine of July 1914, the west coast of Wales seemed far away from a war on mainland Europe. However, its effects were soon felt, as within days the Territorial Army camped nearby were marched off to go to – well, no one knew quite where. As the years dragged on, nearly every family was affected by the war. Raw recruits were billeted in the town and marched up and down the promenade, signallers practised sending messages by semaphore from the castle to Constitution H...

Aberystwyth History Tour is a unique guide to the illustrious history of this picturesque market town on the West coast of Wales. With roots traceable back to the Normans, for centuries fishing, sea faring, lead mining and agriculture were the mainstays of the local economy; with the arrival of the railways during the Victorian period, tourism also began to boom. The town is one of great character and charm, it boasts a mile of promenade, beaches, a harbour, ruined castle, university, medi...

WINNER OF THE BRITISH SPORT BOOK AWARDS - RUGBY BOOK OF THE YEARThis is the story of 15 men killed in the Great War. All played rugby for one London club; none lived to hear the final whistle. Rugby brought them together; rugby led the rush to war. They came from Britain and the Empire to fight in every theatre and service, among them a poet, playwright and perfumer. Some were decorated and died heroically; others fought and fell quietly. Together their sto...

Even those who know a great deal about the Easter Rising may not know that there were temporary ceasefires in the St Stephen's Green area, to allow the park attendants to feed the Green's ducks. Few know that the first shots of the rising were actually fired near Portlaoise and not in Dublin or indeed that both sides issued receipts: the rebels for food, the British for handcuffs. It features excerpts from a previously unpublished diary written by a member of the Jacob's garrison; the stor...

There are 37,780 First World War memorials in Britain, listing names from all walks of life - estates, villages, places of work. They stand as landmarks to a defining period in British history - and yet one which is in danger of slipping away from popular memory.NOT FORGOTTEN is a revealing look at the untold stories that lie behind these lists of names - stories of the impact of World War One on British society, the echoes of which can still be felt today. More than a conflict ove...

This walk is one of twelve walks in John Wilks' Walks Through History - Birmingham series which contains twelve walks within the city. The whole book is available as an ebook or physical book or you could try this one out first. The book is a celebration of the beauty and poetry of the county. Each walk in this book has been chosen not only because it is a pleasant walk in its own right, but also because it goes past sites which reveal the rich and varied history of the county. Each walk i...

The Little Book of Norfolk is a repository of intriguing, fascinating, obscure, strange and entertaining facts and trivia about one of England's most colourful counties. It is an essential to the born and bred Norfolk folk or anyone who knows and loves the county. Armed with this fascinating tome the reader will have such knowledge of the county, its landscape, people, places, pleasures and pursuits they will be entertained and enthralled and never short of some f...

In my misguided imagination, I had pictured Scarborough to be no more than a steep cliff overlooking a pleasant bay, with a couple of streets of neat houses that led to open countryside. Scarborough is in reality, very extensive, with row upon row of very tidy, yellow-brick, Victorian and Edwardian houses, that either lead to the town centre or one of two handsome bays.  All in all, whatever problems Scarborough may have had in the recent past, there seems to b...

Immortalised by ' Dad's Army' - this is the true story of the men who manned the British frontline.