Travels round the edge of history
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Once upon a time in Scotland
The Outer Hebrides are on the edge now, but back in prehistoric times they were at the centre - and a natural place to build one of Britain's great…
Oct 19
•
David Bowen
5
3
Every gravestone tells a story
The village of Nieblum on the island of Föhr has a most unusual graveyard: the tombstones there talk, or so the Germans say
Oct 12
•
David Bowen
5
Ouâroh! The wonderful muddle of Guernsey
Guernsey wears its Norman heritage with style in its laws and its languages: 'Ôuâroh' means Hello in the local patois
Oct 5
•
David Bowen
7
5
September 2025
Pause for thought: What have I learnt?
I have visited and researched many Atlantic islands. What, if anything, makes islands special?
Sep 28
•
David Bowen
6
4
How to make a British island German
Heligoland had never been German, but under British rule in the nineteenth century, that is what it became
Sep 21
•
David Bowen
5
An emperor, an island and a sainthood
The last of the Habsburg rulers is buried on Madeira. The story of his last five years is extraordinary - even for an emperor and potential saint
Sep 14
•
David Bowen
4
5
The Mr Bigs of the north? How Gotland got rich
We know that vast amounts of silver came from the east to Scandinavia. But why did so much come to Gotland? Academics have their theories ...
Sep 7
•
David Bowen
6
3
August 2025
A taste of tea and oranges
The only commercial tea plantation in the European Union is in the Azores. It's a rare survivor in a tough world that has seen other crops grow mighty…
Aug 31
•
David Bowen
10
3
Where Scotland was Welsh
Dumbarton Rock near Glasgow has many claims to historical fame. Top of the list must be that for many centuries it was the capital of a Welsh-speaking…
Aug 24
•
David Bowen
6
1
Silver from the east
The largest concentration of silver hoards known to man is in Gotland. There are many mysteries surrounding it, but at least we know where it came from.
Aug 17
•
David Bowen
7
3
Make friends with the wind
The Portuguese call the great swirl of wind in the north and south Atlantic the Volta do Mar. It gave them a vast maritime empire, and it still gives…
Aug 10
•
David Bowen
5
3
The Island of Women
Ushant, Ouessant in French, lies off the coast of Britanny. History and the wild seas around it meant that for two centuries it was in effect a…
Aug 3
•
David Bowen
7
2
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