Notes on Herefordshire
Some thoughts summarising the points we made in our Herefordshire podcast...
Cider can and should be drank all year round. From cloudy scrumpy to refreshing fruit cider, strong perry to warm mulled cider - there's more than enough variety and its a really versatile and quite frankly underrated drink. Most of it is made in Herefordshire (60% of it in fact). There was even a day when people were paid in cider.
The Mappa Mundi is the largest medieval map around. Its an interesting testimony to the antiquated blurring between literal truth, functional truth and storytelling; being a mix of cartography, ontological moralism and poetry all at once.
Offa's Dyke is an underrated marvel and a great setting for a decent walk. Its made even more impressive by thinking of its scope and scale and the time-period of its construction which was fractured post-Roman. It's almost on the level of Stonehenge as far as Dark Age building projects go.
The fascination with cryptids and other unlikely or mythological creatures seems to romanticise a hyper-realised version of nature, with all its mystery and little of its reality. Its ultimately unnecessary given the weird and wonderful species in every corner of the world which are valuable and interesting enough in their own right. Perhaps the fascination stems from dissatisfaction or ignorance regarding real nature; that it somehow isn't good enough in itself or is underwhelming. Despite that, its super interesting! It can tell us a lot about psychology and local history, especially when one considers what actually counts as valid reports in modern folk-stories and what fears they may be revealing. Paradoxically, if we ever found any such creatures we would ultimately be disappointed anyway - comparable to studying contacted tribes. Our over-zealous curiosity can destroy a thing's very essence. It would become another boring animal and lose its mysterious status.
Even for a materialist or naturalist, local ghost stories (or at least some of them) contain a value as a part of folklore and enrich the heritage of a place, connecting it to the superstitions of an older time.
Nature has an intrinsic worth, a fact that people remember more when they take day-trips and holidays around Britain, with the Wye Valley being one of the most beautiful places of Earth. Maybe we should "use" nature less (biking, paintballing) to see its sufficient beauty? A true connection with nature however is about a real understanding that comes from a dynamic relationship where one is affected by the other. Ancient peoples and modern farmers appreciate their connection with nature not because they fetishise landscapes and wildlife but because they impact and rely upon their surroundings. A rural "picturesque" landscape is imbued with the hard work and toil of generations - its not just a postcard.
Ancient laws about Welshmen and longbows are utter bobbins. Don’t try it… even in a churchyard at high-noon.
Lots of local stories and ideas share common threads and motifs, the result of ambiguous and confused historiography from regional conflict, cultural exchange and bad games of whispers. Herefordshire itself was part of a Welsh kingdom for a large part of history.
The famous breed of Hereford cattle is so tame that Hereford United's mascot was a real life bull!
Herefordshire is often overlooked (or auto-corrected to Hertfordshire) and is the fourth smallest county in Britain. Its only city, Hereford has about 56,000 residents. That said, it contains many famous people and noteworthy things, as we discuss in the episode. Its arguably the birthplace of British Tourism (as we explain in the episode) and writers like Catherine Cookson were deeply inspired by the landscape and people. In fact, Tolkien likely based a lot of areas of Middle Earth on the county, especially Hobbiton.
Hot take: Villages, hamlets and small towns need one (or preferably all) of the following - a pub, a shop, a church and a community hall. Without any sense of communal identity a village is just a collection of isolated, insular residencies that may as well not be collected in a group. Even a small green, a few benches and a notice board go a long way in bringing some community to what would otherwise be a bunch of houses. Its a personal pet peeve but I often see collections of new-builds springing up and being given quaint names when, in reality, the entire site is designed for a middle class commute anyway. If a "village" doesn't have a boozer or a local shop (ie. some history, a place to gather or at least some amenities) then it should just resign itself to its postcode or its residents should describe their abode as "between Littleton and Longview".
Whatever trials rural life brings are offset by a deep sense of perspective. A relative lack of amenities or cosmopolitan luxuries usually breeds an appreciation for what is closest and deeper to the heart.
The Mappa Mundi is the largest medieval map around. Its an interesting testimony to the antiquated blurring between literal truth, functional truth and storytelling; being a mix of cartography, ontological moralism and poetry all at once.
Offa's Dyke is an underrated marvel and a great setting for a decent walk. Its made even more impressive by thinking of its scope and scale and the time-period of its construction which was fractured post-Roman. It's almost on the level of Stonehenge as far as Dark Age building projects go.
The fascination with cryptids and other unlikely or mythological creatures seems to romanticise a hyper-realised version of nature, with all its mystery and little of its reality. Its ultimately unnecessary given the weird and wonderful species in every corner of the world which are valuable and interesting enough in their own right. Perhaps the fascination stems from dissatisfaction or ignorance regarding real nature; that it somehow isn't good enough in itself or is underwhelming. Despite that, its super interesting! It can tell us a lot about psychology and local history, especially when one considers what actually counts as valid reports in modern folk-stories and what fears they may be revealing. Paradoxically, if we ever found any such creatures we would ultimately be disappointed anyway - comparable to studying contacted tribes. Our over-zealous curiosity can destroy a thing's very essence. It would become another boring animal and lose its mysterious status.
Even for a materialist or naturalist, local ghost stories (or at least some of them) contain a value as a part of folklore and enrich the heritage of a place, connecting it to the superstitions of an older time.
Nature has an intrinsic worth, a fact that people remember more when they take day-trips and holidays around Britain, with the Wye Valley being one of the most beautiful places of Earth. Maybe we should "use" nature less (biking, paintballing) to see its sufficient beauty? A true connection with nature however is about a real understanding that comes from a dynamic relationship where one is affected by the other. Ancient peoples and modern farmers appreciate their connection with nature not because they fetishise landscapes and wildlife but because they impact and rely upon their surroundings. A rural "picturesque" landscape is imbued with the hard work and toil of generations - its not just a postcard.
Ancient laws about Welshmen and longbows are utter bobbins. Don’t try it… even in a churchyard at high-noon.
Lots of local stories and ideas share common threads and motifs, the result of ambiguous and confused historiography from regional conflict, cultural exchange and bad games of whispers. Herefordshire itself was part of a Welsh kingdom for a large part of history.
The famous breed of Hereford cattle is so tame that Hereford United's mascot was a real life bull!
Herefordshire is often overlooked (or auto-corrected to Hertfordshire) and is the fourth smallest county in Britain. Its only city, Hereford has about 56,000 residents. That said, it contains many famous people and noteworthy things, as we discuss in the episode. Its arguably the birthplace of British Tourism (as we explain in the episode) and writers like Catherine Cookson were deeply inspired by the landscape and people. In fact, Tolkien likely based a lot of areas of Middle Earth on the county, especially Hobbiton.
Hot take: Villages, hamlets and small towns need one (or preferably all) of the following - a pub, a shop, a church and a community hall. Without any sense of communal identity a village is just a collection of isolated, insular residencies that may as well not be collected in a group. Even a small green, a few benches and a notice board go a long way in bringing some community to what would otherwise be a bunch of houses. Its a personal pet peeve but I often see collections of new-builds springing up and being given quaint names when, in reality, the entire site is designed for a middle class commute anyway. If a "village" doesn't have a boozer or a local shop (ie. some history, a place to gather or at least some amenities) then it should just resign itself to its postcode or its residents should describe their abode as "between Littleton and Longview".
Whatever trials rural life brings are offset by a deep sense of perspective. A relative lack of amenities or cosmopolitan luxuries usually breeds an appreciation for what is closest and deeper to the heart.