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apechild's review
5.0
What a wonderful book. It's a shame I'm going to have to take it back to the library. Whenever I'm going somewhere I am one of those people who looks over the OS map in search of random features to explore, so a book like this is like gold. It isn't an exhaustive list and doesn't go into too much detail (just enough) on any one thing. This book takes you through features, both in the countryside, villages and towns, and shows you what you can see. There are lists of the best examples of each feature in the country, and plenty of photographs and illustrations. We're talking everything from stone circles, bridges, field lines, burial mounds, quarries, church features, pubs (didn't realise the pub notion went all the way back to the Romans), farming, common land, roads, signs and milestones, hedges and stone walls, village greens, cottages... and all the history and clues you can find therein. Ok, you get the general idea. I can imagine this would be very useful as an ongoing reference book (I did actually read this cover to cover) for those in the UK who love to explore the world around them.
danielsalinas00's review
adventurous
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.25
Beautifully illustrated with photographs, drawings and diagrams, this field guide is perfect to better understand the cultural landscape of Britain, helping you identify tumulus, hillforts, standing stones, ancient paths and roads, and the different elements of vernacular architecture. It really makes you want to go out there and wander across fields, woods, moors and tiny villages!
halfmanhalfbook's review
3.0
The British landscape as we see it today smothers a whole load of history. But if you look very carefully at the scene in front of you, you can start to see hints of the features that lie just beneath. But what are they? This is where Hidden Histories can help. Ochota has compiled a guide to discovering what the lumps and bumps that dot our countryside really are, so you can tell your cursus from your barrow, standing stones from a rubbing stone and your stretchers from your English bond. For each of the sections, you are provided with lots of details on what to look for, how to make an assessment of just what it is you are looking at and how to determine just how ancient it really is.
The book is packed full of excellent photos as well as artworks, maps and detailed drawings of all sorts of places, buildings, landscapes and features. I particularly liked the way that he has chosen her top five of a specific feature, so you can go and have a look yourself. It is a very good guide for getting you out into the landscape to look at it with a different set of eyes and to discover the history that you probably haven’t noticed before. 3.5 stars
The book is packed full of excellent photos as well as artworks, maps and detailed drawings of all sorts of places, buildings, landscapes and features. I particularly liked the way that he has chosen her top five of a specific feature, so you can go and have a look yourself. It is a very good guide for getting you out into the landscape to look at it with a different set of eyes and to discover the history that you probably haven’t noticed before. 3.5 stars
halfmanhalfbook's review against another edition
3.0
The British landscape as we see it today smothers a whole load of history. But if you look very carefully at the scene in front of you, you can start to see hints of the features that lie just beneath. But what are they? This is where Hidden Histories can help. Ochota has compiled a guide to discovering what the lumps and bumps that dot our countryside really are, so you can tell your cursus from your barrow, standing stones from a rubbing stone and your stretchers from your English bond. For each of the sections, you are provided with lots of details on what to look for, how to make an assessment of just what it is you are looking at and how to determine just how ancient it really is.
The book is packed full of excellent photos as well as artworks, maps and detailed drawings of all sorts of places, buildings, landscapes and features. I particularly liked the way that he has chosen her top five of a specific feature, so you can go and have a look yourself. It is a very good guide for getting you out into the landscape to look at it with a different set of eyes and to discover the history that you probably haven’t noticed before. 3.5 stars
The book is packed full of excellent photos as well as artworks, maps and detailed drawings of all sorts of places, buildings, landscapes and features. I particularly liked the way that he has chosen her top five of a specific feature, so you can go and have a look yourself. It is a very good guide for getting you out into the landscape to look at it with a different set of eyes and to discover the history that you probably haven’t noticed before. 3.5 stars