Curious Britain

In December 1900, three lighthouse keepers vanished from the remote island of Eilean Mòr without a trace. Over the years, their disappearance has become legend through stories, songs, and speculation. But what really happened on that storm-swept rock? This episode explores the mystery behind one of maritime history’s most enduring tragedies. 📢 Get in touch & support the show Have a story idea...

Step into 12th-century Suffolk with this episode of Curious Britain, as we uncover the mysterious legend of the Green Children of Woolpit. Found in the fields with green skin and speaking an unknown language, these children have baffled historians for centuries. Were they lost immigrants, aliens or something else entirely? We explore the strange tale, historical context, and theories behind one of...

Beneath Leicester’s Braunstone Park lies a hidden mystery — a forgotten network of tunnels beneath a grand Georgian hall. Once the home of the Winstanley family, Braunstone Hall has long held secrets within its foundations. In this episode, we explore the eerie passages rediscovered after centuries in the dark. 📢 Get in touch & support the show Have a story idea or just want to say hello? Dro...

When an exotic traveller knocked on the door of the parson’s house in Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, in April 1817 seeking food and shelter, the local community were fascinated by the mysterious young woman who dressed in oriental attire and couldn’t speak a word of English. Soon, visitors poured into the town from far and wide to catch a glimpse of the famous ‘Princess Caraboo’ from the far-off la...

Who knew that an urban tunnel could be so filled with curiosities? From its celebrated opening in 1897 to today, the Blackwall Tunnel has played host to a mass underwater luncheon, caused various kinds of chaos, and been home to a ghostly hitchhiker who flagged down a motorbike and then disappeared. Do spirits really lurk in this modern-day traffic hotspot underneath the River Thames? 📢 Get in to...

In the summer of 1858, London was overwhelmed by a horrific stench emanating from the River Thames, which had become a vast, polluted cesspool. The unbearable odour disrupted daily life, with Parliament nearly relocated due to the health risks. The crisis, known as the Great Stink, spurred action, leading to the construction of a modern sewage system designed by Sir Joseph Bazalgette. This monumen...

Explore one of the most little-known and unsettling cases of poltergeist activity ever to take place in the UK. This is the case of 12-year-old Mary Jobson from Sunderland, who was brought almost to the brink of death by a series of disembodied phenomena which could not be easily explained away. Where did the music come from? And was she really hearing the voice of God? 📢 Get in touch & suppo...

How do you go about finding someone who walks round a corner and disappears, seemingly without a trace? This is what happened in the curious case of Benjamin Bathurst… 📢 Get in touch & support the show Have a story idea or just want to say hello? Drop us an email at curiousbritainpodcast@gmail.com – we’d love to hear from you! 💡  Support us on Patreon Enjoying Curious Britain ? Help us keep...

An extraordinary sighting of a comet over London in 1664 heralded a double disaster of the following two years: The Great Plague and the Great Fire. But it wasn’t just Londoners who suffered. The Peak District village of Eyam made an incredible sacrifice, dooming themselves to the pestilence to stop the disease spreading further, in a curiously progressive approach that became the forerunner to mo...

The heavy snowfall overnight in Devon in February 1855 was unusual. But what was even more unusual was the trail of footprints that appeared in the snow, ranging for over 100 miles, crossing rivers and 20-foot-high obstacles. They didn’t seem to be made by any recognisable animal. So who, or what, was walking through Devon that night? 📢 Get in touch & support the show Have a story idea or jus...

In 19th century England it seemed that having a distinctive moustache was risky, as chemist Adolf Beck found out to his misfortune. At the time, eyewitness descriptions of criminals were accepted as fact, in a world without DNA and the scientific advances we now rely on. How was Beck mistaken for a conman who, except for his moustache, didn’t really look like him at all? 📢 Get in Touch & Supp...

Few birds are as quintessentially British as the humble pigeon, but at best, they’re seen as comical, at worst, as vermin. But did you know that pigeons served as daring message carriers in the World Wars? In this episode, we’ll explore the contributions of these noble and under-appreciated birds who risked their lives to carry top-secret messages to the front-line in all weather conditions, frequ...

Hampton-on-Sea, a once-thriving Kent village, now lies beneath the waves—forgotten by time but not by history. Among its final residents was Detective Inspector Edmund Reid, famed for his role in the Jack the Ripper investigation. As the sea devoured homes, Reid waged a desperate, good-humoured battle to save his own. But could anything stand against nature’s relentless march? Join me, Prash, on C...

Fraud, deception, a striking red cloak, and a crashed car on a lonely Welsh clifftop road. What was the enigmatic story behind this curious little-known incident, and why is this spot still known as “Violet’s Leap” today? 📢 Get in Touch & Support the Show Have a story idea or just want to say hello? Drop us an email at curiousbritainpodcast@gmail.com – we’d love to hear from you! 💡 Support U...

If you shoot a ghost that’s been frightening people to death, is it against the law? This could be one of the strangest murder defences in history, when Francis Smith armed himself with a pistol and went in search of the ghoulish apparition that was haunting Hammersmith in 1804. 📢  Get in Touch & Support the Show Have a story idea or just want to say hello? Drop us an email at curiousbritainp...

Think modern fads are strange? Try the Georgian craze for having a hermit living in your back garden. Let’s explore this forgotten trend which saw a spate of advertisements for people to spend seven years living on country estates without washing or cutting their hair, while dispensing contemplative words of wisdom to visitors. 📢 Get in Touch & Support the Show Have a story idea or just want...

Did you know there’s a replica of the famous Colosseum of Rome in Scotland? Let’s find out where it came from, who built it, and why, in this episode of Curious Britain. 📢 Get in Touch & Support the Show Have a story idea or just want to say hello? Drop us an email at curiousbritainpodcast@gmail.com – we’d love to hear from you! 💡  Support Us on Patreon Enjoying Curious Britain ? Help us kee...

We explore the cryptic inscription on a stone slab which hints at the terror wrought by a boggart in the village of Longridge, Lancashire. Many people in the area have reported tales over the centuries of apparitions, misfortune, and mischievous invisible forces, which are often blamed on the local boggarts. One man was even chased by a headless figure down a dark lane on his way home at night… 📢...

Disguises, sword fights, kidnapping, and a band of 17th century rogues – they’re all here in this eventful episode of Curious Britain, as we explore this historic attempt to purloin every thief’s dream target…The Crown Jewels. 📢 Get in touch & support the show Have a story idea or just want to say hello? Drop us an email at  curiousbritainpodcast@gmail.com – we’d love to hear from you! 💡 Sup...

Did a 15th century witch who lived in a remote North Yorkshire cave really predict the rise and fall of monarchs, world wars, planes, and even the internet? Some people think so, and even today tourists flock to visit Mother Shipton’s cave in Knaresborough, tucked away in an otherworldly forest next to a magic well which can turn items into stone. But who was Mother Shipton really, and is there an...

St Michael’s Church Clock in Coningsby, Lincolnshire, is the largest of its kind in the country. But what else is unique about this historic timepiece? Find out in this episode of Curious Britain. Get in touch with us at: curiousbritainpodcast@gmail.com If you've been enjoying our content, we'd love your support to continue delivering more! A one-off contribution, no matter how small, goes a long...

UFO sightings today are often blamed on modern aircraft. But how can we explain the reports of moving lights and mysterious airships across Ireland as early as 1909, in the infancy of aviation? Get in touch with us at: curiousbritainpodcast@gmail.com If you've been enjoying our content, we'd love your support to continue delivering more! A one-off contribution, no matter how small, goes a long way...

When a group of workers on a routine drainage project accidentally discovered something buried in a cave in the Cheddar Gorge, Somerset, they could never have predicted that it would become one of the most significant archaeological discoveries ever made in Britain – a 10,000 Mesolithic skeleton known as Cheddar Man. Get in touch with us at: curiousbritainpodcast@gmail.com If you've been enjoying...

Who (or what) placed these curious monuments on top of a Cotswold hill between 3,500 and 1,500 BC, and what was their purpose? Let’s explore the archaeology and folklore that surrounds the Rollright Stones, which are less well-known that Stonehenge, but every bit as intriguing. Reach out to us at: curiousbritainpodcast@gmail.com If you've been enjoying our content, we'd love your support to contin...

Britain isn’t known for its extreme weather events, but did you know the country was battered by snowstorms in 1891? The storm caused chaos, burying trains, blowing ships onto the rocks, and bringing down telegraph wires in an oft-forgotten incident that became known as The Great Blizzard.     Get in touch with us at: curiousbritainpodcast@gmail.com If you enjoy the show and would like to support...