Northamptonshire is a storehouse of history, both old and new, opening a treasure chest of heroes and heroines, battles won and lost, and legends of love and losses.
Few small villages have as many tragic royal associations as Fotheringhay, the the east of the county. Edward, the second Duke of the House of York, killed at Agincourt in 1415, was buried here at the church, and Richard III was born in the castle. Mary Queen of Scots was also beheaded here, and to this day, Scottish thistles grow on the banks of the River Nene, where the castle once stood. It is said that the ill-fated Mary planted them, to remind her of her beloved Scotland.
History lives on in Geddington and Northampton, where two of three surviving Eleanor Crosses remain, out of the original nine. Edward I, to kindle the memory of his beloved wife Queen Eleanor who died in 1290, built these crosses to mark the places where her embalmed body rested on the 150 mile journey to London.
Travelling around Northamptonshire villages, you will never be far away from stocks and whipping posts. Keep your eyes open for them at Apethorpe, Eydon, Kings Sutton, Little Houghton, Sulgrave and Aynho.
Naseby, in the north west of the county, is of course the site of the climatic battle of the English Civil War fought on 14th June 1645. Carles I is believed to have spent six days in Daventry prior to the ill-fated battle, and was later imprisoned at Holdenby House.
Northamptonshire was preparing for battle more recently as well : From 1942-1945 the county became home to the American 8th Army Air Force, and today, you can take a 60-mile journey around the county which will link you to 15 of their sites, including US air bases and war memorials.
Vast tracts of Northamptonshire farmlands were hastily converted to airfields during the second world war, and immense runways of concrete were laid over fields where previously cattle had grazed. During this time, seven local wartime arifields were alive with the sound of Mustangs, Thunderbolts, Liberators, Flying Fortresses and Troop Carrier Aircraft. The award winning Sywell Aviation Museum and Harrington 'Carpetbagger' Museum tell the stories of those that served in the county.
Come and see the thistles planted by Mary Queen of Scots, hear the battle cries across the fields of Nasby, the dron of gigantic B17 Bombers taking to the skies, and experience the tranquility of the Round Oval at Althorp, where Northamptonshire's most famous daughter, Diana Princess of Wales has been laid to rest.
So why not pay a visit to Northamptonshire and walk in the footsteps of heroes and heroines?