Walks with five more GREAT BRITISH ECCENTRICS
Jack Churchill (1906-1996)
This Mad Jack fought the Second World War armed with a Scottish broadsword, a longbow – and a set of bagpipes, often playing them before beginning battle. He received the Military Cross and Bar for his bravery during the war and took up surfing later in life, becoming the first person to ride the Severn Bore. WALK HERE: Tread the banks of the Severn at Minsterworth* to see the bore running – or to surf it. Find out times at www.severn-bore.co.uk.
Sir Tatton Sykes (1826-1913)
The fifth baronet of Sledmore hated flowers. If he passed one on a walk he’d batter it to death with his stick, and he was known for the phrase, ‘if you want to grow flowers, grow cauliflowers’. Other oddities included a spell in his life when he’d only eat cold rice pudding, apparently refusing to leave his home when it was on fire until he’d finished his bowlful. WALK HERE: The Sykes’ family seat at Sledmere is near Malton in North Yorkshire and you can walk from Wetwang* to the 120-foot monument he erected to his father, the fourth baronet, also called Tatton. Father and son had a passion for restoring churches – St Nicholas at the start of the route is one. Find out more at www.eychurches.org.uk
William John CavendishScott-Bentinck (1800-1879)
Lord John Bentinck, as he was known, became curiously secretive. He had a network of lavish rooms and 15 miles of tunnels built under his home, including a large billiards room, plus a ballroom (though he never organised a party). The tunnels allowed him to head from one place to the next without meeting anyone. One even led over a mile to the nearest railway station. WALK HERE: An 8½ mile walk leads through the cave-pocked gorge of Creswell Crags* and through the grounds of Lord John’s Nottinghamshire estate of Welbeck Abbey, past one of the tunnel entrances and along the line of its roof.
Henry de la Poer Beresford (1811-1859)
The 3rd Marquess of Waterford had a very dark sense of humour – he once wrote a letter to the London and Greenwich Railway Company asking them to organise a train crash so he could laugh at the victims. He also handed out cups of gin to passers-by in the centre of London until there was a riot and was widely rumoured to be connected with the devilish creature that leapt out at women, Spring-heeled Jack. WALK HERE: In April 1837, Melton Mowbray became the first town to be painted red – literally. A drunken Beresford and friends rowed with the tollkeeper and then attacked him with some paint they found nearby; daubing him red, a constable too, and then rampaging through town. Take a tranquil walk at Burton Lazars*, with views of the no-longer-red town.
Gerald Hugh Tyrwhitt-Wilson (1883-1950)
As well as having a brilliant surname, Lord Berners was a composer, writer and painter. But he was also somewhat strange from childhood; upon hearing dogs could learn to swim by throwing them in water he threw one out the window to teach it to fly. As an adult he dyed his pigeons bright colours, he kept a giraffe, he once entertained a horse to tea, and he drove around while wearing a pig’s head mask. He hated sharing train carriages and would wear a skull cap and sunglasses to ensure no-one joined him on-board. WALK HERE: Tyrwhitt-Wilson spent much of his life at Faringdon* House in Oxfordshire and a 6½ mile walk includes a trip to Folly Hill, topped by a 100-foot tower known as ‘Lord Berners’ monstrous erection’. Views from the top span five counties: find opening times at www.faringdonfolly.org.uk