The story of Stonehenge starts around 5,000 years ago. But its famous old stones, some of which were transported all the way from south-west Wales to Wiltshire, are just part of the story.

Close to the beginning of its use, the site was a cemetery, with dozens of people laid to rest. That so many changes have been made to the site since – almost all involving huge commitments of human labour and creativity – is testament to Stonehenge’s significance to countless generations of people.

Its continuing fascination was demonstrated by a 2022 British Museum exhibition that attracted 190,000 visitors to its collection of prehistoric objects from 36 European institutions. Now, that physical exhibition has been brought to virtual life in a new collaboration between researchers at the University of Reading, including myself, and the museum.

Users of The Virtual World of Stonehenge – released to coincide with the summer solstice – can go deep inside Stonehenge and watch it change through time.

They can closely examine one of the bluestones that was very likely brought to Stonehenge from Wales, or an ancient pounder tool used to shape the sarsen stones that were excavated much closer to the site.

With the help of English Heritage, which manages Stonehenge, we have also reconstructed how this megalithic structure might have looked through different phases of its existence.

Users can also travel further afield to view the evolving landscape of ritual monuments around England – for example, to Neolithic flint mines at Grimes Graves in Norfolk. Here are some more of the ancient places and artefacts you can discover today without leaving your armchair.

The Coneybury pit

The pottery, animal bones and flint tools in this display were all excavated from a pit close to Stonehenge – but they pre-dated the stones by almost a thousand years. It was among the less spectacular assemblages in the 2022 exhibition, yet had a fascinating story to tell.

The pit held the remains of a feast enjoyed by hunter-gatherers and the first farmer communities some 5,900 years ago. Those gathered ate farmed beef and hunted venison.

Chemical analysis of the remains shows the cattle and deer consumed came from different places – and that the meat was prepared in different ways. As a coming together of worldviews, languages, customs and traditions, the remains of this shared meal marked the end of thousands of years of a hunter-gatherer way of life.

The virtual experience enables users to watch an animated video telling the story of this meeting, and explains how archaeologists pieced together its story.

Seahenge

In 1998, a well-preserved timber circle emerged from the shores of Holme-next-the-Sea, on the coast of Norfolk. It was soon dubbed Seahenge owing to its similarity to timber circles that had once stood in the Stonehenge landscape.

The Holme circle was originally built on a saltmarsh, between land and sea, and consisted of 55 large oak posts. A narrow entranceway was positioned exactly to align on the Sun’s path, so that the midsummer rising Sun illuminated the interior of the monument.

From a study of the tree rings, it is known that Seahenge was built in the spring or summer of 2049 BC, at a time when stone tools and weapons were rapidly being replaced by metal as the material of choice for social and economic life – and also for offerings to supernatural forces.

During that period, circles of wood and stone were in decline. Seahenge was constructed near the end of a religious tradition that had lasted for almost a millennium.

In the virtual experience, you can listen to the “Seahenge soundscape” created by the artists Rose Ferraby and Rob St John. Their work added a spine-tingling dimension to the British Museum’s display of these ancient timbers.

A 6,000-year-old leaf

A humble object that captured many people’s imagination during the British Museum exhibition was a single elm leaf. This delicate specimen fell around 6,000 years ago near an early farming settlement on the coast of Lancashire.

Deforestation has played a key role in European history ever since then. Hard-won clearances could be filled by trees in a human lifespan, while woodland continued to provide vital resources to support the farming way of life.

Near this ancient leaf, we displayed a wall holding 89 stone axes – each representing a generation of human lives during the primary period covered by the exhibition (circa 4000-1500 BC). Many would have been used to chop down trees thousands of years ago – clearing land for crops and monuments, as well as providing wood for building.

Folkton chalk ‘drums’

These three carefully-carved chalk treasures accompanied the body of a small child buried 5,000 years ago in Folkton, North Yorkshire. The eyes peering out from above abstract motifs on the largest and smallest of the sculptures might have been created with the fate and protection of a loved and vulnerable child in mind.

This enigmatic group of objects was excavated in the 1860s. The drums, placed carefully along the line of the child’s back, work well as a set: their size is incremental and all three have similar decorative schemes.

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The patterns share the same repertoire of concentric circles, lozenges, zigzags, chevrons and parallel lines found elsewhere across Britain and Ireland. But intriguingly, two of the drums have a motif of eyes with eyebrows insinuated in the design – hinting at a daring, possibly dangerous, reference to a person or spirit embodied within.

In The Virtual World of Stonehenge, you can explore these fascinating and intricately carved objects in 3D, along with a similar drum found much more recently at Burton Agnes. This one was placed with three children of different ages buried close together, the two youngest poignantly holding hands.

Free parking will be available from 3pm in four council-owned car parks

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A date has been confirmed for the launch of free parking in Peterborough city centre. Subject to approval by Peterborough City Council’s Cabinet, the first day of free parking in four council-owned car parks will be Monday, August 3.

These four locations will be:

• Bishops Road;
• Car Haven;
• Riverside;
• Pleasure Fair Meadow.

Parking at the above locations will be free after 3pm.

The scheme was pledged by Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Paul Bristow in his manifesto. The Mayor committed £1.5 million in his budget to bring free parking to both Peterborough and Huntingdonshire.

“I said I would bring free parking and it’s happening this summer,” Mayor Bristow said. “I made this pledge because I believe our city centre needs a lift.”

The aim of the free parking scheme, which will be run on a time-limited trial, is to bring in more footfall to support local businesses, and increase the health and vibrancy of the evening economy.

“Free parking after 3pm means more people choosing to come into the city for an evening out, to shop, to eat and to support the businesses that make Peterborough worth visiting,” the Mayor said.

Leader of Peterborough City Council, Councillor Shabina Qayyum, welcomed the scheme. “Subject to Cabinet approval in July, it is great that the free parking will be in place from 3 August in time for people to enjoy what our city has to offer during the school summer holidays,” she said.

“The free parking… will only help to encourage more people to visit our city centre which of course we welcome. “

The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) is also working on a free parking scheme in Huntingdonshire.

As Ecuador forward Enner Valencia raced through on Curacao’s goal inside the opening three minutes, the outcome seemed inevitable.

About 10 yards out and with just the keeper to beat, he looked certain to score. It would give Curacao a mountain to climb – and, as it did in the 7-1 defeat by Germany in their World Cup opener, could well set the tone for what was to come.

But goalkeeper Eloy Room anticipated where Valencia’s shot was headed, stooped low to his left and clawed the ball around the post. It was an improbable, barely believable save.

And the tone was, indeed, set.

By full-time, BBC Sport pundit and former Arsenal defender Martin Keown was joking a calculator might be needed to tot up the number of times Room had bailed his team out.

Yet it was Ecuador who were left counting the cost of their missed chances as World Cup debutants Curacao celebrated their first-ever point in the tournament.

Room, the 37-year-old Miami FC keeper, produced a remarkable and record-equalling performance, making 15 saves to keep his country level and eventually secure a goalless draw which will live long in the memory of the island nation.

Since records began in 1966, no goalkeeper has made more stops in 90 minutes of World Cup action, according to Opta.

Only Tim Howard has made as many in a single game but, unlike Room, he failed to keep a clean sheet after conceding twice in extra-time for the USA against Belgium in 2014.

Room joked after the 0-0 draw that Howard would have been “sweating at home” watching the game and his performance means he “needs a statue in Curacao”.

“Take a bow, Room,” added Keown on BBC One. “Absolutely magnificent.

“The number of saves, you were almost getting a calculator out at the end of the game to count them up.

“It just became a shopping list of saves. His reactions were first class. He seemed destined to keep a clean sheet all night.”

It was a performance that inspired Room’s country to their biggest-ever result.

Baytown Coffee Company is based just outside Whitby, where an old cowshed was converted into a roastery in 2019.

The business is run by Nick and Ann Louise Hartley from Moorgate Leas Farm, and produces coffee for customers, cafes, restaurants and shops.

Two of the coffees that The Baytown Coffee Company offer (Image: SUBMIT)

The company says its coastal location is a “central part of its identity”, with several of its blends named after places and landmarks in the area.

One of its best-known coffees is Boggle Hole, named after the cove south of Robin Hood’s Bay.

Today, the beans are brought into the area and roasted on the farm before being packed and sent out to customers.

Baytown began after Nick Hartley, who grew up in North Yorkshire, returned to the area after spending many years working in London.

He had previously spoken about wanting to start a coffee business in the region and create employment in an area where many jobs are linked to seasonal tourism.

The business first operated from the coast near Robin Hood’s Bay before developing its roastery near Whitby.

Baytown says it works with farmers and importers who share its values around traceability and fair prices.

The company also says its packaging is recyclable.

Its website says the business aims to make coffee “straightforward” for customers, rather than “overcomplicated”.

Customer reviews for the company often mention the freshness and value of the coffee.

One reviewer described it as “absolutely first-class coffee”, while another said Boggle Hole was the best coffee they had tried after buying beans in Helmsley.

The company also has links with local community projects and has previously supported the Dalewood Trust in Whitby, a training centre for adults with learning difficulties.

Baytown has said it wants the business to contribute to the area as well as sell coffee.

The Crown Inn at Hutton-Le-Hole received the one-star rating, meaning major improvement necessary, from North Yorkshire Council following a visit on May 6.

However, following a re-inspection on June 12, the rating has been upgraded to four, meaning good.

Pub owner, Richard Murray Wells, told The Press: “We had a very disappointing, but we thought fair, inspection at The Crown.

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“We have taken the comments on board, replacing old equipment and altering out-dated systems.

“We were reinspected recently and have been awarded a four-star rating.”

The Crown Inn at Hutton-Le-Hole now has four stars, meaning good, for food hygiene. (Image: Street View)

The Crown Inn is a traditional country pub noted for ‘great food and real ales with friendly service and warm welcome’, according to TripAdvisor.

In addition to food and drink, it also offers luxury letting rooms and has space for caravans and camper vans.

The venue is a Traveller’s Choice winner, achieving 4.5 stars out of five, based on 900 reviews.

Google awards The Crown Inn 4.7 stars out of five, based on 994 reviews.

The black poplar, once a common sight across the English countryside and immortalised in John Constable’s 1821 painting The Hay Wain, now faces extinction with only around 7,000 trees left across the British Isles—just a handful of which survive in North Yorkshire.

Ambrose Greenfield from Forgotten Flora said: “If anything the problem is a bit worse than it seems because of the 7,000 or so trees left, only about 600 are female and the rest male.

Ambrose Greenfield with one of the few remaining mature black poplar trees in the Howardian Hills Nationla Landscape in the background. He is holding a young sapling propergated from this tree.. (Image: Supplied)

“This severely limits natural seed reproduction.

“We’ve taking cuttings from the two mature trees we do know of in the Howardian Hills, one of which is female.

“We are nurturing these in our polytunnels at Terrington, near Malton, and they are growing well.”

Across the 79-square-mile Howardian Hills National Landscape, a conservation effort led by the Forgotten Flora project and funded by the Howardian Hills Partnership is working to change the black poplar’s fate.

Ambrose Greenfield with one of the few remaining mature black poplar trees in the Howardian Hills Nationla Landscape. (Image: Supplied)

Partners include the North York Moors National Park’s woodland team.

Wetland creation is a key element.

The species, which once thrived along riverbanks and damp floodplains, has declined mainly due to habitat loss.

Conservationists hope to replant the new saplings within the Howardian Hills over the next year or two.

Mr Greenfield said: “Hopefully we’d be looking to plant these out over the next year or two at suitable sites within the national landscape, with some also going to the national park’s woodland team.”

Ambrose Greenfield from Forgotten Flora Project with a black polar sapling, part of a bid to revive the threatened tree. (Image: Supplied)

Wetland creation is a key element in giving the species a stronger foothold. The Howardian Hills Partnership has recently helped restore 40 acres at two sites along with funding hydrology surveys and pond creation.

The black poplar can reach 100 feet in height and live for more than 250 years.

It is known for its deeply fissured bark, leaning trunks, and triangular leaves.

Male trees produce red catkins, while females show yellow and green, and the leaves carry a faint scent of balsam.

The wood has traditionally been used for floorboards, cart wheels, and wagon bottoms because of its springiness and shock resistance.

Forgotten Flora is also working to propagate other declining species, including creeping willow and bay willow.

The Howardian Hills National Landscape was designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in 1987 and was renamed as a National Landscape in 2023.

The firm will relocate from its current premises on Clifton Green to a larger, more modern office at Colonia House, Toft Green, which it says will support future expansion.

The new office has also been designed to offer improved meeting facilities, enhanced accessibility, and a comfortable space where clients can discuss their financial plans with confidence.

Mark Fisher, Managing Director at Ardent said: “Our move to Toft Green marks an exciting next chapter for Ardent. The new office gives us the space and environment to continue growing our team, while creating a professional and welcoming place for clients to meet with us.

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“It also reflects our long-term commitment to York and to building a values-led financial planning firm that serves our clients, our people and the wider community for many years to come.”

During the relocation, clients can expect business as usual, with no interruption to services.

Ardent Financial Planning’s new office will officially open on Wednesday June 24 at Colonia House, Floor 2, 16 Toft Green, YO1 6JT.

The vet said that one of the dogs was even on a banned list in Norway

A veterinary expert has shared a list of five dog breeds that, despite loving, would not take home.

Speaking on his own TikTok channel, Alex the vet cautioned that although he loves these dog breeds, they can cause a range of issues. Calling the reasons “hard to hear”, he says he loves to see them in the clinic.

Also a team vet at Pooch and Mutt, Dr Alex Crow stresses that this isn’t criticism of the dogs or their owners. Instead, it comes from a place of concern s about the way they have been selectively bred.

‘These are 5 dog breeds I would avoid’

These opinions are Alex’s only, not those of Pooch and Mutt.

In his video’s caption, he writes: “As a vet, there are five breeds I genuinely love but wouldn’t take home myself, and it comes down to what I see on the table week after week. Before anyone gets upset, this isn’t a go at the dogs or the people who own them. It’s about how we’ve bred them.”

5. Daschund. That long back comes at a cost. Around one in four develops IVDD, a disc problem that can cause serious pain and sometimes paralysis.

4. Pug. Brachycephalic, or that flat face, means a lot of them can’t breathe properly as their airways are too narrow. Their eyes bulge, which can make them more prone to eye ulcers, and they often develop twisted spines. Overall, he says that this breed suffers in silence to do the most basic things.

3. Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. This is the one that breaks his heart as he says he really loves these dogs. However, many go on to develop syringomyelia – a painful condition where the skull is too small for the brain and presses on the spinal cord. Not only that, but the majority of the breed will likley develop mitral valve disease by age 10.

2. French Bulldog. Calling them the UK’s most popular breed, he notes that this dog has been flagged as having multiple chronic health issues at higher rates than almost any other dog by the Royal Veterinary College. Issues include breathing trouble, slipped discs, eye issues skin problems.

1. English Bulldog. Taking the top spot, he notes that this breed’s features are so extreme that most cannot give birth naturally. They also can’t exercise without overheating. Because of their skin folds, they’re also prone to skin infections. Norway even banned the breed in 2022 based on welfare grounds, Alex said;

In fact, the Independent noted that Norway banned the breeding of British Bulldogs and Cavalier King Charles spaniels in the country.

In his caption, he added: “None of this means these dogs can’t have a lovely life, and if you own one you can give them a brilliant one. The real issue is that we’ve put looks ahead of health for generations. If you’ve got your heart set on one of these breeds, buy from health-tested parents and go in knowing what you’re taking on.”

Why does my dog’s breath smell?

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Speaking on the official Pooch and Mutt TikTok channel in a separate video, Alex cautioned that your dog’s smelly breath may be a sign of a disease.

He explained: “Most of the time, bad breath in dogs is a sign of dental disease. Plaque and bacteria build up on the teeth, harden into tartar and start to irritate the gums.

“Over time, that can lead to infection, pain, loose teeth, and eventually, tooth loss if not managed.” Sharing some “good news” he said, brushing your dog’s teeth at home can help prevent this. In fact, “it’s the most effective thing you can do”.

And it makes sense given that we brush our teeth twice daily to avoid dental issues and losing any teeth. “Even a few times a week can make a big difference,” according to Alex.

The expert added if “the smell is really strong, suddenly worse than usual or you notice red or bleeding gums, drooling, difficulty eating or your dog going off hard food, then that’s your sign to see the vet because they may already need treatment.”

Stressing that “bad breath isn’t just a mouth problem”, Alex said that “in some cases it can be linked to digestive issues or even heart and kidney disease.” Ending his video, he said that “if your dog’s breath could clear a room, don’t ignore it. Prevention is always better than a cure.”

The former pub, which has been closed for more than a decade, has been described by locals as an ‘eyesore’

A former Peterborough pub, described by locals as an “eyesore”, could be demolished to make way for a new shop. A planning application has been submitted to Peterborough City Council for the demolition of the former Golden Lion pub on Church Street in Stanground, which has stood vacant for more than a decade.

Since closing in 2024, the pub has been left abandoned and derelict. People in Stanground have previously raised concerns over the state it has been left in, with some branding it as an “eyesore” in the Peterborough suburb.

A woman, who wished to remain anonymous, previously told CambridgeshireLive that the site is “very messy”. She said: “It’s a complete eyesore. It’s a shame it has been left this way.

“Whenever you drive or walk past it, it’s just not nice to look at. I wish something could be done about it, cause it just gets worse every time you go past it.”

Several planning applications have been submitted for the building since the closure of the pub. A new application, submitted by TYS Retail Ltd, proposes completely demolishing the building to replace it with a ground floor retail shop alongside a residential flat above it.

The applicant describes the building as being in “very poor condition” at the first floor level and is open to the elements where leadwork has been taken from the roof. The statement adds: “This proposal will allow a prominent site to be brought back into use which is also likely to be considered a brownfield site.”

The proposed opening hours would be between 6:30am and 11:30pm on Mondays to Saturdays and 7am to 10:30pm on Sundays and bank holidays. The proposals would likely see 10 full time staff and 20 part time staff for the retail use.

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