Exploring the Gothic haunt of rock bands and crime novelists

Away from lectures and socialising, we had time to explore the locality and, as our hotel was on a site formerly within the grounds of Knebworth House, we knew the house itself would be interesting.

When we announced to friends and family that we were going to Knebworth, many wondered why on earth we would want to attend an open air rock music concert for which Knebworth House is famed.

Although bands like the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and Queen, as well as Paul McCartney, Elton John and, more recently, Robbie Williams, have all played at Knebworth, I must admit there was no sign of a rock musician during our visit!

The house and grounds are famous for other things too - many of us will have seen both the interior and exterior in many film and TV series, ranging from Batman to Jane Eyre.

The house was built in Tudor times and its guests have included Elizabeth I, Charles Dickens and Winston Churchill, whose picture of the banqueting hall hangs in the room where he painted it.

We were welcomed by the youthful owner, Henry Lytton Cobbold, whose family have lived here for more than 500 years, and he made the point that there are not many treasures in the house, but plenty of stories!

The Lytton family have featured in the nation's history and politics down the centuries, with Robert Lytton, Viceroy of India, proclaiming Queen Victoria Empress of India in 1877 and Constance Lytton being a suffragette who fought for votes for women in the early 1900s.

Perhaps the most famous resident of Knebworth House was Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton, the first Baron Lytton (1803-1873). In the 1830s, he was the top-selling novelist of his day and his earnings from books, plays and poems enabled him to refurbish Knebworth House in 1843.

Set in 250 acres of parkland, it was transformed from a red-brick Tudor mansion to the Gothic fantasy it is today, but, in addition to his writing, Lord Lytton also found time to be MP for St Ives and Lincoln, a cabinet minister and founder of Queensland and British Columbia.

He is also said to have written the first crime novel and the house remains a family home.

Nearby is St Albans, a busy market town boasting a pleasing mixture of ancient and modern history.

For example, in the market place there is a clock tower which was built between 1403 and 1412, now the only medieval town belfry in England.

It was permitted to sound its own hours and curfew and the original bell, known as Gabriel, is still in place.

The town itself is considerably older, as its origins date to Roman times when the city was founded as Verulamium.

Verulamium Park is now a beautiful attraction on the edge of the town and there is also a stylish Roman museum, plus a Roman theatre on Bluehouse Hill, the only one of its period currently open to visitors in Britain.

There are other museums too, including one specialising in organs and another displaying Mosquito aircraft.

In other words there is plenty to see and do in St Albans, but pride of place must go to the splendid cathedral.

It stands on a hill which has been the site of Christian worship since Saxon times and, in fact, some of the bricks from which it is built came from the old Roman city of Verulamium.

The mighty church owes its origins to St Alban. He was a pagan, a prominent citizen in Verulamium when Christians were being persecuted, and he sheltered a priest called Amphibalus.

After talking to the priest, Alban converted to Christianity and helped Amphibalus to escape, but Alban was caught and condemned to death by beheading.

He became the first Christian martyr in this country and it was the Saxon King Offa who, in AD 793, petitioned the Pope to canonise Alban.

A settlement grew around the site of his martyrdom and that has now become the present cathedral.

Like all Catholic churches, it suffered at the Reformation, but it has now become a venue for differing types of Christian service. A Roman Catholic mass was being held in the Lady Chapel as we toured the church.

We also found time to visit Shaw's Corner, a beautiful house tucked away along a maze of country lanes near Ayot St Lawrence.

This was the home of George Bernard Shaw, the author and playwright who died in 1950.

He was awarded an Oscar for best screenplay for the film Pygmalion (1938), which was based on his play of that title.

Considered the greatest playwright in the English language during the twentieth century, his works included Candida, Arms and the Man, Man and Superman, Heartbreak House, Saint Joan and many others over a period of 60 years.

To escape his fans, he often worked in a shed which remains in his former garden.

Everyone likes a romantic tale and this week, as I compile these notes, has witnessed a gem, even if it does concern birds rather than humans.

About the last weekend in April, a pair of white storks appeared near Horbury Bridge, not far from Wakefield in West Yorkshire.

They were a male and female clearly in love because they started to build a nest.

Unfortunately, they selected the top of an electricity pylon as their chosen site and, because this was far from suitable, various agencies sprang to their rescue.

The RSPB, Yorkshire Electricity and British Waterways joined forces by erecting a much safer breeding platform for the birds.

But it seems white storks are very fickle creatures because they responded by leaving the area, obviously wishing to be left alone.

As I compile these notes a couple of weeks ahead of publication, no-one knows where the birds have gone.

However, where they came from is equally mysterious. The last wild pair to nest in Britain came to Edinburgh more than 580 years ago in 1416, when they made their home on the top of St Giles Cathedral.

Although white storks can be seen in parks and gardens, they do remain wild and free in some parts of Europe, even if numbers are dwindling.

They can sometimes be swept here by strong winds, even if they do not remain for long, and sightings in Britain are rare, even though the birds are very distinctive.

They are about 3ft 6in tall (105cm), with mainly white plumage, red legs and a long, red beak, although their wings are edged with black.

Some wonderful detective work by the British Trust for Ornithology has traced the origins of our two visitors because each bore rings on their legs.

This indicated they were not truly wild and, in fact, the female bore a French ring while that of the male was Belgian.

It is known that the female was found in a very poor condition at Calais in September 2002 and taken into care.

She recovered and five months later was ringed and released near Lille in the north of France.

Her companion was originally caught as a free-flying bird at an animal park at Mechelen in Belgium in April, 2002.

When he was initially caught, he was wearing a blue chicken ring, so he was thought to have escaped from somewhere, although that place was never determined.

Oddly enough, this much-travelled character has previously been spotted in England, being seen at Alton Water in Suffolk in April, 2003, together with an unringed bird.

I find it amazing these two storks have somehow managed to find one another - after all, there are not many white storks in this country and that fact alone must raise questions about the methods they use to locate one another.

So where are they now? It is quite possible they will be sighted before my words appear in print, but, if not, a lot of keen ornithologists are seeking them.

The RSPB has a stork sightings hotline on 01484 868407, while further information from the British Trust for Ornithology can be obtained by calling Mark Grantham on 01842 750050.

Tomorrow is Buttercup Day. On this day, a fair maid was terrorised by a wicked dragon. A gallant knight appeared and, after a terrible fight, slew the monster.

The knight was fatally wounded in the struggle and, as he lay dying, he said to the maid: "Think of me when you first see a buttercup."