When you walk around a heritage property, reading the context boards and admiring the imposing portraits of all who lived there before, do you get a sense that there’s something that you are not being told? If you’re getting all your information from those context boards or have picked up an official guide of some sort, then the answer is probably yes, not only are you not being told the complete truth, but you are being spun a narrative that suits the current presentation of the heritage you are viewing. The true story of a property is usually a lot uglier than the one that you are told but, also, a great deal more interesting.

Thank the stars, then, for Counter-Tourism and its network of related mytho-geographical sites. From the splendid examples of historical duplicity to tips and tactics to develop your own counter-touristic approach, the site invites you to transform your experience of the heritage industry. Recommended.

Tags: Landscapes

It won’t have escaped your notice that there have been a few subtle changes to the BLC’s website; it’s all part of a gradual re-awakening of this site after a brief hiatus – a pause caused by an intense period of work on a separate, time-consuming project. That’s all over now, which leaves me time to do things that I always wanted to do with this site; more photography, more articles and the introduction of podcasts.

In the meantime, here’s a piece I did for today’s Guardian newspaper – page 2 of the G2 section – on the landscape restorations at Stonehenge.

Tags: Members' News