February 10th marks the beginning of Lunar New Year and the year of the dragon. Britain also has a long and fascinating dragon history. If you’d like to walk in the scaly footsteps of dragons, here are a few places you might like to try hunting one down.
● Dinas Emrys, North Wales Under this Iron-Age hillfort in Gwynedd sleep the Saxon white dragon and the Welsh red dragon, symbols of both ancient conflict and Britain’s intermingled cultures.
● Dragon Hill, Oxfordshire Legend says that St George killed the dragon on this hillock below the Uffington White Horse. Apparently, no grass grows on its top due to the dragon’s spilled, poisonous blood.
● Orkney & Shetland, North Sea Hero, Assipattle, killed a sea dragon called Mester Stoor Worm. Its teeth formed the islands of Orkney, Shetland and the Faroes, while its body became Iceland.
● The Quantocks, Somerset Legend has it a terrible lizard known as the Gurt Worm was dispatched near here – the severed halves of its writhing body now form the Quantock Hills.
● Exe Valley, Devon Not all the UK’s fantastical monsters have been slain. Every night, a dragon residing in Devon’s Exe Valley is said to fly between the Iron Age forts at Dolbury Hill and Cadbury Castle to protect buried treasure. In a fiery twist, Dolbury Hill is the remnant of an extinct volcano.
This Dragon-Hunting Guide is taken from our ‘Know A Thing or Two’ feature on the creatures in our February issue by Nick Hunt. You can read more by turning to page 69.
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