Neil Oliver Podcast

In this podcast Neil takes us with him, setting foot into a building whose history is inextricably woven into the story of the British Isles.A landmark building, that’s as beautiful as it is beguiling. In 1944 General Dwight Eisenhower camped beside it and planned the D-Day landings, William Shakespeare and his troop of actors performed in it’s Great Hall, but Henry VIII’s bloated and corrupt shadow falls most darkly on its red bricks.It’s a palace with panache, a building that’s full of intrigue, politics and high drama. It’s a place that gave birth to a book, but not just any book, a book whose poetic words, cadences, and rhythms made it a cornerstone of English literature – the King James Bible. The elegance of the humanity expressed within its pages helped empower the formation of modern democracy, and this book was conceived within the walls of the magnificent Hampton Court Palace.To help support this podcast and get access to New Videos Every Week sign up to Neil Oliver on Patreon.The series Instagram account is – Neil Oliver Love Letter Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we’re witnessing the final destructive crescendo that put paid to a powerful, but ill-fated invasion fleet bent on conquering England. Queen Elizabeth I stood firm against the mighty Spanish Armada, and the elemental forces of nature came to her assistance.The Spanish ships sent to invade England were bristling with the latest weapons of war and full of men and treasure. After being attacked by Sir Francis Drake in the channel they were scattered by a powerful storm. Pushed by the weather right around the eastern seaboard of the British Isles, around the tip of Scotland some of the remnants of this once formidable invasion fleet ended up at the Giant’s Causeway on the Irish coast. Here, at this this world-famous stage of staggering natural beauty, they were hit by another deadly storm and finally destroyed leaving Elizabeth I and England safe.To help support this podcast and get access to New Videos Every Week sign up to Neil Oliver on Patreon.The series Instagram account is – Neil Oliver Love Letter Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Neil takes us along an Elizabethan jetty to hear one of history’s great speeches.In 1588, as Sir Francis Drake sailed to meet the mighty Spanish Armada, Queen Elizabeth I travelled down the river Thames to Tilbury fort where she addressed her army. If the powerful Spanish force landed and invaded England these are the men who would defend the country and its queen. Dressed in white and surrounded by her soldiers, Elizabeth delivered a legendary speech that put steel resolve into their hearts and helped define England as a nation. Stirring stuff indeed!To help support this podcast and get access to New Videos Every Week sign up to Neil Oliver on Patreon.The series Instagram account is – Neil Oliver Love Letter Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Neil is taking us aboard the Golden Hind, a legendary ship that sailed around the world and into history.In 16th century Aldeburgh, which was then an important east-coast port, shipbuilders set to work building a vessel that was to have a profound influence on British history.Once completed and seaworthy Francis Drake and his crew climbed aboard and set sail on an epic 3 year voyage to circumnavigate the globe. On its return the ship was full to bursting with gold, silver and precious jewels, and Francis Drake received a hero’s welcome and the thanks of his queen, Elizabeth I.To help support this podcast and get access to New Videos Every Week sign up to Neil Oliver on Patreon.The series Instagram account is – Neil Oliver Love Letter Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Neil marches with us across the wild beauty of Northumberland to a battleground that broke Scotland’s heart.In 1513 Margaret Tudor watched as her husband, the glamours renaissance king, James IV of Scotland, set off to invade England and do battle with her brother, Henry VIII. When Henry invaded France James felt duty bound to honour the Auld Alliance, a treaty of mutual assistance between Scotland and France. In retaliation he led the largest Scottish army ever to invade England across the border. James' powerful force bristling with the latest military technology met an English army led by the Earl of Surrey at Flodden. It was a brutal and bloody battle, fought with formidable pikes imported from the continent, cannon fire, slaughter and a deadly arrow to the King’s face.To help support ‘Neil Oliver’s Love Letter To The British Isles’ podcast sign up to Neil Oliver on Patreon – history, commentary and a whole lot more. New Videos Every WeekThe series Instagram account is – Neil Oliver Love Letter Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This Week Neil’s on his home turf delving into the deep history of one of the most glorious castles in the British Isles.They say Stirling castle is the silver brooch that hitches the Highlands of Scotland to the lowlands. Neil very much regards it as his personal touch stone. It’s a place that was already well trodden by our ancestors when the Roman road builders turned up around AD80.The castle, which sits atop a geological formation known as a crag and tail, has always been strategically vital, playing a crucial part in the history of Scotland and the British Isles.Kings and queens have been born and raised there, battles fought, and scores settled in and around it. Jaw-dropping grandeur and beauty, it’s a place full of drama and passion, it’s a place Neil knows & loves well. Check out, the Neil Oliver Patreon site for new history and commentary videos every weekThe series Instagram account is – Neil Oliver Love Letter Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Neil follows the money!By the C13th the Hanseatic League had crystalised its power base and was busy spinning lucrative trading routes right across northern Europe, from the Baltic to the British Isles. Neil travels to the Norfolk town of Kings Lynn, which thanks to the Hanseatic League became the third richest port in England. Two building survive from this time, St George’s Guildhall and the Hanse House, structures that are stunning testament to the wealth and international trade that flowed through Kings Lynn during the League dominance. The Hanseatic League was an ultra-powerful trading bloc, not adverse to dabbling in national politics, that lasted for almost three centuries.Check out, Neil’s history and commentary Videos on his Patreon site - Neil Oliver. The series Instagram account is – Neil Oliver Love Letter Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, side by side with Neil, we’re striding across a vast, treacherous bay where one false move could see us paying for it with our lives.Almost 500 years ago, in 1548, the people of Morecambe Bay Sands asked for help, because crossing this vast tidal expanse was so treacherous many lives were being lost. The tides race across the sands faster than a horse can gallop and the bay is dotted with patches of deadly quicksand known locally as Melgraves, which have caught and dragged many to their deaths.Morecambe Bay is surround and suffused with history, from the C14th Piel castle, which was the Yorkists mustering point in the last hurrah of the Wars of the Roses, to the Midland Hotel, an art deco masterpiece bursting with glitz and glamourous guests, which was opened in 1933. Above everything, it’s a breath-taking landscape that plays its part in our history and reminds us of our place in the powerful natural world.Check out, Neil’s history and commentary Videos on his Patreon site - Neil Oliver.The series Instagram account is – Neil Oliver Love Letter Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Neil comes face to face with the mighty walls of an almost impregnable castle, which down through its history inspired many heroic ‘last stands’ and a song that famously features in one of Neil's favourite films.On the orders of Edward I, Harlech castle was built between 1283 and 1285 by James of St George a military engineer of unsurpassed genius. It’s clever design, a castle within a castle with it’s back protected by the Irish sea, made it a truly formidable fortress.During the Wars of the Roses in 1460 Margaret of Anjou, queen and wife of the Lancastrian King Henry VI fled to Harlech castle. For the next eight years the castle was besieged by Yorkist forces determined to capture her. Eventually an army, 10,000 strong, starved the castle into submission. Although unsuccessful this heroic, ‘Last Stand’ was immortalised in the song ‘The Men of Harlech’.It was this song, which was used to such great effect in Zulu, the 1964 film starring Michael Caine, about another legendary ‘Last Stand’, the defence of Rorke’s Drift in the Anglo-Zulu War.Check out, Neil’s new Video Podcasts on his Patreon site - Neil Oliver.And the series Instagram account – Neil Oliver Love Letter Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Neil steps into the middle of a brutal family feud - the Wars of the Roses.The warring family, the Plantagenets, have been described as ‘a race dipped in their own blood. The factions within the family and their unremitting quest for power and the English throne led to a civil-war that ripped England apart for 30 years and left tens of thousands of soldiers dead on battlefields right across the country. With the dead of Westminister Abbey swirling around him, Neil meets the mother whose son, Henry VII, lead England out of the war and began the Tudor dynasty.Check out, Neil’s Video Podcasts on his Patreon site - Neil Oliver.And the series Instagram account – Neil Oliver Love Letter Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.