Neil Oliver Podcast

This week Neil takes us back in time to meet a king who stopped the Vikings in their tracks.Sitting in the Ashmolean museum in Oxford is a precious golden artefact called the Alfred Jewel, which is over a thousand years old and inscribed with the words, ‘Alfred ordered me made’. This jeweller’s masterpiece tells us so much about the man who commissioned it – King Alfred the Great - a ruler whose actions had a profound effect on shaping the British IslesCheck out, NEIL OLIVER LOVE LETTER – the series INSTAGRAM account Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Neil winters with the Great Heathen Army, the mighty Viking force that was poised, ready to sweep across the British Isles.After the Vikings defeated the powerful Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Mercia they chose to over-winter their army in its capital, Repton in Derbyshire.It was here they rested and recuperated, plotting and planning their next military moves. It was also where they buried their dead. The grave of a formidable Viking, known as the Repton Warrior, who died of terrible injuries was found here, buried with his battle sword. The Vikings, who had died in battle were heading for Valhalla, but come the good weather their comrades were intent on pressing on and conquering the whole of the British Isles.Also discovered at Repton was a mass Viking grave of great significance. At its centre was, what's thought to be, the grave of one of the Great Heathen Army's leaders - the legendary warrior, Ivar the Boneless.Check out, NEIL OLIVER LOVE LETTER – the series INSTAGRAM account Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Neil takes us with him to a place of stunning beauty with a dark and brutal past.For years the Vikings well-deserved reputation for violence and brutality left a bloody stain right across the British Isles. They were masters of devastating ‘hit-and-run’ attacks, then at the end of the ninth century things took a turn…. for the worse! Vikings arrived on the Brough of Birsay in Orkney, driving off, or in an act of systematic genocide slaughtering the local Pictish men. But what was different this time was the Vikings hadn’t just come to pillage and plunder……they’d come to stay!Piecing together the archaeology and history Neil tells a compelling story of an island trampled beneath Viking feet…… and he reveals what his DNA says about his own ancestors! Check out NEIL OLIVER LOVE LETTER – the series Instagram account Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Neil takes us to an island stained with the first bloody fingerprints of an invader who would change the British Isles forever.Heading to the Northumberland coast, at low tide, Neil walks to the tidal island of Lindisfarne. During the 7th century this small island became home to a thriving priory that grew to be rich and famous around the world. Its wealth drew the attention of the Vikings who in a smash-and-grab raid plundered its treasure, maiming and murdering anyone who stood in their way. Home to a picturesque castle that stands on a basalt crag facing the mighty North Sea, Lindisfarne is an island that has seen much!Check out the INSTAGRAM account – NEIL OLIVER LOVE LETTERemail: history@neiloliverloveletter.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, on his journey around the British Isles, Neil takes us to Northumberland to meet the legendary, King Arthur.Climbing the battlements of the imposing Bamburgh Castle, swirling with mist and myths, legends and history, Neil explores the legend of King Arthur, the fabled hero, who resonates with us still in the 21st Century. The site is heavy with history. A place of majestic kingdoms and ritualistic cruelty. The episode takes in the retreating Romans, the advance of the Anglo-Saxons and the looming presence of the Vikings, and woven throughout it is the story of King Arthur – the hero who is said to be sleeping, ready to return when these Isles need him again.Check out the INSTAGRAM account – NEIL OLIVER LOVE LETTERemail: history@neiloliverloveletter.com  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Neil’s journey takes us to a magical island where the landscape, the light and the very air you breath come together to soothe the soul.This week Neil sails from Oban, on the west coast of Scotland, to the island of Mull, from there he takes another boat to island of Iona. On the edge of the British Isles, Iona is steeped in ancient history long lost in time, said to be the place where some Scottish, Irish and Norwegian Kings are buried. It's now famous as a holy island where a group of very early Christian evangelists came to keep their faith alive. It's an island of breath-taking beauty that has the power to restore you.Check out the Instagram - Neil Oliver Love Letteremail: history@neiloliverloveletter.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Neil steps into an opulent Roman Villa grand enough to have housed the governor of Roman Britannia and maybe even put up a visiting emperor or two.Lullingstone villa, in Kent, was built in the first century AD and developed and expanded over the next 300 years or so. Large in size, by anyone’s standard, and decorated with fine mosaic floors and beautiful wall paintings. With some archaeological detective work and painstaking restoration the interiors of this incredible building reveal nothing less than the arrival of Christianity into the British Isles.Check out the Instagram account: Neil Oliver Love Letteremail: history@neiloliverloveletter.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this podcast we’re walking with Neil alongside the largest Roman artefact in the whole world, Hadrian’s Wall, the boundary of Empire. And we comes to a stop at a stretch of the Wall called Sycamore Gap, where one of the most beautiful trees in the British Isles stands.Over 70 miles long, Hadrian’s Wall is an incredible feat of engineering. Interspersed with milecastles, barracks, forts and settlements, it’s a formidable wall dividing the long island into North and South. The Romans took around 6 years to complete the wall and it was built before there were any such people called the Scots or the English. The sheer ambition and hard work needed to construct it shows just how serious the Romans were about owning the British Isles.Check out the Podcast Instagram Account - Neil Oliver Love Letteremail: history@neiloliverloveletter.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Neil travels across the channel with legions of heavily armed, well trained Roman soldiers and heads to Bath in SomersetIn AD 43 a conquering Roman army invaded the British Isles and brought the modern world with it - forms to fill in, records to keep, taxes to pay, straight roads and central heating. Exploring Rome’s influence on the British Isles Neil takes us with him to Bath’s hot springs, the incredible natural phenomenon that brought two gods together - Sulis, the Celtic goddess and Minerva from Rome.Check out the Podcast Instagram Account - Neil Oliver Love Letteremail: history@neiloliverloveletter.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Neil takes us to a place of great power and beauty, an island off the west coast of Ireland, with its shoulder set hard against the mighty Atlantic.High on the dramatic cliffs of Inishmore Neil explores two formidable Iron Age forts - Dún Aengus and Dún Dúchathair. The compelling mystery behind the remains of these breath-taking forts gives us a sharp reminder of the forces that shape the world we all live in today.Check out the Podcast Instagram Account - Neil Oliver Love Letteremail: history@neiloliverloveletter.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.