You never Know what's under your Feet!

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Woolly says – It had been a long journey with nearly twenty four hours’ worth of travelling, luckily our second flight provided me with a TV to watch and a cosy pillow and blanket to snooze under for its thirteen hours duration. As our transport sped away from Heathrow my sleepy eyes stared in wonder at the small green fields where horses and cows grazed, passing over the small houses that accommodate so many of the British population in contrast to the high rise blocks that Singapore and Bangkok had given us or the stilted houses and shacks that much of our journey had included, it seemed strange to be back and cold, very very cold even with the sun poking its head out through the clouds. Our arrival at Nanty Carys and Nuncle Les’s house was greeted with huge hugs and warm drinks followed by hours of catching up on our lives, it’s wonderful to see family again.



The three of us were struggling to keep our eyes open and in the interest of getting back to Greenwich Meantime as quickly as possible Carys suggested a small trip out at which my small friend perked up and raced towards the car.



Woolly says – A hole under the road sounded like something that a mammoth should investigate, a hole under the road with carvings sounded like something not to be missed. Royston is a town in North Hertfordshire which grew at the crossing of two ancient thoroughfares, Ermine Street and the Icknield Way which was created after the Roman conquest. On arrival it didn’t appear to differ much from many English towns, but Royston had a secret. Having found the correct location, I stood and looked at the betting shop across the road before looking at the tarmac for any signs of a hole, luckily for the cars driving past it looked at though the hole was well concealed. Having paid for our tickets a friendly young man led us down a steep slope and into a small chamber which meant we were now over twenty feet under the road. Royston Cave was discovered by accident in August of 1742 by workmen erecting a bench in the butter market. A millstone was found in the ground, which when lifted disclosed a vertical, well-like shaft, about 2ft (60cm) diameter and 16ft (4.8m) deep, toeholds had been cut in the chalk on opposite sides to form steps. A small boy was "volunteered" to make the first descent and found a cave that was more than half filled with earth and debris. In the expectation of finding buried treasure the shaft was enlarged and the Cave was emptied quickly, uncovering some carvings in the lower part of the chamber. It was dimly lit but light enough to make out the fascinating carvings that had been discovered. Our guide turned on a speaker and a man’s voice started to tell us about the find.



No historical records exist to explain the origin and purpose of the cave, but there are quite a few theories.



Woolly says – Had it been a prison, a hermitage or an early masonic lodge or even, and in my view far more exciting, a secret meeting place for the Knights of the Templar, could I be standing where they had once stood? As the speaker described the carvings it was easy to understand why no one had the answer as templar crosses were next to saints and pictures of Joseph, Mary and a young Jesus with a few masonic symbols thrown in for good measure, the more I looked the more I saw, and they were all wonderful. All too soon the explanations were completed, and I padded back towards the light once more taking the opportunity to peer across to the betting shop once again wondering if the gamblers of Royston realised they were standing over a unique treasure and unexplained mystery. As we climbed back into he car I could feel my eyes finally closing and the need for sleep taking over, hopefully by tomorrow I would be able to stay awake to explore some more.

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