Published on The Times on 18th July 2020:

Malmesbury, Wiltshire

Jostling for space is quite the norm in the Cotswolds. But Malmesbury, a modest market town between Cirencester and Chippenham, has somehow escaped that plight — a surprise given its rich history as England’s oldest borough.

Athelstan, the first king of all England; the philosopher Thomas Hobbes; and the historian William of Malmesbury have all called this honey-coloured town home. So did Eilmer, the Benedictine monk who strapped on a pair of wings and leapt off the church tower in an 11th-century foray into aviation — although unlike Icarus before him, the amateur aviator did live to tell the tale.

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