United Kingdom
Author of the Wild Ruins Series of Books. Runs foraging courses for Guardian Masterclass. Off the beaten track adventurer.
From the vantage point of this cliff fort, there are clear views over Cape Cornwall to where the Channel and the Atlantic meet. On a stormy day this is a truly wild place, as the coastal winds batter the shoreline. Kenidjack is a multivallate fort, which means it has more than one rampart.
If you're a little unsure of what exactly qualifies as prehistory, you are not alone. In Britain, this period of time spans from when the first inhabitants of our fair isles arrived here to the coming of the Romans in AD 43.
Plants by the coast have to be a lot tougher than those inland. Look at the leaves of coastal plants; they are often thick and waxy to enable them to deal with the strong winds and salty air. Sea beet, for example, has much thicker leaves than its relative the beetroot.
During the Second World War, Dover was quite a different place from the busy, international port of today. As Britain's front line, the whole area was heavily militarised, ready to take on a Nazi invasion. As the conflict escalated, castles were refortified, Napoleonic forts were reopened and concrete batteries, gun emplacements and pill boxes sprang up across the cliffs.
Here in Britain we don't do large, showy wildlife: there are no bears, no wolves and very little in the way of big cats wandering our countryside. The wildlife we do have veers towards the cuter side of the animal spectrum - and top of that list has to be the hedgehog.
In Wild Ruins, the first ever guidebook to Britain's ruins, writer Dave Hamilton details how to visit and gain access to more than 250 hidden historical spots. Featuring a vast number of images and 28 maps, the book reveals the whereabouts of long-forgotten castles, mills, cottages, quays, airfields, Victorian forts and intriguing derelicts.
In squirrels, the hippocampus - the part of the brain that deals with long term and spatial memory - is very active. This helps them find the hazelnuts in spring that they buried months before, in the autumn.
In his new book Wild Ruins, author Dave Hamilton hunts out 300 of Britain's most romantic, picturesque or hidden ruined buildings. Especially for the VisitBritain Blog he has selected 5 of Britain's most spectacular crumbling castles, ancient forts and abandoned churches for you to run through, hide in or simply stare at...
Britain's coastline is full of picturesque crumbling castles, follies and relics - you just need to know where to find them. Below, Dave Hamilton, the author of Wild Ruins reveals some of the best. Scroll down to see the beautiful photo gallery and a special offer on the book.