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The Tattooed Hills

Journeys to Chalk Figures

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The Tattooed Hills

By: Jon Woolcott
Narrated by: Jon Woolcott
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'A fascinating detective story told with humor and joy that unravels the threads of history and legend to reveal the strange stories of Britain's hill figures.'—Fiona Roberston, author of Stone LandsA journey through Britain’s chalklands, uncovering the stories, symbolism, and shifting meanings of the mysterious figures carved into its hills.

Across southern England and beyond, the land bears the marks of centuries—white horses, giants, crosses, badges, even a lost panda—cut into the chalk and exposed to the sky. In The Tattooed Hills, writer Jon Woolcott travels to these remarkable sites, exploring their history and the deep cultural roots that link landscape to identity.

Part travelogue, part cultural history, Woolcott examines how these figures—sometimes ancient, sometimes surprisingly recent—reflect the nation's collective imagination, and how their interpretations have changed over time. Once emblems of pride or remembrance, they have become mirrors of our shifting values and contradictions.

From Iron Age hillforts to modern regimental carvings, The Tattooed Hills brings together archaeology, folklore, art, literature and music to reveal the evolving story of Britain’s chalk landscapes and the people who shaped them.

Beautifully written and steeped in a sense of place, Woolcott visits many of England's Chalk figures, delving into their mysteries, including The Westbury White Horse, the Long Man of Wilmington, The Cerne Abbas Giant and the Uffington White Horse.

A captivating exploration of landscape, culture, and belonging, The Tattooed Hills reveals how the Britain' chalklands connect to the past and shapes the country today.

'Woolcott is the most splendid company on this intoxicating, immaculately researched tour of chalky weirdness. He has a keen ear for the murmuring voice of Deep England, and the wisdom to know that the more one knows about a place or a person, the more profound the mystery.' –Charles Foster, author of The Edges of the World, Being Human and Being A Beast

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Critic reviews

'Dorset-based writer Woolcott is a wonderful writer who creates beautiful imagery: on a geology map, chalk is pale green "an eighteenth-century drawing room sort of colour". His books are meticulously researched, written with a gentle humour that often has me laughing out loud.'

—Jess Morency, Dorset Magazine

'An alluring blend of travel writing, cultural history, archaeology, folklore, literature and more.'

—Caroline Sanderson, The Bookseller, Editors Choice

'A witty rumination on the not-so-dry topic of chalk figures [and] an enlivening trip into the calcareous charms of the British countryside.'

—Publishers Weekly

'Woolcott is the most splendid company on this intoxicating, immaculately researched tour of chalky weirdness. He has a keen ear for the murmuring voice of Deep England, and the wisdom to know that the more one knows about a place or a person, the more profound the mystery.'

—Charles Foster, author of The Edges of the World

'A fascinating detective story told with humour and joy that unravels the threads of history and legend to reveal the strange stories of Britain's hill figures.'

—Fiona Robertson, author of Stone Lands

'A sustained reflection and testimony on landscape formation and history, patiently disclosing why these figures continue to have such a hold on us.'

—Ken Worpole, social historian and author of The New English Landscape and Brightening from the East

'A thoughtful and elegantly written account of the strange ground-carved figures that grace our hills and continue to fire our imaginations. If I say the book is right up there with John Higgs' Watling Street and Rob Cowen's The North Road, then you'll know what to expect and just how highly I rate what Jon has pulled off here.'

—John Mitchinson

'Witty, evocative and profoundly human. It's a thrilling ramble through our history and landscape, linking these chalk figures together in a narrative as warm as 'Detectorists' and poetic as an English folk ballad.'

—John Grindrod, author of Outskirts and Tales of the Suburbs

'A great read about a fascinating subject...Come for the chalky wonders and beautiful scenery; stay for the excursions into pop culture, politics and identity.'

—Mike Parker, author of On the Red Hill, Map Addict, The Wild Rover and All the Wide Border

'The Tattooed Hills is filled with rich stories and curiosity about people and place, and shares qualities with Detectorists and Small Prophets - the same balance of humour and wonder, and a celebration of kindness that works because there's a counter seam of melancholy. Somehow it wraps together history, science, art, music, poetry, myth, morris dancers and museums.'

—Ysella Sims, poet and performer
All stars
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Narrated by the author, bringing in his personal experiences old and new, cross referencing to those of antiquarians and modern popular culture, it's an engaging your of the geo glyphs in chalk. Ranging further than just the Downs, from figures staying faithful over time, to hints of perhaps mythical cuts, to those altered through time, it gives a view of what is known, what is conjecture or hope as to the purpose of these landscape "tattoos" as it may have changed through successive societies and occupants of the landscape. With a bit of scientific proof to leave the mysticism often surrounding ancient monuments.

Really enjoyed it. I met figures of heard of, as well as those I hadnt. Well worth the money for me.

Enjoyable wander through chalk downs

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