S.C. Skillman's Blog

The Stratford-upon-Avon Riverside Trail takes you from the Swan Theatre and Avonbank Gardens along past the chain ferry, Southern Lane, Waterside and The Other Place to Holy Trinity and from there on to Lucy’s Mill and Footbridge where you cross the Avon and walk back along the East Bank to Stratford Boat Club.

Stratford Riverside Heritage Trail leaflet

This is the second half of the Riverside Heritage Trail which is recommended to Stratford visitors and which starts in the Bancroft Gardens.  The information given in the leaflet reminds us that following the arrival of the canal in 1816  this was a busy commercial area  with two canal basins and numerous wharves dealing in coal, lime and timber.

It was only after 1933 that major landscaping works accompanied the rebuilding of the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre – and that was accomplished with a huge international fundraising campaign. How radically different this whole area was in the 19th century and up until the end of the First World War.

I find it moving to reflect upon the fact that the name of William Shakespeare and all he means to millions of people, created the impetus to make that transformation possible, and to bring about the present Royal Shakespeare Theatre,

The riverside walk past the theatre and along to Shakespare’s church of Holy Trinity is enchantingly beautiful on a warm, drowsy morning or afternoon – as it was when I recently did the walk in March 2026.

The Stratford Riverside is a central location for my latest novel ‘Standing Ovation’ – perhaps because my novel has a fantasy element and the location and walk can be so dreamlike.

The Other Place, Stratford upon Avon

As I was passing The Other Place it seemed perfect to me that the poster for the current production proclaimed: All is But Fantasy!

Stratford upon Avon Riverside Trail

And finally I recommend that you drop in to The Dirty Duck, on Waterside, just up the road from the Swan Theatre!

Author SC Skillman in The Dirty Duck, Waterside, Stratford upon Avon

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About Me

Born and brought up in Orpington, Kent, Sheila lives in Warwick and writes mystery fiction and historical nonfiction under the pen-name SC Skillman. Her four nonfiction local history books ‘Paranormal Warwickshire’, ‘Illustrated Tales of Warwickshire’, ‘A-Z of Warwick’ and ‘Paranormal Gloucestershire’ are all published by Amberley and illustrated with original photographs, many taken by herself.

In her nonfiction books she focuses on real-life stories of ghosts and spirits, tales of haunted places, supernatural happenings and shadowy presences, and she investigates how these may relate to the history of a location. She also writes about folklore, intriguing people, curious customs and beliefs, ancient legends and mysterious events surrounding our towns and villages.

Alongside her nonfiction she is currently working on a new novel, and researching her next book for Amberley, ‘Paranormal Worcestershire’.

Author SC Skillman

Why are penguins such a popular bird? I believe we associate them with being relaxed, happy, living in the present, taking life as it comes.

Frank the penguin at Birdland, Bourton -on-the-Water, Gloucestershire

Of course life isn’t really like that for penguins in the wild, but it certainly is for the King and Humboldt penguins living on Penguin Shore at Birdland, Bourton-on-the-Water in Gloucestershire.

An icy misty morning by the River Windrush, Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire

Even when they suffer from medical problems – as is the case with Seth, who waddles with a limp and has arthritis – they receive all the best care, and Seth gets painkillers in his fish, so he continues to feel a confident, comfortable penguin despite being one of the oldest penguins in the world at 40.

These Birdland residents all live much longer than penguins normally do in their natural environment; guaranteed food, health checks & medical attention, no predators, a beautiful swimming pool, and Birdland Head Keeper Alistair Keen at their beck and call!

Plus, for those penguins with ambition, (notably laidback Spike and long-established star Seth), a showbusiness career in the film and TV industry.

Penguins at Birdland, Bourton-on-the-Water, GloucestershireA hopeful Humboldt penguin waiting by the gate for Alistair the Head Keeper to arrive with a bucket of fish

While we were waiting for the penguins’ feeding time, I noticed one of the smallest Humboldt penguins – probably the chick that Alistair hand-reared, and introduced to the adults earlier this year – stationed right by the gate, his beak turned towards where Alistair would appear with his bucket of fish, waiting patiently for about 20 minutes before Alistair’s arrival.

Like the peacocks at Warwick Castle, putting on special displays for visitors, these beautiful birds seem to know they are very popular with humans and they play up to it with their body language – or perhaps we imagine that, placing our own characteristics upon them!

Invitation to support author Mailing LIst sign up invite – SC Skillman

Why not sign up to join my mailing list? You’ll get a monthly email from me direct to your inbox, in which I share gems and snippets from my research, and news and insights from the writing and publishing worlds.

And if you enjoy my blog posts and would like to support me, you can do so here and I’d be very grateful!

SC Skillman authorAbout Me

I live in Warwickshire, a county in central England, just south of Birmingham, together with my husband and son; and my daughter currently lives and works in Australia.

I was born and brought up in Orpington, a town on the southeastern edge of London. My first job was as a production secretary with the BBC. Later I lived for five years in Australia before returning to live and work in England.

My published output includes two novels Mystical Circles and A Passionate Spirit, and four highly illustrated nonfiction books Paranormal Warwickshire, Illustrated Tales of Warwickshire, A-Z of Warwick and Paranormal Gloucestershire.

All are available online and the nonfiction books can be found in Waterstones branches and tourists outlets in Warwick and Leamington, and also in Kenilworth Books and Warwick Books.

As Christmas Day draws near we have been out to see the lavish and imaginative decorations currently transforming the rooms of our nearest National Trust properties, Charlecote House and Baddesley Clinton Manor, Warwickshire.

Of all National Trust houses Baddesley Clinton is my favourite: it’s the one I can imagine living in – or the place where I’d like to take an extended creative retreat!

Rich with stories from different centuries, full of ingenious priest holes (which today manage to look like highly tempting children’s dens) it also has plenty of ghost tales and testimonies of curious & possibly supernatural experiences from staff, volunteers and visitors alike. So no wonder it earned a place in my book ‘Paranormal Warwickshire’.

‘Paranormal Warwickshire’ by SC Skillman, published by AmberleyA gallery of images from Baddesley Clinton (National Trust) showing the Christmas 2025 festive decorations.

And here are a few images of Charlecote House. This house features in my book ‘Illustrated Tales of Warwickshire’ with its oft-repeated tale that young William Shakespeare was caught there by the owner and local magistrate Sir Edmund Lucy, poaching his deer in the park.

‘Illustrated Tales of Warwickshire’ by SC Skillman, published by Amberley

The poaching tale most likely isn’t true but tantalising hints in ‘The Merry Wives of Windsor‘ do suggest some kind of mischievous connection with an aristocrat caricatured as Justice Shallow…

The approach to Charlecote House, and a walk round the back to the knot garden reveals views of the flooded river Avon.

Once inside the house, we can take delight in all the glorious decorations.

Charlecote House,
Warwickshire (National Trust) at Christmas 2025Invitation to support authorWhy not sign up here to join me on my writing and publishing  journey? You’ll receive my monthly newsletter straight to your inbox, full of gems and snippets from my author research, and news and insights from the writing and publishing worlds; plus you’ll be the first to know when I have a new book coming out.

For those who would like to support me on this journey do please buymeacoff.ee/scskillman and I’d be very appreciative!Author SC Skillman with a hand-made Christmas Wreath assembled during a creative workshop held at Hill Close Gardens, Warwick, Warwickshire, Christmas 2025About Me

I live in Warwickshire, a county in central England, just south of Birmingham, together with my husband and son; and my daughter currently lives and works in Australia.

I was born and brought up in Orpington, a town on the southeastern edge of London. My first job was as a production secretary with the BBC. Later I lived for five years in Australia before returning to live and work in England.

My published output includes two mystery novels Mystical Circles and A Passionate Spirit, one non-fiction writers’ guide Perilous Path, and four highly illustrated nonfiction books for history publisher Amberley: Paranormal Warwickshire, Illustrated Tales of Warwickshire, A-Z of Warwick and Paranormal Gloucestershire. I’m now working on a gothic novel, and researching a new nonfiction book, Paranormal Worcestershire.

Today I return to the subject of the sea. I was there a few weeks ago, and how one can long for the sea, especially living in the middle of the UK as I now do!

This area of Warwickshire has many joys – close to major historic sites such as Kenilworth Castle, and areas of great beauty like the Cotswolds and the Malverns. It’s also very handy for Shakespeare’s town of Stratford-upon-Avon, and the Royal Shakespeare Theatre.

The counties of Gloucestershire and Worcestershire are easily reached, and they are the settings for two of my books: my most recent ‘Paranormal Gloucestershire‘ and my upcoming one ‘Paranormal Worcestershire’. Rivers are a great compensation for distance from the sea, and the rivers Avon and Severn admirably fill that role.

I was born and brought up in Kent, and during my childhood, we lived about half an hour’s drive from the sea. Rye and Camber Sands in East Sussex were regular destinations. I remember running up those dunes with gay abandon, long before they were constrained by man made structures.

But for those who love the sea, what can compare with the glorious coast of Cornwall? Here, then, is a selection of images from the north coast of that county: Cornwall.

The photos were taken at Port Isaac; Tolcarne Beach, Newquay; Fistral Bay, Newquay; Mawgan Porth; and in the sea-inspired Zeath art gallery at Polzeath.

Images from the north coast of Cornwall, Photo credit S Robinson, 7-12 October 2025 Invitation to support author

Subscribe to my mailing list here and receive my monthly email straight to your inbox full of writing and publishing news, and gems and snippets from my research.

And if you’d like to support my writing journey please do buymeacoff.ee/scskillman and I’d be be very grateful!

SC Skillman authorNorth Cornwall coast of Britain 2025. Photo credit S Robinson

Christmas is, by tradition, a time for ghost stories. And MR James is my favourite writer in this genre. James was himself a devotee of mystery fiction and particularly a fan of Sherlock Holmes. But he is, of course, best known to us as the greatest writer of traditional English ghost stories. Ruth Rendell famously […]

Christmas Ghost Stories – MR James

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Announcing my latest book, ‘Paranormal Gloucestershire’ which is out on Monday 15 September 2025!

‘Paranormal Gloucestershire‘ is my fourth book for Amberley Publishing and is now available through all online retail stores and also through your local high street bookstore. You’ll find it in Waterstones branches and it can be ordered through indie bookshops too (of which there are many fabulous examples especially those I’ve visited in Gloucestershire, including Borzoi Bookshop in Stow-on-the-Wold and the Yellow-Lighted Bookshop in Tetbury). In Warwickshire you’ll definitely find it stocked in Warwick Books and Kenilworth Books.

The book is highly illustrated with 100 original colour photos and will be a treasured item not only for ghost hunters and history buffs but also for all those who love books of travel photography and unexplained mysteries.

I shared the task of photographing locations with my talented photographer son, Jamie Robinson.

Jamie Robinson Photographer & SC Skillman Author with new book Paranormal Gloucestershire Jamie Robinson PhotographerFrom the publisher’s burb:

Gloucestershire is a county rich in beauty, history, and a high level of
spiritual, mysterious, and paranormal activity. With a profusion of haunted
inns, castles, houses and landscape features, the presence of the past is
absorbed into the fabric of places as diverse as the Neolithic burial chamber
of Belas Knap Long Barrow, the prisons at Gloucester and Littledean, and
the 12th century Ancient Ram Inn at Wotton under Edge.

Hauntings have been reported at Sudeley Castle, Chavenage House, St Briavels Castle, Woodchester Mansion and Owlpen Manor; and many report unsettling
experiences at the Abbeys in Gloucester and Tewkesbury, the villages of
Prestbury and Arlingham, and in the Montpelier and Pittville areas of
Cheltenham.

In this book I visit eerie locations around Gloucestershire to unearth a selection of chilling tales about them, and explore the strangeness of the hauntings of this fascinating county.

‘Paranormal Gloucestershire’ takes the reader into the world of ghosts and
spirits in the county, following their footsteps into the unknown. These tales of
haunted places, supernatural happenings and weird phenomena will delight
the ghost hunters, and fascinate and intrigue everybody who knows
Gloucestershire.

Here are some useful links to some of the places where you can find the book:

Amazon

Waterstones

Warwick Books

Kenilworth Books

Direct from the publisher

If you are tempted by ‘Paranormal Gloucestershire’, and enjoy reading the stories and browsing the photos, please do leave a review on Amazon! Author SC Skillman

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Today, I’m delighted to share news that my next nonfiction book will be released by Amberley on 15th September 2025.

View of Owlpen Manor from the garden (photo credit Sheila Robinson)

‘Paranormal Gloucestershire’ explores a county rich in beauty, history, and a high level of spiritual, mysterious, and paranormal activity.

With a profusion of haunted inns, castles, houses and landscape features, the presence of the past is absorbed into the fabric of places as diverse as the Neolithic burial chamber of Belas Knapp Long Barrow, the prisons at Gloucester and Littledean, and the 12th century Ancient Ram Inn at Wotton under Edge.

The Plough Inn, Prestbury, Gloucestershire (photo credit: Sheila Robinson)

Hauntings have been reported at Sudeley Castle, Chavenage House, St Briavels Castle, Woodchester Mansion and Owlpen Manor and many report unsettling experiences at the Abbeys in Gloucester and Tewkesbury, the villages of Prestbury and Arlingham, and in the Montpelier and Pittville areas of Cheltenham.

Snowshill Manor, Gloucestershire (photo credit Sheila Robinson)

During my research for this book I visited eerie locations around Gloucestershire to unearth a selection of chilling tales and explored the strangeness of the hauntings of this fascinating county.

It’s on preorder right now, so if you’d like to make sure of getting an early copy on the day of publication, do click here for the publisher and here for Amazon.

Belas Knapp Long Barrow, Gloucestershire (photo credit Jamie Robinson) View of Berkeley Castle from the Inner Courtyard (photo credit Jamie Robinson) Invitation to support author JOIN MY MAILING LIST

Join me on my writing journey and you’ll receive my monthly email direct to your inbox in which I share gems and snippets from my research, news and insights from writing and publishing worlds, plus you’ll be the first to know when I have a new book coming out.

For those regular readers of articles here on my blog, if you enjoy my writing please do support me here and I’d be very grateful.

About Me

I live in Warwickshire, a county in central England, just south of Birmingham, together with my husband and son; and my daughter currently lives and works in Australia.

I was born and brought up in Orpington, a town on the southeastern edge of London. My first job was as a production secretary with the BBC. Later I lived for five years in Australia before returning to live and work in England.

My published output includes two novels Mystical Circles and A Passionate Spirit, and four highly illustrated nonfiction books Paranormal Warwickshire, Illustrated Tales of Warwickshire, A-Z of Warwick and Paranormal Gloucestershire.

Author SC Skillman

Currently the UK news and social media are focussing on Raynor Winn and the truthfulness or otherwise of certain accounts in her highly successful nonfiction book ‘The Salt Path’ (first published by Penguin 2019).

Out of this has come a fascinating discussion about our expectations of truth and factual accuracy in memoirs and nonfiction books. As a nonfiction author myself, I’ve been following readers’ opinions with great interest.

Many people are using the phrase ‘it’s easy to say that in hindsight’ as they change their opinions of the book, in view of recent revelations by an investigative journalist in The Observer: either that, or they claim that they always thought certain parts of the book were dodgy.

Since then, Raynor Winn has published her own new account of events on her website.

Here lies the value of writing a book review soon after you’ve read a book – then you have authentic evidence of what you actually did think at the time!

I read the book about a year after it was published and here is my original review, which I then uploaded, as usually, to Amazon. So this is what I actually did think of it, without claiming any foresight !

MY 2020 REVIEW OF ‘THE SALT PATH’ BY RAYNOR WINN

The Salt Path by Raynor Winn

This is one of those books for which the one-star reviews on Amazon are almost more revealing and fascinating than the book itself. For those who would like insights into how the residents and the business-owners of Cornwall and Devon feel, this book and its most critical reviews are worth reading!

Personally, I found it a gripping read; and as a nonfiction writer myself, I know that is no mean feat. However, I don’t own a small West-Country coastal business and rely for my livelihood on tourist custom. As for the financial disaster that precedes the decision to go on the walk, I don’t have a close knowledge of the UK law or the benefits system. Many of the one-star reviewers of this book do, and some of them also have experience of a family member with a tragic life-limiting degenerative illness.

Although I have walked tiny bits of the Southwest Coastal Path and used to go on 50 mile sponsored walks from my local area and have climbed mountains in the Lake District and in Wales, I’ve never attempted such a walk as the one described in this book. I’m not a resident of Cornwall and Devon and have never enjoyed camping. I don’t believe I would dare to pitch a tent for free in a paid-for camping site with the intention of not paying; and even if I was tempted by desperation, I probably still wouldn’t do it; deeply engrained values would hold me back, and I’d choose wild camping in the gorse instead. So there are some aspects of this story which readers have doubted; and some of them reflect so poorly upon Raynor herself, I tend to feel they must be true. Though I would in her place have been highly motivated to exclude them from my book (which is easy enough to do).

Nevertheless, the psychological turmoil Raynor described herself as taking with her on her journey is highly relatable, and many of us would have felt that ourselves, when life turns bad and frustration, loss and perceived injustice comes our way. It was clear to me that the arduous walk she and Moth took, which did require dogged persistence and endurance, would have ultimately burned away those negative emotions.

By the time they had arrived at Lizard Point, Raynor seems to have reached a point of calm acceptance and to have shed the worst of her bitterness and self-pity. They stop at Polruan then take up an invitation to spend all winter at a friend’s Midlands sheep farm, doing renovation work, living in a shed, and working on the farm. Warm weather again finds them at Poole, ready to walk 250 miles back to Polruan.

They are persistent and dogged though I don’t think much of their survivalist skills especially as they live on a diet of rice, noodles, tuna and chocolate bars, by her own account.

At Talland Bay breakthrough comes: the moment of transformation. They meet a lady called Anna at a café. Anna offers them her flat to rent in Polruan, not far from the university at Portsmouth where Moth has decided to sign up as a mature student.  We have a feeling they are saved at last, and as Raynor points out, they end up living where their path ends. I do like the end of the book.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Do let me know what you think. For instance, in a nonfiction book which is ‘confessional’ in style and purpose, do we have the right to expect 100% factual accuracy, and is the publisher morally reponsible to check that to the best of their ability? I’d love to have your comments!

Invitation to support author Mailing LIst sign up invite – SC Skillman

Join me on my writing journey and receive a monthly newsletter straight to your inbox, in which I share gems and snippets from my research and news and insights from the writing and publishing worlds, plus you’ll be the first to know when I have a new book coming out.

For regular readers of this blog, if you enjoy my articles and would like to support me, you can do that here, and I’ll be very grateful.

Author SC SkillmanAbout Me

I live in Warwickshire, a county in central England, just south of Birmingham, together with my husband and son; and my daughter currently lives and works in Australia.

I was born and brought up in Orpington, a town on the southeastern edge of London. My first job was as a production secretary with the BBC. Later I lived for five years in Australia before returning to live and work in England.

My published output includes two novels Mystical Circles and A Passionate Spirit, and four highly illustrated nonfiction books Paranormal Warwickshire, Illustrated Tales of Warwickshire, A-Z of Warwick and Paranormal Gloucestershire.