If, like me, you are interested in the medieval period and particularly castles, then I can recommend a new television series called ‘Secrets of the Castle’ broadcast on BBC 2 at 9pm on Tuesdays. Based at Guedelon in Burgundy 100 miles south of Paris, the program follows the techniques used in building a 13th century castle covering everything from aspects of everyday life to the finer principles of castle building.

Practical archaeology at its best with only the tools and methods available at the time. You can view yesterday’s programme on iPlayer or for more visit www.guedelon.fr/en/

John Baker