If the words "British heritage" remind you of a lucky escape from slide-tackling Viyella-clad ladies forcing you at umbrella point to join the National Trust, or of a Ye Olde Teahouse serving double mocha latte with extra pineapple, then cheer up. British heritage isn't just about the nouveaux poor's crumbling old piles. It is about the depth and breadth of our experience from the time we hunted and gathered, to now, today. And the resources to excavate it are all in one little package - your computer.
Log on to the net and dig into the past. You don't have to grow a scratchy beard and hang around libraries to be a master historian. Start by feasting your eyes on the physical history around you. Visit www.theheritagetrail.co.uk, which has the best general information on most UK heritage sites.
This site seems to encompass the places covered by the National Trust and English Heritage and more, and if there is only a weeny chunkette of history you are interested in, then this is the site for you.
The baby of obviously knowledgeable and dedicated enthusiasts, the site covers priories, stately homes, Roman Britain, maritime and industrial history as well as oddballs such as piers. Battlefields and parks coming up, it promises.
And of course it covers castles, proper manly castles like Bodiam to more girly faux chateaux like Herstmonceux. The new and improved Norwich castle has reopened, giving you more for your money including the intriguing five-seater medieval toilets. Check out the details at www.norfolk.gov.uk/tourism.
Make sure you visit www.castlesontheweb.com so that you will have an answer to the interminable questions posed while slipping up timeworn castle stairs. You know the sort of thing - "what does that tower do?" or " what is this hole for?"
Urban dwellers are besieged by history, and London folk are plain spoiled. www.ramblers.org.uk suggests walks within main towns, and Londoners should find www.walklon.ndirect.co.uk for a range of guided historical walks for a price of a couple of pints. Those with nerves of steel and at least 14 friends should follow the footsteps of Jack the Ripper at www.jack-the-ripper-walk.co.uk .
If groping about in the East End doesn't fire your history lobe, how about dressing up as a Civil War soldier and dying horribly in battle? Try www.sealedknot.org for inspiration. You are not confined to cavalier or roundhead. www.nares.org has details of most re-enactment organisations, so you can gallivant as a soldier of the Second Legion or be a Pershing Doughboy. I am not sure whether ladies can join any of the armies. I do hope so.
Before I wrote this I had to look up Plantagenet, which shows my laughable lack of historical awareness. I found www.britannia.com/history/ helpful as well as the plain but awesome timeline at www.gregg1.freeserve.co.uk. This even shows the days of the week that events occurred and includes fascinating stuff such as when typhus struck and the year that cancer and tobacco were first linked (1761). www.livinghistory.co.uk has a colourful timeline as well as a "today's the day" page, and Nettleswade Primary School's timetrail at www.nettlesworth.durham.sch.uk is jolly and informative.
But what if you would like to get your hands dirty? Archaeological digs are notoriously difficult to join unless you are already in an archaeological society or you have snogged the professor at the faculty Christmas party.
Lead your own virtual dig at www.bbc.co.uk/history by playing Hunt the Ancestor. It is incredibly difficult making the right choices before the builders move in.
Keep fit by becoming a ley hunter. Track down ancient paths delineated by standing stones and stone circles, bar rows and mounds, hill forts and earthworks or pre-Reformation churches using nothing but your legs, a good map and www.leyhunter.com.
If that sounds tiring, tour the ancient standing stones of Britain, using the QuickTime movies on www.stonepages.com. You can get quite dizzy if you try hard enough. Bring out your nautical side by singing the shanties that Nelson's men sang, at www.contemplator.com. Words and music are provided.
Does anyone remember the fascinating Channel 4 programme, A Family Century, about the Carpenter family that was screened last August? That is oral history in action, and you can capture recent times by having a go yourself.
But it takes more planning and finesse than merely shoving a microphone up the nose of your ancient neighbour. Check out www.oralhistory.org.uk, which gives excellent advice on the right technique and tools for interviewing people who may never have shared their memories before.
Your granny's curious statement "and they never found the body" may lead you to research your own family history. Start at www. ukgenealogy.co.uk , which has good advice and excellent links as well as access to free software you can download to your PC.
Of course, the big one recommended by genealogists is www.familysearch.org, which is a family history library catalogue from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Don't be disappointed if you are not the heir to a lesser European kingdom. We can't all be.
