Castlerickard pyramid makes it into book

The pyramid in the old churchyard at Castlerickard, Longwood, is among almost 200 pyramids in Britain and Ireland that are featured in the first book on the subject, which has just been published. 'Up to a Point - In Search of Pyramids in Britain and Ireland" by David Winpenny identifies pyramids of all sizes and ages in Britain and Ireland. It has taken him six years of research and writing, as well as travelling from the north of Scotland to the Isles of Scilly, and from Norfolk to County Mayo. He sets the pyramid to the Swifte family at Castlerickard in the context of other pyramids in Ireland and Britain, and tells the story of their creation and the people who lived on the estate. It is one of the stories in a book that includes tales of eccentric families, feuds, weddings and funerals, assassinations, legal disputes, celebrations, madness and bankruptcy. Its cast includes monarchs and engineers, gardeners and ghosts, poets and scientists, as well as horses, hens and pigs. There are brick, cast iron and Formica pyramids, as well as the more-traditional stone ones. 'It"s been fascinating to do the research and the journeys - and to go to places like Castlerickard that might not otherwise have been on my radar. I"ve met so many interesting people on the way, too, who have been very keen on the quest, and I hope that everyone who reads the book will be as fascinated by the stories as I have been. It"s certainly the first time that there"s been a book on the subject,' said Mr Winpenny. Mr Winpenny, who lives in North Yorkshire, has written newspaper and magazine articles, guidebooks and books of walks. He lectures on subjects including architecture, follies and landscape gardening, and was a BBC Mastermind finalist in 1999.