That History Guy: Suffolk Stories Have a New Home

At the beginning of 2026, I started making short videos about Suffolk’s history, folklore and ghost stories. The idea was fairly straightforward: to show people more of the county that we have called home at Woodfarm for seventeen years, and give potential guests another reason to come and explore it.

It was also a chance to put a face to the business. There are plenty of Holiday Cottages out there, but fewer where you get to know the slightly history obsessed bloke who owns them before you arrive.

Then it all went a bit ballistic. The videos quickly reached millions of views, generated thousands of comments and led to complete strangers approaching me in the street with the words, “You’re that history guy!”

So, rather than argue with them, I have embraced it.

A new home for Suffolk history and folklore

I have now launched That History Guy, a new website bringing all of this work together in one place.

It’s a site dedicated to the history, folklore and ghostly tales of Suffolk, along with a little bit of Tuscany for good measure. You’ll find links to tons of videos, written versions of the stories, information about what I do and details for media enquiries and collaborations. You can even subscribe to it for exclusive content.

The subjects range from witches and hellhounds to lost villages, forgotten people, ancient buildings and some of the stranger tales hiding in the Suffolk landscape.

My aim is to deliver something very different from a dusty lecture or pretend that every legend is proven fact. I want to tell proper stories about real places and people, explain where history ends and folklore begins, and hopefully leave you wanting to share what you have learned with somebody else.

What does this have to do with Woodfarm?

Quite a lot, actually.

Woodfarm has never just been about simply handing somebody the keys to a Barn, Cottage or Barge. We want our guests to experience Suffolk, explore it and understand what makes the county so special.

‘That History Guy’ adds another layer to that. You can watch a story about a ruined abbey, a haunted church, a vanished village or one of Suffolk’s more questionable historical characters, then visit the place during your stay.

Our Barns and Cottages sit in the heart of the county, while our Barges are moored at two locations surrounded by history. These are not stories from somewhere distant. They happened along the roads, rivers, marshes and coastlines that our guests can explore for themselves.

The history project has also become a creative outlet for me. After osteoarthritis forced me to stop playing guitar, my writing and producing these films has given me back the process of turning an idea into something finished. It’s kinda like songwriting without the guitar, although with considerably more talk of witches.

Have a look around That History Guy, watch a few films and read the stories as they are added.

Then come and stay at Woodfarm, right where the stories still live.

Here’s me explaining how it began…