DIGGING UP ROOTS

So, who do you think you are? Most of us have a deep-seated urge to know where we come from, perhaps dreaming that somewhere up the family tree there lurks a famous, even royal ancestor, or at least a fascinating rogue or two. Getting on the trail of your past is certainly a rewarding way to explore Britain, and for many visitors from overseas it adds a sense of homecoming if their forebears were among the many to have emigrated from British shores at various periods through our shared history.

Maybe you have links to the men and women who sought economic betterment or religious freedom in the New World in the 17th century, settlers at Jamestown, or the Pilgrim Fathers? Following the Mayflower Trail around villages and churches in North Nottinghamshire, South Yorkshire and Lincolnshire you can soak up scenes your forebears would have known. Perhaps you qualify to be able to add