Rather than focusing too much this year on many of the big places catching everyone's attention I've found myself admiring some of the locations that hide stories from our history right underneath our noses. In August I walked the northern bank of the River Mersey alongside what was once RAF speke, where thousands of aircraft were built and stationed during WW2. It's vulnerability was clear from the outset, and these pyramid anti-tank barriers were placed on the banks of the river to protect the site in case of an amphibious German invasion. The home guard were also stationed inside Pillboxes around the perimeter of the airfield, all of which were so heavily fortified that they still exist today, long after the airbase returned to civilian use.