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British folklore is littered with stories of dragons and their relatives. Although contemporary literature paints the dragon as a large, winged, fire breathing entity, this was not always the case. The dragons which roamed the UK countryside could be completely different to one another; some huge, others tiny, some confrontational, others shy, some flew, others slivered, some wandered, and others had homes... The one thing that connected the creatures was their disdain for people - dragons were not friendly, although in all fairness, people didn't react particularly well when a dragon came by.

The village of Aller in Somerset is said to be named after a local hero who liberated the area from a dragon, though he died when the creature's final breath released a ball of flame. Another fire breathing critter set up home in Bisterne, Hampshire. The creature demanded a pail of milk once a day, though this was too much of a cost for the village folk. Sir Macdonie de Berkeley was summoned to slay the beast, and although successful, he died shortly after as a result of his wounds.

The story of the Lambton Worm is one of the UK's most well known dragon stories. While a lad skipping church, John Lambton caught a small snake-like creature while fishing, and discarded it down a nearby well. Many years passed, and John grew up and ventured off to fight in the crusades. While overseas, the creature John once threw away emerged from the well, now long enough to wrap itself around the local Penshaw Hill three times. The worm killed anyone who tried to attack it, aided by its ability to quickly heal any wound, and snacked on sheep and small children. John's father eventually pacified the creature, daily feeding it the milk from nine cows. Seven years later, John returned to the Lambton estate, only to find his home in a state of fear. The knight discussed the problem worm with a witch, and was told to cover his armour in spikes and to only engage in battle near a river. John did so, and as battle between man and beast raged, the spikes prevented the worm from wrapping itself around him. John hacked the monster into chunks, which were carried away by the river before they had the change to heal. The beast was no more.

Treasure is also factored into many local dragon tales. The Drake Stone, found in Anwick, Lincolnshire, is said to cover a dragon's hoard, while contained within Cissbury Ring, an Iron Age hillfort, is another wealth of gold and gems, but still protected by two snake-like monsters. A flying dragon may still pass overhead between Devon's Dolbury Hill and Cadbury Hill, visiting each location where it stashed riches, and another wyrm made home in Gunnarton Castle, also known as Money Hill due to the legends of treasure.

The Cockatrice is another mythological creature that occasionally raises its head in British Folklore. While there is no clear cut description that covers all Cockatrice reports, the entity was said to have been mostly dragon with a rooster's head (or mostly rooster with a dragon's tail), capable of flight and killing with either a single glance of the eye, or by poison breath.

One Cockatrice took up residence in a dilapidated church in Renwick, Cumbria, circa 1733. The monster never bothered anyone until scheduled demolition of the church commenced - flying on bat-like wings, the Cockatrice attacked the workers and drove almost all of them away. All but John Tallantire, who stood his ground, formed a stake from hawthorn, and killed the creature. Another Cockatrice laid siege to the market town of Saffron Walden, although the exact date has been lost. This creature's lethality was second to none - stones would shatter if the beast breathed upon them, and a man would drop dead if the Cockatrice so much as glanced at him from a distance. Fortunately for the townsfolk, a passing knight possessed a cunning plan - he covered his armour in glass, and approached the monster which died as soon as its eyes fell on its own reflection.

While there was much written about dragons, the physical evidence for their existence is weak. Some geographical features have been explained as being caused by dragons, such as Uffington's Dragon Hill (pictured), where the patches in the glass are reputed to have been caused by the blood of a dragon after it was slain. Earl's Hill and Pontesford Hill at Shrewsbury are part of a sleeping dragon, although I suspect any serious dig in the area would prove this legend wrong (but would anyone take the risk?). A 'winged snake' which was killed in Wales around the nineteenth century was skinned, but the evidence had been thrown away shortly after the dragon slayer had died.

The question is not just did dragons and their ilk actually exist, but do they still exist? In July of 1949, two sea serpents were spotted off the coast of Looe in Cornwall, being described as green 'Chinese Dragons'. Smoke and flames have been observed coming from UFOs. Our perception is shaped by subjective truth - are today's cryptozoological oddities and 'flying saucers' the dragons from yore?

August is Fantasy Month on SCI FI. If you've been inspired by Darren's Dragon article why not take a look at the rest of our Fantasy fuelled fun, including your chance to vote for your favourite fantasy film.