CATEGORIES

Escape to the hills

These four houses in the county of Surrey can offer the best of both worlds: rural settings and easy access to London

A little help from your friends

Driven to distraction by paint charts? A colour consultant could be the answer for anyone befuddled by choosing the right hue

A (crab) apple a day

They may be too tart to eat, but crab apples can be made into all sorts of good things, from jellies to salves, and may even have been Adam and Eve's forbidden fruit, says Ian Morton

The sound of centuries past

The past 50 years have seen an energetic revival of the instruments that would have been played in Bach's day. Henrietta Bredin meets players fascinated by the noises Baroque composers would have heard

Where the wild things are

In his paintings, Archibald Thorburn captured the essence of Nature, whether it was piercing-cold snow enveloping a stricken deer or the existential fear of the ptarmigan. This talent for conveying atmosphere set him apart, finds Charles Harris

The legacy Sir John Soane and his Museum

EXASPERATED and despairing at the provocative behaviour of his sons, Sir John Soane (1753-1837) decided towards the end of his life to make the British public his heir. His eldest son, John-whom he had hoped would follow him as an architect, but who had no interest in the profession -had died in 1823 and he had become estranged from his younger son George.

From royal favourite to stranger's heir - Stansted Park, West Sussex, part 1

A property of the Stansted Park Foundation In the first of two articles, John Goodall looks at the stages by which a medieval hunting lodge developed from the 17th century to become a great country house

Orchid spotting

I HAVE had many horticultural enthusiasms, but I have never really caught the orchid bug. Better gardeners than me— rather more passionate plantsmen —have orchid houses with graded temperature zones for the different species: cool-ish is fine for cymbidiums, slightly warmer for phalaenopsis and steamy tropical heat for vanilla orchids.

We need to trade on a level playing field

Life after the NFU and why MPs of all parties need to sort a food strategy

That boat has sailed

WELL, we haven’t stopped the boats. The Rwanda Bill was supposed to deter illegal migrants. It hasn’t and it won’t.

Through the looking glass

Little is more alluring than a mirror, its glittering reflection at once a symbol of vanity, palatial splendour and human ingenuity. Matthew Dennison charts its history from polished obsidian to decorative furnishing of unrivalled glamour

The sinner who painted saints

Although named after an angel, Caravaggio needed no stronger reason to brawl than having his artichokes dressed with butter instead of olive oil. Maev Kennedy delves into his short and brutal life

Whistle down the wind

‘The Lady of the Nightingales’ Beatrice Harrison charmed King and country with her garden duets. One hundred years later, Julian Lloyd Webber examines whether her performances were fact or fiction

Small, but perfectly formed

With a stream running through it and views of the Uffington White Horse, this is a garden of great natural beauty cleverly designed and planted to make it seem much larger than it actually is

Keys to the kingdom

Buying agents excel at gaining access to houses of which there's nary a whisper on the market, finds Annabel Dixon

Wedding belles

With parkland or rural settings, country houses make for idyllic wedding venues, as the vendors of these three properties have found

Different strokes

The infinite possibilities of decorative painting brought life to villas in Pompeii, Florentine palaces and Charleston in East Sussex. Today, a revival of interest in the artform is once again precipitating a highly distinctive new look in interiors

The art of layering

Henriette von Stockhausen believes combining textiles in a variety of different forms is the secret to creating a room that is not only timeless, but also supremely comfortable

Shepherd's delight

A prolific weed, shepherd’s purse has long been taken for granted, but it deserves greater consideration, if only for its medicinal properties

Our incomparable coastline

Our beautiful, infinitely varied coast has become central to our national concept of what makes Britain so special

A marvel revived

A major restoration project has brought one of Britain's greatest Victorian buildings back to splendour and life. Steven Brindle explains the extraordinary story of how it came to be

To have and to hold

A collection of much-loved pieces will turn a house into a home

Get the London look

Exuberant and different, Biba helped consign to history the fustiness of post-war dressing. Matthew Dennison looks at the rise and fall of the iconic 1960s fashion label

How to make an Impression

In 1874, a group of painters rejected by the official Paris Salon staged its own show and changed the course of art. It was France's convulsed lurch into the modern era that helped spark the Impressionist revolution

My heart goes flip, flip, flip

DO you know that feeling when your heart does a little flip at the sight of something beautiful? Mine did that last week. In fact, over the course of a couple of days, it did a series of little flips—possibly even a whole somersault.

Changing faces

Mallorca was one of Spain’s first holiday hotspots, but came close to ruin in the second half of the 20th century. Now, it’s back to its glorious best, says Hetty Lintell

I go to the hills

When the snow and the skiers retreat, the Alps emerge as a realm of meadows, lakes and crystalclear air, with plenty of Michelin-starred food to fuel your adventures, discovers Richard MacKichan

A garden from scratch - The garden at Charlton Farm, Wiltshire The home of Mrs Simon Rivett-Carnac

Within only 14 years, seven acres of featureless grass have been transformed into a garden full of incident and charm, writes Caroline Donald

Classically different

Two friends are changing the way Londoners listen to classical music, as well as introducing it to a younger audience, says Richard MacKichan

Back to business

Brits still do it best when it comes to a proper read: boozy) business lunch, says William Sitwell, who lifts the white tablecloth on where to dine and deal in London