CATEGORIES

In the swim

Christopher Woodward dives into the history of the swimming pool and relishes some lengths in the best private pools in the country

The right tools for the job

ANYONE venturing into my office might presume that my desk is a disorganised mess. However, like most people with a cluttered desk, I know exactly where to find every last magazine, letter, invoice and newspaper cutting. It is the same with the garden tool shed: I know where every tool is, even the hand trowel that has, in fact, been left in the garden. I can put my hand immediately on a hose connector, ball of string or wire stretcher that lives in a crate, jumbled with dozens of other odds and sods that will be needed at some point during the season. To call the place a tool shed is a misnomer: it is the broken chair, old bicycle, log basket and bric-a-brac shed, with a bit of space for garden tools.

It's all in the genes

As well as honouring her family’s history of plant breeding, the artist and garden designer Caroline Thomson has created a remarkable garden

Scotland's A-listers take the stage

Some of Scotland’s most spectacular scenery provides a glorious backdrop to four historic country houses and estates that have recently come to the market

Divide and rule

A new Plain English design in Northumberland demonstrates the benefits of carving up a kitchen

Hoop, stock and barrel

Crafting wooden casks is an ancient art form that requires traditional makers to jump through hoops to construct vessels strong enough for the task of maturing precious Scotch whisky

Have your oatcake and eat it

Delicious with sweet or savoury toppings–or, for the purist, plain–oatcakes have long been a kitchen staple and not only for Scots

Heart of stone

Shrouded in myth and mystery, the unremarkable-looking Stone of Scone– the ancient symbol of Scottish sovereigns–still plays a significant role in the coronations of British monarchs

The ultimate walk of shame

Tired, hungry and demoralised, the Highlanders marched from Culloden to Nairn on the eve of the final and fateful confrontation of the Jacobite Rising. Some 300 years later, Joe Gibbs retraces their footsteps and considers what went wrong

Holding fast

Dunvegan Castle, Isle of Skye The seat of Clan MacLeod One of Scotland’s most celebrated and anciently occupied castles has undergone a decade of restoration and renovation.

Just save us all

We can combat climate change and achieve international peace, if only we could stop and listen to the very real progress being made

Feasts for the eyes

Although the art market is on its summer holidays, there are plenty of excellent exhibitions to visit, including one in France

Floral madeleines

COMFORT food’ is a term familiar to anyone who enjoys a good meal

Here we go round the mulberry tree

Familiar from the famous nursery rhyme, the mulberry tree is so prized for the silkworms that feed on its luscious fruit that, long ago, the Chinese would execute anyone exporting a specimen

Try something new

Foreign introductions are always tempting to grow–and so often disappoint– but, writes John Hoyland, the Australian baptisia is proving hardy and happy in a range of conditions here and becoming a new garden stalwart

Kings, cricket and villainy

It should come as no surprise that the homes of the ‘Garden of England’ hold such rich histories

Giving it large

Why bold pattern is a magic ingredient in a scheme

The designer's room

Nels Crosthwaite Eyre employed a dramatic wallpaper to inject pattern, scale and colour into a converted building in north London

A real fly by night

Once reviled as a creature of doom, the nightjar is an avian miracle that sits silently motionless by day and flies noiselessly at night. No wonder it is so hard to spot

A dramatic revival

The decaying shell of a medieval peel tower has undergone a near miraculous restoration and revival as a family home. Jeremy Musson reports

'Tis the silly season

More chirping and less tweeting would be bliss in August

And all that jazz

So much more than flappers and frivolity, the 1920s saw Britain blossom with an extraordinary creative confidence that transformed art, fashion, music and literature, as Claire Jackson discovers

Cream of the crop

From historic island residences to homes with commanding views, Holly Kirkwood has the pick of the best Guernsey properties for sale

Island of plenty

From crustaceans, scallops and shellfish to its legendary milk and cream, Guernsey has long been famous for the quality–and abundance– of its produce, reveals Oliver Berry

I say a little prayer for you

Designed as a miniature replica of the basilica at Lourdes, the seashell- and mosaic-decorated Little Chapel on Guernsey was at risk of collapse until a group of locals stepped in, as Arabella Youens discovers

The original poster boy

From the mauve sky of Waterloo Sunset to the pastoral Arcadia of rolling fields in God’s Own Country, Stephen Millership’s evocative travel scenes capture Great Britain’s soul. Andrew Liddle meets the man behind the art

No fin compares to you

From elusive angelsharks to chunky, sprinting shortfin makos and glow-in-the-dark velvet belly lanterns, Helen Scales gets up close and personal with the sharks that swim in British waters

Keeping it in the family

When it comes to artistic talent, the family of Norman Thelwell-known for his cartoons of rotund ponies and rural life-have it in spades, as Octavia Pollock discovers in the centenary year of the artist's birth

Of beards and men

Covered with frothy, creamy flowers in summer, wild clematis-or old man's beard-makes for good strong baskets, as well as providing a feast for pollinators and caterpillars

Bad wives' tales

I AM always amazed by the codswallop that garden experts write—ponderous statements of fact that I know from my own experience to be complete bunkum.