CATEGORIES

This perfumed arcadia

Home to the iconic skylark, the chalk downlands are as colourful and botanically diverse as rainforest. John Lewis-Stempel explores England's oldest manmade habitat

Murder on the palace floor

The Palace of Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh The official residence in Scotland of His Majesty the King

A berry timely harvest

AS summer leans into autumn and either end of the day anticipates the season to come, I occasionally find myself checking the slowly colouring fruit of the Chilean guava hedge that edges one of the perennial beds.

The rest is history

Narrative art that explored religious, mythological, historical or allegorical subjects took a while to become established in Britain, but, when it did, it was in its grandest form, on the largest scale and for a very long time, finds Michael Hall

The show must go on

England travel to Pakistan for a three-match Test series. James Fisher contemplates the sublime and the ridiculous

If walls could talk

Is it possible to take on the genius or character of those who have slept in your bed before? Steven King stays in homes with illustrious past owners to find out

That old chestnut

For the unimaginative Briton, chestnuts roasting on an open fire is the only way to go. Yet these sharp little nuts can elevate your baking game, assures John Wright

The world on the doorstep

England, Africa, Italy or China-it's possible to travel the world without leaving this imaginatively designed garden, which divides into four distinct geographical sections. Each one has resonance for the owners, reports Caroline Donald

To build or not to build

When it comes to the skyline, do we need to know when to say 'enough is enough', asks John Goodall

Pyramid scheme

In a city as large as London, the problem of where to lay the dead to rest is ever-present. One extraordinary unfulfilled scheme would have made space for five million, finds Jack Watkins

Best foot forward

Some of the country's finest estate agents let Annabel Dixon in on the secrets of prepping a country house for sale.

Nice work in the West

With hybrid working now a fact of life, four special houses in Devon and Cornwall are well equipped to more than pay their way

Pretty Chitty-Bang-Bang, we love you

As our fine four-fendered friend turns 60, Mary Miers relives the adventures of the magical flying car and reveals the little-known story of its creation.

Another string to the bow

For British luthier Roger Hansell, a chance teenage encounter led to a lifetime devoted to making the perfect violin, discovers Harry Pearson

Bury me in a willow-shaped coffin

In the osier beds of Worcestershire and Somerset, the wind is still playing in the willows destined for baskets, 'fedging' and custom-made coffins, finds Jane Wheatley

Mud-gilded places

Part water, part earth and a habitat of constant movement, the bleak and desolate estuary environment is an acquired taste. Yet this monochrome minimalism can be paradise, finds John Lewis-Stempel

Handsome and genteel - Mount Vernon, Virginia, US, part II A property in the care of Mount Vernon Ladies' Association

In the second of two articles, Jeremy Musson reports on the recent campaign to restore the memorable interiors of George and Martha Washington's country home

Love in a dry climate

Garden design in the Arizona desert is a matter of adapting to the weather and the terrain and being clever with cacti. The spectacular results fill Kendra Wilson with awe

The spread of Johnny Appleseed

DRIVE along a country lane at this time of the year and you may see an apple tree growing out of the hedgerow.

All that meat and no potatoes

More than merely super-sized burgers and fries, American food is a mouthwatering reflection of the nation's cultural diversity

A Newport state of mind

Once proclaimed to be the original American art form, jazz continues to thrive at the eponymous jazz festival of Rhode Island

Route to the past

Does the world's most famous road still capture the romance of the open road? We brave 1,300 miles of Route 66 to find out

Steady as she goes

Fairy-tale palaces that float upon the sea first appeared in the Edwardian era. A century later, the majestic ocean liners of the 'golden age of travel' continue to captivate

The new Colossus

Standing proud at the 'sea-washed, sunset gates', Lady Liberty became a beacon of hope for immigrants and a symbol of freedom under just and democratic law

The time is now

Agents at Strutt & Parker's Country House Department share their tips to selling your property as they look forward to a busy autumn

The West awakes

All is abuzz in the West Country following a recent surge of activity in the market for large farms and country houses in some of the region's most picturesque locations

Bags of class

Combining classical elegance with distinctive detailing, Lalage Beaumont is passionate about creating bags of exceptional style and quality.

Sparkle of genius

Historic jewellery firm Hancocks, now in its new St James's home, specialises in old-cut diamond pieces that gleam and turn heads even in low light

Singing the end-ofsummertime blues

As September bids a melancholic farewell, John LewisStempel looks to the transformative power of Nature and our agricultural rites and rituals to stave off his regret at summer's passing for another year

Playing fast and loose

Buoyant and brazen, the hard-riding, tough-talking and gun-toting highwaywomen of the 17th and 18th centuries struck fear and awe into the hearts of the nation