CATEGORIES

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

Life on the hedge

The modern hedgelayer's role is no longer that of a fencer, but instead a practical conservationist creating vibrant, thorny arteries of hedgerow habitat

Navigating nostalgia

Once the bustling arteries of the Industrial Revolution, today's British canals are places of tranquillity, joy and community, says Joseph Phelan, as he explores their timeless appeal.

'A well-resorted tavern' - Mount Vernon, Virginia, US, part I A property in the care of Mount Vernon Ladies' Association

In the first of two articles, Jeremy Musson looks at the remarkable history and preservation of the country home of America's first president

Happiness in small things

Putting life into perspective and forces of nature in farming

Colour vision

In an eye-baffling arrangement of geometric shapes, a sinister-looking clown and a little girl, Test Card F is one of television’s most enduring images, says Rob Crossan

'Without fever there is no creation'

Three of the top 10 operas performed worldwide are by the emotionally volatile Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, who died a century ago. Henrietta Bredin explains how his colourful life influenced his melodramatic plot lines

The colour revolution

Toxic, dull or fast-fading pigments had long made it tricky for artists to paint verdant scenes, but the 19th century ushered in a viridescent explosion of waterlili

Bullace for you

The distinction between plums, damsons and bullaces is sweetly subtle, boiling down to flavour and aesthetics, but don’t eat the stones, warns John Wright

Lights, camera, action!

Three remarkable country houses, two of which have links to the film industry, the other the setting for a top-class croquet tournament, are anything but ordinary

I was on fire for you, where did you go?

In Iceland, a land with no monks or monkeys, our correspondent attempts to master the art of fishing light’ for Salmo salar, by stroking the creases and dimples of the Midfjardara river like the features of a loved one

Bravery bevond belief

A teenager on his gap year who saved a boy and his father from being savaged by a crocodile is one of a host of heroic acts celebrated in a book to mark the 250th anniversary of the Royal Humane Society, says its author Rupert Uloth

Let's get to the bottom of this

Discovering a well on your property can be viewed as a blessing or a curse, but all's well that ends well, says Deborah Nicholls-Lee, as she examines the benefits of a personal water supply

Sing on, sweet bird

An essential component of our emotional relationship with the landscape, the mellifluous song of a thrush shapes the very foundation of human happiness, notes Mark Cocker, as he takes a closer look at this diverse family of birds