Scenes and splendour

The Laskett Gardens, Much Birch, Herefordshire Kathryn Bradley-Hole looks back on a remarkable half-century of garden-making as Sir Roy Strong begins a new chapter in his life

The last Bonaparte emperor

St Michael’s Abbey, Farnborough, Hampshire Exiled from France in 1870, Napoleon III and his son lie buried in England. In the second of two articles, Anthony Geraghty explains how their Mausoleum, which remains a flourishing monastery, is inspired by French and Spanish precedent

The day the music died

The scheduling of live Proms concerts is cheering, as are other individual enterprises, but this masks a desperate situation for musicians both professional and amateur. Are we heading for a silent winter, asks Pippa Cuckson

Two go wild in Wales

Retracing George Borrow’s footsteps to discover his ‘wild hills of Wales, the land of old renown and of wonder’, father-daughter duo John and Freda Lewis-Stempel ask: ‘Is Wales still wild?’

Man revealed

Situated on the Isle of Man’s southernmost tip, the Sound is the perfect vantage point to soak up views of the Irish Sea and perhaps catch a glimpse of a passing dolphin or a seal basking in the sun. If you happen to go there at night, make sure you stop for a spot of stargazing—the Sound Restaurant’s car park is an official Dark Night Discovery site

Land of plenty

Award-winning producers across the Isle of Man keep things local by using the island’s bountiful supply of ingredients in their recipes, says Holly Kirkwood

Into the wild

From cycling to riding and foraging, Octavia Pollock explores the great outdoors on the Isle of Man

Home, sweet home

Years ago, interior-design duo Gemma Wasley and Zoe Guilford left their native Isle of Man to establish their careers. Now back on the island, they tell Arabella Youens how coming home has transformed their life

A Manx welcome

From Howard Quayle MHK, chief minister, Isle of Man

Old wine into new skins

In its 150th year, the Metropolitan Museum in New York has unveiled a new display of 10 galleries devoted to British furniture and decorative arts, with 700 objects on show. Clive Aslet is impressed

Holy mackerel!

Using a sprat to catch a mackerel– sleek, muscular beauties, much prized for being tasty, cheap, ecologically sound and packed with goodness–is easy for even self-confessed hapless fisherman Tom Parker Bowles

Who do ewe think you are?

Condemned as dimwits, could ovines really be the brainiacs of the barnyard, capable of fear, boredom, happiness band identifying Fiona Bruce? John Lewis-Stempel delves into the secret life of sheep

The sweetness of Nature

He grew up with Tarka the Otter and has spent a lifetime immersed in the natural world, determined to share his love and insight. Terry Timblick meets the octogenarian naturalist and writer Richard Williamson

The sky's the limit

The ancient Greeks knew what this summer’s grateful theatre-goers are rediscovering, that outdoor settings can create all sorts of imaginative possibilities

Something in the air

The Gardens of Monteviot, Jedburgh James Truscott is entranced by a series of new gardens that successfully captures the magic of growing up in a place rich in history and legend

Inside the other No 10

For a century, Chatham House has been a bastion of independent intellectual and political debate, guaranteeing speakers freedom from distortion by the press. Clive Aslet reports

Halls of power

Three halls, in Northumberland, Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire, paint a rich tapestry of England’s past

Fresh as a daisy

Provenance matters–and not only for food. Throughout the countryside, estates are turning to cut flowers to satisfy the appetite for homegrown bouquets, discovers Natasha Goodfellow

An imperial cottage

Farnborough Hill, Hampshire The property of the Farnborough Hill Trust The Empress Eugénie of France died in exile 100 years ago in July 1920. In the first of two articles, Anthony Geraghty looks at the house she adapted as the final seat of the French Second Empire

They'll Be Coming Down The Mountain

The feral goats of Llandudno hit the news recently for munching on hedges and sunbathing in the churchyard, but our caprine army is good for a lot more than taking the internet by storm, discovers Vicky Liddell

Juicy fruits

THE first homegrown peach I ever ate remains as clear in my mind as the day I ate it. Every time I eat one from the shops, I think of it; it’s like looking at a photo of the one you love when they are elsewhere.

Where the wild things are

The birds and the bees, and everything in between, are of the utmost importance for these two magnificent estates

The end of the end

Even rural corners of England were affected by the Second World War. Ian Morton recalls a Spitfire crash on the village green and the celebratory conflagration of VJ Day

Hidden treasures

Underneath the streets of London, there’s a cornucopia of collectables. Emma Hughes delves into the archives of museums and galleries to see what she can find

Fields of glory

Hailstone Barn, near Tetbury, Gloucestershire Tiffany Daneff visits a naturalistic courtyard garden that cleverly sets up this converted barn in a sea of arable land Photographs by Rebecca Bernstein

Where the living is easy

Dead flies and cobwebs, mouse droppings and damp beds, brown water and faded furnishings: what is it about our long-cherished holiday houses that makes them such heaven? With glamorous foreign villas out of bounds this summer, we asked seven devotees to describe the perfect setting for a traditional British holiday

Stairway to Heaven

Nithurst Farm, West Sussex The home of Adam and Jessica Richards. A striking new house designed by architect Adam Richards for himself and his family draws on remarkably eclectic sources, from Vanbrugh to Art House cinema. Jeremy Musson reports Photographs by Will Pryce.

Creating an A team

Building a new house doesn’t only require great design, materials and craftsmanship, but also a trusty cohort of experienced professionals who work seamlessly together, says Amelia Thorpe

A blueprint for Nature

Largely forgotten, the art of cyanotype harnesses sunlight to render the shapes of the natural world in brilliant blue and white. Phoebe Hunt recaptures the magic

The New Farming Frontier

From an ‘invention hub’ to a hands-free farm and a robotic dairy, Harper Adams University teaches the very latest in cutting-edge agricultural methods. Jonathan Self meets the farmers of the future