CATEGORIES
Hot stuff
DO you think Roald Dahl was the only person in the land to pronounce the flower’s name correctly? Dahlias were not named after him, but after Anders Dahl, one of Linnaeus’s Swedish pupils in the late 18th century. Not a bad accolade, I reckon. Young Dahl must have been pretty hot stuff to deserve such an honour.
Design in a virtual world
The rise of the design webinar is spreading interiors knowledge far and wide
Antrim Coast and Glens
NORTHERN IRELAND still enjoys a largely undeveloped coastline, and the combined counties of Antrim and Derry include no fewer than three almost contiguous coastal AONBs. The most celebrated, perhaps, is that associated with the Giant’s Causeway, but there is also the spectacular cliff-lined headland of Binevenagh and, the largest of the three, Antrim Coast and Glens, between Larne and Ballycastle.
Tinker, tailor, soldier, spy
A suspected spy, Harold Godwinson, William Gladstone and a British Army colonel all have ties to these two Wiltshire homes
Survivors from another age
Two National Trust properties bask in a glorious Indian summer’s day
‘Access to green space should be a right'
The Nature writer on a lost civilisation, HS2 and the stress of having an opinion
Walk on Wye
Eulogised by Gilpin, Wordsworth and Coleridge and immortalised on canvas by Turner, the sylvan charm of the River Wye Valley is one of Herefordshire’s best kept secrets, says John Lewis-Stempel
My favourite painting Simon Gillespie - David with the Head of Goliath by Artemisia Gentileschi
John McEwen comments on David with the Head of Goliath
The last royal hall
Hampton Court Palace, Surrey, part I In the care of Historic Royal Palaces In the first of two articles illustrated with specially commissioned photographs of the interior taken at the end of lockdown, John Goodall looks at the remarkable history of Henry VIII’s celebrated great hall at Hampton Court
A road to remember
London’s premier design district is home to some of the world’s leading interior-design and furnishing shops, but its refined façades belie a bohemian past, finds Carla Passino
An empire of concrete
The National Trust is getting hung up about the presentation of houses and the British Empire. The real challenge of the moment, argues Simon Jenkins, is the future of our countryside and the assault on the planning system
Beautiful Britain Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty
Llyn Peninsula
A RIGHT ROYAL TRAGEDY
Charles I met a sticky end, but his taste for the finer things in life left a lasting impression on London, finds Jack Watkins
Britain's Brilliant Bogs
This unique habitat, millennia in the making, provides a home for numerous rare flora and fauna and is, at last, being recognised for its many benefits, reports Mark Griffiths
Paws for thought
Mary Miers enjoys a touching show of canine imagery that highlights our relationship with ‘the only thing on earth that loves you more than himself’
The millers' tale
Running one of the UK’s last working watermills has been a 25-year labour of love for a couple keen to pass the business to a new generation, as Paula Lester reports
South Devon
THE rolling hills here are softer than their Cornish cousins. Many are home to sheep and cattle that occasionally frequent the beaches below, others to row upon row of quivering golden crops that envelop you in their warmth.
The plants of dreams
Wildegoose Nursery, Munslow, Shropshire An abandoned walled garden in Shropshire gave nurserymen Jack and Laura Willgoss the blank canvas they needed to create a striking contemporary showcase for the plants they grow. Natasha Goodfellow reports
My shot of a lifetime
From a sky-high goose to a grouse bursting from the heather, everyone can recall their most memorable shot and the companions (human and canine) they were with at the time, says a wistful Adrian Dangar
Clash of the titans
With the age-old rivalry between labradors and spaniels–whether springer or cocker–showing no sign of abating, Katy Birchall asks the dogs themselves which breed makes the pawfect companion in the field
Go country and western
A wealth of fine properties in the West Country offer all the peaceful seclusion you could wish for
Don't snap, sketch
Trading our constant snapshots for a sketchpad could be the perfect way to slow down and remember to observe the world around us, says David Gillett
A theatre of history
In the second of two articles, John Goodall tells the story of the revival of Sudeley Castle as a shrine to English history and Henry VIII’s last wife, Katherine Parr
There'll Always Be An England, Won't There?
What would we save if England caught fire? Clive Aslet set himself the near-impossible task of choosing 100 ‘crown jewels’. Here, he explains the rationale for some difficult choices
A little slow on the uptake
More likely to give you a knowing blink than a death stare, the gentle slow worm is actually a lizard that has long been misunderstood and terrorised for its snake-like appearance, says Simon Lester
The show must go on
Beef, beer and books–Catherine Austen talks to five people who have worked to bring local cheer, comfort and fun to the Cotswolds during testing times
The fruits of royal service
In the first of two articles, John Goodall explains how a soldier–probably with the help of his mother–won the trust of a child king and created a great castle in the Cotswolds with the rewards
The return of the juniper
Once prolific across the British Isles, the prickly juniper bush may have been in decline for decades, but it’s making a comeback on Surrey’s North Downs, finds Vicky Liddell
The cigar revolution
When Edward Sahakian opened his London Davidoff store 40 years ago, he transformed the industry–what better tribute than an anniversary cigar?
Handed on a silver platter
Tucked away in an old Cotswolds silk mill, expert craftsmen harness a century of expertise to raise, planish and finish fine gold and silverware. Jeremy Flint visits Hart’s of Chipping Campden