The Comet jet airliner

by the de Havilland Aircraft Company

Contemporary artists of the Cotswolds

Living in such a picturesque part of the countryside means that the work of many Cotswold-based artists flourished rather than floundered due to the pandemic

'Rejoice together in a happy ending'

Nursery favourite Ruth Manning-Sanders believed it was every child's birthright to enter a world of enchantment and occasional terrors, where good always triumphs over evil

English Arcadia

The rolling Cotswolds countryside is the enchanting backdrop to six handsome properties

Enter and be happy

Kelmscott Manor, Oxfordshire A property of the Society of Antiquaries of London A house beloved of William Morris, poet, designer and founding father of the conservation-movement, has been subject to an exacting programme of repair and renovation

Here's rosemary...

I'VE fallen newly in love with rosemary.

Life's a beech

If oak is king of the wood, the smooth-skinned and towering beech is queenand long may she reign over our landscape

Take to the hills

Find the perfect springboard to enjoy the beauty of The Cotswolds

Setting the scene

Before choosing outdoor furniture, it's important to plan an outdoor space, says designer Jo Thompson

Spreading the love for elderflower jam

Delicate yet fragrant elderflowers make a jam that tastes like an English summer-especially when married with gooseberries

A perfect finish

The renovation of an old barn led the way to the making of two new interconnecting gardens that together reflect the Cotswold vernacular and the contemporary interior, reveals Tiffany Daneff

This dumb blonde ain't nobody's fool

Blessed with good looks and a sunny personality, it hardly seems fair that golden retrievers are also intelligent and adaptablebut it does explain their popularity, says Katy Birchall

The moonlight hunt

Pippin sees off an intruder and spring comes to Dumfriesshire

Watering plans

TURN on the fountains!' exclaimed the head gardener of a country house to his gardeners when he realised that an unexpected visitor was none other than the eminent Victorian rose grower and Dean of Rochester Samuel Reynolds Hole.

Satan of the riverbank

More bat than bird, the cormorant might have a gait that makes a penguin look like a supermodel, but it is actually a fearsome and effective aquatic predator, says Harry Pearson

The colours and textures of the past

Traditional paints and lime mortars-prized for their sympathy to historic buildings -are sought after for their subtle colours and finishes, too, finds Arabella Youens

Surrey spectacular

If these impressive properties are anything to go by, this resilient county is in fine health

New kids on the block

Exciting developments and new-builds shaking up the property world

High endeavours

Glorious houses high in the hills of Derbyshire and Staffordshire compete with a landmark Cornish property for the best view

Down the rabbit hole

Pie filling, pest or pet of underrated beauty, the rabbit is a mute and gregarious commoner that will nonetheless scream, fight and kill when warranted, says John Lewis-Stempel

The secret appeal of scurvy grass

A delicate brassica that even its mother would struggle to call pretty, the sea kale can compete with asparagus for the title of ‘taste of spring’, reveals Tom Parker Bowles

A land of milk and Cheddar

In their latest celebration of West Country people, places and produce, ‘Deepest’ book authors Fanny Charles and Gay Pirrie-Weir explore why Somerset is so different from its neighbouring counties

The Great Map of Scotland

ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON, in an essay written near the end of his life on the genesis of Treasure Island, expressed disbelief that there were people who did not care about maps. ‘The names, the shapes of the woodlands, the courses of the roads and rivers, the prehistoric footsteps of man still traceable up hill and down dale… Here is an inexhaustible fund of interest for any man with eyes to see or twopence-worth of imagination to understand with!’

Paradise in the Garden of England

The view has changed since Chaucer’s day, but the important things survive

Crusading spirit: Bunting War Memorial Chapel, Scotch Corner, North Yorkshire

A War Memorial Chapel in a remote, but magnificent spot stands as a monument to the sculptor who created it.

He was of his time

Vaughan Williams, who was born 150 years ago, is largely seen as a pastoral composer, but there was far more to him than that

A glad hand for gladioli

I LOVE gladioli, but I realise that many readers may not share my passion. Good taste has much to answer for. The corblimey gladioli you see in other people’s gardens are anathema to strict and peculiar plantsmen; so are dahlias and chrysanths. People like us don’t grow them. The only acceptable gladioli are the wild ones you see in Mediterranean pastures and olive groves.

A colour symphony

Flamingos may draw the crowds, but it is the brilliant flower borders that keep people coming back to this wonderful garden.

Take me home

Private members' club 5 Hertford Street has precipitated a quiet revolution in interior design through colour, comfort and decoration for decoration's sake. Now, its founder has launched a collection that embodies his approach to living

What Cath did next

Having turned her distinctive style into a much-loved business, Cath Kidston brought a beautiful 17th-century house in the Cotswolds back to life. Now, she's back at the drawing board