CATEGORIES

A rum do

Seaweed from the Galloway coast is the secret ingredient in a new tipple

Back to Nature's basics

Jo Rodgers talks to small business owners in her adopted home county of East Sussex and beyond, about how the land around them has inspired their work

An old master restored

Some gardens are like paintings, says George Plumptre of Lossenham Manor in Kent. It takes a sensitive renovation to peel back the layers of history and so reveal their original treasures

A cordial way to spend the day

The elderflower harvest in the Vale of Belvoir sees the community come together to meet growing demand for this delicious taste of summer

Gold is the new green

One of the most sought-after metals in the world is at an all-time high, but there’s a murkier side to all that mining. Sarah Royce-Greensill investigates and profiles the designers helping consumers to become more accountable for their purchases

Variations on perfection

The ideal form of the Villa Capra,‘La Rotonda’, in Italy has fascinated British patrons and architects since the 18th century. William Aslet considers how they have experimented and developed its ideas

Murky waters

The musician and fisherman on what’s wrong with rivers and the laws that protect them

Waiting for the real magic

The ability to watch theatre online has been a saving grace of lockdown, but nothing beats the moment when the lights go down and the curtain goes up

Keep your eyes on the toad

Despite their semi-webbed feet, warty skin and bulging eyes, toads are more endearing than Shakespeare’s witches would have us believe, says Simon Lester

Interiors: The designer's room

Jessica Alken worked with Neptune to create this kitchen in a new Cornish house

Twice as nice

It appears as if it had been planned from the start, but, as Michael Heseltine recounts, the making of the double borders at his home at Thenford in Northamptonshire was far more random

Flights of fantasy

On the centenary of Michael Ayrton’s birth, Laura Gascoigne explores the artist’s fascination with myth, mirrors and mazes

Touches of beauty

Wilton House, Wiltshire The seat of the Earl of Pembroke In the early 18th century, Wilton underwent improvement at the hands of the 9th Earl of Pembroke, an enthusiastic amateur architect. For a new book on this great house, John Martin Robinson assesses his remarkable legacy

The hills are alive

Remote working has a whole other meaning for those passionate individuals still farming crofts in the Highlands, discovers Joe Gibbs

History in the making

A fine country estate hits the market for the first time in 350 years, while a hall is rebuilt from the ground up

Meandering paths of green

Mermaid, palmetto, celadon, viridian and mintleaf: Steven Lovatt gets lost on a pleasurable wander through Nature, language and many shades of green

Arboreal ambitions

Caroline Donald visits the ancestral home of Clan Donald, Armadale Castle on the Isle of Skye, where the gardens are once again in safe hands and the historic trees will be given a boost with the planting of a new arboretum of endangered conifers

Ready, Set, Dive

Outdoor swimming is the lockdown trend that is here to stay. Rosie Paterson takes a closer look at some of her favourite London ponds and pools

The Flower With The Heart Of A Lion

Whether carpeting verges in a blaze of golden yellow or inviting us to puff its globular seed heads into the breeze, the humble dandelion is indomitablen and ubiquitous, says Vicky Liddell

Sail away with me

Our remaining windmills are unashamedly romantic slices of old England. Last spring, those still working went into overdrive to meet local demand for flour, reports Eleanor Doughty

Ode to our wastelands

Losing small patches of scrubby land to new houses might not seem significant, but these little Edens are vital for Nature, contends Mary Colwell

The taste of a mermaid's kiss

Once viewed as a lowly substitute, salt-loving marsh samphire is back in favour in our gardens and on our plates, says Julia Platt Leonard

With fens like these..

Cambridgeshire and Norfolk have a rich history not only in agriculture and ecology, but homes, too

On the edge - Interview Jake Fiennes

Holkham’s director of conservation on changing farming to feed us and protect wildlife

Interiors The designer's room

By introducing curves, Irene Gunter fitted a bath and a double shower into this London townhouse

Celebrating the charm of the evening chorus

Although not as intense as their dawn serenade, our birds’ evensong offers a ‘jazzier’ performance, especially in April when there are no leaves to soften the sweet sound, says John Lewis-Stempel

Henry Williamson by Edward Seago

My favourite painting David Profumo

Heritage reinstated

The grand estates and houses of East Anglia have been brought back to life in recent years

Architecture for education

To mark the 150th anniversary of the foundation of Newnham College and the arrival of women scholars in Cambridge, Kathryn Ferry examines the distinctive style of the college buildings

The not so wild west

West Chelsea–the area between Cremorne Road and Sydney Street–is where the fortunes of this famous and much-loved area began, finds Carla Passino