Don't you forget about me

As blue as the eyes of the Virgin Mary, the unassuming forget-me-not stars in tales of romance, Remembrance and politics, finds Ian Morton

An Englishman's home is his castle

Two landmark properties, Gilling Castle in North Yorkshire and a Cotswold manor farmhouse where the remains of a Norman motte and bailey can still be seen, come to market

'A partly real, partly dream country'

Thomas Hardy's depictions of a fictional Wessex and his own dear Dorset are more accurate than they may at first appear, says Susan Owens

The brilliance of Thomas Telford

His legacy is the Shropshire Union Canal, a feat of engineering and a delight to walk beside

An ideal manor house

Mapperton House, Dorset The home of the Viscount and Viscountess Hinchingbrooke. Fresh research reveals more about the history of one of our most celebrated manor houses and its magnificent gardens, finds Timothy Conno

The slug of the Baskervilles

Prowl the wilds of Dartmoor at night and you just might stumble upon our largest land slug

With fairy shoes in every flower

It might be common and unremarkable, but the deadnettle has been a powerful and effective country remedy for centuries, discovers Ian Morton

Walk on the wild side

The garden at Kestle Barton Gallery, near Helford, Cornwall. Caroline Donald visits a garden that marries an award-winning art gallery with a landscape of creeks and fields

Furniture with a future

Antique shops, auctioneers houses are full of furniture that is hundreds of years old. Yet much of what is made today won't last for more than a decade or two. Arabella Youens asks five designers what they regard as the secret to creating designs that will last for generations and historic

To have and to hold

Finding himself at a loose end, woodsman John Williamson decided to revive the lost art of Devon stave-basket-making using old museum transcripts.

Fishing in troubled waters

Few of us give much thought to how our fish gets to the supermarket, but the life of a small-scale fisherman is becoming ever more unpredictable and dangerous

Et in Arcadia ego

Manors in and around 'the great paradise of England'-Somerset's Vale of Taunton Deane

'Just William' stories

William Brown is the boy who is forever 11 years old.

Rolls-Royce Phantom

BRITAIN'S GREATEST MASTERPIECES

The name of the rose

With Harkness launching a new rose named 'Queen Elizabeth II' in June, Steven Desmond looks back at the history of naming plants after monarchs

Transporting splendour

Royal Yacht Britannia, Leith, Edinburgh A property of the Royal Yacht Britannia Trust | The Queen is the best-travelled monarch in British history. John Goodall looks at the story of the yacht she helped furnish, both as her floating home and as a theatre of state

Where classic style reigns

Far from being a passive dresser, The Queen pays close attention to what she wears and what those clothes convey. She has left a lasting impression on the fashion industry, believes Justine Picardie

History set in stone

Four extraordinary country houses new to the market include an original 'West Country Ziggurat' and a manor once part of the Highgrove estate

Long to reign over us

What are the origins of our national anthem? John Goodall investigates the extraordinary story behind both the tune and the words, as well as their influence on other nations

Fit for a monarch

Platinum is one of the world's rarest metals and fiendishly difficult to master. Sarah Royce-Greensill looks back at its discovery and meets the jewellers brave enough to use it

'It was spine tingling'

The choristers at the Coronation are now in their eighties, but recall vividly the day they sang for The Queen, as Andrew Green discovers

Kitchen garden cook - Cherries

Melanie Johnson makes a showstopping pavlova

The fairest of them all

From ancient châteaux to sweeping vineyard views, Carolyn Boyd has the pick of France's most beautiful villages

Trade up

From a Moroccan hideaway to a romantic Italian tower, these spectacular properties are all for sale at the price of a one-bedroom flat in Putney, finds Holly Kirkwood

In a league of its own

Letitia Clark embraces Sardinia's distinctive culture, bold colours and pared-down cooking

Half the size, triple the fun

Headstrong little characters that turn heads wherever they go, Welsh terriers might look like miniature Airedales, but they have a personality entirely of their own, finds Katy Birchall

The houses of contentment

The need for diversification to keep estates afloat is nothing new-but be it Irish whiskey or Welsh gin, country-house brews look like the next big thing, believes Matthew Dennison

Life's a beach

From towering sea stacks to endangered penguins, the world's most interesting beaches offer more than pristine sand and crystalline waters, finds Antonia Windsor

Food, glorious food

Three grand gourmands reveal their ideal place to live abroad to Eleanor Doughty

Here's looking at ewe, kid

Tasked with shearing his neighbour's sheep late on a warm June night, the clickety-click of John Lewis-Stempel's metal hand-shears is accompanied by a vociferous twilight chorus of crickets, birds and bats