Sandringham is the private Norfolk home of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Unlike the monarch’s other properties, such as Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace, which are owned by the Crown Estate, Sandringham is one of two residences that the Queen…
A short visit to Southwold
It is said that Britain’s seaside towns are looking tired: unfortunately, in many cases, that’s true. But there doesn’t seem to be too much wrong with Suffolk’s Southwold. So we’re just going to show you a few photographs of this…
Exploring Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square is one of those places that have always seemed to be there. It is so famous, such a focal point, and featured in so many news clips and photographs – including those taken by most of London’s tourists…
Peter Pan in the Park
Peter Pan flew away from his nursery and landed beside the Long Water in London’s Kensington Gardens. And there, on the very spot, Scottish author J M Barrie decided to erect a statue to his creation. It has been there…
From garden to plate – a helping of Peter Rabbit
English literature resonates with killer opening lines. Some have become embedded in our culture to the extent that they help define the people we are: “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good…
Spring at Nymans
You don’t need great plants to have an attractive garden. But having lovely views, a romantic ruin and, in the first place, loads of money, helps no end. Fortunately, Nymans has benefited from all three of the latter. To be…
Secrets of the Middle Temple
Some years ago, I was fortunate to be invited to do some work for the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple in London. The days I spent there were almost like being in a time capsule; all around were ghostly…
The vanished world of Witley Court
The wind and rain blow arrogantly through the empty shell of Witley Court. There are puddles in the earth-floored entrance hall, where the Prince of Wales had been among many rich and powerful Victorian house guests. The hand-woven Persian silk…
The folly of Fort Nelson
To the north of Portsmouth, on England’s south coast, is Portsdown Hill, a long chalk elevation that dominates the city and harbour 400 feet below. And on the top of Portsdown Hill, the Victorians placed five large forts – from…
York’s Treasurers’ House
There are so many things to see and do in York; I’d never felt a burning desire to visit the Treasurers’ House. Big mistake – put it on your list immediately. For one thing, it is an outstanding house; for…
Segedunum – the end of the Wall
What’s at the end of the wall? The wall’s end? Walls – solid boundaries designed to keep people in – or out. There are famous walls, like the Berlin Wall, the Great Wall of China, the fantasy Wall in Game…
Glenlee
Splice the mainbrace and look out for the roaring forties. Berthed by the Riverside Museum in Glasgow, in the former Queen’s Dock, is the SV (sailing vessel) Glenlee. Known locally simply as “The Tall Ship”, this is one of the…
How did the First World War happen?
Or – how Europe went mad The First World War, ‘Great War’ or ‘War to end all wars’, was the largest conflict on the planet until the Second World War twenty years’ later. It lasted a little over four years…
Fog in Channel – Europe cut off
The calm before the storm? Edwardian Britain is associated with big hats and house parties for the very rich; a kind of peaceful, sunny, interlude nestling between the dynamism of the Victorian age and the slaughter that was to come. …