Discover Britain

I read with delight the article on puddings. As an American, I found it funny that an American biscuit is compared to a British scone. Oh, my no. I have eaten Welsh scones in the UK and British scones in British Columbia at the Empress Hotel, as well

Big Ben is set to chime once more, following the longest period of silence in its 162-year history. The famous hourly “bong” from the 13.7-tonne bell will resume in 2022, following a major five-year restoration of the Palace of Westminster’s Elizabet

The Park, recently a winner of multiple awards including Gold for Holiday Park of the Year, Gold for Customer Service Superstars at the Cornwall Tourism Awards, Gold for Holiday Park of the Year at the South West Tourism Excellence Awards, Gold for t

Scotland’s West Highlands is packed with history and breathtaking scenery featured in many blockbuster films. Lochaber in particular is a land of peaceful solitude and magnificent mountains, lochs and glens, making it the perfect place to relax. In f

The Royal Mile is one of the most well-known thoroughfares in Britain and no visit to Edinburgh is complete without pounding the pavements at the heart of the Scottish capital’s Old Town. Take a tour of the headline attractions first, but leave time

One of the most talked about British portraits, which now hangs in the Ambassador’s Room at Scone Palace in Perthshire, has fascinated historians since the 18th century. One of the two subjects of the portrait – Dido Belle, the mixed race, illegitima

Our nation might have a reputation for politeness, being buttoned up and even slightly bumbling – yet some of the most famous Britons of all time have been embroiled in bitter and even deadly rivalries. The monarchy, for instance, has always been a h

As well as featuring in David Martin’s famous 1776 double header, Dido Belle is now the subject of a new portrait on display at Kenwood House this summer. It was painted by Mikéla Henry-Lowe, one of six artists commissioned by English Heritage to cre

Sometime in the 3rd or early 4th century a man living in England’s Roman city of Verulamium gave shelter to a Christian priest called Amphibalus who was fleeing persecution. Although the man was pagan, he became so impressed by the fugitive’s strengt

Having carved out a 30-year career in stonemasonry and written a book about it too, Andrew Ziminski is undoubtedly one of Britain’s most passionate proponents of this ancient craft. He’s also one of the most experienced, regularly lending his hand to

If I rolled down the hill that we live on I’d end up  in Tintern Abbey. Our smallholding lies in The Wye Valley AONB on the England-Wales border. It’s the landscape that led writer William Gilpin to coin the term ‘picturesque’ in the 18th century,

In Georgian Britain, royal patronage was everything. From the Romantic artists and writers to the Regency architects who shaped our city streets and country houses, careers were shaped by access to the crown’s vast wealth. So, when the great English

Britain’s country houses were almost like the pop music divas of today, constantly being reinvented for different eras as fashions waxed and waned. Yet rather than clothing or make-up changing from year to year, it was the interiors and even the very

Harrogate exists as a wonderful example of what the Victorians imagined a resort town might look like. Much of the grand stone architecture was built to impress visitors and provided relaxing surrounds for enjoying the many spas contained here. That

To anyone whose idea of England extends to rolling hills and quaint villages, the far west Cornwall coast might feel like the ends of the earth. The landscape is, in places, as rough and ragged as the hands of the workers who have toiled here for sev

As the recent Carey Mulligan movie, The Dig, explored to great effect, part of the joy of archaeological excavations is the inherent mystery attached to the objects that are dug up. Taken individually, these tools, jewels and other relics usually off