September/October 2021

Britain

The official magazine of Visit Britain

Britain1 min read
Editor's Letter
Forget 2021: we’re time-travelling back through the ages this issue. Begin with the Bronze Age in the beautiful Isles of Scilly, which hold the greatest concentration of archaeological sites in the country (Scilly season, p68). Then skip a few centur
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Britain
Editor Natasha Foges Art Editor Clare White Production Editor Jenny Rowe Group Sales Director Catherine Chapman Head of Sales Operations Jodie Green Group Advertising Manager Natasha Syed Chairman Paul Dobson Managing Director James Dobson Publisher
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Your Letters
Your colourful article “Stately Slendour” [Vol 89 Issue 3] mentioned three historic mansions that I have enjoyed visiting (Syon Park, Strawberry Hill House and Marble Hill House). On July 12, 1969, I attended a delightful garden tea party in the grou
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The BULLETIN
Discovered by a metal detectorist in Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland in 2014, the Galloway Hoard is one of the most important UK archaeological finds of the century. Now on display at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, a new exhibition,
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The Hills Are Alive
The Investec International Music Festival will this year bring the best of classical music to the Surrey Hills (September 16-25). A variety of atmospheric venues will be filled with the spirit-lifting sounds of some of Britain’s most renowned classic
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Tudor Time Capsule
As part of Plymouth’s Mayflower 400 commemorations, the Elizabethan House in the city’s historic Barbican area has now opened after a £1.7million restoration. Built in the late 1500s, the house’s first known owner was resident in 1631, with the last
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Mug Half Full
Don’t let your destination dreams fade. Revive your sense of wanderlust with a brew in one of Emma Bridgewater’s ‘Landscapes of Dreams’ mugs (£19.95). From the Cotswolds to Cornwall, the Lake District to Norfolk, and a series of ‘Cities of Dreams’ to
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From Glass To Class
There’s now a new reason to visit the stunning north Norfolk coast. The Harper, a luxury boutique hotel that has opened in the pretty village of Langham, is set in a brick-and-flint building that once housed a glass-making workshop. Arranged around a
Britain1 min readArchitecture
Mediterranean Mirage
We might not be able to cross borders as easily as we used to, but no matter: it´s now possible to catch a glimpse of Greece on home turf thanks to Sissinghurst Castle Gardens´ newest horticultural attraction, ´Delos´. Created by National Trust staff
Britain2 min readRegional & Ethnic
Caramelised Rice Pudding With Strawberries And Griddled Peaches
Using the finest local ingredients and following the unique culinary traditions of some of our favourite – and sometimes far-flung – British destinations, James Martin’s Islands to Highlands (Quadrille, £25), with photography by Peter Cassidy, brings
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Reading Corner
The Great British Tree Biography by Mark Hooper (Pavilion, £16.99). Historic tales associated with 50 species of tree in Britain, from the Glastonbury Hawthorn to the Knole Oak. Raised from the Ruins by Jane Whitaker (Unicorn, £35). A study of how mo
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On The Tudor Trail
Two hundred years ago, in 1821, the publication of a novel called Kenilworth brought visitors flocking to the Warwickshire castle of the title. The author Walter Scott is celebrated elsewhere in this issue (see p57), but is mentioned here because the
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A Luxury Stay In Stratford-upon-avon
Located in the heart of historic Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare, and directly opposite the world-renowned Royal Shakespeare Company Theatres (with one of the best views in town of the famous Swan Theatre), The Arden Hotel,
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TREASURES Of The TRUST
The National Trust looks after more than 200 historic houses, which contain over one million objects. From works of art and vast tapestries to precious personal possessions, the range and breadth of the collections is astonishing and can be compared
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The INCREDIBLE HOLKHAM
In 1628 the Jacobean jurist Sir Edward Coke coined the famous phrase “an Englishman’s home is his castle”. His descendants would one day be lords of a magnificent ‘castle’ of their own, as custodians of one of England’s finest houses. Holkham Hall in
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Journey through Britain with the BEAUTIFUL BRITAIN Calendar 2022
2 EASY WAYS TO ORDER www.thebritainshop.com/BRIP10 or complete & post the form Enjoy picturesque views of Britain’s landscapes and landmarks for the next 12 months with this luxury 2022 wall calendar, brought to you by the award-winning BRITAIN magaz
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The UNHAPPY COUPLE
By 6am on 19 July 1821, Westminster Hall was packed with peers and privy counsellors, waiting to process to the Abbey for the coronation of their obese, ageing and extravagant new King, George IV. Suddenly, there came ‘a thundering knock’ at the door
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A Majestic Marriage Part Two
As she had on the morning of her parents’ coronation, on her wedding day Elizabeth looked out of the window on to a Mall already dense with crowds, in this case streaked with the pewter shadows of a dull, cold day. Thousands had spent the night under
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Great Savings When You Subscribe
As a subscriber you can enjoy these benefits: • Captivating stories of Britain’s castles, cathedrals, stately homes, gardens and landscapes. • Fascinating insights into the lives of our historic heroes and villains, from monarchs to literary greats.
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Great Scott
Walter Scott was already in his mid-thirties when he began penning the narrative poems that would bring him celebrity status, stirring readers to giddy heights of emotion with his love of Scotland: Breathes there the man, with soul so dead, Who never
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Dartmouth
The thriving little harbour town of Dartmouth, located near the estuary of the river Dart as it enters the English Channel in Devon’s South Hams (derived from the old English ‘hammes’, which means sheltered place), has historical clout disproportiona
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Scilly Season
Lying in the Atlantic some 28 miles off the coast of mainland Cornwall, the rugged outcrops that make up the Isles of Scilly are at the frontier of England, a scattering of isolated but tightknit communities that are British in name if not, with thei
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Top 10 bath
Three words carved in Greek on the architrave of Bath’s Pump Room, next to the Roman Baths, sum up this city’s enduring fame: “Water is Best.” The mineral-rich thermal springs from which the city of Bath derives its name drew the Romans and the Georg
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Gemma Lake
RHS Chelsea Flower Show Manager In the first of our new interview series, we hear about a typical day in the run-up to the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show, whose show gardens are the haute couture of the international gardening world 5.30am I do some

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