Mar/Apr 2023

Britain

The official magazine of Visit Britain

Britain1 min read
From The Editor
Welcome to BRITAIN’s spring issue, in which we bring you a host of features to put a spring in your step. We wander the charming villages and windmill-dotted waterways of Norfolk (Big sky country, p14) and tour mystical Snowdonia, where tales of anci
Britain1 min read
Britain
Editor Natasha Foges Art Editor Petra Manley-Leach Assistant Editor Henrietta Easton Group Sales Director Catherine Chapman Head of Sales Operations Jodie Green Advertising Manager Daisy Welch Senior Sales Executive Melissa Arancio Chairman Paul Dobs
Britain2 min read
Your Letters
The lyrical descriptions in your article on the Cotswolds [Vol 91 Issue 1] of “honeycombed hamlets, cobblestone streets and tinkling streams” is a perfect inspiration for my favourite medieval English village: Castle Combe in the Cotswolds. Painting
Britain1 min read
Books
Katherine Parr: Opportunist, Queen, Reformer by Don Matzat (£10.99, Amberley Publishing). Matzat offers up a new perspective on Henry VIII’s sixth wife, suggesting she married the King for his sumptuous lifestyle, rather than to obey a divine imperat
Britain4 min read
The Bulletin
Buckingham Palace has released details about the plans for King Charles III’s coronation, which will take place on Saturday May 6. The King and Queen will travel to Westminster Abbey in the Gold State Coach, which was restored for last year’s Platinu
Britain6 min read
Big Sky Country
Approached from any direction, Norfolk’s capital announces itself with a sign that says, Norwich: A Fine City. The phrase is a quote from the 1851 book Lavengro by Norfolk author George Borrow, in which he describes Norwich as being ‘a fine old city’
Britain5 min read
Ahead OF HER TIME
Late on the sultry evening of the 8 September 1761, a crowd of chattering courtiers squeezed into the Chapel Royal at St James’s Palace to witness a royal wedding. In the capital city of a country she had never set foot in before, a 17-year-old Princ
Britain3 min read
Win A Great British Holiday
Bigger and better than ever in 2023, our annual Great British Holiday competition is a once-in-a-lifetime prize offering you the chance to win an unforgettable five-star break in London and the Cotswolds. Starting with free flights (for overseas entr
Britain6 min read
St Paul’s & The Polymath
One evening in 1723 a servant came to wake his master from an unusually long post-dinner snooze at his London home, only to find that the venerable 90-year-old had quietly passed away in his chair. Thus death drew a close to the extraordinary life of
Britain5 min read
The House Behind The Crown
In 1558, a young princess was reading the Bible under an oak tree in Hatfield Park when she heard she had become queen. “This is the Lord’s doing,” she rejoiced, quoting the psalm she had just reached. “It is marvellous in our eyes.” Elizabeth, daugh
Britain4 min read
Coast Along
If you want to get under the skin of the UK’s home nations, jump aboard this cruise that circumnavigates the country. From Scotland’s legends of Loch Ness and the spirit of Robert the Bruce at Urquhart Castle near Invergordon to the Viking heritage o
Britain1 min read
Great Savings When you Subscribe
Annual subscription to Britain magazine: UK £21.95 | Europe €43.95 | Australia $68.95 US $45 | Canada $55 | Rest of World £37.95 The official magazine of VisitBritain, and winner of the Best Consumer Holiday Magazine category at the British Travel Aw
Britain8 min read
Chapter & verse
The library collection cared for by the National Trust is one of the most important in the world. These books and manuscripts are vitally important for understanding the ways in which people have acquired, read and treasured the written word over the
Britain6 min read
HERE BE Dragons
Wales has a strong storytelling tradition, and every schoolchild knows by heart the tales told in a medieval tome called The Mabinogion. Many of these myths and legends are linked to the towering mountains and shimmering lakes of Snowdonia in North W
Britain4 min read
Cheltenham
Cheltenham claims to be ‘the most complete Regency town in Britain’, and the architecture is wonderfully grand, with refined townhouses, stucco facades and genteel gardens galore. Visitors have flocked to this elegant city ever since the 18th century
Britain4 min read
Chester
Boasting not only the most complete city walls in Britain, but also the oldest racecourse, the largest Roman amphitheatre and England’s oldest shopfront, the ancient city of Chester would be a tough one to beat on a history-themed Top Trumps card. De
Britain3 min read
A Day With… ROGER O’REILLY
BRITAIN: How did your career as an illustrator begin? RO: In the very beginning I started off as a storyboard artist for advertising and for movies. After that I started to make posters in the style of old railway posters. I began with posters of lig
Britain2 min read
The Great British Quiz
1 What is the name given to the tall pole that is garlanded with flowers and hung with ribbons, round which villagers traditionally dance in spring? 2 What takes place every year on Cooper’s Hill in Gloucestershire? a) a cheese-rolling competition b)
Britain1 min read
From The Editor
Welcome to BRITAIN’s spring issue, in which we bring you a host of features to put a spring in your step. We wander the charming villages and windmill-dotted waterways of Norfolk (Big sky country, p14) and tour mystical Snowdonia, where tales of anci
Britain2 min read
Your Letters
The lyrical descriptions in your article on the Cotswolds [Vol 91 Issue 1] of “honeycombed hamlets, cobblestone streets and tinkling streams” is a perfect inspiration for my favourite medieval English village: Castle Combe in the Cotswolds. Painting
Britain4 min read
The Bulletin
Buckingham Palace has released details about the plans for King Charles III’s coronation, which will take place on Saturday May 6. The King and Queen will travel to Westminster Abbey in the Gold State Coach, which was restored for last year’s Platinu
Britain6 min read
Big Sky Country
Approached from any direction, Norfolk’s capital announces itself with a sign that says, Norwich: A Fine City. The phrase is a quote from the 1851 book Lavengro by Norfolk author George Borrow, in which he describes Norwich as being ‘a fine old city’
Britain5 min read
Ahead OF HER TIME
Late on the sultry evening of the 8 September 1761, a crowd of chattering courtiers squeezed into the Chapel Royal at St James’s Palace to witness a royal wedding. In the capital city of a country she had never set foot in before, a 17-year-old Princ
Britain3 min read
Win A Great British Holiday
Bigger and better than ever in 2023, our annual Great British Holiday competition is a once-in-a-lifetime prize offering you the chance to win an unforgettable five-star break in London and the Cotswolds. Starting with free flights (for overseas entr
Britain5 min read
The House Behind The Crown
In 1558, a young princess was reading the Bible under an oak tree in Hatfield Park when she heard she had become queen. “This is the Lord’s doing,” she rejoiced, quoting the psalm she had just reached. “It is marvellous in our eyes.” Elizabeth, daugh
Britain6 min read
St Paul’s & The Polymath
One evening in 1723 a servant came to wake his master from an unusually long post-dinner snooze at his London home, only to find that the venerable 90-year-old had quietly passed away in his chair. Thus death drew a close to the extraordinary life of
Britain4 min read
Coast Along
If you want to get under the skin of the UK’s home nations, jump aboard this cruise that circumnavigates the country. From Scotland’s legends of Loch Ness and the spirit of Robert the Bruce at Urquhart Castle near Invergordon to the Viking heritage o
Britain8 min read
Chapter & verse
The library collection cared for by the National Trust is one of the most important in the world. These books and manuscripts are vitally important for understanding the ways in which people have acquired, read and treasured the written word over the
Britain4 min read
Cheltenham
Cheltenham claims to be ‘the most complete Regency town in Britain’, and the architecture is wonderfully grand, with refined townhouses, stucco facades and genteel gardens galore. Visitors have flocked to this elegant city ever since the 18th century
Britain5 min read
HERE BE Dragons
Wales has a strong storytelling tradition, and every schoolchild knows by heart the tales told in a medieval tome called The Mabinogion. Many of these myths and legends are linked to the towering mountains and shimmering lakes of Snowdonia in North W
Britain4 min read
Chester
Boasting not only the most complete city walls in Britain, but also the oldest racecourse, the largest Roman amphitheatre and England’s oldest shopfront, the ancient city of Chester would be a tough one to beat on a history-themed Top Trumps card. De
Britain3 min read
A Day With… ROGER O’REILLY
BRITAIN: How did your career as an illustrator begin? RO: In the very beginning I started off as a storyboard artist for advertising and for movies. After that I started to make posters in the style of old railway posters. I began with posters of lig

Britain

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