Table of contents for March/April 2020 in Britain

Which would you rather visit, Jane Austen’s humble Hampshire cottage with its rose-wreathed doorway, or stately Belvoir Castle, so regal that it stands in for Windsor Castle in The Crown? Well, luckily you don’t have to choose, as this issue we take you round both Austen’s home (Jane Austen’s Hampshire, p14) and the rather grander residence of Her Grace, The Duchess of Rutland the castle 32 . Whether you’re planning a trip or simply dreaming of Britain from afar, you’ll love Heritage stays (p61), our cherry-picked selection of places to stay with history. Be lord or lady of a castle for the night, or turn the key of your very own English country cottage. As my own , UNESCO recognition for the Isle of Wight gave me an excuse to…

We love hearing your thoughts on the magazine – thanks to everyone that commented on the last issue. Oxford is clearly a favourite with many of you! Beatrice Corman We were in Oxford in February for my sister’s 65th birthday. She moved there 25 years ago with my nephew. I love it here and Magdalen College is my favorite. Evensong here is a must! Lori Bowe My favorite city. I have taken literally thousands of photos all over the city and outskirts. I’m going back in May for springtime flowers!…

Celebrations are already underway. Mayflower 400 Tours have a wide range of tours along the Mayflower trail, and their sister company, Pilgrims & Prophets, offer heritage tours of Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire. mayflower400tours.com; www.pilgrimsandprophets.co.uk; www.mayflower400uk.org Southampton Jack Wilson runs Southampton’s Hidden History Walks. The best place to stay is The Pig in the Wall, a hotel, bar and restaurant built into the old city walls. www.seesouthampton.co.uk; www.thepighotel.com Dartmouth For a tour with the Town Crier, contact Les Ellis at lezellis@themagiccircle.co.uk. The Bayards Cove Inn is a hotel and restaurant in a 14th-century building in Bayard’s Cove, where the Speedwell was repaired. www.bayardscoveinn.co.uk Plymouth Jane Dymock conducts tours around town; email besttourguide.jd@gmail.com. The Duke of Cornwall Hotel is a grand Victorian hotel, while the Boathouse is an award-winning café overlooking the Mayflower…

No visitor to Blenheim Palace in the Oxfordshire Cotswolds can be in any doubt as to the heroic nature of its architecture and, by inference, the heroic stature of the owner for whom it was built: the 1st Duke of Marlborough, allied commander at the Battle of Blenheim (1704) during the War of the Spanish Succession. Conceived as a gift from Queen Anne and a grateful nation in celebration of his military success, the Baroque masterpiece is awesome in scale, triumphant with towers and patriotic sculpture. Sir John Vanbrugh, architect of the palace along with Nicholas Hawksmoor, fully admitted it was not simply intended as a private residence but as a “Royall and a National Monument”. You can view an architectural engraving for Blenheim, as well as drawings and designs…

The National Trust, English Heritage and the Landmark Trust own hundreds of historic properties across Britain and in quite a few they’ve turned the odd estate cottage, gatehouse or attic apartment into a holiday let. At Sissinghurst, the old Kent castle that writers Vita Sackville West and Harold Nicolson restored, there is a roomy, rentable brick cottage attached to their famous White Garden. The husband and wife team divided their grounds into floral “rooms”, and this garden was planted with snowy flowers and silver-grey foliage. The Priest’s House, as it’s called, sleeps six and has wooden beams, brick flooring and an inglenook fireplace. There are good views of the Elizabethan tower where Vita’s writing room is preserved but best of all, after the gates are closed to visitors, all 450…

GETTING THERE & AROUND There are regular direct trains from London to Leeds (2hr 15min) and Carlisle (3hr 15min). Several trains a day run to Appleby train station from Leeds (2hr) and Carlisle (40min). www.thetrainline.com EAT, DRINK, SLEEP Stay the night in one of the castle’s 12 characterful bedrooms, with antique beds and furnishings and some lovely views of the River Eden and Pennines. For dinner, take a stroll down to the Tufton Arms Hotel, at the bottom of Boroughgate, whose restaurant uses local suppliers, including cheese from Appleby Creamery. Afterwards, pull up a stool for a pint at the Crown & Cushion, a couple of doors down. www.applebycastle.co.uk; www.tuftonarmshotel.co.uk; www.robinsonsbrewery.com FURTHER INFORMATION www.visitappleby.com…

PRETTY AS A PICTURE We were happy to receive your 2020 calendar today. The pictures for the upcoming months are beautiful, as always. The cover picture of the ruins along the coast was also fantastic. Would you please let me know where that photo was taken? My wife and I take 3/4-week trips to the UK every other  year and we are planning our next trip in 2020. This looks like a great place to visit. Chester E. Balut, via email BRITAIN replies: This beautiful shot is of the Crowns tin mine engine houses on the Atlantic coast in Cornwall, near Botallack. Other readers still looking for a 2020 calendar can purchase one through www.chelseamagazines.com/shop WRITE TO US! By post: Letters, BRITAIN, The Chelsea Magazine Company, Jubilee House, 2 Jubilee…

PREMIERE Yorkshire on the big screen A new adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden is set to hit the silver screen on 17 April. Alongside stars Colin Firth and Julie Walters, various locations in the North York Moors will also be in the spotlight, such as the pretty five-acre Helmsley Walled Garden. If you visit in May (it's open April to October), you can enjoy the romantic laburnum arch in full bloom. Other nearby locations featured in the film are Duncombe Park, one of Yorkshire’s finest estates, and the moody moorland of Farndale, famous for its wild daffodils. www.helmsleywalledgarden.co.uk ANNIVERSARY Freedom fighters 700 years ago the Declaration of Arbroath travelled up to the small town in Angus. A historic letter calling for the Pope to recognise Scotland as…

GETTING THERE AND AROUND Alton is 1hr 15min by train from London Waterloo. Chawton is a short bus (route 38 or 65) or taxi ride away. The Jane Austen Trail links Chawton and Alton. Hidden Britain Tours are Hampshire experts and offer guided walks in the footsteps of Jane Austen. www.thetrainline.com; www.janeaustentrail.org.uk; www.hiddenbritaintours.co.uk WHERE TO STAY Winchester makes a good base, with 16a offering boutique self-catering accommodation. Or opt for a countryside retreat at luxurious Tylney Hall: straight out of the pages of an Austen novel, it has gardens designed by Gertrude Jekyll and a wood-panelled interior. Alternatively, the Four Seasons Hotel Hampshire is a historic Georgian manor set in rolling parkland, with a spa that offers an Austen-themed herbal massage, among other delights. www.16a-winchester.co.uk; www.tylneyhall.co.uk; www.fourseasons.com WHERE TO EAT…

The story of the Eleanor Crosses has to be a contender for the most romantic in British history. A tale of royal love, loss and lifelong devotion, it begins in 1254 with the politically convenient marriage of two teenagers. The groom was a lanky 15-year-old: the future King Edward I of England; the bride chosen for him: a Spanish Princess, Eleanor of Castile, not quite 13. Yet against the odds, theirs became a true love match. Discovering shared interests in horses, hunting and chess, they were soon inseparable, travelling far and wide together – even on crusade. Eleanor would become not only the mother of Edward’s 16 children but one of his most trusted and influential advisors. When she died suddenly in November 1290 after contracting a quartan fever (possibly…

The Priest’s House A cosy six-person getaway on the edge of Sissinghurst’s famous White Garden. www.nationaltrust.org.uk The Turret At the top of a steep spiral staircase, this spacious apartment under the eaves of Charlecote Park sleeps six. www.nationaltrust.org.uk Doyden Castle On the rugged coast of North Cornwall this two-person castellated folly is one of the National Trust’s most popular holiday cottages. www.nationaltrust.org.uk The Lodge A two-person hideaway at the gateway to Agatha Christie’s much-loved holiday mansion on the South Devon coast. www.nationaltrust.org.uk Peverell’s Tower This 13th-century gate defence overlooking Dover Harbour has lovely rooftop views all the way to France on a clear day. www.english-heritage.org.uk The Steward’s House A rare urban heritage property which was formerly staff accommodation at the Union, Oxford University’s famous debating chamber. www.landmarktrust.org.uk Auchinleck House The…

GETTING THERE Trains run at least every 30 minutes from London King’s Cross and take about 3 hours. There are just two stops, one of which is York, which if combined could make for a great northern English tour. www.lner.co.uk WHERE TO STAY A magnificently refurbished Edwardian building on the banks of the Tyne, Hotel du Vin Newcastle was originally home to the Tyne Tees Steam Ship Company. They reference their maritime history throughout, with ship ropes in the courtyard and porthole windows in some of the rooms. www.hotelduvin.com WHERE TO EAT AND DRINK For an unbeatable setting and an authentic taste of the North East at its best, eat at Blackfriars. Originally a 13th-century medieval friary, it claims to hold the oldest dining room in the UK, which is…

Eleanor of Aquitaine by Sarah Cockerill (Amberley, £25). Possibly the most remarkable Queen of France and England, Eleanor of Aquitaine was also an orphan, crusader and prisoner. Providence Lost: Cromwell’s Last Year by Paul Lay (Head of Zeus, £30). A compelling account of the Interregnum, one of the most intellectually thrilling times in British history. Mudlarking by Lara Maiklem (Bloomsbury, £18.99). Scouring the banks of the Thames for over fifteen years unearthed some unlikely finds – and thousands of years of London history. Lady in Waiting: My extraordinary life in the shadow of the crown by Anne Glenconner (Hodder & Stoughton, £20). This insider memoir by Princess Margaret’s Lady in Waiting is a fascinating tale. The Staffordshire Hoard: An Anglo-Saxon Treasure (Society of Antiquaries of London, £45). The experts' account…

GETTING THERE The nearest train stations are Bottesford and Grantham (direct trains from London King’s Cross to Grantham take around an hour and a half). www.thetrainline.com BELVOIR CASTLE The castle and gardens are open to the public from 1 March. Guided tours of the castle and gardens are available, as well as butler’s tours of the private quarters. www.belvoircastle.com WHERE TO STAY AND EAT The estate offers a range of stunning accommodation on site, including the Shepherd’s Hut rural retreat, lakeside cottages and even bedrooms within the castle itself. Fans of The Crown can book a special afternoon tea inspired by the series on 21 and 22 March and from 10 to 16 August, followed by a tour that takes in key filming locations. The Engine Yard offers locally-sourced food…

Queen Eleanor’s tomb can be seen in the chapel of St Edward the Confessor at Westminster Abbey. www.westminster-abbey.org The Hardingstone Cross is easily combined with a visit to Delapré Abbey, near Northampton. Recently partially restored, the abbey is open to visitors; check the website for opening times. www.delapreabbey.org The Geddington Cross is maintained by English Heritage, and is close to a number of other properties in their care. www.english-heritage.org.uk Find out more about the Eleanor Crosses in Decca Warrington’s book, The Eleanor Crosses: The Story of King Edward I’s Lost Queen and her Architectural Legacy, published by Signal Books (2018).…

GETTING THERE AND AROUND Regular ferries run from the mainland. Wightlink offer services from Portsmouth to Fishbourne (45min) and from Lymington to Yarmouth (40min), plus a high-speed catamaran from Portsmouth to Ryde (22min). Red Funnel operates car ferries (1hr) and passenger-only services (22min) from Southampton to East Cowes. Passenger-only Hovertravel runs services from Southsea to Ryde (10min). The open-top Needles Breezer bus is a useful tourist route. www.wightlink.co.uk; www.redfunnel.co.uk; www.hovertravel.co.uk; www.islandbuses.info WHERE TO STAY The 10-bedroom Albert Cottage Hotel, a Grade II-listed mansion set in two acres of pretty gardens, was once part of the Osborne estate and is ideally placed to explore Queen Victoria’s seaside home. The Royal Hotel in Ventnor, with elegant rooms and a heated pool, sits in exotic south-facing gardens. www.albertcottagehotel.com; www.royalhoteliow.co.uk WHERE TO EAT The…

In 1909 16-year-old William Morris began making bicycles to order in Longwall St, Oxford. He built his first motor car, the two-seater Morris Oxford, in 1913. By 1923 he was producing 20,000 cars a year and by 1925 Morris Motors Ltd represented 45 per cent of the British market. The “Henry Ford of England”, Morris, now Lord Nuffield, and his wife Elizabeth were millionaires, but they were uncomfortable with such wealth. “You can only wear one suit at a time,” he famously noted. The couple would eventually give away £30m – the equivalent of £700m today – to good causes, through medical, educational and other charitable trusts. The Nuffields also lived modestly. They bought Nuffield Place, in Oxfordshire, in 1933. The 1914 Arts and Crafts-style house was large, but hardly…