Tabla de contenidos para Best of Britain 2013 en Victoria

Browsing the pages of Best of Britain brings to mind the idyllic days I spent exploring London and its surrounding cities and towns in the late 1990s. Noted needlework teacher and historian Joanne Harvey, of The Examplarery, had recently piqued my interest in my ancestry when she mentioned a sampler housed at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Hannah Norton, of Massachusetts, whose family had emigrated from England, stitched the piece in 1795. As Norton is my maiden name, I was intrigued by this young stitcher and longed to know if we shared forebears. Tracing our family’s lineage soon became a fascinating hobby for me that resulted in my first trip to England. This magazine will be a valued resource as I look forward to another adventure in the United…

Village roads meander through the English countryside, the brambles bowing to the ground. Upon turning onto the hotel property, navigating the breathtakingly narrow passage through the iron gates is the last care that crosses the minds of guests at Newick Park estate as the vast lawns unfold ahead. This Georgian manor sits majestically on 200 rolling acres of gardens and parkland, the green heath sloping down to a small pond, replete with a rowboat under a towering long-limbed, mighty tree. Once guests unpack and settle in, the glorious outdoors awaits. The activities offered at Newick Park are numerous, but perhaps the most easily enjoyable is a bracing afternoon stroll around the property. The parkland provides ample walking grounds, with the landscaped gardens supplying a delightful visual transition from the endless…

The cobalt-blue Georgian-style Harbourmaster Hotel has become a beacon of sheer delight for travelers who lodge here. Situated in the town of Aberaeron, Wales, on the coast of Cardigan Bay, the charming boutique hotel overlooks the Irish Sea and is a prime vantage point from which guests can take in all the compelling sights and attractions. The Harbourmaster’s thirteen rooms, housed in three historic buildings, provide panoramic views of the bay and the boats that bob up and down in the harbor. Refurbished in 2002, each room possesses a unique signature mark and boasts an array of comforting modern amenities. Should you ever be coaxed away from your heavenly interior setting, the world outside contains an infinite list of exceptional diversions. Choose from a leisurely walk around Aberaeron, where wildly…

Originally founded by Saint Augustine in A.D. 602, Canterbury Cathedral—the leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion—is one of the oldest Christian churches in England. Still a living community functioning as the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, this sacred spiritual landmark became a legendary pilgrimage destination following the murder of Saint Thomas Becket in 1170 and is best known for its significance in Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. A series of tragic fires and destruction throughout the centuries devastated the cathedral. Some of its reconstruction was financed, in large part, with monies donated by pilgrims visiting the Shrine of Saint Thomas, which was then considered a place of miracles and astonishing healing. A veritable marvel of Romanesque and Gothic architecture, Canterbury Cathedral is the compilation of many talented craftsmen, including William…

A stroll down a groomed path through dense woodland offers a glimpse into the life of the titled aristocracy at the National Trust property of Plas Newydd, on the Isle of Anglesey. Erected in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries and later significantly rebuilt in the neo-Gothic style during the eighteenth century, the magnificent estate consists of a splendid manor house and sprawling, elaborately landscaped grounds. The long, sloping lawn extends from the house to the waterfront of the Menai Strait. Designed with an artistic eye, the formal gardens are terraced in the Italianate style, and the mile-long walkway leads to the renowned rhododendron gardens that bloom gloriously in late spring. The seat of the Marquess of Anglesey, the estate has an esteemed family history. Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of…

For twenty years, from 1874 until his death in 1895, successful industrial chemist Henry Davis Pochin pursued his passion—transforming a Georgian manor and its 80-acre estate into an exquisite haven where the seasons turn the color wheel all year long, creating stunning hues ranging from subdued russets to vibrant brights. Combining his scientific interests with a quest for beauty, Pochin devised a breeding program that has produced species of rhododendrons, azaleas, magnolias, and other plants that are still grown today. Visitors to Bodnant would be forgiven for ignoring the science and simply enjoying the ever-changing tableaux that shift in sunshine and shadow. The grounds provide at least a full day’s exploration, with the temptation to return again and again to discover each season’s surprises. The renovated house, featuring Victorian-style half-timbering,…

Sometimes the voice of the distant past is clearly audible in the present day. Here, at the small estate called Llanerchaeron, near the village of Ciliau Aeron, in western Wales, visitors may gain a glimpse into the daily lives of those who resided here more than two hundred years ago. Central to the property is the neoclassically styled main villa, which was designed for Colonel William Lewis in 1795 by esteemed architect John Nash, who later designed Buckingham Palace and other landmark buildings in Great Britain. The interior features curved walls, symmetrical doors, elaborately carved cornices, and a conical skylight above the landing. Original family collections of hunting and fishing memorabilia are also displayed here. Initially created as a tenant farm, Llanerchaeron contains a service courtyard with dairy, laundry, brewing,…

When sunlight strikes the rambling old building that is The Grove, it lights up the forest-fringed acres as if you’ve landed in a fairy tale rather than in Narberth, Pembrokeshire.Wildflowers tumble down a nearby bank, and a velvety green meadow stretches invitingly. This is a country-house hotel with a difference—owners Neil Kedward and Zoe Agar have created a luxurious Welsh haven that blends the finest of furnishings with the coziness of a cottage. When the couple first spotted the neglected house with its tangled, overgrown grounds, they were captured by the romance of its seventeenth-century bones and Georgian additions with Arts and Crafts touches. After undergoing a complete restoration, the property was christened The Grove and opened to the public as a charming boutique hotel. Colorful blooms draw visitors outdoors…

Tourists are immediately struck with enchantment upon visiting Dove Cottage—the first family home of beloved British poet William Wordsworth. Nestled in the Grasmere Vale and surrounded by luxuriant green landscapes and, in the distance, towering mountains, this former inn and pub was the inspiring refuge in which he wrote some of his best-known and most influential works. Guests are invited to experience firsthand the unspoiled ambience of this historic treasure, where William lived with his sister Dorothy from 1799 to 1808. Rustic charm, including the original stone floors, radiant coal fires, and cherished acquisitions, seem remarkably untouched by the hands of time. A guided tour both informs and entertains with fascinating anecdotes about the writer and some of his closest friends and admirers. Stroll the gardens outside, where the two…

The origin of the National Botanic Garden of Wales came about through the impetus of artist William Wilkins. It was he who launched an initiative to restore and develop the historic parkland in Llanarthne, Carmarthenshire. Today, this 450-acre garden is resplendent with great swathes of color that blanket the gently rolling hills—colors that appear to have been dropped from a paintbrush, rather than being the product of sun, rain, and seed. In the seventeenth century, several mansions and large farms were located on this site. But in time, the area diminished as it was divided into smaller parcels, and only traces of its former glory remained. More than a century later, a fire destroyed the last manor house, and the estate fell into disrepair. Funded by the British Millennium Commission…

If the storied stone walls of Leeds Castle could speak, they would tell a tale rich with the fascinating history of the royalty and the notable families who have called this regal residence home. Built nearly nine hundred years ago in a valley of the River Len, near Kent, England, the beautifully restored castle is a trove of antiques, art, and history. It was home to six queens, a palace of Henry VIII, and an escape for the glamorous and powerful. The majestic structure first belonged to one of William the Conqueror’s lords, Robert de Crevecoeur. In 1278, the castle became the palace of Edward I, and it remained a royal dwelling for the next three hundred years. One of Leeds’s most infamous residents, Henry VIII, used the castle as…

The spark of an idea began after a day of being lost on the French ski slopes. Famished, Patricia Michelson wandered into a cheese shop in the village at the base of the ski resort. Later, fortified by a wedge of Beaufort as she endeavored to make her way back, she focused her mind on the intense flavor she had never before experienced. The sliver of a snack prompted a second visit to purchase a wheel of this delicious cheese unknown back in London. Upon returning home, Patricia transformed her garden shed into a cheese-room experiment as she learned how to best care for the French cheeses in order to bring out their flavors. In 1991, this garden-shed foray evolved into a little-known market stall offering the best selection of…