Innholdsfortegnelse for July/August 2017 i Britain

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the past few months, you’ll know that this marks 200 since the death of one of our most cherished writers, Jane Austen. In The Bulletin (p9) you can read about a new exhibition exploring the novelist’s relationship with the sea, while in The Road to Bath (p24) , we arrive at her adopted home city via an unusual route: the Cotswold Way. This year also marks the 20th anniversary of the passing of another famous figure, Princess Diana. In From Debutante to Princess (p34) we chart the evolution of the young lady once dubbed ‘Shy Di’ into a national treasure and royal icon. If it’s travel that excites you then we’ve found the perfect castle stay in Hever’s Hideaways (p40), and, if…

EXHIBITION Nelson & Norfolk A major new exhibition at Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery explores the nation’s fascination with Admiral Lord Nelson, the hero of the Battle of Trafalgar, who saved Britain from the threat of Napoleonic invasion but died in the process. Nelson & Norfolk (29 July to 1 October) tells Nelson’s story through unique objects, from the undress coat and hat he wore at the Battle of the Nile, to the French tricolour ensign captured in 1800. The exhibition, held in the naval hero’s home county, also includes extensive funeral memorabilia and examines the way in which his achievements continue to be celebrated over 200 years after his death. The exhibition is complemented by loans from around the country, including a large 1801 portrait of Nelson [pictured]…

Although Aidan Turner takes the title role in TV’s adaptation of Poldark, it’s the breathtaking backdrop to the story of smugglers, shipwrecks and mining that is the real star of the show. Here, we take a look at some of the best spots to stay in this stunning south-west county to bring you closer to the white sandy beaches, rugged cliffs and turquoise waters for which the region is famous. Set in a mature Cornish garden, Grade II listed Trerose Manor, near Falmouth, is a sweet B&B with three elegant and spacious en-suite guest rooms, featuring antique furniture and rare prints. Trerose, which is Cornish for ‘house on the headland’, is situated at the head of the Helford River – a river utilised by smugglers during the 18th and 19th…

“We embraced each other over and over again, and he was so kind, so affectionate; oh! To feel I was, and am, loved by such an angel as Albert” Our fascination with Victoria has never waned. Perhaps it’s the genuine love story between her and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha that piques our interest, or even the fact that the 4ft 11in queen bore nine children at a time when childbirth was still extremely risky. More recently we’ve been intrigued by her younger years, fuelled by film and TV programmes, including the current TV series, Victoria. Born Alexandrina Victoria on 24 May 1819 at Kensington Palace, it seemed unlikely at her birth that ‘Drina’, as she was called by her mother the Duchess of Kent, would become queen.…

From the outside The Vyne looks quietly impressive, its brick facade mellow in the sunshine, but its gentle good looks belie the more dramatic history of its glorious Tudor heyday followed by its sad fall from grace and then loving Victorian restoration. Today this process of refurbishment is continued by the National Trust, which is embarking on the mammoth task of re-roofing the Hampshire property. The year-long project, which involves replacing the old damaged tiles with 71,000 new ones, has allowed the curators to overhaul the house completely and reorganise the displays for 2017. The upstairs rooms have been emptied and furniture relocated into a series of special ‘open store’ displays downstairs. These include a fascinating collection of chairs, ranging from a Regency wheelchair to a Japanese 17th-century ebony bench…

INDEPENDENT WOMAN I am going to be spending three glorious weeks in Britain in July and most of my trip has been planned and based upon the wonderful places and articles I researched, read, and explored through your wonderful magazine. Your recommendations, articles, points of interest and many other suggestions are deeply appreciated. This will be my second trip to Britain but the first I have planned on my own – with your expert help. I look forward to being a subscriber (and visitor) for many, many years to come. Deborah Sandberg Harsen, via Facebook WHEN IN OXFORD I’ve been an Anglophile for years, so my visits to Great Britain, in person and via this great magazine, are a big part of my life. I was interested to read about…

Camping on the Wye: Four Victorian Gents row the Wye in a randan skiff in 1892 by SK Baker (£10, Bloomsbury) Journal account of university friends travelling up the River Wye Walking the Hebridean Way by Richard Barrett (£14.95, Cicerone Press) Explore the 155-mile-long walking route through Scotland’s stunning Outer Hebrides Collecting The World: The Life and Curiosity of Hans Sloane by James Delbourgo (£25, Allen Lane) Discover the contribution of London-based physician and collector Hans Sloane The Kitchen Garden by Caroline Ikin (£8.99, Amberley Publishing) Part of the new British Heritage series, dig in to the history and world of Britain’s kitchen gardens and their gardeners The Jane Austen Treasury: A delightful collection of insights into her life, her times, her novels by Janet Todd (£9.99, Carlton Books) A…

In her later years Diana, Princess of Wales, was celebrated as a style icon. The most photographed woman in the world, she knew how to dress for the occasion and her outfits withstood perhaps the most intense press scrutiny of anyone’s in history. Diana’s style was reflective of her grace and charm. The late fashion designer, Oscar de la Renta, said of her: “She had tremendous star quality. When she walked into a room there wasn’t anyone who didn’t notice.” But the woman once labelled ‘Shy Di’ by the media wasn’t always so confident in front of an audience and as the exhibition Diana: Her Fashion Story, which is running at her former home of Kensington Palace until 2018, shows, Diana’s fashion sense evolved over time. The show traces the…

Built on a hill crowned with a cathedral and a castle, lovely Lincoln is connected to the sea via the Fossdyke Navigation, a canal that dates from Roman times. Steep Hill, a cobbled artery lined with tearooms, vintage boutiques and quaint shops, climbs to the top of town. From here there are breathtaking views of the countryside where the Battle of Lincoln Fair was waged in 1217. Described by historians as the most important battle fought on English soil after the Battle of Hastings, the conflict began in 1215 when King John was forced by his barons to sign Magna Carta at Runnymede and reneged on his promises just a few months later. When he died in 1216, the troops of his nine-year-old son, King Henry III fought with French…

Once again the latest issue of Britain (Volume 85, Issue 2) struck many chords with me as I read it from cover to cover. I grew up reading the Chronicles of Narnia and often had nightmares of lions and soldiers walking out of my wardrobe. The piece on Chatsworth brought back memories of a visit to this lovely home a number of years ago, as did the piece on the Norfolk Broads, of when I spent a delightful week in Norwich. The islands article reminded me of a visit to Skye and enticed me with an upcoming visit to Northumberland where I hope to see as much of the isolated island of Lindisfarne as is currently open. The small write-up on JMW Turner, however, had the largest impact on me,…

Few places on Earth can have seemed so fail-safe a literary muse as the Lake District. John Ruskin, William Wordsworth, Samuel Coleridge and Beatrix Potter are just a handful of the writers who found both isolation and inspiration among the lakes and fells the latter loved it so much she with the National Trust, even bought huge swathes of land to be preserved for the future. Today, the astonishing landscape continues to act as a stimulus for creativity. In no creative expression is this truer than gastronomy and for the crème de la crème of Lake District cuisine, we must travel to Cartmel. The small south Cumbrian village – once known as Kirkby in Cartmel – has a number of big claims to fame. The first is that this hamlet…