Table of contents for April - May 2022 in Discover Britain

Highclere Castle is a magnificent stately home in the heart of Hampshire that has gained global recognition as the filming location for the British period drama Downton Abbey. The six seasons and feature film have enthralled audiences worldwide, where, through the magic of TV and cinema, this Grade I listed house has been turned into the Yorkshire mansion in which the aristocratic Crawley family live. With this captivating property, its beautiful interiors, lavish costumes, and manicured country estate vistas, providing the most picturesque of backdrops, Downton Abbey tells the story of how Robert Crawley risks losing the family estate after his heirs die on the Titanic. Soon, the Crawleys are introduced to Matthew, the next heir, who resists their way of life. The programme and subsequent films follow the family’s…

On 5 January 1922, in the harbour of a small British subantarctic island, South Georgia, one of Britain’s greatest explorers died. Sir Ernest Shackleton; irrepressible, determined and heralded as one of humanity’s greatest leaders. On the face of it, Shackleton oversaw a series of failures. Of four Antarctic expeditions, he was sent home from the first, turned his party back within 100 miles of the South Pole on the second, lost his ship on the third, and never returned from the last. Was he a victim of endless misfortune? Or was he careless, even reckless? Did he choose a profession to which he was profoundly unsuited or does closer scrutiny reveal something else? As Apsley Cherry-Garrard wrote in his memoir, The Worst Journey in the World, “Polar exploration is at…

It is surprising to learn that Dan Quartermain, who as a master thatcher spends much of his time high up on roofs, hesitated as a 16-year-old to begin an apprenticeship in the craft because he was scared of heights. “I thought: I’ve got to get over this issue or I won’t be doing the job,” he recalls with a rueful smile. “So, I forced myself and I’ve never looked back.” That’s lucky for Dan’s customers who rely on him to keep the roofs of their thatched cottages – the chocolate-box epitome of English villages – in good repair. Based in the Cotswolds and now with more than 35 years’ experience, Dan works with his team across Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire, and beyond. “We get all sorts, complete re-thatches to maintenance,…

Sometimes referred to as the Uig Chessmen, as they were found in the parish of Uig on the Isle of Lewis in 1831, the discovery of these 78 chess pieces has raised almost as many questions as it has answered. Whose were they? Why were they found on a beach on the Atlantic coast? And was playing chess really how the powerful spent their time in the Middle Ages? Largely made of walrus ivory, with some carved from whales’ teeth, the chess pieces are thought to date from the 12th century. Today, most of the pieces can be found in the British Museum, but eleven are kept at the National Museum of Scotland. In the BBC’s A History of the World in 100 Objects, it is suggested that the pieces,…

CASTLE CARY, SOMERSET First-class train travel, private garden tours and local tastings – what’s not to like? We may just have found the perfect countryside escape from the capital, whether you’re a resident or a visitor. Setting off by train on a Friday or Saturday morning from London’s Paddington station, on the Great Garden Escape you’ll be whisked to The Newt in Somerset, a beautiful country estate set around the Georgian Palladian property, Hadspen House. Today Hadspen is an elegant country house hotel and you’ll enjoy a day of touring, tasting and exploring. On arrival, you’ll be greeted with refreshments, before being taken on an exclusive garden tour, followed by lunch and further exploration – look out for the Beezantium, a lakeside apiary for honey-bees. In the afternoon, you’ll visit…

Harry Potter’s wizarding world has inspired children, and adults, around the globe for 25 years. The books are among the biggest selling in children’s literature history, and the resulting films catapulted Harry, Hermione, Ron, all their friends, and enemies, into the public eye. Around the world, Harry Potter is synonymous with Britain, and tourists arrive in their thousands to revel in the locations that inspired JK Rowling to write the original books, and those that were made famous on the silver screen, when Harry launched from the page to the cinema. Rowling endured difficult marriages and economic uncertainty living in London and Edinburgh in the 1990s. She has said that the idea for Harry Potter came to her on the train from Manchester to London, and that the book first…

For centuries, Richard III has worn the black hat of a ruthless uncle who murdered the young princes in the Tower of London. Yet, aside from a collection of bones found under a staircase within the tower in 1674 – that, to this day, remain untested and in safekeeping at Westminster Abbey – there’s been no conclusion regarding their fate based on hard evidence. Now, Philippa Langley MBE, who led the successful search for the remains of Richard III in 2012, is at the helm of The Missing Princes Project, an investigation committed to unravelling the truth, challenging everything we think we know about this enduring thriller and the man at its core. The Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses have been somewhat romanticised, encouraged in no…

The tastes and textures of North Norfolk’s cuisine are inextricably linked to the coastal terrain of this part of England. Gently rolling farmland reaches down to the sea, buffered by broad, sandy beaches, or marshes where sheep graze and birdlife thrives. You know where the fish has landed, and from what boat, and it’s as fresh as you can get To visit is to savour its flavours – fabulous shellfish and seafood, prime seasonal game, fresh vegetables and salads, even wines, ales, spirits, and cordials that have their botanicals rooted in this rich landscape. Speak to the innovative chefs who run restaurants here and they will tell you how important the freshest local ingredients are to the dishes they serve, whether we’re talking fine-dining feasts or a superior twist to…

Bunting hung between lampposts, fluttering its intermittent silent applause, Union Jacks were waved with fervour, sandwiches packed with coronation chicken (or the closest substituted ingredients that could be found) and thick slices of cake were served on tiered dishes, and tea was drunk by the pot-load. When Britain celebrated the crowning of its new queen in 1953, as well as the crowds who watched events unfold in London, where the newly crowned monarch emerged onto the famous Buckingham Palace balcony, with her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, her son Prince Charles, and her daughter Princess Anne, up and down the country jubilant street parties took place. Street parties are a traditional part of British culture. It’s thought the tradition first began in 1919 when a number of streets held ‘Peace…

Andrew Deamer Ringing Master at Wells Cathedral for six years, until January 2022 I started bell-ringing 40 years ago and have been ringing at Wells for 30. My parents were churchgoers, and I was fed up with being in the choir. Once I started bell-ringing I worked out that it meant I was paid for my hobby, and I got to go to the pub aged 15…so that was good really. Ringing at Wells Cathedral is very special, although the bells are very challenging. It is the heaviest ring of 10 in the world and our biggest bell, the tenor, is nearly 3 tonnes, so it takes a lot of practice to ring them well. As Ringing Master, the challenge for me was teaching the band to ring as well…

For a relatively short trip, the North Wales Way (Ffordd y Gogledd) packs a big historical punch. There are ancient monoliths, the seat of the Welsh princes, industrial heritage, Victorian seaside towns, medieval castles, country houses and contemporary cultural institutions on the 75-mile route from Mold in the northeast of Wales, west along the coast to the island of Anglesey (Ynys Môn), set against backdrops of rugged coastline, beautiful beaches, and majestic mountains. Even the way itself comes with an ancient pedigree. It follows a trading route used since Roman times to carry goods and resources from the market towns and industrial cities of northeast Wales and northwest England to the seaports on the northwest tip of Wales, from where they would travel the globe. The North Wales Way can…