Innholdsfortegnelse for Sep/Oct 2024 i Britain

Afternoon tea is a must when in the Cotswolds, but did you know that beyond the tearooms, this area of rolling hills and honey-coloured villages has serious foodie credentials? This issue we explore this delicious region, from gourmet feasts to vineyard tours, and even enjoy tea at the King’s country retreat (p14). And we travel to Monmouthshire, whose nine castles dotted across stunning landscapes testify to its embattled past (p56). We’re also marking some key anniversaries. It’s 150 years since Winston Churchill was born at Blenheim Palace (p25); and 100 years since the creation of a palace on an altogether different scale: Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House is equipped with an array of royal accoutrements, from mini Crown Jewels to tiny bottles of Champagne filled with real fizz (p45). And two…

The Royal Collection might include Old Masters the size of a whole wall, toweringly tall sculptures, and dining tables long enough to seat a small army, but one of its best-known and best-loved treasures is a masterpiece on a miniature scale: Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House, which celebrates its centenary this year. Complete with everything from a grand saloon to a wine cellar and scullery, and filled with a thousand tiny but incredibly realistic fixtures and fittings, the Dolls’ House was the brainchild of Princess Marie Louise. A childhood friend of Queen Mary, cousin of her husband, King George V, and very much at home in artistic circles, it was she who, in 1921, convinced the most eminent British architect of her age, Sir Edwin Lutyens, creator of London’s Cenotaph, to…

DAY 1 THE PILGRIMS’ CATHEDRAL Canterbury’s awe-inspiring cathedral, established by St Augustine in the 6th century and largely reworked by the Normans, is the mother church of the Church of England. It’s famed for being where the priest Thomas Becket was brutally assassinated in 1170, after which it became a major pilgrimage centre, celebrated in Chaucer’s ribald The Canterbury Tales. Beyond the sweeping nave with its ancient, time-worn stone steps, the assassination site is marked by two savage-looking swords and a cross; in the Trinity Chapel (right), a candle flickers where Becket’s jewel-encrusted shrine stood until it was destroyed during the Reformation. Don’t miss the Romanesque crypt, with its faded medieval murals and unsettling Antony Gormley sculpture, floating above the site of Becket’s original tomb, or the tranquil cloisters, their…

STAR LETTER ISLAY BE BACK Many years ago, my wife and I travelled to Scotland – Islay in particular – in search of my wife’s McTaggart origins. I had booked a bed and breakfast near the site of the farm supposedly owned by the McTaggarts. During our roaming around Islay, we found many distilleries and even purchased some whiskey to take to delighted friends. Our trip was an unqualified success. Not only did we find the remains of the McTaggart property, but also enjoyed the most unusual bed and breakfast of my experience. On arrival, we were eventually met by the owner, the husband of the woman who booked our accommodation. He had been out in the fields caring for sheep and showed little interest in us – apart from…

ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY! From Buckingham Palace’s glittering state rooms to Hampton Court, the home of Henry VIII, Britain’s royal residences and historic palaces are some of the most spectacular locations in the world. Royals at Home brings the palaces to life with colourful, in-depth features, lavish images and archive photos. From the publishers of BRITAIN magazine, Royals at Home is a celebration of these magnificent palaces and castles, and a fascinating journey through the history of our Royal Family. Order online for only £9.99 (UK) / $14.99 (USA) at www.britain-magazine.com/RoyalsatHome and have it delivered direct to your door Also available at good newsagents Includes postage and packaging…

The words ‘London’ and ‘Gin’ have gone together since the spirit’s introduction to the capital in 1688, when King William and Queen Mary outlawed French brandy and imported distillation stills instead. Over the centuries improvements in recipes and distribution have created a global icon: London Dry Gin. Nestled in quaintly residential streets, a stone’s throw from the Oval cricket ground, the Beefeater Distillery has been a part of gin’s history for 160 years. James Burrough purchased his first still in 1860, and his gin recipe has not changed since its invention. The name was added in 1876, a marketing idea celebrating the famous yeoman warders that protect the Tower of London. Their iconic image has graced every label since. There is, of course, only one place to really understand the…

OPENING Bath beauty In a commanding position overlooking the heritage city of Bath, Beckford’s Tower was built in 1827 by eccentric collector William Beckford, who inherited his father’s vast wealth aged just 10 years old and lived an extraordinarily lavish lifestyle that was funded by the exploitation of slaves on the family’s sugar plantations in Jamaica. After a three-year restoration, Beckford’s tower – one of Bath’s most famous landmarks – is reopening to visitors with a new museum that explores his complex and controversial story, revealing the brutality behind the beauty of his collections. 200 years ago, the reclusive Beckford would pass through an underground grotto to reach the tower’s opulent rooms and climb a spiral staircase to the golden lantern that tops the structure. Today’s visitors will be able…

On 30 November 1874 a grand ball was being held at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire. Among the staying guests was a heavily pregnant Lady Randolph Spencer-Churchill, who suddenly went into labour – brought on, perhaps, by dancing or a bumpy carriage ride a few days earlier. A small room set aside for guests’ coats was swiftly cleared and Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill was born with premature haste. The 150th anniversary of Winston’s birth is being marked around the country, highlighting the life of an extraordinary leader whose accession as Britain’s Prime Minister from 1940 altered both the course of the Second World War and our history. Winston’s birthplace, Blenheim Palace, was built in the 18th century for his ancestor John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough after his military successes in the War…

In 2004, Hazel Tindall became the world’s fastest knitter, completing 255 stitches in three minutes. Today, she designs patterns and teaches on Spirit of Shetland Knitting Holidays, passing on her skills and knowledge of Shetland, the Scottish archipelago where she was born and raised, to crafters. This six-day break, which includes a stay at the Lerwick Hotel, a pebble’s throw from the shore, includes two half-day workshops on Fair Isle knitting, a technique where two or more colours of yarn are worked into the same row, and two half-day workshops on Shetland lace, showing you how to knit soft, fine local wool into a shawl or scarf. At the Shetland Textile Museum, in a former fishing station, you might draw inspiration from some of the 700 or so items, from…

May 23 was hardly a scorcher this year, but a few clouds were not going to bother the guests assembled in the garden of Buckingham Palace. Here were some 2,500 dedicated volunteers from the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), no strangers to gales, rain, fog and blizzard. One highlight of the event, which marked the 200th anniversary of this awe-inspiring charity, was the presentation by the Princess Royal of a Silver Medal for Gallantry to coxswain Patrick ‘Patch’ Harvey of RNLI Penlee, for his role in helping to save eight people on a French yacht in October 2022, on a bat-black night, with winds gusting at 100mph. On that occasion, the sailors were safely evacuated, but for many with long memories, the very mention of Penlee tolls a knell. On…