Innholdsfortegnelse for August - September 2022 i Discover Britain

Hello, and welcome to what I hope you’ll agree is a royally good issue. First up, as the nation gradually comes back down to Earth following the huge excitement surrounding the Jubilee celebrations, we’ve rounded up some of the best moments from the Queen’s special weekend on page 22 – a lasting reminder of this most jubilant celebration. Before being surpassed by Her Majesty, Queen Victoria was our longest reigning monarch, and on page 32, Isle of Wight expert Mark Rowe visits her favourite holiday home, Osborne House, and introduces us to two other historic houses on the island. In what must have been an exceedingly arduous assignment, this issue we sent Russell Higham to get the royal treatment on a visit to several of London’s Royal Warrant holders with…

Next year (2023) marks the 600th anniversary of the death of Richard Whittington (1358-1423), best known by many by his pantomime name of ‘Dick’, and yet the real man was one of medieval England’s most successful entrepreneurs and social reformers, who often had a king in his pocket. Born in the year of his outlawed father’s death (1358-9), Whittington arrived in London around 1369-70, aged 10-11 under the guardianship of Sir Ivo Fitzwarin – the two families were distant relatives but were closely linked by service during the Hundred Years’ War. Fitzwarin would prove instrumental in Whittington’s advancement, facilitating introductions to his family’s high-level military connections and enabling his protégé to make an early impact at the court of Richard II. Whittington would later marry Fitzwarin’s daughter Alice, and the…

ROYAL WARRANTS For the select group of businesses that hold a Royal Warrant, ranging from individual craftspeople to global conglomerates, supplying one of the royal households is both a duty and an immense privilege. Royal Warrants of Appointment, as they’re called in full, are granted to artisans, companies and tradespeople that have provided either the Queen or Prince Charles with goods or services for five of the last seven years. The late Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip, was also a grantor, as was The Queen Mother. As well as bestowing honour and prestige upon the grantee, a warrant also confers the right to display the royal crest, along with those hallowed words ‘By Appointment To’ on their advertising, premises, and official stationery. The tradition first came about in 1155 when…

While here, if you hear things go bump in the night, then it may well be the ghost of a local miller from the nearby town of Millhousebridge, James ‘Dunty’ Porteous, who is said to haunt the castle. The story goes that Baronet, Sir Alexander James Jardine, asked the combatively nicknamed Dunty – the names loosely translates as ‘argument’ in old English – to deliver bread directly to the tower. However, Dunty and the Baronet had a bust up, which saw the miller banished to the tower’s pit prison. Soon after, the Baronet was called out on an urgent work trip to Edinburgh, forgetting he still had the dungeon key in his pocket. It wasn’t until a few days later that he realised, and hired a porter to return to…

Getting here There are direct trains with South Western Railway from London Waterloo to Axminster, the nearest train station, which is six miles away. On arrival in Axminster, you can either take a pre-booked taxi or jump on either the X51 or X53 bus. southwesternrailway.com Hunting for fossils The Lyme Regis Museum runs regular fossil hunting walks on both Lyme Regis’s East Beach and Black Ven, where you can learn more about Mary Anning and the geology of the area as you search amid the rocks. lymeregismuseum.co.uk Tourist information Visit Dorset should be your first port of call when planning a trip to the county. visit-dorset.com/lyme-regis…

If you are one of the millions of people who tuned into the superbly crafted mini-series A Very British Scandal, you will be familiar with the scandalous story of the late Margaret, Duchess of Argyll. The programme was a hit, as it had it all. Apart from the excellent Claire Foy playing the Duchess, there was the spectacular scenery of Argyll in Scotland, the fairytale castle – Inveraray – that Margaret revived and lovingly restored to the gem it is today (which can be visited from April to October) and a no-holes-barred peek into the life of the immensely privileged, etiquette-bound aristocracy of the 1950s. Far from being a rose-tinted period drama, this was a warts ‘n’ all tale, which showed that the protagonist was not bound by the mores…

Annandale Way Walking Trail A 56-mile (80km) waymarked trail that passes by Spedlins connects the Moffat Hills in the north with the Solway Firth to the south, and follows the River Annan for much of its route. A flat, circular 45-minute section through dense woodland and across streams arrives back at the tower. Those wishing to head further afield can either continue on west via Lochmaben or east via Lockerbie, rather than loop back. scotlandsgreattrails.com/trail/annandale-way Jardine Hall ruins Across the River Annan from Spedlins stands the remains of Jardine Hall: the second ancestral home of Clan Jardine following their move from the tower. In the 19th century, Spedlins was abandoned in favour of this regal mansion, which was later used as a school. It was demolished in 1964…

Newcastle’s Laing Art Gallery will host the Lindisfarne Gospels, on loan from The British Library, from 17 September to 3 December 2022. The Anglo-Saxon manuscript represents a golden age of design in Northumbria and has survived in almost perfect condition for over 1,000 years. The exhibition will explore its meaning in the world today, and its relationship with personal, regional and national identity. Tickets start from £9 adult/£7 concession. laingartgallery.org.uk…

In 1697 Celia Fiennes, a visitor to York Minster, felt moved to comment on “the greatest curiosity for windows I ever saw.” And she certainly had a point. The jewel-in-the-crown of this magnificent, world-famous centre of Christianity, York Minster is renowned for both the size, and the splendour, of its medieval stained-glass collection. Built between 1220 and 1472, the Minster is one of the finest medieval buildings in Europe and has been the centre of Christianity in the north of England since the 7th century. As Celia Fiennes discovered, the Minster is also home to an unrivalled display of medieval stained glass. The Minster’s prized piece is undoubtedly the Great East Window, which holds the title of the greatest expanse of medieval stained glass in England (it is roughly the…

A Baroque beacon of hope After recently discovering your magazine, inadvertently, I was pleasantly surprised to see the article on Castle Howard (Issue 228, Jun/Jul 22). This feature allowed me to reminisce on my only visit, back in August 2020, with the nation still reeling from the pandemic that swept across the world. During these most challenging times, I was fortunate enough to gain entry (under preventive measures) to peruse this magnificent and grandiose stately home. With exquisite and attractive Baroque interiors, immaculately preserved landscape gardens and the remarkable Atlas Fountain, this elegant scene of perfection supplied a most welcome relief, eclipsing the darker times and uncertainty that surrounded us all, and giving hope to better days ahead. Now, many other people can marvel in the delights of Castle Howard…

Both Osborne House and Appuldurcombe House are looked after by English Heritage and the latter is free to visit (www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/osborne; www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/appuldurcombe-house). Mottistone Manor and Gardens are managed by the National Trust, and though you can’t step foot inside the house itself, the gardens are a delight to wander (nationaltrust.org.uk/mottistone-gardens-and-estate) . The Seaview Hotel, (seaviewhotel.co.uk ) in the pretty sailing village of Seaview offers beautifully furnished rooms and excellent food. Wightlink ( wightlink.co.uk ) runs ferry services from the mainland to the island, between Lymington and Yarmouth, and Portsmouth and Fishbourne. Mark Rowe is the author of the Slow Guide to the Isle of Wight, published by Bradt (bradtguides.com) in March 2022. For more tourist information, go to visitisleofwight.co.uk…

Fans of the TV series can enjoy the magnificent Argyll scenery portrayed in the programme. For instance, the Duke and Duchess’s car journey to Inveraray takes them through Glen Etive, recognisable from its turn in Skyfall, and a spectacular part of Scotland. Further scenes were filmed around the Ardkinglas Estate, another elegant Scottish estate on the shores of Loch Fyne. The house and its woodlands are just a short distance from Inveraray Castle. Holidaymakers can book a stay in a cottage in the grounds, or in the Butler’s Quarters on a lower level of Arkinglass house itself. A Very British Scandal’ s court locations are in Edinburgh and Ealing. Exterior court scenes were filmed in Edinburgh’s Old Town around Parliament Square. Ealing Town Hall is the filming location…

Built in 1450, Spedlins, in the Dumfries and Galloway region of Scotland, is thought to be one of the most haunted buildings in Britain, and was once the seat of the Jardines, a powerful family who owned most of the surrounding land. The name Jardine derives from the French word ‘jardin’, meaning garden or orchard, and originated from the du Jardon family who came to England with William the Conqueror in 1066. The Jardines eventually settled in Dumfriesshire in the late 1400s, and their first settlement was none other than this baronial-style tower house. Standing at 48ft tall, the fairytale-like tower was constructed with brick made from the local Templand sandstone at Corncockle Quarry, and even has a pit prison (see opposite for its spooky story) hidden within its impressive…