Indholdsfortegnelse for July - August 2016 i Britain

Pretty, winding Saddler Street in Durham is a bustling enclave leading up to the city’s most splendid features: its cathedral and castle, which together on the wooded banks of the river form the UNESCO World Heritage Site. It’s a wonderful spot to absorb the city’s historic charms and the Cellar Door restaurant – secretly nestled away down some narrow steps on this lovely street – is the perfect place to relax with great food in delightful surroundings. The 13th-century cellar that greets you can itself claim a long and fascinating history. Yet once through into the dining area, sunlight floods through from large windows providing glorious views of the river and a picturesque views of Elvet Bridge. Tables even dot the restaurant’s riverside terrace so that you can make the…

PARKS & GARDENS The Grade I listed Birkenhead Park was the world’s first publicly funded park and the inspiration for Central Park in New York. Cross over the peninsula to Ness Botanic Gardens [inset, left] for a true delight at any time of year. Overlooking the River Dee, you’ll find a treasure for garden lovers. Visit Port Sunlight Garden Centre which nestles in the heart of this picturesque village and lies close to its main attractions. Just a few minutes away from the village is Port Sunlight River Park where you’ll find a stunning green space with magnificent views. ACTIVE LEISURE New Brighton is a traditional seaside resort, which, through massive investment, is once again drawing the crowds. Try your hand at two amazing 18-hole mini-golf courses at Championship Adventure…

CHELSEA FC MUSEUM As the popularity of football (or soccer, if we must) continues to grow across the globe, London’s Champions League-winning Chelsea FC has rightly become one of the world’s most popular clubs. If you are visiting out of season and can’t take in a match, fans can still make a pilgrimage to the club’s West London stadium, Stamford Bridge, and explore the club’s 111-year history. The displays chart the club’s evolution from its origins in The Rising Sun pub to its current status as one of Europe’s elite, via classic shirts, interactive games and more silverware than the Queen’s cutlery draw. www.chelseafc.com ROALD DAHL MUSEUM AND STORY CENTRE British children of a certain age will forever hold a special place in their hearts for author Roald Dahl, creator…

There are very few certainties in life, but one thing upon which all Britons can rely is the fact that no problem, conflict or other tricky situation can’t be either resolved or greatly improved by a good cup of tea. At times of trouble, the kettle goes on. Much like the acceptance of inclement weather and a fondness for self-deprecation, the drinking of tea is a pastime ingrained in the British psyche. As a nation, we drink around 165 million cups of tea per day. Winston Churchill was a lapsang souchong drinker, the Beatles and Stones wrote songs about it, and George Orwell even penned an essay entitled A Nice Cup of Tea (it causes “violent disputes over how it should be made”, apparently). Likewise, a Briton will always be…

The seat of the Earls of Dalhousie, chieftains of Clan Ramsay, 13th-century Dalhousie Castle – eight miles south of Edinburgh – lays claim to be Scotland’s oldest inhabited castle with a history stretching back many centuries. The founder of the clan, an English knight of Norman descent called Simundus de Ramseia, was the first to have lands at Dalwolsey, building the first castle, the remains of which can still be seen as thick foundation walls and vaults. The knight had followed his lord, David, Earl of Huntington, to Scotland in the early 12th century after the earl inherited the Scottish crown to become King David I of Scotland. Despite being notorious border raiders, the Ramsays acquired large estates through advantageous marriage and, in the 13th-century, built the L-shaped castle with…

LETTER OF THE MONTH COME FLY WITH ME I eagerly tear off the wrapping when BRITAIN magazine arrives. Every time I am amazed at the quality of the content. The story about our Queen (Vol 84 Issue 3) was interesting, to say the least, but besides that there was the article on William Shakespeare as well [Anne Hathaway’s Cottage in Stratford-upon-Avon, below]. The magazine gives my wife and I the ability to reminisce on our many lovely trips to Britain over the past 28 years. I have told my wife we should fly into Heathrow, pick up a car and just “take-off” to see as much of the country as possible. Rod Faulkner, New South Wales, Australia Our Letter of the Month wins a copy of This Land by Joe…

With its magnificent Norman cathedral squaring off against an 11th-century castle, an impressive sight greets those arriving at Durham by road or rail. Yet there is far more to this majestic and compact northeast English city than its medieval architecture. Quirky shops, pubs and cosy tearooms line the cobbled streets of this university hub, living museums are awash with industrial heritage and you are never far from the tree-lined banks of the River Wear. On a fine day, grab a picnic lunch to enjoy on the riverbank while watching rowing boats glide along or enjoy a cruise on the water. Durham is home to numerous attractions, but it is the atmosphere that charms, the friendly greetings from the locals enhanced by the golden stone, scattering of bridges and twinkling river…

For centuries, most British estates would have had a walled kitchen garden – productive, sometimes beautiful, often set discreetly away from the mansion. The walls provided shelter from both predators and the elements, creating a little patch of Eden in which fruit, vegetables, herbs and more could be grown for the lords, ladies and guests of the house. But kitchen gardens were labour-intensive and many declined after their gardeners failed to return from the First World War. The story of walled gardens today is, therefore, often the story of reclamation and restoration. That is certainly true of the Lost Gardens of Heligan in Cornwall. Created by the Tremayne family in the mid-18th century, the 200-acre plot became overgrown and forgotten by the 1920s. Their rediscovery, in 1990, buried under fallen…

The men and women of the Tudor age changed the face of England and their influence still resonates today across Britain and also much of the Western world. It was not only kings, queens and courtiers, but also the era's politicians, preachers and playwrights, sailors, spies and statesmen made us who we are today. Perhaps the most famous Tudor of all is William Shakespeare (c.1564-1616), the playwright from Stratford-upon-Avon, whose richness and complexity of writing has been the single strongest influence on our language. Shakespeare was born in the Warwickshire market town but went to London to seek his fortune, becoming a prolific writer and actor. Many of his plays have political overtones, and much of our perception of English history is based on his work. Shakespeare was not the…

PLAS BRONDANW GARDENS The gardens at Plas Brondanw, although less famous than his village of Portmeirion, are considered by many to be Sir Clough Williams-Ellis’ most marvellous creation. Located in the Snowdonia National Park, North Wales, between Snowdon and the sea, the gardens are designed to focus on drawing the eye to the surrounding dramatic scenery with mature yew hedging forming vistas to mountain peaks. Open: Gardens: daily from 10am-5pm. Cafe: Easter to mid-October from 10am-4pm. Plas Brondanw Gardens, Llanfrothen, Penrhyndeudraeth, Gwynedd LL48 6SW T: +44 (0)1766 772772 | enquiries@plasbrondanw.com | www.plasbrondanw.com CALKE ABBEY Calke Abbey is the “un-stately home” – an English country house that fell into dramatic decline during the 20th century. With a deliberate “repair not restore” philosophy, we reveal a wealth of features that evoke a…

OPENHOUSE Upstairs, downstairs If Downton Abbey piqued your interest in the class divide and you want to see how the other half might have lived, make a trip to Blenheim Palace this summer. For a limited period, the Oxfordshire World Heritage Site is offering two rare behind-the-scenes tours – one upstairs and one downstairs. The former takes in the sumptuous guest rooms and reveals a few stories about the many famous guests to grace the four-poster beds over the years, including Queen Mary and Yves Saint Laurent. The latter tours the servants’ quarters, which at one time was home to more than 100 staff, giving a flavour of what it was like to serve the Dukes of Marlborough. Both tours run daily until September.www.blenheimpalace.com STAY A fine romance If you’re…

The American writer Dorothy Parker reputedly said the Bloomsbury Group “lived in squares, painted in circles and loved in triangles”. Vanessa Bell’s move to Charleston house 100 years ago this autumn marks the moment when the centre of gravity of this eclectic group of friends shifted from their London squares to the wilds of Sussex. (Although Vanessa never stopped using circles in her paintings and her intriguing triangular love-life was to continue until her death in 1961.) Vanessa and her sister Virginia Woolf were the two female stars of this loose group of writers, artists and thinkers. They, along with their brothers Thoby and Adrian Stephens, hosted weekly gatherings in Bloomsbury bringing together many of Thoby’s Cambridge contemporaries including Lytton Strachey, Roger Fry, EM Forster, Leonard Woolf and Clive Bell.…

The Battle of Hastings was one of the most important moments in medieval British history – a single, day-long conflict that marked the turning point in the Norman invasion of England. Nine-hundred-and-fifty years after the historic battle took place on 14 October 1066, anniversary celebrations across the county of Sussex will be celebrating the lasting legacy of this fascinating and influential encounter. This month we have teamed up with Visit 1066 Country to offer you the chance to explore this gorgeous corner of southern England and immerse yourself in this rich period of history. THE PRIZE One lucky reader chosen at random from the prize draw will win a two-night stay for two at the award-winning Swan House, a gorgeous B&B situated in the heart of the Old Town, Hastings.…

The beautiful village of Burnham Market sits a stone’s throw from the North Norfolk coast – a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. With its quaint village green surrounded by Georgian houses and timber-beamed shops, it paints a picture postcard of one of England’s most beautiful – and unspoilt – counties. While the first dwellers of Burnham Market – which gets the name “Burnham” from the Old English for “village on a stream” – may have arrived as far back as the Neolithic era, it first became a prosperous trading spot in the late 13th century when William Calthrop was permitted to hold a fair. Proceeding centuries saw the expansion of Burnham’s market, with makeshift stalls transformed into permanent buildings populated by traders and their families. More recently, the village…

In the prologue to The Canterbury Tales, a man walks into a pub and, within its walls, finds ‘felawshipe’ with a colourful collection of characters – a common enough occurrence when Geoffrey Chaucer wrote the stories in the 14th century, one imagines, as it remains today. These 29 pilgrims, along with the narrator, set off from the Tabard Inn in Southwark, London, for the shrine of Thomas Becket in Canterbury. It’s the stories this band of travellers – from knight to bawdy miller – regale each other with en route, framed by the narrator’s judgemental prologues, which make up the 24 tales. Written between 1387 and 1400, the vivid stories of everyday people were hugely popular in the Middle Ages, not only for the colourful cross-section of society they depicted…