Innehållsförteckning för May/Jun 2023 från Britain

Back in those golden, pre-pandemic days, the team at Hever Castle, Kent, were gearing up for a grand 750th birthday. Just before baking the cake, however, they thought it might be a good idea to check a few facts. The guidebook had always said Hever was founded in 1270, but had anyone ever made certain of this? Historian and heritage expert Simon Thurley was appointed detective, charged with tracking down Hever’s true history, using charters dating back to Anglo Saxon times, artefacts, letters, deeds – and the castle itself. The results, at first, seemed disappointing but he soon started finding the good stuff. The first confusion – the founding date – was quickly cleared up: there were once two castles called Hever within a mile of each other. Hever Brocas…

Amellow ensemble of golden-stone buildings set along a tranquil river, Oxford is without doubt one of England’s most beautiful cities, whose venerable colleges, manicured quads and cobbled lanes cast a gilded glow even when the sun isn’t shining. Situated on a trade route between the kingdoms of Mercia and Wessex, Oxford was first settled by the Saxons. Alfred the Great, King of Wessex, created a ‘burh’, or fortified town here in 911. Oxford grew in importance and Canute chose the city as the scene of his coronation in 1018. It was in medieval times that Oxford first became a seat of learning. Oxford University – the oldest in the English-speaking world – can trace its origins back to the 12th century, when famous teachers first began to lecture in the…

STAR LETTER CHORUS OF APPROVAL In 1958, I left my hometown of Passaic, New Jersey for Scranton, Pennsylvania. There, I attended St. Luke’s Episcopal Church where I met the Rev’d Robert J. Lewis, of Welsh descent. It is through him that I learned of Wales, its history, customs, and of Welsh tunes and hymns. Scranton had a strong Welsh community, for many came to work in the anthracite coal mines in the area. One Sunday, Fr. Lewis asked if I would be interested in attending a Gymanfa Ganu (a what?) that afternoon. I went to hear the choir of about fifty men sing to a full house. I was in awe and that afternoon this Ukrainian became a Welshman by “adoption and grace”. Years later, I joined a ten day…

First-time visitors might be surprised to find no towering peaks in the Peak District – the name is thought to derive from the Pecsaetan, an Anglo-Saxon tribe that settled in the area. But this vast national park, stretching across five counties – Derbyshire, Cheshire, Staffordshire, Yorkshire and Greater Manchester – is not short of drama, enfolding a landscape of two contrasting halves within its 555 square miles. The Dark Peak, extending to the east and west and up into the far north, is all wild, heathery moorland, craggy tors and gritstone escarpments. Windswept and often shrouded in mist, this brooding land wouldn’t be out of place in a Victorian Gothic novel – indeed, the house that inspired Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre is in these parts. Further south, the landscape softens…

Bigger and better than ever in 2023, our annual Great British Holiday competition is a once-in-a-lifetime prize offering you the chance to win an unforgettable five-star break in London and the Cotswolds. A luxurious London stay Starting with free flights (for overseas entrants), our winner and their guest will travel to London for a one-night luxury stay at Middle Eight, a chic hotel set in bustling Covent Garden, whose streets are lined with some of the capital’s best shops and restaurants. On your first evening, get your bearings at The View from the Shard, where you’ll enjoy a breathtaking panorama of the city, followed by a Michelin-starred dinner at Galvin La Chapelle, set in a grand former Victorian chapel. The next night, you will be staying at The Guardsman, an…

Driving over the Lindisfarne causeway from the English mainland is one of the most memorable experiences you can have in Britain. From the moment you see the small tidal island for the first time from the Northumberland coast, with its majestic castle reigning supreme at one end, you’ll be in no doubt that Lindisfarne is one of the country’s most beautiful spots. The island is easily accessible via road, although it’s cut off from the mainland twice a day during high tide (planning is essential to avoid being stranded). Once on the island you feel an age away from normal life. Most visitors come just for the day, so if you choose to stay longer you get a wonderful sense of having the entire island to yourself, apart from the…

BRITAIN: On a work day, what is the first thing you do when you wake up? LJ: Most days I will be travelling to either of the British Library’s sites in St Pancras, London or Boston Spa, Yorkshire. I tend to use my train journey to catch up on emails and the latest news in the library sector, which is packed with creative, innovative and resilient people doing unexpected things. B: How does your daily work schedule usually run? LJ: There are over 170 million items in the Library’s collections, from books, newspapers and maps to sound recordings, patents and drawings. I have overall responsibility for enabling people to access them in our Reading Rooms and online and to use them in the way they need – for research, learning,…

CORONATION Regal displays It seems we aren’t the only ones with coronation fever here at BRITAIN, as special exhibitions are being announced across the land. Oxfordshire’s Blenheim Palace, the seat of the Dukes of Marlborough since 1705, will host a Royal Connections exhibition (until 30 July), celebrating its centuries-old relationship with the monarchy and displaying personal items from royal weddings and coronations. One prized exhibit is an ornate crown (above) worn by Queen Anne, who funded the construction of Blenheim as a reward for the First Duke of Marlborough’s victory at the Battle of Blenheim. To get up close to even more remarkable royal objects, head to the Tower of London, home to the Crown Jewels for nearly 400 years, which is set to transform its Jewel House with a new…

The Malvern Hills, rising steeply from the flat and placid plains of Worcestershire, are one of England’s most beautiful pastoral landscapes. So peaceful are the views here that it’s hard to imagine that the surrounding lands were once the site of battles and bloodshed. In the summer of 1642, the long-running battle of wills between Charles I and his English Parliament finally turned to open hostility – and a military skirmish a stone’s throw from the walled city of Worcester. The Battle of Powick Bridge has the distinction of being the first confrontation between Royalist and Parliamentarian forces in what became the English Civil War. In a strange case of symmetry, nine years, an estimated 200,000 deaths and the execution of a monarch later, the final clash between Roundheads and…

Annual subscription to Britain magazine: UK £21.95 | Europe €43.95 | Australia $68.95 US $45| Canada $55| Rest of World £37.95 SAVE UP TO 37% The official magazine of VisitBritain, and winner of the Best Consumer Holiday Magazine category at the British Travel Awards, BRITAIN is the authoritative voice on UK heritage, travel and culture, and the go-to publication for everyone fascinated by our country’s rich and illustrious history. Two easy ways to order USA & Canada go to www.chelseamagazines.com/K32SPAOr phone 1-866-926-0261 (quote code K32SPA) UK & ROW go to www.chelseamagazines.com/CBRT23 Or phone +44 (0)1858 438 834 (quote code CBRT23)…