Britain

As someone who has visited Britain at least every couple of years for the last two decades, I have been an avid reader of BRITAIN. It both allows me to remember places I’ve visited and to add to my “bucket list” of places to include on a future visit

Britain has been linked to Russia for over 300 years through war, diplomatic alliances and family ties. Russia, Royalty & the Romanovs, a new exhibition at The Queen’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace, explores the relationship between Britain and Russia

Few ranges in Britain are quite so satisfyingly shapely as the Malvern Hills. The rounded belt of green peaks stretches to a total length of some eight miles – no great distance, but the chain’s pleasing bulk is accentuated by flatlands on either sid

From mighty medieval fortresses that have stood sentinel since the Norman invasion to baronial stately homes built to impress, Britain is peppered with fantastical castles. While some, like Windsor and Edinburgh, are among Britain’s best-loved attrac

Dating back to the 13th century, Dalhousie Castle is both romantic and intriguing, and modern-day guests can enjoy warm hospitality within its stone walls. One of Scotland’s finest hotels, Dalhousie Castle has 35 bedrooms and suites, a luxurious ther

Every summer Her Majesty the Queen loves to escape to Balmoral, feeling at home in the majesty of the Highlands. Queen Victoria may have fallen in love with the area in the 1840s but for her great-great granddaughter, Scotland is literally in her blo

On 12 November 1918, London saw wild celebrations as an armistice declared the end of the First World War. Nowhere was the occasion more rumbustiously marked than Trafalgar Square, memorial to another British victory. As night fell, euphoric crowds l

In the early 19th century, after serious bouts of illness, King George III became increasingly unstable, before descending into permanent mental illness in 1810. The following year, his son George, Prince of Wales, was sworn in as ‘Prince Regent’ to

Blue-eyed, auburn-haired, lively and gracious, the Spanish princess Catherine of Aragon was 23 years old to Henry VIII’s 18 and a diminutive 4ft-something to Henry’s towering 6ft 2 inches when they married in 1509. But any differences in age and stat

Padstow, a pretty town on Cornwall’s north coast, is celebrated as a gourmet destination, thanks to the restaurants of famous chefs Rick Stein and Paul Ainsworth. But it is also home to another gem: Prideaux Place, a beautiful Elizabethan house perch

Just eight miles from the Jurassic Coast (renowned for its fossils and seafood) and surrounded by Iron Age forts in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Dorchester has history coming out of every brick and stone. The town was founded around AD 54

Scotland is a country of vast contrasts, from the grandeur and elegance of Edinburgh to the grit and buzz of Glasgow, the gentle hills of the Lowlands to the dramatic munros of the Highlands. In this land of wide open spaces and few modern interferen

There are many good reasons to visit Durham – its spectacular Norman cathedral and castle, dramatic location high above the River Wear, the famous university and historic Bailey, to name but a few. However, this northern gem’s greatest draw is the sh

There are trains every half-hour from London King’s Cross to Durham; the journey takes approximately three hours. For a central location stay at the quirky Victoria Inn, a small, traditional pub with comfortable rooms, friendly staff and bags of Nort

Should auld acquaintance be forgot… Even people who claim they know nothing about poetry can recite Auld Lang Syne. We will never know how much of the Hogmanay classic ‘Rabbie’ Burns was responsible for; he never claimed the ballad as his own, but w