Tabla de contenidos para January/February 2021 en Britain

As we bid a firm farewell to 2020, we look ahead to a more hopeful year – one in which we’re looking forward to rediscovering some of our favourite haunts. In our two big features we celebrate parts of the country that couldn’t be more different. First, the wildly beautiful county of Northumberland, known for its mighty fortifications – over 70 castle sites, as well as the ancient Hadrian’s Wall (King of the castles, p14). Suitably fortified, we head down south to admire the cosy domestic architecture of Suffolk’s medieval wool towns, whose cottages list and lean into each other at charmingly crooked angles (Shear delight, p66). Elsewhere in the issue, we visit a certain London townhouse with a very famous black door (First among equals, p33); delve into the…

GETTING THERE Regular trains from London King’s Cross to Edinburgh stop at Newcastle-upon-Tyne (3hr), where you can rent a car, with some services also stopping at Alnmouth (for Alnwick) and Berwick-upon-Tweed. British Airways operate several flights daily from London Heathrow to Newcastle Airport (1hr). www.thetrainline.com; www.britishairways.com WHERE TO STAY Cosy Bamburgh Castle Inn occupies a peerless position above the tiny fishing harbour at Seahouses, three miles south of Bamburgh, with sweeping views along the coast. Boat trips leave for the Farne Islands just outside, and dolphins and seals are often spotted just offshore. www.inncollectiongroup.com/bamburgh-castle-inn WHERE TO EAT Feast on hearty portions, packed with locally sourced ingredients and zinging with flavour, in the wood-panelled Joiners Arms, a lively village inn five miles north of Craster. www.joiners-arms.com FURTHER INFORMATION www.visitnorthumberland.com…

In 1841, early in Queen Victoria’s reign, her mentor and Prime Minister Viscount Melbourne explained truthfully if opaquely to Her Majesty: “How the power of Prime Ministry grew up into its present form it is difficult to trace precisely.” It’s certainly a tangled tale, the office having largely evolved through a mix of opportunism, necessity and convention. Sir Robert Walpole is generally reckoned to be the country’s first Prime Minister, holding sway 300 years ago from 1721 to 1742, a lengthy service that led him to quip: “My great crime is my long continuance in office, and the exclusion of those who now complain against me.” So how did Walpole pioneer the role of PM and how did it subsequently develop into today’s post of leader of Her Majesty’s Government,…

She is the best-selling fiction writer of all time. Her 66 murder mysteries have sold more than 2 billion copies worldwide. Her super-sleuths Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple are household names. But the inimitable Agatha Christie, Queen of Crime, might never have penned a detective novel at all were it not for a bit of sibling rivalry: “I bet you couldn’t,” her sister Madge goaded her. But of course she could, and she did, and in January 1921 her debut landed on the shelves of British bookshops. One of her trademark tales of murder in an isolated country house, peppered with clues that kept readers guessing until the end, The Mysterious Affair at Styles was a hit with the critics. Among the various positive reviews, however, there was one that…

GETTING THERE Greater Anglia trains run from London Liverpool Street to Sudbury via Marks Tey (1hr 20min). There are good local bus services connecting the main towns. www.greateranglia.co.uk; www.suffolkonboard.com WHERE TO STAY The Swan at Lavenham is a well-established favourite, with cosy nooks in the ground-floor lounge area and mullioned windows and beamed ceilings in its comfortable rooms. A complimentary dip in the outdoor vitality pool is included for overnight guests. www.theswanatlavenham.co.uk WHERE TO EAT There’s fine dining at the Swan’s Gallery Restaurant, with an à la carte menu featuring many fresh local ingredients. Head to the Airmen’s Bar for a nightcap surrounded by Second World War memorabilia, in honour of the US servicemen who were based at RAF Lavenham. For tea and cakes, the spread at Kentwell’s Paddock Tea…

GETTING THERE There’s a fast train service from London Euston to Liverpool Lime Street, which takes 2hr 15min. www.thetrainline.com WHERE TO STAY Titanic Hotel in the Stanley Dock conservation area is housed in a renovated warehouse, with each bedroom retaining its original windows. There’s an indulgent spa and the hotel boasts its own rum bar in a nod to the city’s past role in the trade route. www.titanichotelliverpool.com WHERE TO EAT AND DRINK Named after Sir Peter Blake of Beatles album cover fame, the restaurant within the Hard Day Night Hotel has walls adorned with Fab Four memorabilia and serves British dishes with a local twist. www.harddaysnighthotel.com WHERE TO SHOP If there’s one thing Liverpudlians know how to do, it’s shop. The upmarket Cavern Walks are home to designers such…

Faithful Witness edited by Robert Beaken (£30, SPCK Publishing). The diaries of the king's chaplain provide a ringside view of Edward VIII's abdication, George VI's coronation and more. Lady Charlotte Guest: The Exceptional Life of a Female Industrialist by Victoria Owens (£25, Pen & Sword History). How a pioneering Victorian businesswoman came to head the world's largest ironworks. Britain’s Forgotten Traitor: The Life and Death of a Nazi Spy by Ed Perkins (£20, Amberley). Was this Englishman, killed as a traitor, wrongly sent to the gallows? Henry VII and the Tudor Pretenders Simnel, Warbeck and Warwick by Nathen Amin (£20, Amberley). A compelling account of the three pretenders to the Tudor throne, told for the first time. Battle of Brothers by Robert Lacey (£20, William Collins). Raised as close brothers,…

GREENWAY Agatha Christie's Devon home is filled with her collections of ceramics, silver and books, including first editions of her novels. www.nationaltrust.org.uk/greenway BURGH ISLAND You can also visit Burgh Island, either on foot at low tide or via the sea tractor, and stay at the famous Art Deco Burgh Island Hotel, where Christie herself was a guest. www.burghisland.com FURTHER INFORMATION For more information on the author’s life, Agatha Christie: A Mysterious Life by Laura Thompson is published by Headline (£12.99).…

We are typical tourists in some ways; visiting the biggest attractions like the Tower of London, Windsor and Castle Howard. However, we much prefer the smaller, unsung houses. In that light, I’d like to give a ringing endorsement to a house which captivated us like no other, Little Moreton Hall. We went on a beautiful fall day and were swept away. Beginning with the walk in over the moat, into the courtyard and then the chapel [pictured] and finally upstairs into the Long Gallery we spent hours happily examining every detail. The decorative woodwork outside and interior friezes are stunning but I could never get enough of gazing out of the ancient Tudor glass in those many windows and endeavoring to take photos from them. I’m writing today to reminisce…

• Watching from the sidelines when our conservation specialists worked with the film crew to ensure the safety of Kedleston Hall’s historic interior when Keira Knightley’s wig had to catch fire in The Duchess. It was a tad terrifying. • Attending a recce with the legendary Ridley Scott at Ashridge to plan exact locations and logistics for Robin Hood. He needed to find somewhere to put some ‘medieval hovels’ and the National Trust was happy to oblige. • Sitting in the cinema, watching Mr Darcy propose to Lizzie Bennet at Stourhead’s Temple of Apollo. We’d set up the shoot 14 months before and with the setting, the view and the rain machines galore we knew it was going to be beautiful. It certainly didn’t disappoint.…

Cliveden House A historic and glamorous hotel with a staggering array of famous past guests, set in extensive National Trust parkland. www.clivedenhouse.co.uk Beaverbrook Visitors to this stylish country-house hotel in Surrey feel like guests at one of Lord Beaverbrook’s intimate house parties. www.beaverbrook.co.uk Hever Castle B&B A magical opportunity to stay on the Hever Castle estate in Kent, whose luxury B&B rooms are big on Tudor atmosphere. www.hevercastle.co.uk Ockenden Manor The splendid spa is the jewel in the crown of this Elizabethan manor in Sussex. www.hshotels.co.uk Pennyhill Park This Surrey spa hotel wins on all fronts, with comfortable and airy rooms, Michelin-starred dining and a swanky spa. www.exclusive.co.uk Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons This 15th-century manor in Oxfordshire is full of the flair of its world-famous maître de maison, Raymond Blanc.…

GETTING THERE AND AROUND Kemble is the nearest station and trains travel here directly from London taking about 1hr 15min. Bus no. 882 runs from Kemble into town about every hour, taking about 20min. Cirencester’s Civic Society lead daily town walks from April to October, or you can book a private tour online. www.thetrainline.com; www.bustimes.org; www.ccsoc.org.uk EAT, DRINK, SLEEP Located on a quiet residential street near the Market Place and church, the Corinium Hotel is a former Elizabethan wool merchant’s house with 15 characterful rooms. For a light lunch in town, head to New Brewery Arts, where you can also browse and buy works by independent artists, makers and designers, from jewellery to homeware. And to experience the roaring fire and friendly hospitality of a classic Cotswolds country pub, book…

Spend a long weekend in a certain patch of southern Suffolk, nestled along the River Stour and its tributaries, and you’d be forgiven for thinking you had slipped back in time. The five towns of Sudbury, Lavenham, Long Melford, Clare and Hadleigh seem to encapsulate an England of yesteryear, with their market squares, winding streets lined with crooked timber-framed houses and often disproportionately grand churches. These ‘wool towns’ owe their architectural appeal to the boom and bust they experienced as centres of the medieval wool trade. In the 15th century, these quiet villages became hubs of feverish industry, with much of the work to produce woollen cloth taking place within local people’s homes. As the region flourished, impressive houses, guildhalls and churches sprang up – and almost all remain standing,…

Somerleyton Hall hunkers handsomely in 12 acres of ornamental gardens amid the broad, flat landscape of East Anglia. A Jacobean manor built in 1610, it was elaborately remodelled as an Italianate mansion by the Victorian entrepreneur Sir Samuel Morton Peto, who for years was the biggest employer of labour in the world; his construction firm built many of London’s most famous buildings and monuments, including Nelson’s Column and the Houses of Parliament. No expense was spared: Peto chose Prince Albert’s architect John Thomas to transform the house, and paintings were specially commissioned for its interior. One of the two towers that dominates the facade has a clock by Benjamin Vulliamy, whose design was originally entered in a competition for the clocktower at the Houses of Parliament (losing out, of course,…