Discover Britain

Celebrating the best of our nation, every issue of Discover Britain is packed with features from history to travel. Read about the events that changed history, as well as British traditions and their origins, or be inspired for your next trip with great ideas for where to go and what to see. Whether you’re planning a weekend city break or an escape to the countryside, Discover Britain is your essential guide to getting the most out of your stay.

Welcome!

Letters

GET IN TOUCH!

Discover Britain

Wish you were here... • Inspiring postcards from around the British Isles

Britain’s best villages • Small yet perfectly formed, these quaint settlements are a concise vision of the very best our nation has to offer. Florence Sheward picks nine of the best to visit

Pomp & Ceremony • Whether you’re here for the military precision or elegant fashion, Britain’s annual season of royal pageantry peaks this Jubilee year, Jenny Rowe explains

PARADE CALENDAR

MY BRITAIN

Fall from GRACE • The downfall of Anne Boleyn was swift and brutal. Yet 500 years after Henry VIII’s second wife joined the royal household, Natalie Marchant asks whether justice was served

Sign of the Times • The centuries-old British tradition of hand-painted pub signs is under threat. Jenny Rowe speaks to signwriter Andrew Grundon about his passion for this lost art

City of Culture • Styling itself as “the second city of the Empire”, Glasgow developed a formidable reputation for culture during the Victorian era which continues today, as Florence Sheward discovers

Treasure Trove • Far from being a bruised and battle-worn fortress, Powis Castle is an elegant, historic palace filled with world-class art and artefacts, says Sally Hales

HISTORIC TOWNS HASTINGS • Continuing our guides to Britain’s most fascinating old towns, we head to the south coast of England and a historic battleground that gave birth to a surprising invention

Heart of Stones • Christopher Beanland explores Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter, an overlooked gem of an area in the English Midlands full of sparkling history and industrial heritage

THE COLERIDGE WAY • Romantic poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge wandered the wild landscape of England’s southwest in search of inspiration. Sally Hales discovers where he found it...

The Mildenhall Treasure • Discover why it took author Roald Dahl to convince experts that this Roman hoard was not what it seemed