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

Discover Britain

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

Queen Victoria’s SCOTLAND • From the “splendid spectacle” of Edinburgh to the privacy of the Highlands, the country “north of the border” provided a welcome escape for the great monarch, as Natalie Marchant explores

Gardens of Wiltshire • Florence Sheward tours the private estates and public gardens of this mystical county to find visions of utopia, Japanese tea houses and “dancing bears”

MY BRITAIN

DIGGING UP ROOTS • Genealogy has become big business, as more and more people are keen to establish British ancestry and find connections to the past. Diana Wright suggests the best places to start your research

START YOUR SEARCH • Here are five great ways to research your British ancestry online for free

Circle of Friends • Centred on poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson, the Freshwater Circle brought together some of Victorian Britain’s finest creative minds on the Isle of Wight, as Alison Hughes reveals

The Controversial King • Maligned by Shakespeare and despised by the Tudors, Richard III was a widely reviled king, yet should we treat his reputation as fact or fiction, asks Florence Sheward?

Ring the Bells • Jenny Rowe visits Britain’s last major bell foundry to discover how a devoted trust and young apprentices are safeguarding this ancient craft for future generations

Two-Part Palace • Half grand medieval palace and half Art Deco millionaire’s home, London’s Eltham Palace is a schizophrenic, compelling and unique place to visit, says Florence Sheward

HISTORIC TOWNS LEWES • Our series of guides to Britain’s most fascinating old towns heads to the county town of East Sussex, famed for its fiery celebrations, literary connections and rural charm

THE NORTHERN SAINTS • Continuing our series of self-guided walking or driving routes, David Atkinson makes a pilgrimage to Durham to explore new and ancient pathways of the saints

Becket’s Miracle Windows • After 350 years in the wrong order, this medieval masterpiece has finally been restored to its original design