Britain

Packed with 196-pages of the best attractions, days out, places to stay and food and drink destinations, the 2015 BRITAIN Guide is your definitive companion to getting the best out of your holiday. From forgotten medieval villages, to country houses within easy access of London and shopping areas for picking up quintessential gifts, you won’t want to leave home without it.

EDITOR'S LETTER

Britain

YOUR LETTERS • Write to us with your thoughts on the magazine and memories of Britain

The BULLETIN • Spotlight on a royal residence, gardens in bloom and a towering achievement

READING CORNER • Take inspiration for your British adventure from these great reads

Hills and Levels • With dramatic landscapes and ancient sites, cider farms and timewarp villages, a tour of rural Somerset is a delight

THE PLANNER

RETURN to DOWNTON • With a hotly anticipated film on the horizon, we meet Lady Carnarvon, chatelaine of the ‘real’ Downton Abbey

THE PLANNER

The GREAT ROYAL BABY RACE • On the 200th anniversary of Queen Victoria’s birth, we look back at her unusual path to the throne: a tale of bachelor dukes, hasty marriages and longed-for heirs

A LIFE IN OBJECTS • To celebrate Queen Victoria's 200th birthday, a major new exhibition is being launched at Kensington Palace

BOOK AHEAD

SUMMER OF SONG • In the warmer months, some of the country’s finest houses and gardens host dazzling opera performances

BOOK AHEAD

Regency BRIGHTON • Under the influence of the pleasure-loving Prince Regent, Brighton became a jewel of extravagant architecture

THE PLANNER

GREEN & PLEASANT • What better view can there be than over an idyllic garden in full bloom? Here are some of the most verdant places to stay this summer

BOOK AHEAD

ISLE of LEWIS • The beautiful Outer Hebrides – once a byword for remoteness – are more accessible than ever before

TRAVEL ESSENTIALS

A back in time • He was the greatest diarist of all time. Now, 350 years since his final journal entry, we uncover the colourful life of Samuel Pepys

On the trail of the MARCHER LORDS • The rural Marches, historic borderlands between England and Wales, still carry echoes of their frontier past in their romantic castles and medieval towns

THE PLANNER

WINCHESTER • Visit Britain’s largest farmer’s market, follow in Keats’s footsteps or go in search of Arthurian legend in England’s vibrant former capital

Winchester: cut-out-and- guide

Live like a local

David Livingstone • We follow in the footsteps of the Scottish missionary, explorer and all-round Victorian hero, who fought to end the slave trade