Oxfordshire has long perfected the art of looking effortlessly clever. This is where honey-coloured buildings meet ancient libraries, punts drift under low bridges, and grand …
Exploring Oxfordshire – spires, villages and the art of looking clever
Museums
Birmingham, the city that built everything and brags about nothing
Birmingham doesn’t always shout about itself. That’s one big reason why I like it so much. While London blares and Manchester struts, Brum gets on …
Cardiff for the curious, a capital with character
There are capital cities that feel like they are performing for you and there are others that simply invite you in for a chat and …
Top 10 reasons to visit The West Midlands, from Peaky Blinders to Cadbury bars
The West Midlands has always been a place of industry and invention, where things were hammered, smelted, cast and riveted with a kind of cheerful …
Kenwood House: art, architecture and Hampstead Heath views
Perched at the edge of Hampstead Heath, with sweeping views that have tempted generations of painters, poets and daydreamers, Kenwood House is one of London’s …
How to look clever in 48 hours, spend a weekend in Cambridge
There are cities that whisper their history politely and there are cities like Cambridge that hurl it at you with a sense of giddy academic …
County Durham is where England mixes grandeur with grit
County Durham sits quietly in England’s northeast, somewhere close to the wilds of Northumberland and the bustle of Tyne and Wear. It is a county …
Glasgow from shipbuilding grit to cultural grit
Glasgow doesn’t always get the press it deserves. Edinburgh has the skyline and the castle and the festival that turns the city into a human …
JMW Turner, the man who painted with light
JMW Turner didn’t just paint landscapes, he lit them on fire. Not literally, of course, though he was fond of a dramatic blaze or two. …
Why Hull deserves a second look
Hull is the sort of place that gets described with a smirk or a shrug. People think they know it, or think they don’t want …