For a British break with a twist, stay in a historic house September 20, 2009 HAVE you ever slept in a Tudor folly? I have, and very enjoyable it is too. Thanks to the Landmark Trust, the building conservation scheme that uses proceeds from guests to renovate and maintain old buildings, I stayed in one near Ipswich this summer. Organisations like the Landmark Trust and the National Trust, which also [...]
A Tudor folly with five floors, a great local and superlative views September 20, 2009 FRESTON Tower is located on the River Orwell near Ipswich – from its rooftop you can see the cargo ships approaching from miles off, making their leisurely way to and from the dramatic Orwell Bridge. The tower was built in 1578 by a wealthy Ipswich merchant called Thomas Gooding, though the exact reason for its [...]
For peace, nothing beats a lighthouse September 20, 2009 ON arriving at Bull Point lighthouse and its keepers’ cottages, we were left in no doubt as to why this spectacular spot on the north Devon cliffs was chosen for a lighthouse. The views out over the Bristol Channel are wonderful and on a clear day you can see both the Welsh coast and Lundy [...]
GREAT ESCAPES September 20, 2009 Gothic Temple, BucksThis exquisite temple was built in 1741 and now belongs to Stowe School. It has one of the most important and beautiful landscape gardens in the country: it is one of the last additions to the garden at Stowe formed for Lord Cobham by Charles Bridgeman and his successor, William Kent. That same [...]
Vitamin cocktails and mango soup: fashion food hits London September 20, 2009 LULU GUINNESS DESIGNER TEAThe Metropolitan Hotel, home of the original London Nobu, is delivering its fashion week offering in typical high style. Enter the Lulu Guinness designed “afternoon de-light treat” – a tea composed of edible accessories made from healthy ingredients. Expect low-fat lip, oversized rose and clutch-shaped cupcakes and cookies in anticipation of Guinness’s [...]
Oscar golden boy’s stab at indie rom com is just too hip by half September 17, 2009 FilmAWAY WE GOCert: 15 BURT and Verona are a couple of slacker thirtysomethings living in the middle of nowhere. She’s an illustrator, he sells insurance over the phone, and mostly they knock about their beat up, backwoods house wondering what the heck they’re going to do when Verona has her baby. Deciding they can’t stay [...]
OUT THIS WEEKEND PREVIEWS September 17, 2009 FILMGAMER Brain-dead sci-fi action gubbins starring Scotland’s Gerard Butler. THE FIRM Another week, another film about footy hoolies. Nothing to do with John Grisham. 31 NORTH, 62 EAST British thriller about a prime minister who betrays the SAS for an arms deal. DVDSTATE OF PLAY Hollywood remake of the BBC journalism and politics drama, with [...]
WATCH THOSE LEGGINGS September 17, 2009 Sara Hollamby Style CounselI WAS walking round my town’s centre the other day, and saw at least two young (ish) women wearing leggings with a strap top, that went down to to the waist. In other words, they were walking around quite a large shopping centre virtually in a pair of tights, with nothing covering [...]
FOCUS ON: BRAINTREE, ESSEX September 17, 2009 HORSESHOES, CRESSING, CM77 8PQPrice: £825,000Formerly an ale house and dating back to the 1400s, this Grade II-listed property is set in a village three miles from Braintree – one hour from Liverpool Street by train. The five-bedroom house has retained its period features but has been updated to make a modern home. Stables and a [...]
Great getaways for those who are bored of London September 17, 2009 DOCTOR Johnson was of the opinion that those who are tired of London are tired of life. But he didn’t have to deal with packed commuter trains, paying four quid for a pint of lager or being mown down by cycle couriers every time he crossed Fleet Street. For many modern inhabitants of the capital, [...]