Ah, the sweet smell of spring is finally here. Flowers are beginning to bloom, the sun has started to shine and there is hope on the horizon for a great British summer!
I’m sure you’ll agree that spending so many months at home has only made our adventurous, curious hearts grow fonder with a passion for travel and exploration.
I will appreciate my upcoming travel trips so much more, and it has only made my job as travel Editor, and the content in our latest issue, seem even more special than usual!
Lockdown might have put a stop to many things, but it certainly hasn’t stopped the travel industry preparing to ensure a super fun and warm welcome once it is safe for visitors to return. From new hotels and luxury spas, exciting holiday resorts full of adventure and off-grid activities, luxury boutique stays in acres of unspoilt countryside and coastline, brand new attractions to immersive one-of-a-kind experiences – it seems there has perhaps never been a better time to explore the British Isles!
With so much ‘British staycation’ wanderlust flying about we couldn’t resist compiling our Ultimate British Bucket List. Deep in the West Dorset countryside we Meet the Makers behind the world’s only vodka made from cows’ milk. We uncover 10 of the most wonderful places to visit in Yorkshire and discover that there’s much more than just Cheddar Cheese and ancient apple orchards to Somerset’s epicurean offering in The Rise of Food and Drink. In search of beautiful destinations where social distancing is made easy, you won’t find better than a remote Sea Garden Cottage on the white sandy shores of Tresco island, a luxury family stay in the heart of Suffolk’s rolling countryside at The Ickworth or a whisky tour around the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, Islay - the Lord of the Isles.
Wherever, and whenever, you next plan to take a holiday in the British Isles, we hope British Travel Journal continues to deliver as your indispensable travel magazine, and wish you a safe and seamless journey full of wonderful memories.
7 BEST TOWN RICHMOND James Herriot, author of All Creatures Great & Small told the story of a man from Richmond going to heaven only to be told by St Peter that he might find his new home a bit disappointing. The market town of Richmond at the foot of Swaledale is truly gorgeous and full of elegant Georgian houses that teeter down steep wynds (streets) towards the river Swale. It’s dominated by the 100-foot keep of a huge Norman castle that was completed here in 1086. Scolland’s Hall, a residential building within the castle complex is one of the oldest buildings in England and the castle’s outer bailey is now the town’s market place. Today Richmond has a working cinema in its old railway station and a tiny Theatre Royal which dates back to 1788 and has recently been restored to its original Georgian colour scheme. Not surprisingly Richmond is also a popular base from which to explore the Yorkshire Dales National Park of Swaledale, Wharfedale and Wensleydale. richmond.org/guide 6 BEST HOTEL MIDDLETHORPE HALL & SPA Middlethorpe Hall is one of the National Trust’s Yorkshire gems, a sublime example of William and Mary architecture. It was constructed in expensive red brick in 1699 for Thomas Barlow, a wealthy Sheffield industrialist.Thomas sited it close to the main road into York so no one could fail to notice his wealth. When the Barlow family went on the Grand Tour in 1712 they let their house to Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, who had just eloped with her new husband Edward. He was soon appointed the British ambassador to Constantinople and after their departure she went on to be an eminent Georgian woman of letters. Today the house and its chequered marble floors are furnished with eighteenth-century antiques and – delightfully – it doubles as a hotel run by the Historic House Hotels group. There are ten bedrooms in the house itself, 16 in the adjoining eighteenth-century stable block courtyard and three cottages in the grounds. The hotel’s wood-panelled Oak Room is one of the most glamorous restaurants in the York area. middlethorpe.com à BritishTravelJournal.com 69
