Not all those who wander are lost

Fantasy author JRR Tolkien’s mythological Middle Earth takes inspiration from a number of places in Gloucestershire and the West Midlands. Tolkien frequently visited the Forest of Dean and its tempera

The imagined gardens within the pages of our favourite books can seem as real as the flower beds outside our door. Here, author Sandra Lawrence explores three evocative literary landscapes

The connection between nature and creativity comes in many forms. Here, artists, writers and musicians talk about the different ways in which they take inspiration from the outdoors - and share the places that fuel their imagination

This week’s dream: the Waldorf Astoria glitters again ...

I’ve just returned from three magical days in the Lake District. Craggy mountains, mist over the fells, and the gentle hum of a Herdwick sheep or two. I stayed near Hill Top, once home to Beatrix Pott

Novels, for me, have come from somewhere I wasn’t looking. In my twenties I was carrying an idea about a woman wandering around Ireland on a quest she didn’t understand and I sat in the Reading Room o