The grand, sweeping staircases of old country houses are loaded with centuries of architectural, romantic and ghostly allure, reveals Melanie Cable-Alexander

Something to say? This is your platform...

Gracing the banks of the River Thames, this exquisite gem survived the Civil War thanks to a shrewd political operator, and is one of the finest Stuart houses in the country

Boxes, poles, chairs and belts combine to carry skiers to the top of snowy mountains

Will and Sarah Leslie inherited a baronial-style castle in poor repair, and are slowly turning it into a fantasy family home

Castlethorpe sits mid-way between London and Birmingham in the Buckinghamshire countryside on the West Coast main line just north of Wolverton. It witnessed the very beginnings of the railway age as t