Train Landscape , 1940, watercolour on paper, 17¼in ...

After visiting Ireland on a painting holiday, Sue and Mark Gilkey decided to take the plunge and buy a traditional cottage there with an inspiring coastal setting, and sweeping views of the sea

For artist Nellie Shepherd, the landscape outside her painstakingly renovated farmhouse is just as important as the colourful scene inside it

Catherine Clarke A History of England in 25 Poems400pp. Allen Lane. £25. Mark Forsyth Rhyme and ReasonA short history of poetry and people (forpeople who don’t usually read poetry)368pp. Allen & Unwin

A rich mix of bold colour, unique finds and abstract art converge in the weatherboard coastal cottage of artist Caroline Yates

The garden of Penns in the Rocks, near Tunbridge Wells, East Sussex The home of Hugh and Frances Gibson