Comfortable seclusion is on offer at three historic houses, each beautifully presented and set in glorious landscapes worthy of God’s own county

To walk around a midwinter garden on a fine day when everything has shrunk down to its essential elements is like walking around a gallery. You can take your time, see things with fresh eyes and be ch

Bucklesham Hall, Bucklesham, Ipswich, Suffolk. A renovated, 15th-century hall set in formal gardens with spring-fed lakes, including one with a Japanese-style bridge and an island. It has beamed ceili

Christine Faughlin sings the praises of a converted chapel on the 30,000-acre Bolton Abbey estate in the Yorkshire Dales

I’m sceptical about news stories you sometimes read of big black cats roaming the countryside. I was, however, tempted to don my boots for a hike I found on the internet titled In the Footsteps of the

Three historic country houses in Yorkshire, a stone’s throw from the most northerly of Britain’s 16 white chalk horses, offer comfortable contemporary living and fascinating backstories