Survivors from another age
Country Life UK|October 07, 2020
Two National Trust properties bask in a glorious Indian summer’s day
Fiona Reynolds
Survivors from another age

ON a divine September day, I’m heading for south Warwickshire. This little corner of England, deep in the ancient Forest of Arden, has a surprisingly low profile. The setting for Shakespeare’s As You Like It and still scattered with remnants of ancient woodland, it’s protected by Birmingham’s green belt and is a quiet place full of secrets and surprises.

Two of those surprises are glorious National Trust manor houses, survivors from another age, and we’re going to walk between them. They still sit in their historic landscapes, but now nestle among their modern equivalents, for this is a place where today’s prosperous Midlanders also like to live.

This story is from the October 07, 2020 edition of Country Life UK.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the October 07, 2020 edition of Country Life UK.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM COUNTRY LIFE UKView All
Love and logic
Country Life UK

Love and logic

Two lovers who endured adversity and separation in life would become united in Paris after death, discovers Eileen Reid

time-read
3 mins  |
March 27, 2024
Don't mock them
Country Life UK

Don't mock them

Plant a philadelphus, or mock orange, now for improbably lovely scent and cascades of sparkling blossom this summer, says John Hoyland

time-read
3 mins  |
March 27, 2024
Home is where the art is
Country Life UK

Home is where the art is

No trouble is too much for the Marquess of Cholmondeley to display to best effect Sir Antony Gormley's sculptures against the magnificent backdrop of Houghton Hall, even if it means cutting a hole in the floor, as Charlotte Mullins discovers

time-read
6 mins  |
March 27, 2024
Bold and beautiful
Country Life UK

Bold and beautiful

The gardens at Broughton Grange, Oxfordshire The home of Sir Stephen and Lady Hester An arboretum, woodland garden, stumpery and heather garden all planted for artistic effect are among the many features that mark out this exciting garden, says Charles Quest-Ritson

time-read
6 mins  |
March 27, 2024
Land of liquid gold
Country Life UK

Land of liquid gold

Greek cuisine-from delicious mezes to shellfish-might be 'tightly bound to the sparse soil and the blue sea', but it is sorely underrated, laments Tom Parker Bowles

time-read
4 mins  |
March 27, 2024
An old way of life in rural France
Country Life UK

An old way of life in rural France

Arcadian tranquillity, a wealth of cultural richness and a slow pace of life enchant John Lewis-Stempel as he reflects on his existence in France profonde

time-read
5 mins  |
March 27, 2024
Deep in Hardy country
Country Life UK

Deep in Hardy country

Hardy's beguilingly pretty Wessex is the setting for three houses with links to people and places that fuelled the writer's imagination

time-read
5 mins  |
March 27, 2024
The benefit of foresight
Country Life UK

The benefit of foresight

The ability to anticipate the future is the secret of a successful building project

time-read
1 min  |
March 27, 2024
Nature's rarest gems
Country Life UK

Nature's rarest gems

G. Collins & Sons specialises in the sourcing and setting of the finest natural fancy coloured diamonds the world has to offer

time-read
2 mins  |
March 27, 2024
A prickly subject
Country Life UK

A prickly subject

Resembling a jumbo jacket potato on surprisingly long, scurrying legs, the hedgehog is Britain’s favourite mammal. Marianne Taylor takes a closer look beneath its spines

time-read
5 mins  |
March 27, 2024