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British Heritage
HistoryWATCH: Rare 1955 film reveals the royal family’s grand return to ScotlandRestored British Pathé footage captures Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip and their children arriving in Aberdeen aboard the royal yacht Britannia.
TravelTen museums that bring Britain’s industrial revolution roaring back to lifeFrom blast furnaces to slate caverns, these ten sites trace how coal, iron and steam built modern Britain.
HistoryWhen German bombs hit Buckingham Palace on Friday the 13thFive high explosive bombs struck the royal residence in September 1940, testing the monarchy's resolve at the height of the Blitz.
HistoryThe remarkable life of Eleanor of Aquitaine, queen of two kingdomsShe outlived two husbands, buried a son, freed another from ransom and shaped Europe well into her eighties.
HistoryThe real “Downton Abbey”, what life was actually like for servants below stairsBehind the grandeur of Britain's stately homes, an army of servants worked from dawn to midnight under a strict hierarchy of their own.
TravelThe Mayflower didn’t sail from Plymouth. It really began in South LondonLong before it became a household name in America, the ship set off from a quiet stretch of the Thames in Rotherhithe.
TravelSix days across Scotland by train, from Edinburgh’s Royal Mile to the HighlandsA leisurely rail itinerary links Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Inverness, tracing Scotland's coastline, castles and Highland glens without ever needing to drive.
HistoryAlfred the Great, the West Saxon king who built the England we know todayNearly 1,200 years after his death, Alfred remains the only English monarch history has ever called Great.
TravelArbroath, the Scottish harbour town where independence was declared in 1320This North Sea fishing port blends Iron Age roots, abbey ruins and fresh smokies into a memorable day trip in Angus, Scotland.
HistoryOnce the roof of the poor, English thatching is now a luxury craft for the wealthy fewOnce reserved for humble cottages, thatched roofs now signal wealth and taste across the English countryside, kept alive by a handful of master thatchers using centuries old tools and techniques.