The box office opened this week for one of Britain’s most enduring sporting events: the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials 2015 (May 7–10). Last year, the cross-country course was given a radical overhaul by Giuseppe della Chiesa, only the fourth course-designer in the event’s 66-year history and the first from overseas.
Not every competitor had the smoothest of rides over the Italian’s new fences—notable scalps included Mary King, William Fox-Pitt, Pippa Funnell, Sir Mark Todd and Andrew Nicholson—but, to their credit, the riders didn’t complain about the upgraded test and voted Badminton the best horse trials of 2014 in the L’Année Hippique awards.
Advance ticket prices start at £12.50 plus car parking (01454 218375; www.badminton-horse.co.uk).
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'I have lost a treasure, such a sister, such a friend as never can have been surpassed': Inside Jane Austen's Winchester home, the house where she penned her final words and drew her final breathJane Austen spent the last days of her life in rented lodgings in Winchester, Hampshire. Adam Rattray describes the remarkable recent discoveries made about the house in which she died.
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An utterly charming island home in Scotland with gardens so beautiful they made the cover of Country LifeAn Cala on the Isle of Seil has a fascinating history that is only enhanced by its amazing setting.
