A century of royal photography
The exhibition 'Royal Portraits: A Century of Photography' was one of the hits of the season last summer during its run at Buckingham Palace. Now the people of Scotland will have a chance to enjoy it as it opens at The King’s Gallery, Palace of Holyroodhouse this morning, 28 February, running until 7 September 2025.
Cecil Beaton, Proofs of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip on Coronation Day, 1953
The exhibition charts royal portrait photography from the 1920s to the present day, showing some of the most famous royal photographs of all time — including Hugo Burnand's coronation pictures of King Charles III, and Snowdon's gorgeous portrait of Princess Margaret in 1967.
Perhaps best of all, though, are the exhibits which tell the stories behind the creation of some of the most iconic images of the Royal Family. There are proofs of unseen Cecil Beaton images taken on the wedding day of the late Queen Elizabeth II to Prince Philip, for example — and a fascinating behind-the-scenes snapshot from the day that Julian Calder captured her late majesty wearing full regalia in the middle of the Highlands back in 2010.
A snapshot reproduced on an information panel within the exhibition gives a behind-the-scenes insight into the sitting.
Total wreck for sale. Several very careless owners. £695,000.
A three-bedroom farmhouse in Wales for... almost £700k? That's the headline that has been doing the rounds about this house for sale via agents John Francis Cardigan.
Posted by JohnFrancisEstateAgents on
The reality is that the house — which has lain derelict of a quarter of a century — is just a tiny part of a property that includes 132 green, rolling acres not far from the pretty North Wales coast at Cardigan.
If you're feeling brave don't mind a complete rebuild project, then it's a pretty delightful-looking slice of Planet Earth at the same money that you'd pay for a three-bedroom home in Woking.
Access nearly all areas
We've written and spoken a lot about access to the land of late — most recently in fascinating podcast with Patrick Galbraith earlier this week. So this post from the NFU about how farmers are engaging with the issue and doing their bit to make things better is great to see.
This is the age of the beautiful vintage train
If the Queen in the Highlands has whetted your appetite for a monarchy-themed trip north of the border, you're in luck. Captain's Choice have an exclusive charter trip aboard The Royal Scotsman at the end of April.
You'll kick off with dinner in Edinburgh Castle before spending a few days aboard the luxurious train, heading north from the capital, crossing the Highlands, and heading back. If you have more time on your hands, you can hop straight from the train journey on to a 14-day cruise around the British Isles on board Silver Endeavour. Find out more and see the full itinerary here.
The trip leaves on 28 April 2025. The rail leg costs £12,300 per person, based on two sharing, while rail plus cruise is £22,300.
Hundreds of millions of pounds' worth of vintage cars, and all anyone wants to look at are the cute dogs
Rosie Paterson went to The ICE event in St Moritz expecting to see cool cars (in every sense). She did, but the real stars turned out to have four legs rather than four wheels. Read about it here.
That's it for this week — Dawn Chorus is back on Monday
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Merlins: Britain's smallest bird of prey is a 'swerving, zigzagging, 240mph weighted missile' that's gutsy enough to chase off a golden eagleSize doesn’t matter when it comes to the fighting spirit of the tiny merlin, a fierce parent and favoured hunting accessory of Mary, Queen of Scots.
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The greatest moment in the life of Jessie Owens: Country Life Quiz of the Day, June 13, 2025Breathtaking athleticism and Shakespeare's birthday are among the questions in the final quiz of the week.
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What do 32 pigeons, 38 dogs, four horses and one cat have in common? They've all been awarded a Dicken medal, and now you can have one tooPunch and Judy, two brave boxer dogs, saved the lives of British officers in Palastine. Now Judy's PDSA Dickin Medal will go under the hammer at Noonans on June 11.
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Forget catnip, it's all about catmintNepeta, the highly aromatic and pretty perennial beloved of so many country gardens, may be your feline’s favourite fix, but we should be wary of its root, warns Deborah Nicholls-Lee
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‘It's a bit like a pub, but without the requirement of being drunk’: Why we’re all hot for a countryside saunaThe sauna is the latest wellness trend — especially one immersed in Nature. Lotte Brundle dips into why the pastime has been heating up.
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'When you are blind, your physical world is only as far as your arms can reach, but with my guide dog, my world is limitless'Tubby little bundles of joy, guide-dog puppies may be irresistibly sweet, but they’ve been expertly engineered to perform life-changing duties, discovers Katy Birchall.
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Arthur Parkinson: Ruffled feathers and a bad attitude — my guide on how to deal with broody hensA chicken's desire to sit on and hatch a clutch of eggs can be the most effortless way to rear your own birds, but for those who are after eggs and not chicks it can be a real issue.
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'We don’t expect to catch monsters in British seas': The return of the bluefin tunaIt’s no longer necessary to venture to tropical waters in order to catch a monster tuna, says Jonathan Young, as he attempts to land a big-game fish in Falmouth Bay.
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From 'Gerroff my land' to 'Get on my land': Farmers are keen to set the record straight with Open Farm Sunday 2025The event — which sees farmers throw open their gates to visitors — returns for its 19th year on Sunday, June 8 with hundreds of farms across Britain will be taking part.
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Goodwoof: 'The remarkable thing is how few incidents of biting there are, from dogs and owners'Now in its 4th year, Goodwoof could be the canine Glastonbury. Charles Gordon-Lennox, the Duke of Richmond, reveals some of the secrets of its success.
