| | | | | | Dear Reader, | The author Katherine Rundell once told me she liked my coat. I didn't realise it was her at the time, otherwise I would have made damn sure I'd coralled her into conversation – and more than just about coats. My children had been introduced to her at primary school, clutching copies of Roof Toppers in their jammy hands. I also had the deepest pleasure of reading my son The Golden Mole at bedtime, quite the most enchanting book since Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories and, most recently, her book Impossible Creatures was just chosen by Queen Camilla to be given to every Year 6 primary school child in the UK this Christmas. Rundell is a rare creature – you'll find out exactly why in our upcoming Sept/Oct edition of Country & Town House (buy your subscription here). Just as exciting though is that you have a chance to see her in the flesh as she will be appearing at our Chelsea Arts Festival this September – her appeal transcends age (she wrote an exquisite biography of John Donne). Tickets are selling fast, so get yours now. | | Lucy Cleland
Editorial Director | | | Staying In | COPY: Clare Balding’s Perfect Night In | | Staying in this weekend? Make like Clare Balding and kick off your Friday evening with a ‘big, but not very strong, gin and tonic.’ She continues, ‘I’d want to be with Alice [Clare’s wife] obviously, and I’d want to sit outside… and look at a beautiful scene, whether it be a river, or woods, or a lovely garden, and have a nice cool drink and shoot the breeze, just chat. That would be on a summer’s evening, that would be perfect. Reading a good book, or watching sport on the telly.’ On her reading list: Douglas Stewart’s new book Deadly Mindset, The Names by Florence Knapp, and Anneka Rice’s autobiography Challenge. On TV, she’s been loving I, Jack Wright on BBC iPlayer – ‘it’s about a will being disputed and a massive family saga, which made me laugh’ – and is excited for the return of Ted Lasso on Apple TV (5 August). | DRINK: Orange Wine | | Orange wine remains one of the trendiest drinks of summer this year – yet it’s still one of the most misunderstood. Turns out the wine is actually made from white grapes rather than orange: winemakers ferment the crushed grapes, alongside their skins, seeds, and sometimes stems, instead of pressing white grapes and immediately removing the skins. So how to pick a good bottle? ‘Although I normally firmly say don’t judge a wine by its colour, in the case of orange wine, sometimes it helps, especially when you don’t have a sommelier to hand,’ says Nell Watson, head of beverage at West London’s Clipstone. ‘Generally speaking, the longer the maceration, the deeper the colour of the wine. If you want something lighter, with gentler tannins and an approachable introduction to orange wine, go for something with a slight orange hue to it.’ Find our full sommelier’s guide here. | READ: Emily Wilson’s Crossing the Wine-Dark Sea | | Classicist Emily Wilson has made headlines in recent weeks for slating Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster adaptation of The Odyssey – for which the director, for better or worse, cited Wilson’s lucid 2017 translation as an inspiration. She wryly tells Country & Town House: ‘It’s been fun to get to talk to so many different people about Homer! I never get tired of rereading, thinking about and discussing the Odyssey, and it’s really fun to realise that, thanks to Christopher Nolan, many more people feel the same way.’ Whichever side of the culture war you land on, there’s no denying classical literature is in the spotlight – which makes Wilson’s latest publication, Crossing the Wine-Dark Sea, your perfect next read. Published earlier this summer, it scrutinises the role of the translator across a series of essays that span Homer to Cardi B, Helen of Troy to Han Kang. Out now, bookshop.org | | Going Out | BOOK: A Stay At Boringdon Hall | C&TH Partnership | | If you’re craving some R&R, book a spa break at five-star Devon hotel Boringdon Hall. The state-of-the-art Gaia spa is its centrepiece, complete with a heated indoor pool, al fresco hot tubs, saunas and steam rooms, plus a terrace decked out with sun loungers. The Signature Spa Breaks can be booked for one, two, three or four nights, and include breakfast, fitness and wellbeing classes, and a rejuvenating 60-minute treatment – choose from an array of facials, massages and rituals. Aside from the spa, marvel at the historic hotel’s beautiful period features, and have dinner at the Michelin-starred Àclèaf, which overlooks the grand Great Hall and showcases creative British cuisine. Book at boringdonhall.co.uk | GO: On A Country Walk | | Make the most of the sunny weather with a big country walk. If you’re up for a long one, Clare recommends the Dales Way: ‘It starts in Ilkley and finishes over in the Lake District, and you’re going to get the most amazing experience.’ She’s a big fan of walking in Wales too. ‘The Pembrokeshire coast is fabulous. They’ve got lots of castles as well; I like a castle. I’d never really been to Cornwall before I started doing Ramblings and there’s brilliant walks there, the north coast particularly, but the south coast is lovely too.’ A post-walk pub trip is of course obligatory – Clare is ordering a chicken, bacon and avocado salad in the summer, or a roast in the winter. | VISIT: Cowes Week | | Taking to the Isle of Wight’s waters every August, Cowes Week is one of the oldest regattas in the world – and in its 200th year, 2026 is the perfect time to visit this seaside extravaganza. Sun- and sea-soaked and centring on the thrilling world of competitive sailing, more than 1,000 boats typically make their way to Cowes for the extravaganza, which commences every morning at 10am with the bang of an old school cannon. One of the best locations to watch the starts ashore each morning is the area between the Castle of the Royal Yacht Squadron and the cannons – don’t mind loud bangs, do you? You can also hear the race officers giving their countdowns and calling the starts from the Royal Yacht Squadron battlements. To stay overnight? The Montagu Arms in Hampshire, just over the bay in the pretty village of Beaulieu. 1 – 7 August 2026, find our full guide here | | Share This Newsletter With A Friend | | | | Staying in Forever… | Property Of The Week | | ‘The name’s Bond, James Bond.’ It was at this Lake Como villa that audiences first heard Daniel Craig utter these iconic lines in Casino Royale (2006). Home to the film’s antagonist Mr White, now’s your chance to buy up a piece of cinema history with an apartment in Villa La Gaeta. | €1.2–1.4 million, italy-sothebysrealty.com | | Competition Time | | | | Psssst… | Dua Lipa has revealed the line-up for her curation of the London Literature Festival. Returning from 21 October – 1 November 2026, the festival will see the singer interviewing author Zadie Smith, discussing her 2004 novel White Teeth. | | | | Sign up for 12 print issues and instant access to every digital edition for only £39 |
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