Icons of England

Contents Foreword HRH The Prince of Wales Introduction – Bill Bryson In Search of England's Gnomes – Katie Adie A Place in the Country – George Alagiah From Pillar to Post – Peter Ashley From Little Acorns – Clive Aslet Rural Rides – Paul Atterbury Where the River Meets the Sea – Joan Bakewell Time to Stand Alone – Muhammad Abdul Bari Sighting the Stubble Stag – Simon Barnes 'Summer Is Icumen In' – Laura Barton Through the Lychgate – Sister Wendy Beckett Ghost Orchids – Antony Beevor The Call of the Grouse – David Bellamy Let's Talk About the Weather – Floella Benjamin Senses and Sensibility – Richard Benson Sticking the Wicket – Scyld Berry A Personal View – Harold 'Dickie' Bird An Ordinary Beauty – Terence Baker Love's Labours Won – Raymond Blanc Those Special Places – Ronald Blythe My Little Piece of History – Rosie Boycott The Final Frontier – Derry Brabbs Rutland How I Love Thee – Julia Bradbury In High Places – Melvyn Bragg Rural Development – Jo Brand The Urban Village – Vincent Cable The View from the Urals – Adrian Chiles What a Waste – Eric Clapton Back on Dry Land – Sue Clifford Rhyme and Reason – Wendy Cope All A Broad – Nicholas Crane Rebuilding the Past – Dan Cruickshank From the Trenches – General Sir Richard Dannatt Beside the Seaside – Jonathan Dimbleby A Passion for Meat – Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones Reading the Signs – Sebastian Faulks Another Time, Another Place – Bryan Ferry Riding High – Dick Francis A Conversation with Self – Trisha Goddard Defenders of Our Back Yards – Zac Goldsmith An Artist's Impression – Andy Goldsworthy Cherry Time – Henrietta Green Pastures New – Graham Harvey Bonfire Night – Tom Heap Following the Furrow – Paul Heiney Crossing Over – Leo Hickman The Tree Museum – Simon Hoggart How the Other Half Lives – Charlotte Hollins My Island – Elizabeth Jane Howard Against the Elements – Margaret Howell A Real Cliffhanger – Tristram Hunt Cathedrals of Sewage – Maxwell Hutchinson The Way Ahead – Kurt Jackson To the Manor Born – Simon Jenkins View over London – Terry Jones Older than England – Paul Kingsnorth Down Memory Lane – Miles Kington Earth Pilgrim – Satish Kumar Writing Stiles – David Lodge Bluebell Picnics – Gabby Logan Hidden Depths – Richard Mabey A Guardian of Beauty – Fiona MacCarthy The Road Taken – Robert MacFarlane Drawing the Line – Andrew Marr Scouring the Countryside – Peter Marren The Secret Kingdom of Marrowland – Simon Sebag Montefiore Fair Play – Brian Moore An Enduring Affair – Richard Muir My Corner Shop – Daljit Nagra Ancient Jewels – John Julius Norwich The Point of No Return – Sean O'Brien Living on the Edge – Michael Palin Taking Root – Jonathon Porritt Whatever the Weather – Gavin Pretor-Pinney Holding Back the Sea – Libby Purves Dig for Victory – Tony Robinson Smiling at the Neighbours – Alexei Sayle Paradise Found – John Sergeant The Bard's Own River – Antony Sher In Defence of Totnes – Lucy Siegle Forever Tranquil – Mary Smith Brave New World – Jon Snow A Slow Boat to Bristol – Kevin Spacey The Wild Dip – Rick Stein The Light of Day – Roy Strong Forbidden Fruits – Alice Temperley Poetry in Motion – Nigel Thompson This Land of Dreaming Spires – Simon Thurley Heaven in a Wild Flower – Alan Titchmarsh Alone on the Moors – Mark Tully Taking Flight – Charlie Waite The Dawn Chorus – Chris Watson Beautiful Evenings – Francis Wheen Alfred's Cakes – Michael Wood My Adventure Playground – Benjamin Zephaniah