The Grand Union Canal, a serene sanctuary amid the urban sprawl
It was a Saturday afternoon in September, the end of summer, and I was feeling sorry for myself. I’d gone…
Too cool for school: beware ‘trendy’ teachers
Pupils are let down by ‘trendy’ teachers, says William Cook
A bridge to the past: Tintagel’s complex history
Halfway across the brand new bridge that links the two halves of Tintagel Castle, there’s a gap where you can…
Windermere, a voyage into Swallows and Amazons
‘A love of boats and sailing is the surest of all passports to a happy life,’ wrote Arthur Ransome. Standing…
Newmarket, where the fastest horses in the world thunder past
Standing on Warren Hill in the morning mist, watching Britain’s finest thoroughbreds thunder past, you realise what makes Newmarket so…
Taking the God option: why I send my children to C of E schools
Why I send my children to C of E schools – William Cook
I watched Jadon Sancho grow up. That’s why I know he’s Britain’s next footballing megastar
Even at eight, it was clear that Jadon Sancho would be special
In Constable’s ascension, Jesus just looks quite awkward
Constable painted only three religious paintings, and when you see the one in St Mary’s Church in Dedham you realise…
Auberon Waugh — a demon on the page, an angel off it
Auberon Waugh was happy to admit that most journalism is merely tomorrow’s chip paper but, of all the journalists of…
Beautiful untamed Trieste, aka the Capital of Nowhere
Trieste’s mongrel heritage and stunning location make it an unbeatable city, says William Cook
Jackie Stewart: Why I’m haunted by Formula 1 deaths
Jackie Stewart is proud of winning 27 Grands Prix — but even prouder of his one-man safety crusade, says William Cook
Dreams of utopia before the Nazi nightmare
Today Munich is a prosperous and peaceful place — Germany’s most affluent, attractive city. Wandering its leafy avenues, lined with…
Bustling, buoyant Riga is a Baltic bright spot
Riga is bustling and buoyant but wary of Russian sabre-rattling, says William Cook
The Yorkshire town that’s gone from dirty old buildings to New Age nirvana
Bernard Ingham once told a story about a reporter from the Financial Times who went to cover an election in…
Why football is a league for gentlemen
The idea that posh boys can’t play football has always been wrong, says William Cook
Hastings is pretty – but it’s the people who make it special
Kevin Boorman loves Hastings, and his enthusiasm is infectious. He was born here, he’s lived here all his life and…
Why Sebastian Kurz is Europe’s most important politician
Austria assumes the Presidency of the Council of the European Union this Sunday, and normally the response among rightminded Britons…
The great outdoors is a short walk from your front door
When I read about the author on the flyleaf of this book, I must admit my heart sank: ‘Tristan has…
Big cities are all alike – it's in New Jersey’s small towns that you feel like you’re really travelling
When my American friends invited us to stay with them in New Jersey, my 13-year-old daughter was thrilled. She’d never…
Becoming German has helped me understand Brexit
My new passport has helped me understand Brexiteers
The art that got away
Many masterpieces have been stolen or destroyed over the centuries, but it’s the ones that vanish which hold a special fascination. William Cook reports
Southend-on-Sea has long been a running joke – until now
Standing at the end of Britain’s longest pier, on a cold and misty morning, looking out across the Thames Estuary,…
Young, dynamic – and a pragmatist: meet Sebastian Kurz
Austria’s young Chancellor is building bridges with the populists, writes William Cook
Marx in Trier
‘Trier hates you,’ reads the graffiti outside the Karl-Marx-Wohnhaus in Trier. Actually, that’s a bit unfair. Trier doesn’t hate Marx,…
The wild, wintry wonders of Lapland
William Cook on the beauty and raw power of Lapland’s natural world
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