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Special Report

Northern Europe and the British Isles

Explore the region's history, culture and natural wonders


Lofoten Islands, Norway Harry Zimmerman/Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest
The remains of the Bronze Age roundhouse are located in a park in Cardiff, the capital of Wales.

SMART NEWS

An Excavation in Wales Paints a Picture of Home Life 3,500 Years Ago

Íris Dröfn Guðmundsdóttir (left) and her cousin Anton Ingi Eiríksson release pufflings from the Hamarinn sea cliff on the Icelandic island of Heimaey.

SCIENCE

An Icelandic Town Goes All Out to Save Baby Puffins

The author and a friend paddled the 200-year-old Forth and Clyde Canal into the Union Canal. The two canals form a historic, 54-mile route that bisects Scotland.

TRAVEL

How Scotland Is Reinventing Its Centuries-Old Canals for Paddlers

Riders gallop during the Hawick Common Riding in Scotland.

TRAVEL

The Festival Where Scotland's Violent History Comes Back to Life

The London National Gallery will celebrate its 200th birthday on May 10, 2024.

HISTORY

At 200 Years Old, the London National Gallery Is Redefining What It Means to Be a 'National' Museum

Farmer Robert Tomlinson harvests forced rhubarb by candlelight on his farm in Pudsey, near Leeds in northern England, in January 2022. 

TRAVEL

The English Farmers Who Harvest Rhubarb by Candlelight

Hoyma, which means “home” in Syðrugøta’s local dialect of Faroese, has featured 20 concerts by ten different artists who set up in the living rooms of ten different family homes in Syðrugøta.<br />
 

TRAVEL

Hoyma Is Bringing Music Home in the Faroe Islands

The Crystal Palace Dinosaurs are the world’s first attempt to model prehistoric animals at full scale.

TRAVEL

How a Victorian Dinosaur Park Became a Time Capsule of Early Paleontology

<p>A church with a red roof and steeple sticks out against the sprawling landscape as the sun pokes through the hazy clouds.</p>

TRAVEL

Get an Eyeful of Iceland in These 15 Photos That Capture Its Natural Beauty

“It could take you a lifetime, or several lifetimes, to learn the history here,” says one member of the abbey staff. Left, the West Towers, completed in 1745.

HISTORY

The Grand History of Westminster Abbey

Svalbard reindeer graze during an early snowfall. If temperatures rise again, food may be trapped under ice during a critical time for packing on winter pounds.

SCIENCE

The World’s Smallest Reindeer Get Their Day in the Sun

<p>Photographed in 1979, the late Elizabeth II loved to spend time at Balmoral Castle.</p>

<p></p>

SMART NEWS

The Royal Family Is Opening Balmoral Castle to the Public For the First Time in History

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