Everything you might've missed last week — including the new Aston Martin

A lot has happened in the last few few days, from an Aston Martin reveal and new Rolex flagship store opening, to a case of mistaken identify at the Wallace Collection.

Soft top car driving through a mountain pass
(Image credit: Aston Martin)

Impressive horsepower

Last week, members of the public and press at Cheltenham Festival were treated to a first look of Aston Martin's new Vantage Roadster. Look out for a test drive and review on the Country Life the website in early May.


When the pupil becomes the master

Painting of Venice

(Image credit: The Wallace Collection)

When carrying out conservation work on its 18th-century Venetian paintings, staff at the Wallace Collection reappraised one of the vedute, The Grand Canal with San Simeone Piccolo, long thought to be by Canaletto, and attributed it instead to his nephew and pupil Bernardo Bellotto. He would have painted it when he was 16, making this the earliest known work by the Venetian artist.


London's right on time

Green and beige shop interior

(Image credit: Watches of Switzerland)

The Watches of Switzerland group opened up a brand new Rolex flagship store over the weekend — one of the largest in Europe.

The new site, on London's Old Bond Street, spans four floors and includes a Rolex exhibition celebrating some of the brand's best-loved models of the last 120 years. Timepieces available to purchase include the GMT Master II, Cosmograph Daytona, and Submariner models.


Beaver or not, here I come

Beaver being set free

(Image credit: James Dobson)

Last week, the National Trust released the first two pairs of Eurasian beavers into the wild, in the Purbeck area of Dorset, following Defra’s announcement in February that applications to return the semi-aquatic rodents into river catchments in England would be accepted.

Rosie Paterson

Rosie is Country Life's Digital Content Director & Travel Editor. She joined the team in July 2014 — following a brief stint in the art world. In 2022, she edited the magazine's special Queen's Platinum Jubilee issue and coordinated Country Life's own 125 birthday celebrations. She has also been invited to judge a travel media award and chaired live discussions on the London property market, sustainability and luxury travel trends.

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