The Mini Is The Best Of British

It’s no surprise that the Mini makes the list, which is published in the May issue of Best of British, the list was commissioned to mark the magazine’s 250^th issue.

Compiled from suggestions by the magazine’s readers, contributors and staff, the list also recognised Aston Martin, Jaguar and Rolls-Royce along with Black Cabs and the Routemaster Bus.

Famous Mini drivers Paddy Hopkirk and Mr Bean also made the list, alongside Sir Stirling Moss and the late John Surtees.

Asked why the Mini was rated so highly, Hopkirk, who won the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally in a Mini Cooper S, said: “The original Mini was a classless car, a cheap family saloon that was also bought by Bentley owners and the likes of Twiggy, Princess Margaret and Peter Sellers. Although there’s a difference under the bonnet between the original car and the modern MINI, it still has bags of personality and a romantic image.”

Other people, places and things on the list that make Britain great include the Queen, Sir David Attenborough, the NHS, driving on the left, caravanning, and fish and chips.

• Best of British is the UK’s top nostalgia monthly. It is available from WH Smith and other newsagents. Further information can be found at www.bestofbritishmag.co.uk
• The 250 Things That Make Britain Great are:

1. 1. Volunteers
2. 2. The Queen
3. 3. Sir David Attenborough
4. 4. Houses of Parliament
5. 5. Sir Winston Churchill
6. 6. The NHS
7. 7. The English Language
8. 8. Marmite
9. 9. Village Fetes
10. 10. Our sense of humour
11. 11. Fish and Chips
12. 12. The Great British Breakfast
13. 13. Macmillan Cancer Support
14. 14. The Royal National Lifeboat Institute
15. 15. Pubs
16. 16. The BBC
17. 17. Red phone boxes
18. 18. Real ale
19. 19. The Beatles
20. 20. Giving up your seat
21. 21. National Museums
22. 22. Brilliant architecture
23. 23. Stunning scenery
24. 24. Cornwall
25. 25. The Mini
26. 26. London Underground
27. 27. Town and city parks
28. 28. Springtime
29. 29. Dad’s Army
30. 30. William Shakespeare
31. 31. Tornado
32. 32. The Brompton
33. 33. Isambard Kingdom Brunel
34. 34. Blackpool trams
35. 35. Our rich musical heritage
36. 36. Ealing Studios
37. 37. Pickles the Dog
38. 38. Tunnock’s wafers and tea cakes
39. 39. The Great Little Trains of Wales
40. 40. The Routemaster Bus
41. 41. Sunday roasts
42. 42. Our friendliness, generosity and kindness to others
43. 43. The Lord Mayor’s Show
44. 44. Bulldogs
45. 45. Cricket
46. 46. Charles Dickens
47. 47. Seeing off the Nazis
48. 48. The Royal & Ancient
49. 49. Bobby Moore
50. 50. Doctor Who
51. 51. A good old cup of tea
52. 52. A murmuration of starlings
53. 53. Cockney Rhyming slang
54. 54. King Edward potatoes
55. 55. Corner shops
56. 56. Our patience
57. 57. The South Wales accent
58. 58. Laura Trott
59. 59. Greasy spoons
60. 60. Llandudno, especially Haulfre Gardens
61. 61. Only Fools and Horses
62. 62. Country cottages
63. 63. Diana Dors
64. 64. Our resilience when times are hard
65. 65. Stephen Hawking
66. 66. The seaside
67. 67. Emmeline Pankhurst
68. 68. The Proms
69. 69. Sir Isaac Newton
70. 70. The Brontë Sisters
71. 71. Aston Martin
72. 72. Alan Turing
73. 73. Our openness and generosity of spirit when newcomers make an effort to fit in
74. 74. The Scouts and Girl Guides
75. 75. Beatrix Potter
76. 76. Melton Mowbray Pork Pies
77. 77. National parks
78. 78. The RSPB
79. 79. The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
80. 80. Buckingham Palace
81. 81. Morris Dancing
82. 82. British Cheeses
83. 83. The Victoria & Albert Museum
84. 84. Flying Scotsman
85. 85. Coronation Street
86. 86. Steam Rallies
87. 87. Stonehenge
88. 88. The WI
89. 89. Strawberries and Cream
90. 90. The Lake District
91. 91. Beer gardens
92. 92. Big Ben
93. 93. Wimbledon
94. 94. Dame Judi Dench
95. 95. Armed Forces
96. 96. Cornish pasties
97. 97. James Bond
98. 98. The Spitfire
99. 99. Stephen Fry
100. 100. Black cabs
101. 101. The Rolling Stones
102. 102. Dame Maggie Smith
103. 103. Red post boxes
104. 104. Harry Potter
105. 105. Scrumpy Cider
106. 106. Match of the Day
107. 107. Beefeaters
108. 108. Joanna Lumley
109. 109. Sue Ryder
110. 110. Mary Berry
111. 111. Unpredictable weather
112. 112. Jessica Ennis-Hill
113. 113. Morecambe and Wise
114. 114. The Two Ronnies
115. 115. Dame Helen Mirren
116. 116. Tom Baker
117. 117. David Jason
118. 118. Worcestershire Sauce
119. 119. Carry On films
120. 120. Jaguar cars
121. 121. Tony Hancock
122. 122. Michael Palin
123. 123. Chelsea Pensioners
124. 124. Football
125. 125. Rugby
126. 126. Comic Relief
127. 127. Great Ormond Street Hospital
128. 128. Charles Darwin
129. 129. Sir Joseph Bazelgette
130. 130. Monty Python
131. 131. Compulsory Education
132. 132. Sherlock Holmes
133. 133. HP Sauce
134. 134. Mr Bean
135. 135. The Jurassic Coast
136. 136. Record collecting
137. 137. Dry Stone walls
138. 138. Hot Cross buns
139. 139. British Film Institute
140. 140. Rolls-Royce
141. 141. The Grand National
142. 142. Bradley Wiggins
143. 143. Lords cricket ground
144. 144. The Red Arrows
145. 145. Ballroom dancing
146. 146. Andy Murray
147. 147. Seb Coe
148. 148. Midsummer afternoons
149. 149. John Surtees
150. 150. Cumberland sausages
151. 151. Mr Benn
152. 152. Blackadder
153. 153. Haggis, neeps and tatties
154. 154. The Telegraph crossword
155. 155. Roald Dahl
156. 156. James Herriot
157. 157. Driving on the left
158. 158. Churches
159. 159. The Boat Race
160. 160. Bertie Bassett
161. 161. Heritage railways
162. 162. Arboretums
163. 163. Countdown
164. 164. Our coastline
165. 165. The Union Flag
166. 166. Caravanning
167. 167. Queuing
168. 168. Branston pickle
169. 169. The Bisto kids
170. 170. The National Trust
171. 171. The Sky at Night
172. 172. Magna Carta
173. 173. Our seats of learning
174. 174. Our gardens
175. 175. Bangers and Mash
176. 176. Alexander Fleming
177. 177. Stan Laurel
178. 178. Alfred Hitchcock
179. 179. Charlie Chaplin
180. 180. Cream Teas – Devonshire or Cornish
181. 181. Fudge
182. 182. The London Marathon
183. 183. Arctic Roll
184. 184. The Loch Ness Monster
185. 185. The World Wide Web
186. 186. Treacle Sponge and Custard
187. 187. Pork Scratchings
188. 188. Help For Heroes
189. 189. Thomas Telford
190. 190. John Logie Baird
191. 191. Laurence Olivier
192. 192. Mowing the lawn
193. 193. The Queen’s Christmas Message
194. 194. TV dramas
195. 195. Wind-up radios
196. 196. Hovercraft
197. 197. Peter Kay
198. 198. Twiglets
199. 199. Salt and Vinegar crisps
200. 200. Jumble sales
201. 201. Billy Connolly
202. 202. Sir Michael Parkinson
203. 203. The Science Museum
204. 204. Sir Steve Redgrave
205. 205. Cancer Research
206. 206. Nelson’s Column
207. 207. The Presumption of Innocence
208. 208. Band Aid/Live Aid
209. 209. Riding for the Disabled Association
210. 210. Chas & Dave
211. 211. The Pennine Way
212. 212. National Railway Museum
213. 213. Sir Michael Caine
214. 214. Tartan and Tweed
215. 215. Alan Bennett
216. 216. Julia Donaldson
217. 217. Paddy Hopkirk
218. 218. Enid Blyton
219. 219. Age UK
220. 220. Barry Cryer
221. 221. The Natural History Museum
222. 222. English Heritage
223. 223. Battersea Dogs and Cats Home
224. 224. Wallace and Gromit
225. 225. Quality Street
226. 226. Sir Stirling Moss
227. 227. John Lewis/Waitrose
228. 228. Bernard Cribbins
229. 229. Brian Blessed
230. 230. June Whitfield
231. 231. Jorvik Viking Centre
232. 232. Sir Bruce Forsyth
233. 233. Walnut Whip
234. 234. Sir Tony Robinson
235. 235. Art Deco lidos
236. 236. Saucy Seaside postcards
237. 237. Dame Patricia Routledge
238. 238. Ironbridge Gorge
239. 239. Roundabouts
240. 240. The BT Tower
241. 241. Morse Code
242. 242. Guide Dogs for the Blind
243. 243. Steak and Kidney Pudding
244. 244. Bletchley Park
245. 245. Chocolate Orange
246. 246. Bobbies on the beat
247. 247. The Goon Show
248. 248. The Shipping Forecast
249. 249. David Coleman
250. 250. Best of British Magazine