In this issue

LONDON LIFE
Carla Passino gets to know the famous Adam family of architects and Jack Watkins asks if this is the end of the line for the capital’s Victorian stations.

Family treasures
Tilly Ware talks irises with Lucy Skellorn, a descendant of the legendary Sir Michael Foster.

A breath of fresh air
Jo Caird visits an enchanting sylvan theatre where touring actors tread Nature’s boards..

Reduced to splendour

Audley End, Essex A property in the care of English Heritage Built to attract a visit by James I, this hugely ambitious house has been massively reduced and yet remains both outstanding and magnificent.

8 mins

For king and county

A land of open skies, high-piping oystercatchers and ancient churches, Norfolk has long been associated with Britain’s monarchs. Nick Trend discovers what gives it crown appeal

7 mins

The pride of the peacock

Graceful peafowl have never been shy about coming forward, although most of us admire the males’ flamboyant tail feathers–long a vibrant and striking motif–far more than their grating cries,

5 mins

Treasures of the east

A Whig power house is only one of the many jewels in East Anglia

7 mins

London Life

Your indispensable guide to the capital

1 min

The Adam family

The king of classical motifs, Robert Adam festooned late-18th-century London with exquisite plasterwork, fluted columns and fanciful pilasters, but, in his drive to succeed, he nearly lost it all

5 mins

The end of the line?

There are shocking plans afoot to modernise Liverpool Street Station, but it’s not the first of London’s historic Victorian stations to come under attack, says Jack Watkins, as he takes a look at some of the ones saved and those that were less fortunate

5 mins

Family treasures

Tilly Ware meets Lucy Skellorn, great-great-grand-daughter of the pre-eminent iris breeder Sir Michael Foster, at her garden near Stowmarket, where her quest to find the original Foster hybrids has already created a National Collection

4 mins

Sugar and spice

I FIRST grew sweet cicely (Myrrhis odorata) thanks to my father-in-law: one mention that I’d recently read about it had him trowel in hand, lifting multiple self-seeded plants into pots of varying size for me to lighten his burden. I introduced him to the joys of sweet cicely gin a few months later and he’s regretted thinning his supply ever since.

3 mins

For whom the harebell tolls

Frail and delicate, this graceful blue flower alarmed our superstitious ancestors for centuries until it became a symbol of love, innocence and humility

4 mins

The elixir of youth

A string of islands in the South China Sea might just hold the secret to a long and healthy life. Luke Abrahams made the journey to find out what it involves

4 mins

God's country

As authors rewrite the exploits of Greek mythology’s gods and heroes for a modern-day audience, Rosie Paterson goes in search of the key characters in the Cyclades

4 mins

A golden oldie

THERE has been a big birthday in the household.

2 mins

A breath of fresh air

Amid the sweet chestnuts, walnuts and cobnuts of a Suffolk farm, a natural amphitheatre has been transformed into a glorious sylvan venue for touring companies to tread Nature’s boards

5 mins

Read all stories from Country Life UK

Country Life UK Magazine Description:

Country Life; architecture, gardens, countryside, property, the very best of British life Published by IPC Media. Country Life, the quintessential English magazine, is undoubtedly one of the biggest and instantly recognisable brands in the UK today. It has a unique core mix of contemporary country-related editorial and top end property advertising. Editorially, the magazine comments in-depth on a wide variety of subjects, such as architecture, the arts, gardens and gardening, travel, the countryside, field-sports and wildlife. With renowned columnists and superb photography Country Life delivers the very best of British life every week.