In this issue

Interiors special
Sophie Conran reimagines the country look
Nina Campbell’s top 50 decorating tips
Hair ice, cramp balls: rural mysteries solved

COUNTRY LIFE International
Live like James Bond, a taste of Port, the grandest palaces, real pirates of the Caribbean and where to escape the cold.

The man who turned the tide
Jack Watkins talks to John Whittow, the first and last member of Enterprise Neptune..

Fit for a king

Palaces around the world epitomise their countries’ varied architectural styles. Arabella Youens is enchanted

6 mins

Best Autumn And Winter Escapes Across The World

Whether you’d rather take to the slopes or relax by the pool, Holly Kirkwood has the pick of autumn and winter escapes across the world

3 mins

The man who turned the tide

The first and last member of Enterprise Neptune on mapping the British coast

4 mins

Give us a clue

Can you explain what hair ice, cramp balls and pillow mounds are? If not, don’t worry–naturalist John Wright has all the answers to our most unusual countryside mysteries

5 mins

Wild for magic mushrooms

No, not the fungi that inspire hallucinations, cautions Tom Parker Bowles, but do take the time to seek out divine-tasting ceps and chanterelles on the forest floor

4 mins

The lay of the land

As people moved into towns, they wanted peaceful depictions of rural life on their parlour walls, leading artists to look at farming through sepia-tinted spectacles

5 mins

Sissinghurst Castle Garden

IT is impossible to calculate the number of roses which are climbing up old apple trees as a result of visits to Sissinghurst,’ wrote the late Anne Scott-James, author of the best-selling Sissinghurst—The Making of a Garden. Despite its country-house setting conferring a scale beyond that of the most amply proportioned cottage garden, Sissinghurst’s inspirational hold on amateur gardeners spans the generations, because its creator Vita Sackville-West was, or at least started out as, a novice gardener herself.

4 mins

Easy does it

Despite classic proportions and lofty ceilings, Sophie Conran’s country house in Wiltshire blends comfort with intimacy

3 mins

Into the blue

As one of the rarest gemstones, Paraíba tourmalines are getting rarer and even more desirable, reveals Joanna Hardy

7 mins

Building back better

Sizeable estates in the New Forest and Cotswolds rarely seen on the market show the benefit of improvement over centuries

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.