In this issue

Spring interiors special
Cath Kidston, Robin Birley and Felix Conran.

How to save your village pub
Why our food depends on family farms
‘Summer is a-coming in: loudly sing cuckoo!’

AHOY THERE CITY SAILOR

From Chelsea to the canals, Londoners are taking to the water in search of a more peaceful way of life. Jo Rodgers clambers aboard

4 mins

Small is beautiful

Many aspects of farming are expanding-and not always in a good way. Jason Goodwin argues that it needs re-balancing, with a return to multiple small family farms, neighbourly cooperation and a bolstering of the local community

6 mins

An absurd little bird

Parasitic creatures with murderous and greedy offspring they may be, yet the prospect of no annual competition to hear the cuckoo's first call is a bleak one

6 mins

What Cath did next

Having turned her distinctive style into a much-loved business, Cath Kidston brought a beautiful 17th-century house in the Cotswolds back to life. Now, she's back at the drawing board

4 mins

Hooray for clay

The growing emphasis on handmade interiors is reviving interest in the tactile appeal of handmade ceramics

2 mins

Take me home

Private members' club 5 Hertford Street has precipitated a quiet revolution in interior design through colour, comfort and decoration for decoration's sake. Now, its founder has launched a collection that embodies his approach to living

4 mins

The art of wallpaper

A new wallpaper company is unleashing the potential of digital technology to realise ranges of designs created by artists and designers

3 mins

The future's bright

Colourful tables, selected

1 min

A garden of the mind

Developed over 30 years by an art historian, this thought-provoking garden is filled with Classical references

4 mins

Cool as cucumbers

MY father was a meat-and-two-carbs kind of a guy, who was cursed in his rare liking of cucumbers, which reduced him to a chest bashing hiccuper.

4 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.