In this issue

The Easter issue:Are you a real
countryman? Try our quiz.

The life and times of the rabbit Somerset unveils its deepest secrets Vaughan Williams: the man behind the music.

Paradise in the Garden of England

The view has changed since Chaucer’s day, but the important things survive

3 mins

The Great Map of Scotland

ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON, in an essay written near the end of his life on the genesis of Treasure Island, expressed disbelief that there were people who did not care about maps. ‘The names, the shapes of the woodlands, the courses of the roads and rivers, the prehistoric footsteps of man still traceable up hill and down dale… Here is an inexhaustible fund of interest for any man with eyes to see or twopence-worth of imagination to understand with!’

4 mins

Crusading spirit: Bunting War Memorial Chapel, Scotch Corner, North Yorkshire

A War Memorial Chapel in a remote, but magnificent spot stands as a monument to the sculptor who created it.

9 mins

Down the rabbit hole

Pie filling, pest or pet of underrated beauty, the rabbit is a mute and gregarious commoner that will nonetheless scream, fight and kill when warranted, says John Lewis-Stempel

7 mins

A land of milk and Cheddar

In their latest celebration of West Country people, places and produce, ‘Deepest’ book authors Fanny Charles and Gay Pirrie-Weir explore why Somerset is so different from its neighbouring counties

8 mins

The secret appeal of scurvy grass

A delicate brassica that even its mother would struggle to call pretty, the sea kale can compete with asparagus for the title of ‘taste of spring’, reveals Tom Parker Bowles

4 mins

High endeavours

Glorious houses high in the hills of Derbyshire and Staffordshire compete with a landmark Cornish property for the best view

5 mins

A colour symphony

Flamingos may draw the crowds, but it is the brilliant flower borders that keep people coming back to this wonderful garden.

6 mins

A glad hand for gladioli

I LOVE gladioli, but I realise that many readers may not share my passion. Good taste has much to answer for. The corblimey gladioli you see in other people’s gardens are anathema to strict and peculiar plantsmen; so are dahlias and chrysanths. People like us don’t grow them. The only acceptable gladioli are the wild ones you see in Mediterranean pastures and olive groves.

3 mins

He was of his time

Vaughan Williams, who was born 150 years ago, is largely seen as a pastoral composer, but there was far more to him than that

6 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.