Every picture tells a story

As the National Gallery prepares to celebrate its 200th anniversary in May, Carla Passino delves into the fascinating history of 10 of its paintings, from artistic triumphs to ugly ducklings and a clever fake

Flying between extremes

Revisiting the Norfolk of his childhood bright, but not as early as planned on an April morning, John Lewis-Stempel is entranced by the wildlife of the Broads and spots a crane so large it renders his binoculars redundant Illustration by Michael Frith

Satan on six legs

The prowling embodiment of Beelzebub, the Devil's coach horse beetle could absolve you of all your sins, says Ian Morton

Sometimes, less is more

FASHIONS in gardening come and go like those on the catwalk, they simply take a lot longer doing so: sometimes decades.

Dropping down to Derwentwater

The gardens of High Moss, Portinscale, Cumbria The home of Peter and Christine Hughes Non Morris visits a much-loved, Historically fascinating Arts-andCrafts garden, which has been imaginatively brought back to life

A Georgian legacy

Down in Wiltshire and Somerset, two country houses and estates have been well tended by their owners

Processions, proclamations and punishment

The wayside crosses that were once beacons in the British landscape have seldom survived the forces of Nature and iconoclasm. Lucien de Guise follows a trail of destruction

A sparkling collection

Guided by the nose of wine expert Harry Eyres, the COUNTRY LIFE team tasted some of England's finest sparkling wines and found elegance and finesse, with notes of hedgerows and seaside air, to compete with any fizz from across the Channel-surely, this is what we should be drinking now Qu

Hampering after summer

Lifting the lid on a sturdy hamper to find cold ham and ginger beer is a summer joy. Julie Harding meets the wicker weavers who make the dream come true

Life's a picnic

With picnic season fast approaching, it's time to elevate your alfresco feast to Michelin-star levels of deliciousness. Here, Paul Henderson asks a selection of the finest chefs to open up their picnic baskets and share some of their top tips for culinary success

Rise and shine

Anoona Jewels has launched two magnificent collections of exquisitely crafted pieces that draw inspiration from flowers, Nature and the sky

The heat of the moment

With temperatures rising, but formal dress codes remaining the same, Tom Chamberlin and Sophia Money-Coutts tell us how on earth they keep their cool-or, if not, at least remain standing-at the smartest events of the Season

The racing club you can bet on

The exclusive Royal Ascot Racing Club offers its membership a unique experience at the world-renowned racecourse

A need for speed

Nothing gets the adrenaline pumping quite like live, fast-paced action and the summer Season enjoys the finest athletic, equine and motor-driven moments of elation. Ben Lerwill tells us why awe-inspiring speed adds glamour and draws the crowds

The private made public

In the second of two articles, John Goodall traces the 20th-century evolution of this outstanding house and its current revival in the care of an independent charitable trust

Too divine

Four actresses earn the plaudits this month, for parts ranging from Sarah Siddons to Charlotte Bronté

Stashed away

The vast collection of the late George Withers, encompassing everything from Prattware pot lids to barometers, doubles up as a guide to the mid-market collecting fancies of the past 60 years

Parsley of Macedon

Not quite a native, alexanders can taste like joss stick-tainted celery or sweetly spiced parsnips, depending on your method, warns John Wright

A hungry heart

A man who strove, sought and found, Wassily Kandinsky pioneered not one, but two artistic movements against the tumultuous backdrop of early-20thcentury Europe, as Holly Black relates

Royal favours

AFTER much speculation as to what might be the favourite flower Her of Elizabeth II, the truth was revealed at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2019.

Smart thinking

A private family garden near Godalming in Surrey How does a garden design begin? With a lot of questions and by finding a central theme says James Alexander-Sinclair

Escape to the hills

These four houses in the county of Surrey can offer the best of both worlds: rural settings and easy access to London

A little help from your friends

Driven to distraction by paint charts? A colour consultant could be the answer for anyone befuddled by choosing the right hue

A (crab) apple a day

They may be too tart to eat, but crab apples can be made into all sorts of good things, from jellies to salves, and may even have been Adam and Eve's forbidden fruit, says Ian Morton

The sound of centuries past

The past 50 years have seen an energetic revival of the instruments that would have been played in Bach's day. Henrietta Bredin meets players fascinated by the noises Baroque composers would have heard

Where the wild things are

In his paintings, Archibald Thorburn captured the essence of Nature, whether it was piercing-cold snow enveloping a stricken deer or the existential fear of the ptarmigan. This talent for conveying atmosphere set him apart, finds Charles Harris

The legacy Sir John Soane and his Museum

EXASPERATED and despairing at the provocative behaviour of his sons, Sir John Soane (1753-1837) decided towards the end of his life to make the British public his heir. His eldest son, John-whom he had hoped would follow him as an architect, but who had no interest in the profession -had died in 1823 and he had become estranged from his younger son George.

From royal favourite to stranger's heir - Stansted Park, West Sussex, part 1

A property of the Stansted Park Foundation In the first of two articles, John Goodall looks at the stages by which a medieval hunting lodge developed from the 17th century to become a great country house

Orchid spotting

I HAVE had many horticultural enthusiasms, but I have never really caught the orchid bug. Better gardeners than me— rather more passionate plantsmen —have orchid houses with graded temperature zones for the different species: cool-ish is fine for cymbidiums, slightly warmer for phalaenopsis and steamy tropical heat for vanilla orchids.

We need to trade on a level playing field

Life after the NFU and why MPs of all parties need to sort a food strategy