Entertainment
Country Life UK
Grow getters
They might not be especially striking to look at—if you can see them at all-but seeds are among the natural world's most awe-inspiring marvels, says John Lewis-Stempel
5 min |
October 08, 2025
Country Life UK
Vincent Weir and wildlife conservation
A PERSON almost no one has ever heard of, but ‘that was the way he wanted it,’ is how the Hon Vincent Weir was described this year on the 50th anniversary of the Vincent Wildlife Trust (VWT), an often unsung, but extremely effective conservation charity.
1 min |
October 08, 2025
Country Life UK
Roman holiday
West Wycombe Park, Buckinghamshire, part II The seat of Sir Edward Dashwood, Bt A property of the National Trust
8 min |
October 08, 2025
Country Life UK
Of marches past
KEEP walking up the burn-you'll find them eventually,' said my friend.
2 min |
September 17, 2025
Country Life UK
Brooching the subject
Over the centuries, the brooch, invented to fasten garments, has become a glittering gem, a coded communication–an art and a way to express personality. Mary Miers traces the history of a jewel that is back in style
7 min |
September 17, 2025
Country Life UK
A school transformed
Capel House, Badminton, Gloucestershire The home of Gerald Harford and Jane MacEwen A fine 18th-century estate building with a remarkable history has been converted into a stylish home, as John Martin Robinson discovers
8 min |
September 17, 2025
Country Life UK
The theatre that released a queen
Music was the antidote to stuffy court life that Marie Antoinette craved. Henrietta Bredin explains how the doomed Dauphine reinvigorated the French opera scene
4 min |
September 17, 2025
Country Life UK
Pining for home
PINE trees have always confused me.
3 min |
September 17, 2025
Country Life UK
When not in Rome
The confident and aggressive Romans brought savagery, great taste and efficiency to the Cotswolds, crowning Cirencester Britain's second city, says Charles Harris
5 min |
September 17, 2025
Country Life UK
A passage to India
The latest edition of FAB fair in Paris lives up to its name with a selection of stylish Art Deco pieces, including a chaise longue designed for the last ruling Maharaja of Indore
3 min |
September 17, 2025
Country Life UK
Counting the cost of bird flu
WHEN egg farmer Jerry Saunders found two of his hens struck down by avian influenza (AI) in February this year, he had to cull his entire flock of 5,000 home-bred, free-range birds.
2 min |
September 17, 2025
Country Life UK
Passports for ponies
THE Dartmoor Pony Heritage Trust (DPHT) is launching a passport scheme this autumn in an effort to ensure the survival of the dwindling numbers of ponies that roam the moor and form such an integral part of the local culture.
1 min |
September 17, 2025
Country Life UK
Natural selection
When fate handed artist Conrad Martens the chance to join HMS Beagle, he captured the flatlands of Patagonia, the wood-cloaked shores of Tierra del Fuego and the 'castles, peaks, and pinnacles' of the Andes with both brush and pen
5 min |
September 17, 2025
Country Life UK
Escape to the country
Urbanites seek a rural idyll in Mike Bartlett's new play, the audience is asked to imagine what would have happened if Marlowe had outlived Shakespeare and a fascinating work by A. A. Milne about a literary fraud is revived
4 min |
September 17, 2025
Country Life UK
Of ancient repute
With its ability to rouge cheeks, settle stomachs and operate as Nature's loo roll, verbascum is as surprisingly useful as it is pretty, discovers Ian Morton
3 min |
September 17, 2025
Country Life UK
WEIRD & WONDERFUL
ROSE HILTON would paint a picture, roll it up and put it under her sofa.
1 min |
September 17, 2025
Country Life UK
Stile and substance
Historic and idiosyncratic, friend to lovers and an enemy of ageing canines, every stile has a tale to tell, says Harry Pearson
6 min |
September 17, 2025
Country Life UK
Smooth moves
For half a century, Beckford Silk has supplied remarkable textiles to customers ranging from Westminster Abbey to Strictly Come Dancing. Ben Lerwill discovers what makes its wares materially different
5 min |
September 17, 2025
Country Life UK
Time for tea at the vicarage
Georgian rectories in this sought-after landscape tend to stay in the same hands for decades, if not centuries, but a tantalising few have now come to the market
6 min |
September 17, 2025
Country Life UK
Marianne North and botanical painting
THE candid photographs taken in 1877 by Julia Margaret Cameron of Marianne North at her home in Ceylon reveal much of the character behind this extraordinary Englishwoman who ignored the expectations of Victorian society to travel—mostly alone —to the remotest parts of the world to paint in situ (something that had never been done before) the exotic plants she loved.
1 min |
September 17, 2025
Country Life UK
Happy birthday, Sir John Rutter
A PIANO concerto titled Reflections that languished in composer in his first ever orchestral album (also called Reflections), which is released on Decca Classics on September 19 ahead of his 80th birthday on September 24. It has been recorded by pianist Steven Osborne and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Sir John.
1 min |
September 17, 2025
Country Life UK
Pick and mix
Mary Keen visits the organically run Chippy Flower Farm in Oxfordshire, set up five years ago and already a great success locally-especially its pick-your-own area
3 min |
September 17, 2025
Country Life UK
Donations boost for National Gallery
FRESH from the success of the 200th anniversary rehang and new Trafalgar Square entrance, the National Gallery (NG) in London, WC2, last week bullishly announced the next stage in its long-planned redevelopment strategy.
2 min |
September 17, 2025
Country Life UK
Burning topic causes heated debate
RURAL bodies have reacted with dismay to the announcement last week by Defra that the ban on controlled burning will be extended from covering 222,000 hectares (548,574 acres) of deep peat to 676,628 hectares (1,671,984 acres). This comes after a summer of wildfires in moorland areas.
1 min |
September 17, 2025
Country Life UK
Slightly foxed
John Hoyland never misses a chance to scour a second-hand bookshop for old gardening books, not only for advice, but for a glimpse into past gardening lives
4 min |
September 24, 2025
Country Life UK
Out of Africa
A chance encounter with a huge, shimmering panel led art dealer John Martin to discover Nigerian sculptor Asiru Olatunde, a man who also owed his artistic career to an accidental find
3 min |
September 24, 2025
Country Life UK
Life in the sloe lane
If you know where to look and what to do with it, profound pleasure can be gleaned from foraging autumn's hedgerow bounty
5 min |
September 24, 2025
Country Life UK
Town Mouse
Keeping bad company
1 min |
September 24, 2025
Country Life UK
Let battle commence
A sturdy bonsai freshwater swashbuckler, the spiny stickleback is often the first fish we catch as children
3 min |
September 24, 2025
Country Life UK
Dream houses of the West
These four glorious properties need only a modicum of tender loving care and offer great rewards to the far-sighted
7 min |