Put some graphite in your pencil

Once used for daubing sheep, graphite went on to become as valuable as gold and wrote Keswick's place in history. Harry Pearson inhales that freshly sharpened-pencil smell

Dulce et decorum est

Michael Sandle is the Wilfred Owen of art, with his deeply felt sense of the futility of violence. John McEwen traces the career of this extraordinary artist ahead of his 88th birthday

Heaven is a place on earth

For the women of the Bloomsbury group, their country gardens were places of refuge, reflection and inspiration, as well as a means of keeping loved ones close by, discovers Deborah Nicholls-Lee

A haunt of ancient peace - The gardens at Iford Manor, near Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire The home of the Cartwright-Hignett family

After recent renovations, this masterpiece of Harold Peto's garden-making must be counted one of the finest gardens in England

It's the plants, stupid

I WON my first prize for gardening when I was nine years old at prep school. My grandmother was delighted-it was she who had sent me the seeds of godetia, eschscholtzia and Virginia stock that secured my victory.

Pretty as a picture

The proliferation of honey-coloured stone cottages is part of what makes the Cotswolds so beguiling. Here, we pick some of our favourites currently on the market

How golden was my valley

These four magnificent Cotswold properties enjoy splendid views of hill and dale

Mere moth or merveille du jour?

Moths might live in the shadows of their more flamboyant butterfly counterparts, but some have equally artistic names, thanks to a 'golden' group, discovers Peter Marren

The magnificent seven

The Mars Badminton Horse Trials, the oldest competition of its kind in the world, celebrates its 75th anniversary this weekend. Kate Green chooses seven heroic winners in its history

Angels in the house

Winged creatures, robed figures and celestial bodies are under threat in a rural church. Jo Caird speaks to the conservators working to save northern Europe's most complete Romanesque wall paintings

There is no sting in this tale

A living prehistoric relic, the scorpion fly is a permanent guest at the ugly-bug ball, says Ian Morton

Blow the froth off

Nodding and waving to passing traffic as it engulfs our roadside verges, exuberant cow parsley is almost unstoppable, says Vicky Liddell, as she takes a closer look at the umbellifer and its sometimes sinister kin

This is how we brew it

Having lived in the shadow of its Antipodean counterpart, British coffee-shop culture is finally thriving. Ben Lerwill visits the Cotswolds, where it all began

The legacy Isabella Beeton and recipes

MANY of Isabella Beeton’s 900odd recipes were not her own for which modern-day cookery writers have taken her to task—but she is credited as the first to publish them in the clear format (ingredients followed by method, including cooking time, right) that everyone uses today.

An air of homely distinction

A Cotswold house beloved by an important Edwardian AngloAmerican artistic circle has been revived and restored. John Martin Robinson tells its remarkable story

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