Lifestyle
BBC Countryfile Magazine
Growing pains
The Government has found itself the focus of angry protests over a number of its key conservation, planning and farming decisions. Has it misread the room or is it making necessary choices? Fergus Collins looks at a year of life under Labour
1 min |
August 2025
BBC Countryfile Magazine
Regional accents are a source of pride, but they're in danger of fading away
Regional accents and dialects are long-held loves of mine - vocabulary, grammar, idiom and slang, rooted in a particular place.
2 min |
August 2025
BBC Countryfile Magazine
Shareholders are paid billions but sewage still flows into our waters
On the River Nidd, as it flows through the Yorkshire town of Knaresborough, there is a large natural pool between two weirs that has been a popular spot for wild bathers for many years. Because of pollution, however, the water is sometimes not even fit for dogs to swim in.
3 min |
August 2025
BBC Countryfile Magazine
Inheritance tax controversy
The farming inheritance tax changes have faced some of the biggest protests of all Labour's new measures. But is the backlash justified? We crunch the numbers
2 min |
August 2025
BBC Countryfile Magazine
TREES ARE EVOLVING TO FIGHT DEADLY ASH DIEBACK
Natural selection is enabling trees to resist a fungal disease that has decimated forests across Britain and Europe
1 min |
August 2025
BBC Countryfile Magazine
SITE OF THE FIRST PURPOSE-BUILT PRISONER-OF-WAR CAMP SAVED
A little-known historic site where thousands of prisoners were held during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars has now been acquired for the nation
1 min |
August 2025
BBC Countryfile Magazine
Infrastructure and green spaces
Since the 2024 election, Labour has made no secret of its desire to kickstart the UK's sluggish economy and solve the shortage of housing. But at what cost to nature and our green spaces?
3 min |
August 2025
BBC Countryfile Magazine
The gorse awakens
Forty years ago, Greenham Common was home to 96 nuclear warheads and era-defining protests. Now, butterflies have replaced the B-47s, as Dave Hamilton discovers on a walk with a Star Wars twist
7 min |
August 2025
BBC Countryfile Magazine
Hope emerges
The felling of the Sycamore Gap Tree appalled and saddened millions. Yet, as Fergus Collins discovers, hope can spring from the darkest ecological tragedies
6 min |
August 2025
BBC Countryfile Magazine
BROTHER ON AN EPIC JOURNEY
Using only local buses, John Green travelled the length of Britain in aid of one of England's oldest almshouses
2 min |
August 2025
BBC Countryfile Magazine
The sheep that changed farming forever is in a fight for survival
The farm is basking in the warmth of summer.
2 min |
August 2025
BBC Countryfile Magazine
A future for farming incentives
Britain is one of the world's most nature-depleted countries. So why has Labour closed the Sustainable Farming Incentive, a scheme to reward farmers for protecting the natural environment?
2 min |
August 2025
BBC Countryfile Magazine
PLASTIC WET WIPES BANNED IN WALES
The new regulation aims to cut sewer blockages and pollution
2 min |
August 2025
BBC Countryfile Magazine
TOP 10 BRITISH PUB GARDENS
Enjoy gorgeous grub and great views in these pub gardens selected by the UK's top chefs, says
9 min |
August 2025
BBC Countryfile Magazine
Soaring back
Walk along the UK's coast this summer and you might encounter ocean giants the size of wardrobes erupting from the waters. Kevin Parr reports on the remarkable return of bluefin tuna to our shores
6 min |
August 2025
BBC Countryfile Magazine
A MYTHICAL CELTIC HERO LIVES ON
The truly ancient Celtic festival of Lughnasadh is an athletic, and sometimes unusual, celebration of the season's first harvest
3 min |
August 2025
BBC Countryfile Magazine
The West Island Way
Less than two hours from Glasgow, the Isle of Bute is a peaceful haven of sweeping bays and dramatic views. A smitten Ben Lerwill enjoys quiet solitude along the West Island Way
6 min |
August 2025
BBC Countryfile Magazine
CAPERCAILLIES ENJOY A BABY BOOM IN THE SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS
'Free meals' for predators boost capercaillie breeding success in the Cairngorms National Park
1 min |
August 2025
BBC Countryfile Magazine
Where do our place names come from?
Britain's place names offer intriguing clues into local history and landscape. They are also a record of the waves of migration over the past several thousand years, with each group of people leaving their mark in the language. In the same way, settlers from England, Wales and Scotland created legacies in the names of the new lands they colonised in North America.
2 min |
July 2025
BBC Countryfile Magazine
Kit
We rate the latest hiking, open-water swimming and trail-running products
4 min |
July 2025
BBC Countryfile Magazine
Wing's of hope
Where have all the butterflies gone? Ahead of 2025's Big Butterfly Count, Richard 'Bugman' Jones looks at the fate of the UK's winged wonders and how we can all help to bring them back from the brink
6 min |
July 2025
BBC Countryfile Magazine
How can I lower my cholesterol?
“Cholesterol is a type of blood fat, which is made in the liver. It’s found in some foods, too,” says Tina Dawson, lipid specialist nurse at cholesterol charity, Heart UK. “We all need cholesterol in our bodies to keep us ticking over, but too much in the blood clogs up arteries and leads to health problems.”
2 min |
July 2025
BBC Countryfile Magazine
How are canoeing and kayaking different?
An easy way to remember the difference between kayaking and canoeing is the paddle. Canoeing involves sitting or kneeling in an open boat using a paddle with one blade. You paddle facing forward and propel the craft forward from one side. Whereas in a kayak, you sit down with your legs in front of you while propelling forward with a double-bladed paddle.
1 min |
July 2025
BBC Countryfile Magazine
The caring garden
Poppy Okotcha turned her back on the jet-setting lifestyle of a top model for a more down-to-earth way of life. Fergus Collins meets the regenerative gardener and author to find out why
6 min |
July 2025
BBC Countryfile Magazine
Big business has a critical role to play in saving our woodlands
The public outcry that swept the nation after the mindless destruction of the world-famous Sycamore Gap tree that had stood for 150 years in a dramatic dip of Hadrian's Wall showed just how much we care about our heritage trees. But are we doing enough to safeguard them?
3 min |
July 2025
BBC Countryfile Magazine
Dawn of freedom
After the Supreme Court ruled to allow wild camping in Dartmoor National Park, now is the perfect time to exercise your right in Devon. Wild-camping novice Matt Havercroft enjoys a night under the stars
8 min |
July 2025
BBC Countryfile Magazine
PENNIES FROM HEAVEN
While the origins of this hazardous tradition have been lost to the sands of time, the hot pennies are still flying in the small Devon town of Honiton every year, reveals Pat Kinsella
3 min |
July 2025
BBC Countryfile Magazine
Pigs are environmental engineers, not architects of destruction
A VIEW FROM THE FARM
2 min |
July 2025
BBC Countryfile Magazine
Why can't I sleep after exercise?
Exercise is the best medicine - for many, that includes improving their slumber. A 2021 study showed that regular physical activity can improve sleep quality and duration. An earlier 2013 study found that adults who exercised for at least 30 minutes a day slept an average 15 minutes longer than those who were sedentary, and that moderate-intensity exercise improved sleep quality in insomnia patients.
1 min |
July 2025
BBC Countryfile Magazine
Future-facing planning can help us build the 'model' villages of the future
My childhood holidays often included a visit to a compact and picturesque model village. My brother and I loomed delightedly down tiny streets like friendly giants, dripping ice cream on miniature tiled roofs.
2 min |