Country Life UK Magazine - May 08, 2024

In this issue

This is how we brew it
Good coffee, companionship and delectable cakes are on offer in the cafés of the Cotswolds. Ben Lerwill takes a sip.

Heaven is a place on earth
From Sissinghurst to Charleston, gardens offered the women of the Bloomsbury group refuge, solace and inspiration. Deborah Nicholls-Lee enjoys a stroll.

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

8 mins

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.

1 min

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

6 mins

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

5 mins

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

2 mins

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

4 mins

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

4 mins

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

4 mins

How golden was my valley

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

7 mins

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

2 mins

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

5 mins

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.

3 mins

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

5 mins

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

4 mins

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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.