Churches join race to net-zero

CHESTER CATHEDRAL has installed 206 roof-mounted solar panels, the most ever fitted to a British cathedral, it was announced earlier this month.

The glory of the gratin

A no-nonsense feast to gird the belly and quicken the heart, the gratin–whether it be slathered over meat, fish or vegetables–is all about an indulgent excess of cream topped by crispy cheese, says Tom Parker Bowles

The glory of the gratin

A no-nonsense feast to gird the belly and quicken the heart, the gratin—whether it be slathered over meat, fish or vegetables—is all about an indulgent excess of cream topped by crispy cheese, says Tom Parker Bowles

Inspired by birds, informed by science

The British Trust for Ornithology, a charity that prides itself on its scientific approach, is celebrating its 90th birthday. Jack Watkins reports

Brighton Rock

GRAHAM GREENE divided his fiction into two categories, namely serious literary novels and what he described as ‘entertainments’.

Aberystwyth is so bracing

Walking along the cliffs in Ceredigion tempts one to tackle Wales's entire coastal path

Medici masterpieces and Chinese camels

A look ahead to Maastricht, where star attractions include panels from the Medici workshops and a pair of Tang camels

Away with the fairies

She first took up painting as solace from disease, yet Cicely Mary Barker’s whimsical illustrations—most notably her flower fairies—still hold great appeal 50 years after her death, observes Claire Jackson

Nothing to get in a flap about

Often dismissed as ‘rats with wings’ or avian fly-tippers, few birds inspire as much hatred as pigeons. But, if we knew them a little better, we’d love them more, says Vicky Liddell

Juicy fruits

GRAPEFRUIT used to be rare and exotic.

Growth factors

The kitchen garden at Gravetye Manor, near East Grinstead, West Sussex Mary Keen talks to head gardener Tom Coward about bringing life and produce back to William Robinson’s magnificent elliptical walled garden

Reject tradition, embrace the eccentric

Our nation is built on whimsy and these five properties are all a bit out of the ordinary

The search for a 'forever' house

These ancient Kent houses were built to last

The COUNTRY LIFE Top 100

There are few more rewarding experiences than successfully breathing new life into an old house—or commissioning a new one. For the seventh year, COUNTRY LIFE has compiled its ever-evolving list of architects, interior designers, garden designers and specialists with the experience and creativity required to get it right

Not to be sniffed at

Claire Jackson meets the highly intelligent sniffer dogs that can help to detect invasive Japanese knotweed, even when it lies dormant in the ground

The lord of the books

From a sentence born of an exhausting teaching job, J. R. R. Tolkien crafted a series of fantastical novels that, 50 years on from his death, still loom as large in our imagination as Sauron’s all-seeing eye, says Matthew Dennison

Style with sympathy

Chandler’s House, Alton Barnes, Wiltshire - The sympathetic restoration of a delightful house has created new, liveable and stylish interiors within potentially awkward constraints, as John Goodall discovers

Glass is the word

Contemporary art glass is back in vogue, with Lalique attracting plenty of buyers

To sing like a Byrd

William Byrd not only survived a perilous period of history as a church composer, but his music is still regularly sung today, 400 years after his death, as Henrietta Bredin reports

Wild river yonder

SOMETIMES I claim to be a wild swimmer, throwing caution and everything else to the wind and the weather, and striding into lakes, rivers and the sea whatever the time of year.

To fish or not to fish?

Once the zenith of fly-fishing and little else, Alphonse Island, a tiny speck in the Seychelles, has reinvented itself as a glorious jack-of-alltrades and travellers, finds Mark Hedges

Land of snow and ice

Once-in-a-lifetime encounters and a sense of scientific purpose colour Ben Olsen’s memorable expedition to the world’s last wilderness

Come holiday or high water

The best yacht charters in 2023 offer intrepid travellers access to hard-to-reach destinations or once-in-a-lifetime experiences, says Adam Hay-Nicholls, who rounds up some of his favourites

Step aboard

The cruising news and trends to keep you afloat in 2023 and beyond

Following the sun : Grey Gables, Buckinghamshire The home of Liz Houghton

A contemporary extension to an Arts-and-Crafts house led to a reassessment of the whole garden, rationalising the space and bringing shaded areas back into use, finds Tiffany Daneff

The next generation

From the new homes that are popping up all over the country, we’ve chosen some of our favourites

So very Surrey

Great names of the past are recalled in three magnificent properties

Timeless Chequerboard

Opening up space either side of a chimney breast transformed this kitchen and dining room, designed by Susie Atkinson

I'm all right, Jack

Small, but mighty, the feisty Jack Russell is as popular as ever, not least as it’s The Queen Consort’s breed of choice. Fellow terrier owner India Sturgis recounts why these tiny tearaways remain so perennially appealing

Brave new world? Or same old

The Government’s failure to be bold means that UK farming risks being neither competitive nor green