Instant gratification

Tiffany Daneff visits a recently built property in the Home Counties, which proves that, with forethought, a new garden needn't look new

A close call

With the curlew-that wader with a haunting call-now almost extinct in the South of England, Simon Lester meets the Duke of Norfolk, who is hoping to pull them back from the brink on his West Sussex estate

Young, gifted and thriving

Escaping to the country is a long-cherished retirement dream for many. But, as Fergus Butler-Gallie discovers, an increasing number of young people are making the move and bringing valuable skills with them

Getting to the pointer

They are arrestingly handsome, built for efficiency and have an unmatched prey drive, yet German shorthaired pointers are a rare sight in the field, laments Arabella Byrne

A town-house transformation

The shell of an 1860s coach house has been internally reconfigured to dazzling effect with the help of the finest contemporary craftsmanship.

Flower power

As the Battle of Flowers celebrates its 120th anniversary this summer, Martha MacDonald traces the event's quirky past

Our Queen, the Duke

From a brace of mallards to a placid cow, Matthew Dennison examines the unusual connections between Jersey and the Royal Family

Where trains once crossed

Antonia Windsor takes in the views along Jersey's Railway Walk

Over the hills and far away

It has taken decades of patience and dedication to create a garden from what had been a working farm in unspoilt Marcher country, reveals George Plumptre

And the rest is history

The Surrey Hills is very much Lutyens and Jekyll territory, notably at their first-ever collaboration at the garden designer's home, Munstead Wood, and nearby Munstead Place

Founding fathers

In COUNTRY LIFE's 125th year, Editor-in-Chief Mark Hedges pays a visit to Lindisfarne, the castle owned and restored by the magazine's founder as his Northumberland retreat

Living with the Romans

The Romans may have long departed, but the remains of their presence are still evident on several country estates. Bronwen Riley meets the proud custodians of these remarkable and sometimes haunting sites

Sapphires in the cereal

John Ruskin declared that 'blue is everlastingly appointed by the deity to be a source of delight'. Thankfully, our wild cornflowers have come back from the brink to be that source, reports Ian Morton

Scent to try us

Lithe, opportunistic and with a predilection for poultry, these elusive, often pocketsized predators have long raised a stink for farmers and gamekeepers, but not all of them deserve such an otterly bad rap, believes John Lewis-Stempel

ENGLISH HOMES OLD & NEW

Each month of this 125th-anniversary year, COUNTRY LIFE describes a period in the development of the English great house. In the seventh of this 12-part series, John Goodall looks at the mid-Georgian world

The king's invention

Many monarchs of the Enlightenment showed an active interest in architecture. Inspired by a new facsimile of royal drawings from Sweden, Clive Aslet looks at the designs of Gustavus III

What lies beneath

The UK's seagrass meadows are an important wildlife habitat and fundamental to combating climate change, but they're disappearing at a rapid rate. Jack Watkins finds out more about the ongoing fight to save them

Thinking big, thinking Wagnerian

With the summer country-house-opera season in full swing, delightful Longborough Festival Opera in the Cotswolds is distinguished for the ambition of its programming. Henrietta Bredin reports

Urban streams

The need for clean water in 19th-century Britain led to a new and magnificent genre of street furniture. Kathryn Ferry examines the drinking fountain

Oh , Mr Porter

WHAT I like about film work is that it is constructive. You're building up a character all the time,' Will W Hay once explained.

How to be more dog

The sports commentator and labrador owner on a startling rise to fame

Small by name, but not by nature

Five smallholders tell Julie Harding about their journey towards self-sufficiency

Rocks of ages: how Hadrian's legacy lives on

What once kept out hordes of bloodthirsty warriors is, nearly 2,000 years later, barely proof against the most timid of sheep. But if Hadrian's Wall is now low on stature, it remains high on atmosphere, finds Harry Pearson

In the book club

The Roxburghe Club is the oldest existing society of bibliophiles in the world and one of the most exclusive. Bronwen Riley finds out what it takes to be one of its mere 40-strong membership

How terribly English

New playwright Steven Moffat may be the natural successor to Alan Ayckbourn and Anupama Chandrasekhar's work sheds light on Gandhi's assassin

How green is their valley

The garden of Low Crag, Cumbria The home of Mr and Mrs Chris Dodd A thoughtful approach to gardening has brought about a great increase in the population of birds and animal life in this two-acre plot, discovers George Plumptre

Hedgerow Trees

BRITISH photography in the middle of the 19th century was headed by gentleman amateurs, inspired by the patenting in 1841 of William Fox Talbot’s calotype processing method to seek suitable subjects for picture-taking.

Homegrown heroes

Reports of the death of the British ceramics industry are premature

Come what blooms

The new head gardener at Knepp in West Sussex talks to Flora Watkins about a different direction for the rewilding pioneers-and why gardeners need to unclench

Head for the farm

More and more travellers are abandoning traditional holidays in favour of staying on a working farm. Rosie Paterson investigates why and where to find the best