Farewell to France

I HAVE spent the past 14 years living, for as much as the tax laws allow, in an unfashionable corner of Normandy. Why?

Reach for the stars

In the 200 years since its foundation, the Royal Astronomical Society has borne witness to the discoveries of Albert Einstein, Edwin Hubble and Stephen Hawking, as well as an enduring fascination with our less-immediate surroundings, reports Jack Watkins

Orchidmania justified

Mark Griffiths celebrates the 52 species of native British orchids whose extraordinary history and unconventional beauty have beguiled and intrigued both scientists and amateurs

Going, going, gone...

Interior designers tell Amelia Thorpe about the thrills of furnishing a house at salerooms–and pick lots in recent auctions that have caught their eyes

Back from the brink

Ormiston House, Belfast, Northern Ireland After the police moved out in 1995, Ormiston was abandoned, its grounds reduced to a mess of razor wire and overgrown sycamores. Christopher Stocks applauds a remarkable renaissance

Make Cothay While The Sun Shines

Country Life can exclusively reveal that one of the jewels of the West Country is on the market

Standing in solitary splendour

The garden at Parcevall Hall, Skyreholme, North Yorkshire Steven Desmond visits the early-20th-century garden created by Sir William Milner and now triumphantly restored

When small is beautiful

Many large firms are clamouring for financial bailout, but it’s Britain’s smaller, rural ‘Cinderella’ businesses that may yet save the day

The battle for the skies

It’s one very lucky feral dove that emerges from a spectacular avian dogfight

Ripe for the picking

For Tom Parker Bowles, there’s no fruit as luscious or versatile as a juicy red tomato

Turn up the colour

TOO many gardeners are afraid of colour; indeed, I confess to feeling guilty on occasion at my profligate use of it in the garden.

The spies who loved us

Their exploits would have made Bond proud and, now, these two fearless female undercover agents are joining the ranks of notable figures to be honoured with one of London’s blue plaques, recounts Catriona Gray

The animals behind Animal Farm

George Orwell may have intended his seminal novel, published 75 years ago, to be an allegory on the Russian Revolution, but his extensive farming knowledge informed his animal portraits, making them powerful and, in part, believable, finds Julie Harding

New walls on old foundations

Burghley House, Lincolnshire, part I The home of Miranda and Orlando Rock This year marks the 500th anniversary of the birth of William Cecil, a statesman of defining importance in the nation’s history. John Goodall considers the Tudor development of the great baronial seat he created for himself

Around Britain in 40 monarchs

From William the Conqueror to Elizabeth II: John Goodall presents a tour of Britain, through the murder and mayhem of the Middle Ages, the madness of George III and the stability of Victoria, highlighting places and objects associated with each of them over the past millennium

Relishing a challenge

Holcombe Court, Devon, part II The home of Nigel Wiggins In the second of two articles, John Goodall looks at the restoration of an outstanding Tudor house completed with great flair over the course of nearly two decades

They've stood the test of time

Charles Dickens died 150 years ago, since when Mr Micawber has become a byword for optimism, Scrooge for meanness and Uriah Heep for obsequiousness, and we still quote Mr Bumble’s ‘the law is an ass’. Rupert Godsal explains why these characters are so exuberantly unforgettable

Where the spirit of Pope lives on

His ‘genius of the place’ is alive and well in the romantic landscape he created in Cirencester Park

Sensation as colour

Wilhelmina Barns-Graham (1912–2004) spanned the 20th century with a remarkable range of figurative and abstract paintings and drawings that deserve to be better known, says Peyton Skipwith

Peace at last

Amy Jeffs revives St Erkenwald’s ghostly encounter with the corpse beneath St Paul’s

Stop making rash promises

The humble nettle’s burning sting has made it seem intrusive and hostile. However, when all is told, contends Ian Morton, its many species serve humanity and wildlife rather well

It's a man thing

DESPITE all the progress with gender stereotypes, there are a few character traits that still distinguish the male.

Interiors - The designer's room

An integral pantry and utility are vital ingredients in this family kitchen by Humphrey Munson

Balm for the soul

Mary Miers discovers the coronavirus has not dulled the taste for well-executed paintings inspired by Nature, nor impaired the dealer’s nose for sniffing out emerging talent

A sweet disorder

Moor Wood, Gloucestershire Charles Quest-Ritson visits the National Collection of rambling roses, which shows these most romantic of plants at their very finest

Beautiful Britain: Tarmar Valley

Areas of outstanding

Where there's muck, there's magic

Under a bright-blue May sky with the chatter of swallows, John Lewis-Stempel marvels at the wildflowers in the meadow as his herd of Limousin cattle enjoy the lush grass in five-acre field

Interiors: The designer's room

Emma Burns transformed the sitting room of this London townhouse into an elegant bedroom

It's written on the wind

Lorna Doone, Tarka the Otter and The Water-Babies were all conceived in our wonderful West Country. Clive Aslet loses himself in a landscape of literary inspiration

Where the wind blows

This coastal garden has woven itself into the landscape with its clever use of wild and cultivated planting, reveals Noel Kingsbury