Hay, good looking

Sweating under the heat of the June sun, John LewisStempel helps his former neighbour Ian–with the aid of a Massey 135–to gather in hay bales before the rain falls

Sprung from the earth

The reconstruction of a Romano-British villa at The Newt, Somerset, has prompted a wonderful experiment in living archaeology. Bronwen Riley steps into the past

Oh, what a circus

The idea of misused patriotism is the theme of an intelligent play that features Putin’s rise to power and Giffords is still the best circus in town

A colourful life through a lens

Suffragette and groundbreaking photographer Madame Yevonde was as adept at capturing COUNTRY LIFE Frontispiece subjects as she was at creating conceptual art with high-society models sporting rubber-snake headdresses, says Lucinda Gosling

Why treasure is a universal word

The new Treasure House fair carries the hopes of the art and antiques market

Keeping the faith

The garden at Stonor Park, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire The home of Lord and Lady Camoys: From their first mention in the late 14th century, the gardens of Stonor Park have gone through as many ups and downs as the family that still lives there. Today, after decades of careful work, they are in top form, finds James Alexander-Sinclair

Pearls of wisdom

Pearls of wisdom What Jackie Kennedy’s $35 necklace tells us about price and value

Legend of his time

Jacky Ickx won the 24 Hours of Le Mans six times between 1969 and 1982. As the gruelling endurance race turns 100, Simon de Burton talks to ‘Monsieur Le Mans’ and finds that motorsport wasn’t the first career choice for the famous driver

Let it go to your head

As supple as an Olympic gymnast and as uncrushable as the bulldog spirit, the Panama hat has long been a staple of the British gentleman’s summer attire, says Harry Pearson

Life, the universe and everything

Does the meaning of life hide in our mystical relationship with our world, as captured by the cave art of prehistoric men, asks Robin Hanbury-Tenison

Medieval beauty: The Cloisters, New York, US Part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

One of the most important museums of medieval art in the world could only have been created in 1930s America, as Jeremy Musson discovers

The man who bought Stonehenge

On a whim in 1915, Sir Cecil Chubb made a bid for a plot of land that would never get planning permission. Bernard Bale looks at the life of the barrister who gave Stonehenge to the nation

Flights of fancy

Capturing images of British butterflies dancing through the air like petals on the breeze has been a labour of love for photographer Andrew Fusek Peters, as he tells Ben Lerwill

The big one

It’s the series we’ve all been waiting for. Can Pat Cummins and co resist the hottest team in world cricket,

The green furniture trade

Devoted to recycling by its very nature, the antiques world is now finding evermore innovative ways to go green, from straw-bale buildings to sea freight

The master of the shadow

The painter-turned-renowned printmaker’s light shone but fleetingly, and he has been overshadowed by his friend David Hockney, yet Norman Stevens left a luminous legacy that deserves greater recognition,

Go ahead, jump!

True crickets once basked in the warmth of the kitchen or sang their cheerful summer song in the fields. Now, after years of decline, some species are making a welcome comeback,

Fool me once

A fat green blob wearing a three-day growth of stubble, sexy it is not, et the gooseberry adds a welcome sharpness to jellies, jams and a simple fool,

How to be a human squirrel

Pickling and preserving is a great way to extend the shelf life of seasonal produce, says John Wright, who shares some of his top tips and ideas

Ramblers retreat

IN the village where I grew up, all the cottages grew the same pink rambling rose against their walls. Blowsy, prickly and very sweet scented, my grandmother told me that its name was ‘Albertine’, a Wichurana Rambler introduced in France in 1921, the year my father was born.

Romancing the garden

Stopping spraying and allowing plants to self-seed was the first step in the gradual and brilliant reinvention of the walled garden at Serge Hill,

The heat is on

Lucy Denton investigates how heat pumps can help our heritage buildings in the move to a more sustainable future

To the manor reborn

A charming Tudor house in Dorset comes to the market for the first time in almost three centuries

Better than new

Sustainability relies on creating furniture and appliances that can be fixed–and the skills to do so,

The land of raw milk and honey

Raw milk has been vilified in the press and by food agencies and competitor industries for decades, but its superior taste and health benefits demand we take a second look,

Farming for the future

Food security and land management are two of the most pressing issues facing the UK today, but the way forward isn’t simple. Here, nine guardians of the land outline what they think the next step should be

Changing tides

North Devon recently became the UK’s first official World Surfing Reserve and its upgraded status is shining a much-needed light on how much more the sport has to offer beyond riding waves,

Powered by the wind

Turbines are becoming a familiar feature of the landscape. John Goodall looks at their operation, form and future through the example of the largest onshore wind farm in the UK

A golden oldie

THERE has been a big birthday in the household.

God's country

As authors rewrite the exploits of Greek mythology’s gods and heroes for a modern-day audience, Rosie Paterson goes in search of the key characters in the Cyclades