CATEGORIES
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