House of dreams

Ardfin estate, Isle of Jura, Argyll and Bute, part II In the second of two articles, Clive Aslet examines how a Victorian shooting lodge on the southern tip of Jura has been reimagined as a modern country house

Now that's what I call country music

Be it bees buzzing around pollen, a breeze through a field of wheat or the barking of deer, there are certain sounds that will forever evoke our British countryside, wherever you might find yourself

The Pantheon

So much were his senses captivated, he could scarcely persuade himself but that he trod on fairy ground

Charlotte Mullins comments on Two Plants

My favourite painting Christopher Woodward

‘We are still a nation of horse lovers’

The Master of the Horse on the lot of equines in different cultures

Heavenly hydrangeas

EVERYTHING in the garden year is subject to the lengthening and shortening of the day. After the peak in late June, the early starters fade away into the background and we find ourselves thinking, well, that’s it for another year.

Stick it to me

Now brushed aside as a weed with an irritating propensity for attaching itself to clothing, goosegrass was once welcomed with open arms, thanks to its medicinal properties, finds Ian Morton

Natural magic - The private garden at Bonnington House, near Edinburgh The home of Mr and Mrs Wilson

Arabella Lennox-Boyd has designed a garden of underlying structure overlaid with colour and charm creating many different areas, each with its own personality, discovers Caroline Donald

A load of old cobbles

Sweetly evocative of a past we never knew, but a nightmare for cyclists, cobbled streets were once a lifesaver for our working horses, explains Harry Pearson

Pride of Scotland

Lochs, burns, wild mountains, cattle, fishing, shooting and grouse moors: Scotland has it all in spades, as these properties show

From sea to shining sea

On the 200th anniversary of the opening of Thomas Telford’s Caledonian Canal, Mary Miers explores the greatest manmade marvel of the Highlands

Bring me my bow

Sir Walter Scott’s legacy lives on as The Queen’s Body Guard for Scotland, The Royal Company of Archers, celebrates its bicentenary on a joyful royal occasion. Jamie Blackett brushes off his uniform

Island escape

With a host of accommodation and sporting activities to suit everyone, from families to couples, the Benmore estate is a remote paradise full of natural wonders to explore

When the saints go marching in

With his heart set on ‘pilgrim-ing’ through the Highlands–one of Europe’s most beautiful landscapes–Joe Gibbs retraces St Columba’s footsteps to Iona, little knowing that a bout of norovirus is about to hinder his best-laid plans

Romance realised Ardfin estate, Isle of Jura, Argyll and Bute, part I

A Victorian shooting lodge has been stylishly recast as the heart of a modern estate. In the first of two articles, Clive Aslet reports on this remarkable project

The Lady of Shalott

SEVERAL years ago, the Royal Academy of Arts (RA) staged a major exhibition on J. W. Waterhouse—and what a feast for the eyes it was.

Scents and sensitivity

As he observes his cows on a warm August day, John Lewis-Stempel allows himself to be led by the nose and discovers that weather whiffing is no dark art, but proper science

Sir Frank Brangwyn – 'To decorate life'

An artistic polymath whose murals were revered around the world, Sir Frank Brangwyn ended his days as a recluse after a crushing rejection, reveals Matthew Dennison

The trumpet shall sound

The trumpeter on varying the tone and why music is as essential as food

Rooms with a view

If proof were needed. of the importance of breaking up the space and changing the pace with hedging and trees, this is surely it, believes Tiffany Daneff

Those gorgeous Georgians

Houses that prove the Georgian era's immense variety

Quiet places under the sun

A litany of talent has occupied these beautiful houses and estates, from the D'Oyly Cartes of Gilbert and Sullivan fame, to the actor Sir John Mills and 'Mr Men' and 'Little Miss' creator Roger Hargreaves

Is this the new rock and roll?

It's the latest trend in agriculture, but what does 'regenerative farming' actually mean? Sarah Langford explains why good old-fashioned farms are making a comeback

Cutting the mustard

It might look brown and raggedy before it's harvested, but a crop of white mustard seeds in Cambridgeshire is about to be turned into one of our hottest and best loved British condiments, as Harry Wallop reports

Of mice and men

Our mice, voles and shrews lead their lives mainly out of sight, yet they are incredibly abundant in almost every kind of habitat, with even the field vole alone outnumbering human beings, says Marianne Taylor

ENGLISH HOMES SOLD & NEW English Home part VIII 1760-1800

Each month of this 125th anniversary year, COUNTRY LIFE illustrates a period in the development of the English great house. In the eighth of this 12-part series, John Goodall looks at the age of Robert Adam

The magnificent seven

Holly Kirkwood discovers a selection of the most beautiful properties for sale across Guernsey

A joy to behold

Mary Miers retraces the history of Sausmarez Manor and marvels at the beauty of the house and its subtropical gardens.

Once on this island

From conger eels to witches with creaky joints, Carla Passino and Nicco Bargioni explore Guernsey's rich folkloric heritage

Provenance is all

Two items estimated in the hundreds make five-figure sums and we say a nostalgic goodbye to Edward Hudson's furniture