Onto the court

Winner of a team gold medal at the Commonwealth Games, Jersey-raised netball superstar Serena Guthrie talks to Arabella Youens about her island childhood

An island called home

Holly Kirkwood unearths some of the best properties for sale in Jersey

Around Jersey in eight landmarks

Penny Byrne explores the island’s history through some of its most fascinating monuments

A Greek revival

Taitlands, Stainforth, North Yorkshire Restored by Emma and Martin Sharp An exemplary restoration project has created a modern family home from a fine neo-Grecian country house that has been in institutional use since the 1940s. John Martin Robinson admires the result

WALK THE LONDON LINE

Our capital city is more inviting for walkers than you might expect, with meadows, towpaths, unexpected sculpture and great houses to draw the eye. Octavia Pollock sets off to explore

The Tale of Peter Rabbit

I DON’T know what to write to you, so I shall tell you a story about four little rabbits, whose names were Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail, and Peter,’ wrote Beatrix Potter in 1893, in a letter to a little boy, the five-year-old son of her former governess, who was suffering from scarlet fever. A decade later, these lines, only slightly adjusted, formed the opening to what has become one of the bestselling, most fondly remembered books in children’s literature.

My favourite painting Lorna May Wadsworth

Cornelis van der Geest by Sir Anthony van Dyck

‘Keep the momentum going'

The new Historic Houses president on leaky roofs, lobbying Government and VAT

Interiors The designer's room

The new kitchen of Lisa Mehydene’s Cotswold barn was deliberately designed to appear old

Far from brassed off

Those who play in a Northern brass band have a lung capacity similar to that of an Olympic athlete and, as Rebecca Oliver discovers, they’re not likely to run out of puff any time soon

Say hello, wave goodbye

Whether constructive or destructive, waves–even as high as four double-decker buses–claw at our shores in a frenzy of energy, observes Annemarie Munro

Daisy rides again

Once an endangered species, yet still gracing beaches up and down the land, the seaside donkey remains the epitome of an English summer, believes Vicky Liddell

I've been a goggle eyed plover for many's the year

With a sinister yellow gaze and legs ‘swoln like those of a gouty man’, the prehistoric-looking stone curlew is nonetheless an endearing little fellow, finds Jack Watkins

Architecture-on-Sea

What is it that makes the buildings of the seaside so distinct? Kathryn Ferry looks at the vibrant architecture of our coastal towns and the way our perception of it has been shaped by early-20th-century appreciation

Slobber, puddle, chewing and trouble

Inspired by COUNTRY LIFE’s search for Britain’s naughtiest dog, illustrator John Holder tells Katy Birchall why he’s dedicated a delightful new book to mischievous mutts

Where the air is clear

Beautiful northern properties to get you looking up

Ship shape and Chelsea fashion

Bluebird of Chelsea is no ordinary motor yacht. Built for record-breaker Sir Malcolm Campbell and requisitioned for Dunkirk, her story is one of survival against the odds. In her 90th year, her interiors have been given a new lease of life, finds Arabella Youens

St Paul's Cathedral

Britain’s greatest masterpieces

The cult of the continuation car

Time travel is afoot in England’s storied car factories, which are revisiting their greatest hits. But are these remakes the real deal, asks Adam Hay-Nicholls

Northern idylls

Three magnificent properties prove it’s far from grim up North

The goat with a GSOH

We’re not kidding–the delightful and versatile English goat is making a deserved comeback, as Julie Harding learns from devotees

Rain, rain, please don't go away

Unlike George II, who was not a fan of the wet British summer, John Lewis-Stempel is delighted by an early-June morning deluge on the lush lawn

A bolt from the blue

Once considered so sacred that Druids consecrated their weapons with its starflower petals before battle, borage deserves greater regard, says Ian Morton

Treasure island

Arabella Youens revels in the history, food and culture of the largest Balearic island, now earning a justified reputation for sophistication

The Plants That Came From Afar

Steven Desmond searches for beloved garden staples that originally came from foreign lands and suggests where you can see them in their old homes

A plain house

Stormont Castle, Belfast Home to the Northern Ireland Executive and the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister A century ago, the Stormont estate was chosen as the seat of the government of Northern Ireland. In the first of two articles, John Goodall looks at the history of this decision and the castle now at the centre of politics

It's a kind of magic

Widely thought to be a form of witchcraft, water divining relies on a pair of rods and ‘the uncanny reaction of the human nervous system’ to factors unknown. Yet it is still employed by water companies today, discovers Catriona Gray

Pale into significance

More than 130 years ago, fears over the little egret’s fate–and our obsession with its plumed feathers– helped to form the RSPB. Now, this exotic migrant is making a comeback, reports Jack Watkins

Better than ever

Two glorious estates have been lovingly brought back from the brink

Dear Mr Stillman...

The finest example of a classically inspired 20th-century American garden, at Wethersfield in the Hudson Valley, is at last being given the attention it deserves. Jane Garmey recounts its extraordinary story