Britain's Brilliant Bogs

This unique habitat, millennia in the making, provides a home for numerous rare flora and fauna and is, at last, being recognised for its many benefits, reports Mark Griffiths

Paws for thought

Mary Miers enjoys a touching show of canine imagery that highlights our relationship with ‘the only thing on earth that loves you more than himself’

The millers' tale

Running one of the UK’s last working watermills has been a 25-year labour of love for a couple keen to pass the business to a new generation, as Paula Lester reports

South Devon

THE rolling hills here are softer than their Cornish cousins. Many are home to sheep and cattle that occasionally frequent the beaches below, others to row upon row of quivering golden crops that envelop you in their warmth.

The plants of dreams

Wildegoose Nursery, Munslow, Shropshire An abandoned walled garden in Shropshire gave nurserymen Jack and Laura Willgoss the blank canvas they needed to create a striking contemporary showcase for the plants they grow. Natasha Goodfellow reports

My shot of a lifetime

From a sky-high goose to a grouse bursting from the heather, everyone can recall their most memorable shot and the companions (human and canine) they were with at the time, says a wistful Adrian Dangar

Clash of the titans

With the age-old rivalry between labradors and spaniels–whether springer or cocker–showing no sign of abating, Katy Birchall asks the dogs themselves which breed makes the pawfect companion in the field

Go country and western

A wealth of fine properties in the West Country offer all the peaceful seclusion you could wish for

Don't snap, sketch

Trading our constant snapshots for a sketchpad could be the perfect way to slow down and remember to observe the world around us, says David Gillett

A theatre of history

In the second of two articles, John Goodall tells the story of the revival of Sudeley Castle as a shrine to English history and Henry VIII’s last wife, Katherine Parr

There'll Always Be An England, Won't There?

What would we save if England caught fire? Clive Aslet set himself the near-impossible task of choosing 100 ‘crown jewels’. Here, he explains the rationale for some difficult choices

A little slow on the uptake

More likely to give you a knowing blink than a death stare, the gentle slow worm is actually a lizard that has long been misunderstood and terrorised for its snake-like appearance, says Simon Lester

The show must go on

Beef, beer and books–Catherine Austen talks to five people who have worked to bring local cheer, comfort and fun to the Cotswolds during testing times

The fruits of royal service

In the first of two articles, John Goodall explains how a soldier–probably with the help of his mother–won the trust of a child king and created a great castle in the Cotswolds with the rewards

The return of the juniper

Once prolific across the British Isles, the prickly juniper bush may have been in decline for decades, but it’s making a comeback on Surrey’s North Downs, finds Vicky Liddell

The cigar revolution

When Edward Sahakian opened his London Davidoff store 40 years ago, he transformed the industry–what better tribute than an anniversary cigar?

Handed on a silver platter

Tucked away in an old Cotswolds silk mill, expert craftsmen harness a century of expertise to raise, planish and finish fine gold and silverware. Jeremy Flint visits Hart’s of Chipping Campden

Ripe for the picking

On a hazy September morning in Herefordshire, John Lewis-Stempel plucks haversacks full of Worcester Pearmains from the orchard and reverts to childhood by climbing up to sit in the top of an ancient tree

Culinary capers

The latest looks in kitchens, chosen by Amelia Thorpe

Those Magnificent Flying Machines

Outnumbered yet never outfought, The Few buckled on their Spitfires and rode into the Battle of Britain like knights on their chargers. Eighty years on, their true memorial is the freedom in the air we breathe, eulogises John Lewis-Stempel

To boldly go...

Confident colour blocking of single species creates a garden that is a joy to explore, says Tiffany Daneff

The frontier man

The writer and broadcaster on dogs with film presence and the lockdown recording process

Shine bright like a diamond

If Nerine sarniensis is the diamond or jewel lily, then Nicholas de Rothschild’s purpose-built glasshouse is the best place to see it in all its shimmering glory

Shoo fly, don't bother me

Houseflies carry cholera and anthrax, have been used as military weapons and are generally irritating, laments Ian Morton–but do they hold the secret to eternal youth?

Packing a punch

Suffolk was once the wealthiest county in the nation and its landowners cut no corners when it came to their homes

Letters from Hillside

In the final part of our quarterly series, Dan Pearson describes making the wildflower meadow at his Somerset home

Horticultural ecstasies

In the garden

Everything and the kitchen sink

Sodden potatoes and paperwork are forgotten in a glorious return to the river

As clear as mud

From Neolithic pottery to a child’s tiny Tudor shoe, the foreshore of the Thames offers all sorts of fascinating finds for intrepid mudlarkers

A decorative autobiography

The restoration of an estate building by Vanbrugh has created a delightful cottage, where ingeniously conceived modern decoration records the lives and interests of the couple who undertook the work.