The Bone Collector

WE went swimming in the sea last week, on the hottest bank holiday Monday in recorded history. From Beachy Head to Bangor, from Yarmouth to Argyll, the country lay under a purging sun set in a blue sky.

Horses Are The Best Medicine

When life’s hard, hanging out with a horse can offer solace and self-esteem beyond the physical benefits. Pippa Cuckson reports on how they’re increasingly being used to help heal minds as well as bodies

Animal Magic

Camilla Naprous’s stunt horse

The Back Of Beyond

Nestled along the west coast of Scotland are wild peninsulas and isolated communities that give a taste of island life without the hassle, says Madeleine Silver

Swimming With The Fishes

I WAS going to tell you about life on the Suffolk beach this month. Picnics at Felixstowe, art in Aldeburgh, fish and chips at Dunwich, crabbing in Walberswick and donkey rides on the Lowestoft strand.

On The Hoof In The Highlands

On estates such as Balmoral, The Queen’s home in Aberdeenshire, tough and shaggy Highland ponies are vital members of the stalking team when it comes to bringing deer off the hill, finds Octavia Pollock

Peeling Back The Years

Carnell, Hurlford, Ayrshire Home of Michael Findlay and Adrienne EastwoodGenerations of gardeners have left their mark on–and their plants in–this unique garden, says Non Morris

I Would Walk 500 More

Scottish castles and estates for which it’s worth going that extra mile

Hiding Away In The Outer Hebrides

Oban and Barra and Uist, oh my! Kenneth Steven takes a tour of these magical Scottish islands and others besides

Breeding Rosemary's Babies

ROSEMARY VEREY, the much-missed grande dame of English gardening, used to say ‘a garden that isn’t deadheaded is like a pretty girl with dirty fingernails’.

Castles In The Sky

In an extract from her book My Scotland, crime writer Val McDermid revisits Assynt in Sutherland and the magic of the Hermit’s Castle, perched on rocks above the sea

A Regency Revival

Ardgowan House, Renfrewshire The seat of Sir Ludovic Shaw Stewart, Bt A major Scottish house never previously covered in the pages of Country Life is coming back to life. John Goodall reports on this remarkable building and its fascinating story

A Light Touch

When reinventing estate buildings, less is definitely more

‘Such Smashing Little Dogs'

They’re not as well known as their Pembroke cousins that are so beloved by The Queen, but Cardigan Welsh corgis are small dogs with a big attitude, finds Matthew Dennison

Size Isn't Everything

THE national enthusiasm for growing our own fruit and vegetables, which waxes and wanes with the generations, is presently at a high pitch.

Noble Assets

For tree-loving landowners who want to leave their mark, nothing beats planting your own quercetum. Mark Griffiths celebrates the mighty oak and its determined collectors

My Favourite Painting Guy Oliver

In the West of Ireland

Animal Magic

Swans at the Abbotsbury Swannery

Feel-Good Furniture

A new collection demonstrates the life-enhancing qualities of rattan

A Monastic Puzzle

Ewenny Priory, Vale of Glamorgan Parish church, Cadw monument and property of Jeremy Picton-Turbervill

Here's To The Future

The scion of the family wine merchant on tradition–and making a break for it.

One Man's Meat...

In an age when it’s acceptable to be a picky eater— unlike the terrifying olden days, when you had to eat everything put in front of you—I wonder whether other families have, like us, the thing you can have for supper when one family member is out.

My Favourite Painting Stephen Bayley

The Punishment of Lust

Turning Tables

Powerful and darkly humorous, Paula Rego’s paintings and drawings use stories to examine her own experiences. John McEwen commends two current exhibitions of her work

The Advent Of Daily Musical Delights

Silent Night and Away in a Manger are embedded in our consciousness, but how do you introduce new and contemporary Christmas carols into the cultural bloodstream?John Goodall talks to the artistic director behind a musical Advent calendar

The King Of The Hill

Our correspondent finds that the latest incarnation of Volkswagen’s twin-cab Amarok, the poshest of pick-ups, is as good on the motorway as it is on a muddy track

Gove Promises To Bring Home The Bacon

BRITISH farmers are to be given extra time to adjust to post-Brexit changes in the subsidy system, Michael Gove announced at the Oxford Farming Conference last week.

We Bring You Glad Tidings

The smugness and often staggering insensitivity of the Christmas round-robin letter is enough to drive one to drink, but Kit Hesketh-Harvey admits that their awfulness does add to festive amusement.

We're Not On The Same Planet

I SEND the family WhatsApp group a spectacular photie of the first snows of winter on Ben Wyvis, anticipating a lyrical response.

Drinking The Wren's Silver Laughter

Entranced by a tiny bird in the woods, jay griffiths explores the bewitching effect of the avian voice in her essay birdsong.