IT happened really quite quickly I think,’ says Nick Hewer. ‘I’m going to be 80 in February, so something clicked. The clock went “tick” and we realised that we can’t keep on managing this.’ To most people, the idea of owning a property such as Nick’s Park Farm, with its seven bedrooms, swimming pool, tennis court and 12 acres of land in Northamptonshire, would be a fairytale. It’s easy, when flicking through the pages of property advertisements and editorial in this very magazine, to get jealous about the space and lifestyle on offer. But at the same time, for many, including the former Apprentice adviser and Countdown host, there comes a time when it all gets a bit too much. ‘At the moment, we’ve got two gardeners coming twice a week, and it’s still a struggle to keep the grass down, or the hedges cut, or keep the pond clean,’ he adds. For as much as you admire the beautiful properties for sale in these pages and may think ‘who would dare leave such a paradise’, the answer may often be people looking to downsize.
Denne historien er fra May 31, 2023-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra May 31, 2023-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Tales as old as time
By appointing writers-in-residence to landscape locations, the National Trust is hoping to spark in us a new engagement with our ancient surroundings, finds Richard Smyth
Do the active farmer test
Farming is a profession, not a lifestyle choice’ and, therefore, the Budget is unfair
Night Thoughts by Howard Hodgkin
Charlotte Mullins comments on Moght Thoughts
SOS: save our wild salmon
Jane Wheatley examines the dire situation facing the king of fish
Into the deep
Beneath the crystal-clear, alien world of water lie the great piscean survivors of the Ice Age. The Lake District is a fish-spotter's paradise, reports John Lewis-Stempel
It's alive!
Living, burping and bubbling fermented masses of flour, yeast and water that spawn countless loaves—Emma Hughes charts the rise and rise) of sourdough starters
There's orange gold in them thar fields
A kitchen staple that is easily taken for granted, the carrot is actually an incredibly tricky customer to cultivate that could reduce a grown man to tears, says Sarah Todd
True blues
I HAVE been planting English bluebells. They grow in their millions in the beechwoods that surround us—but not in our own garden. They are, however, a protected species. The law is clear and uncompromising: ‘It is illegal to dig up bluebells or their bulbs from the wild, or to trade or sell wild bluebell bulbs and seeds.’ I have, therefore, had to buy them from a respectable bulb-merchant.
Oh so hip
Stay the hand that itches to deadhead spent roses and you can enjoy their glittering fruits instead, writes John Hoyland
A best kept secret
Oft-forgotten Rutland, England's smallest county, is a 'Notswold' haven deserving of more attention, finds Nicola Venning
