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Opinion: The doom-laden terminology of conservation campaigners is dragging us down — it's time we embraced some optimism
We’re not perfect, says Kate Green, but nor are we bottom of the class — and it's time we embraced that.
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'It may be vain to think that the past was a cleaner, quieter and kinder place, but it felt pretty decent when you knew your GP and your GP knew you, and milk in glass bottles was delivered every morning'
Carla Carlisle is homesick for the olden days, when we didn’t know we had it so good.
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True craftsmanship means making things that last generations — but these skills are in danger of being lost forever
Giles Kime is worried about the state of craftsmanship in Britain.
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Alexander Darwall: Dartmoor camping case is about conservation and preservation, not denial of access
The landowner at the centre of the legal battle over wild camping on Dartmoor explains why he has chosen to go to the Supreme Court about the issue.
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Jason Goodwin: 'Ahead of the Japanese invasion of Borneo, I was told, she had memorised all the top-secret embassy codes to prevent them falling into enemy hands'
The cooing of wood pigeons in autumn reminds our columnist of his grandmother and her sisters, one of which was in a secret service in the Second World War.
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Take part in the 2024 Country Life Reader Survey.
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Athena: Sacrificing the Arts for 'self-imposed' fiscal rules?
Cuts to our cultural institutions will only save a minimal amount of money, but could do a significant amount of harm.
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'Rural England need not be retirement England': How hybrid working can save the countryside
Forcing people back to the office reeks of management insecurity, and tracking them on their computers is Orwellian. What hybrid working can do is make people happy and bring life back to rural communities.
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Minette Batters: Happiness is in the little things
The cross-bench peer and former NFU president uses some down time to reflect on the big questions, and prepares for a charity bike ride in Africa.
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Labour's new National Planning Policy Framework is a 'wolf in sheep's clothing'
We can expect fireworks: Labour’s draft plans for a new planning policy contain subtle, but devastating amendments that bear closer inspection.
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'Every month since June 2023 has now ranked as the planet’s hottest... we are challenging everything on which we rely — our weather, our health, our water and our food security'
The effects of climate change 'reach right down into every aspect of the planet’s life, from the spread of disease to the profound changes wrought by rising sea levels and intensive storms,' writes our columnist Agromenes.
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Curious Questions: What are the finest last words ever uttered?
Final words can be poignant, tragic, ironic, loving and, sometimes, hilarious. Annunciata Elwes examines this most bizarre form of public speaking.
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Sensory overload: If the modern car is all about safety, then why don't I feel safe?
Regulation and a race to innovate means our cars are full of technology that we don't want, we didn't ask for, and in some cases can cause an accident. But most of all, it makes driving absolutely awful.
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The rest is photographs
An afternoon spent going through dusty old albums puts our columnist Jonathan Self in contemplative mood.
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No calls after lunch? The Probate Office is in disarray and the new Chancellor needs to sort it out, and fast
Delays in receiving inheritance are making inheritance tax almost impossible to pay, leaving grieving families in limbo, says Agromenes.
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'It was Labour that ushered in chemical-driven agriculture: it must be Labour that puts that legacy to rights'
The countryside is supposed to be a mess. It's time to farm alongside nature, rather than against it, says Agromenes.
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Patrick Galbraith: 'For a couple of hours, I was part of a rich culture that will soon be lost'
Our columnist travels to Northumberland to 'long net' for sea trout, and laments the slow decline of a heritage craft.
