Country Life 1 October 2025
Country Life 1 October 2025 helps you start an art collection, tastes the best beef in Britain and goes hellraising in West Wycombe.


Here's a look at some of what you'll find inside:
Not so hellish
In the first of two articles, Tim Richardson surveys the late-18th-century landscape of the celebrated West Wycombe Park in Buckinghamshire
The legacy
Agnes Stamp salutes Sir William Hillary, whose quest to save lives at sea created the RNLI more than 200 years ago
Art and soul
‘Buy what you love’ is the key starting point for any aspiring collector, says independent advisor Patrick Monahan as he shares his tips from the top
Exquisite houses, the beauty of Nature, and how to get the most from your life, straight to your inbox.
Forever hold your piece
The collections of great houses from Chatsworth to Powderham are the result of a passion passed down over many generations, as Eleanor Doughty discovers
Raise your steaks
Which native breed produces the best beef? Will Hosie sets out to provide the answer by serving up eight different côtes de boeuf for a panel of experts
The Singh Twins’s favourite painting
The artists choose a Tudor work of exceptional craftsmanship
Country-house treasures
John Goodall unearths the architectural drawings of Viscountess Dungannon, who remodelled Brynkinalt in Wales in 1808
All in the mind
Psychedelic mushrooms have been bending brains for centuries. Deborah Nicholls-Lee delves into the world of these funky fungi
The good stuff
Amie Elizabeth White picks out cashmere and wool creations
Interiors
Amelia Thorpe shares a wall-to-wall array of paint and papers
London Life
Will Hosie puts you in the frame about Frieze and attempts to keep up with the Americans taking over London, plus all you need to know this month
Upwardly mobile
The incredible variety of trees and shrubs at Bluebell Nursery and Arboretum in Derbyshire catches the eye of Charles Quest-Ritson
Travel
Emma Love picks out the top private escapes, Owen Holmes profiles five of the best New York members’ clubs, Richard MacKichan reveals how pets can join the jet set and Pamela Goodman learns that a head for heights doesn’t always run in the family
Arts & antiques
Carla Passino meets Leah Wood, an artist drawing inspiration from the natural world and highlighting the threats facing many species
Eat play love
Mary Miers tells the remarkable life story of photo-journalist Lee Miller, who brought fashion to the Blitz-hit streets of London and took a bath in Hitler’s tub
Country Life is unlike any other magazine: the only glossy weekly on the newsstand and the only magazine that has been guest-edited by His Majesty The King not once, but twice. It is a celebration of modern rural life and all its diverse joys and pleasures — that was first published in Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee year. Our eclectic mixture of witty and informative content — from the most up-to-date property news and commentary and a coveted glimpse inside some of the UK's best houses and gardens, to gardening, the arts and interior design, written by experts in their field — still cannot be found in print or online, anywhere else.
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Everything you could ever want to know about growing, eating and cooking plums
Mirabelles, gages, plums, damsons — the best ones to buy, the ones to avoid, and how to use them. Charles Quest-Ritson has you covered.
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A Georgian country house that's immaculate, unlisted and surrounded by 21 unspoilt acres of Somerset
Finding a grand, 220-year-old home that's unlisted in a wonderful location is cause for celebration. Penny Churchill looks at Werescote, on the Devon-Somerset border.