Country Life 28 May 2025

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Elsewhere, we marvel at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show, hear a convincing case for saving the humble stag beetle and ditch the dickie disasters for a bow-tie guide to achieve Bond-level sophistication.

And of course, there’s a toast to the original queen of country life: Beatrix Potter, who gave us Peter Rabbit and 4,000 acres of Lake District bliss. A legacy indeed.

The legacy

Kate Green hails Beatrix Potter, who gave the nation 4,000 acres of Lakeland, not to mention Peter Rabbit and Mrs Tiggy-Winkle

The gift of second sight

Hundreds of guide-dog puppies are bred and trained for a life of loyal service. Katy Birchall charts their incredible journey from litter to life-changer

We’re going on a stag hunt

Claire Saul urges us to ignore the stag beetle’s intimidating appearance and do everything we can to ensure this gentle giant’s long-term survival

Put a knot in it

It’s time to engage your inner Bond — the bow tie is back and here Simon Mills offers his ultimate mirror-free guide to perfect black-tie presentation

Luxury

Hetty Lintell admires joyful new textiles and sparkling jewellery. Plus car-mad James May reveals a few of his favourite things

A famously good show

Chelsea Flower Show is back with a spring in its step, finds Tiffany Daneff, as she marvels at the calm, green beauty of the Best in Show prize winner

All in the family

From automobiles to exquisite works of art, the Bugatti family was a hive of creative genius sparked by patriarch Carlo, as Charles Harris explains

Benjamin Appl’s favourite painting

The classical singer chooses a Romantic work that inspires him to embrace life’s challenges

A village of rare beauty

Jeremy Musson reveals how the backing of The King aided the spectacular restoration of historic buildings in Romania

Going a ganging

Vicky Liddell explores the brutal custom of beating the bounds

So goes the merrie month of May

John Lewis-Stempel rejoices in clouds of blossom, golden buttercups and skirling swifts

Winging it

Mark Cocker salutes the noble, elusive goshawk, a seldom-seen ghost of the raptor fraternity

Interiors

Country Life is an RHS four-star award winner, reveals Giles Kime

Going flat out

Tilly Ware visits a garden totally in tune with its East Anglian setting

New series: Scale models

David Profumo nominates the impish, quicksilver brown trout as Britain’s national fish

Arts & antiques

Historian William Dalrymple is championing the remarkable, but forgotten history of ancient India, as he tells Carla Passino