Country Life 28 May 2025
Country Life's May 28, 2025, issue cover star is an eight-week-old Labrador — a tubby little bundle of joy, who has been expertly engineered to perform life-changing duties by Guide Dogs UK.


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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
Exquisite houses, the beauty of Nature, and how to get the most from your life, straight to your inbox.
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
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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Hold your horses: Country Life's Quiz of the Day, July 28, 2025
Test your knowledge of playwrights, capitals and all things equine, in today's Quiz of the Day.
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Fancy a date at the Tate? London galleries are staying open later to fuel surging Gen Z interest
Tate Modern, the home of contemporary art in London, has announced that they will open until 9pm on Friday and Saturday nights — after a recent surge in younger visitors.
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Hold your horses: Country Life's Quiz of the Day, July 28, 2025
Test your knowledge of playwrights, capitals and all things equine, in today's Quiz of the Day.
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How much do you know about the Earth's atmopshere?: Country Life's Quiz of the Day, July 25, 2025
Today's Quiz of the Day spans body parts, lonely tortoises and the composition of the atmosphere.
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Around the world in ten questions: Country Life's Quiz of the Day, July 24, 2025
Today's Quiz of the Day tests your knowledge of ecclesiastical architecture, ocean-faring explorers and a very big lake.
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'How tall is Jacob Elordi?', I hear you cry: Country Life's Quiz of the Day, July 23, 2025
Today's Quiz of the Day tests your knowledge of the tall tall Australian actor, and Scotland's smallest inhabited island.
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Heaven in the Highlands: Country Life Quiz of the Day, July 22, 2025
Guessing the price of a great house in Scotland, Durham's home ground and the man who called England a 'nation of shopkeepers' in Tuesday's quiz.
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School's out for summer: Country Life's Quiz of the Day, July 21, 2025
Today's Quiz of the Day takes a summery turn.
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Liverpool and literature: Country Life Quiz of the Day, July 18, 2025
Which river runs through Liverpool and how much do you remember from the 'Harry Potter' book series?
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Find out how much of a Sexy Beast you are with Country Life's Quiz of the Day, July 17, 2025
The 2000 film features in today's quiz, as does the capabilities of woodchucks.