Country Life March 5, 2025
Country Life 5 March 2025 looks at Charles Dance, Charles Dickens and rates the best bakeries in London, as well as how we can get the most out of the land.


Here's a look at some of what you'll find inside:
How to make land work harder
Plans for a Land Use Framework offer a golden opportunity to make the most of our countryside, argues Fiona Reynolds
The year the stars came out
A host of luminaries that were born in 1775 still shape British identity some 250 years on, as Matthew Dennison discovers
A horse walks into a bar…
Jack Watkins raises a glass to the Cheltenham superstars immortalised in the bars and restaurants at Prestbury Park
Exquisite houses, the beauty of Nature, and how to get the most from your life, straight to your inbox.
Interiors
Amelia Thorpe cooks up a real treat with the latest inspiration and innovations for the kitchen
London Life
- Amie Elizabeth White celebrates 100 years of the Dickens museum, plus Country Life’s guide to the best baked goods in the capital
Arts & antiques
Charles Dance talks to Carla Passino about Michelangelo, mentoring and why the Sistine chapel is like playing King Lear
The good, the bad and the ugly
Michael Hall delves into the genius of Michelangelo, at once the enfant prodige and enfant terribile of the Renaissance
Simon Martin’s favourite painting
The art-gallery director selects a beguiling 17th-century miniature revealing a connection to Nature
A regal renewal
John Goodall hails the revival of Restoration House in Kent, a magnificent property that welcomed Charles II in 1660
The legacy
Agnes Stamp hails the ‘British Barnum’ Charles Cruft, whose dog show is still best in class
Shiver me timbers
The once-popular black poplar could be our secret weapon in the battle against climate change, finds Vicky Liddell
The good stuff
Hetty Lintell’s top tips on what to wear to the Cheltenham Festival
And it was all yellow
Charles Quest-Ritson brightens his day with the cheerful flowers of the ever-dependable forsythia
Sharp practice
The thorny old issue of pruning roses, with Charles Quest-Ritson
Foraging
Is tapping birch-tree sap worth the bother, asks John Wright
Travel
Emma Love shares the latest cruise news, Imogen West-Knights finds everything shipshape in the South of France, John Niven follows in the wake of Mr Mississippi Mark Twain and Pamela Goodman’s birthday treats take on a life of their own
And much more
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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A spectacular tower for sale that's a blend of Victorian folly, architectural marvel and 21st century family home
Hadlow Tower has space, and a back story of love, jealousy and intrigue.
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Some Like (to quiz when) It Hot: Country Life Quiz of the Day heatwave special, July 11, 2025
If you're struggling to keep cool — and who isn't? — our Quiz of the Day will at least take your mind off the soaring temperatures.
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Some Like (to quiz when) It Hot: Country Life Quiz of the Day heatwave special, July 11, 2025
If you're struggling to keep cool — and who isn't? — our Quiz of the Day will at least take your mind off the soaring temperatures.
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Wimbledon at the movies, and the Royal Family's bank: Country Life Quiz of the Day, July 10, 2025
Plus wonderful words and one of Britain's most beautiful insects in Tuesday's quiz.
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A waterside idyll and the Henrys and Williams who have ruled Britain: Country Life Quiz of the Day, July 9, 2025
Plus Hilary Mantel, Octavia Hill and more in Wednesday's quiz.
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The English church that looks like a Van Gogh fever dream: Country Life Quiz of the Day, July 8, 2025
Plus wonderful words and one of Britain's most beautiful insects in Tuesday's quiz.
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The Beatles meet Disney, and the first-ever Cruft's: Country Life Quiz of the Day, July 7, 2025
Monday's Quiz of the Day covers dog shows, revolutions and animated classics.
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From the archive: 'This retina-awakening advert for British Nylon Spinners Limited sums up the swinging 1960s perfectly'
Every Monday, Melanie Bryan, delves into the hidden depths of Country Life's extraordinary archive to bring you a long-forgotten story, photograph or advert.
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A bridge just far enough: Country Life Quiz of the Day, July 4, 2025
Lions, castles and even a couple of US-themed questions for the 4th of July in Friday's Quiz of the Day.
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Roger Moore's James Bond debut: Country Life Quiz of the Day, July 3, 2025
Country houses, battles and London landmarks in Thursday's new-and-improved Quiz of the Day.