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From woodland to Westminster: Can the felling of ancient oak trees be an act of cultural service?
Timber from the Whiligh estate in the Sussex Weald was used to build the vast hammerbeam roof of Westminster Hall — and its custodian still fells trees for very special commissions.
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Hamnet won the top film award at the 2026 Golden Globes — but where in the British countryside was it filmed?
Herefordshire is the very picture of what England is in the collective mind’s eye.
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Endangered bumblebees, sifting spoonbills and trespassing tortoises: Britain's railway network is a wildlife haven
The nation's flora and fauna have found peace in the thousands of miles of tracks that cross the country.
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The lynx effect: It's about time to reintroduce this shy predator
Beavers and red kites may be flourishing in Britain, but the reintroduction of apex predators here is a trickier issue. Could there be practical and philosophical benefits and would a trial release of lynx be a worthwhile experiment?
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Two turtle doves: Why the endearing bird is an animal for all seasons, not just Christmas
The beautiful, soft-voiced turtle dove is a symbol of courtship and love and must be saved, urges Mark Cocker.
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Is December the best month for bird watching? Exploring the underrated avian delights of a British winter
As starlings, woodcock and all manner of birds on the wing make their way south, Britain becomes something of a bird-watching heaven.
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'A teaspoon of living soil contains more creatures than there are people in existence': Unearthing the dirt's vital role in our future on World Soil Day
Sarah Langford argues that it is high time soil become fashionable.
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I was Jeremy Hunt’s main political adviser and helped put together multiple Autumn Statements and Budgets. This is what I think Rachel Reeves’s Budget means for the countryside
Adam Smith, former chief of staff to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, reflects on what last week's Budget means for the countryside and how we ensure the rural voice is heard loudly inside Budget preparations.
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Aristotle believed they emerged spontaneously from mud, Sigmund Freud dissected thousands of them and they can dive lower than a nuclear submarine — but what is the truth about the eel?
It would seem the European eel has a long way to go to win hearts, Laura Parker says of the slippery animal with an unfortunate image problem.
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'I’m going to be the first in more than 100 years to sell anything off': How the upcoming budget uncertainty is impacting young farmers
Changes to inheritance tax, property relief and Defra budgets will likely change Britian's rural landscape. We ask the next generation of farmers what they think their future will look like.
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Flying backwards, pink milk, and holding your breath. A Country Life quiz of animal facts
Do you know the difference between a bobbit worm and a mantis shrimp? You will soon.
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How good of a bird watcher are you? Country Life Quiz of the Day, November 19, 2025
Test your general knowledge in today's Country Life quiz.
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An unfenced existence: Philip Larkin's love of the countryside
Richard Barnett pokes at Larkin’s protective carapace of soot-stained gloom and finds a writer with an unillusioned yet tenderly perceptive sense of Nature, in all its beauty and indifference
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Baby, it’s cold outside (even if you have a natural fur coat): How our animals brave the winter chill
When the temperature drops, how do Britain’s birds, beasts and plants keep the cold at bay? John Lewis-Stempel reveals Nature’s own thermals.
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How many insects are there for every person on Earth (give or take a million) and other questions. It's the Country Life Quiz of the Day, November 12, 2025
Test your general knowledge in today's Country Life quiz.
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Retro rubbish: Waste from the 90s unearthed in 97-mile-long beach clean
The 6,482 volunteers unearthed waste discarded decades ago among the 232,229 pieces of litter recorded during the initiative.
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Dangerous beasts (and where to find them): Britain's animals that are best left alone
John Lewis-Stempel provides a miscellany of our otherwise benign land’s more fearsome critters.
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From the Caribbean with love: The other James Bond who wrote the definitive guide to tropical birds
The Caribbean plays host to a brilliant spectrum of colourful avians, says John Lewis-Stempel, as he revels in a birdwatcher’s paradise. Illustrations by Annabelle King.
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This bear welcomes you to the Country Life Quiz of the Day, November 4, 2025
Put your mind to the test.
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Man's (new) best friend: Slinky, swift and sweet, a furry ferret is a worthy household companion
Ferrets are a perfect pet — just don't let them loose in the British Museum, Octavia Pollock writes.
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Mystery, muse and metaphor: There's more to fog than meets the eye
Smothering, transformative and beautiful, fog’s close-set shroud has inspired titans of literature, cinema and art — and forces the rest of us to look at the world a little closer.
