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'I can get the same sort of wellbeing from a glass of wine in the bath': A snob’s guide to pretending you like cold-water swimmingAs temperatures rise so too will the calls to go cold-water swimming — much to Sophia Money-Coutt's chagrin.
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What is everyone talking about this week: Why Britain's county shows are thrivingAs Labour continues to sideline those in the countryside, seven million people are flocking to county shows this summer to sample rural life at its most tangible.
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A snob's guide to the village fêteSophia Money-Coutts waxes lyrical about the most English of summer countryside traditions. Illustration by John Holder.
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What is everyone talking about this week: How Gen Z fell in love with fly-fishingThey may look closer to Brad Pitt's Paul Maclean than to the grandfathers who taught them how to cast. But they are flocking to the sport in their hundreds, lured by Nature's bounty.
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Small-scale cut flower growers have now been formally recognised by the governmentThe UK trade body that represents more than 1,000 small-scale cut flower growers, has been awarded dedicated Standard Industrial Classification codes.
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You've got to have a lot of bottle to be an independent wine merchantIndependent wine merchants are going from strength to strength in rural communities. Gabriel Stone raises a glass to some of the best. Photographs by Millie Pilkington and Mark Williamson.
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Great black-backed gulls: Hitchcock's villain remains a formidable predator on the big screen and on our coastlines'The Birds' vilified this species of bird on the big screen. They remain instinctively wary and you can almost never get close to one — with good reason, writes Mark Cocker.
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The much unloved, many talented, quick-witted bird that inspired the Cold-War poetry of Poet Laureate Ted HughesIn the first of our new series on ‘unloved birds’, we take a beady-eyed look at the charred black carrion crow, the clever corvid with the coarse voice.
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'To stick it to one side and let it rot is such a waste of a valuable resource': The buildings most at risk, according to the Victorian SocietyThe Top Ten Endangered Buildings list is endorsed by the charity’s president Griff Rhys Jones.
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The battle for our countryside rages onArguments about the despoliation of the British countryside in the name of economic survival are not new, nor are they going away.
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From coast to coast: Why seaside foraging is in our bloodOur shingle, cliffs and beaches offer a veritable natural larder packed with succulent stems, umami-rich seaweed and aromatic herbs, says Mark Williams
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The chalky figures festooning our landscape might be a mystery, but they delight us nonethelessThe abstract white steed of Uffington and the excitable giant of Cerne Abbas may be Britain’s most famous chalk icons, but our landscape is filled with plenty more
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The world’s heaviest flying bird flaps on to pastures new but remains endangered, says expertYou might think it a great time for the great bustards, who have been found breeding in a new location, but there is a wider problem facing the UK’s ‘big bird’, an expert says.
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Adders, Exmoor ponies and the future of the human race: Tom Hilder on the Country Life PodcastTom Hilder, winner of the 'Rising Star' category at the Schoffel Countryside Awards, joins James Fisher on the Country Life Podcast.
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The tawny owl makes a compelling case as Britain's best loved bird of preyWhether for its textbook appearance, regional ubiquity or haunting and mellifluous call, it’s no wonder we love this winged hunter.
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'We're not looking to make two dodos. We're looking to make thousands': Bringing the world's most famous bird back to lifeEmma Hughes separates fact from fiction in the tale of the dodo.
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What is everyone talking about this year: The countryside news that will definitely dominate the headlines in 2026, according to Country LifeCountry Life's Kate Green takes a stab at guessing what countryside news will make the headlines in 2026.
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Two turtle doves: Why the endearing bird is an animal for all seasons, not just ChristmasThe beautiful, soft-voiced turtle dove is a symbol of courtship and love and must be saved, urges Mark Cocker.
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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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Flying backwards, pink milk, and holding your breath. A Country Life quiz of animal factsDo 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, 2025Test your general knowledge in today's Country Life quiz.
