Rural Life
Everything you need to know about making the most of life in the British countryside, whether you've lived there for years or are visiting on a day trip.
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Dickie Bird: 'I gave my life to the game, and, in return, it’s done a lot for me. It’s given me a clean living, the chance to see the world and to meet some wonderful people. I’m very grateful for that'
Dickie Bird, one of the most respected and loved umpires in the history of cricket, has died at the age of 92.
By Roderick Easdale Last updated
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How many hearts does an octopus have? It's the Country Life Quiz of the Day, September 22, 2025
And who is Greek god of music?
By Country Life Published
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Don't blame it on the sunshine, don't blame it on the moonlight, don't blame it on the good times, blame it on the bats
Bats and newts are an easy target, but can they actually be blamed for not building enough houses?
By Country Life Published
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White-tailed eagles: From 'the greatest wildlife crime imaginable' to Nature's most wonderful comeback story
Dave Sexton and Alice Boyd join the Country Life Podcast.
By Toby Keel Published
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What everyone is talking about this week: The great porpoise panic
Week in, week out, Will Hosie rounds up the hottest topics on everyone's lips, in London and beyond.
By Will Hosie Published
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If there's no fish, there's no fishing, with Robin Philpott
The CEO of Farlows joins the Country Life Podcast.
By James Fisher Published
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A new gilded age: Sir David Attenborough christens a rare golden eaglet
The first golden eagle to fledge from the nest of a translocated bird has been rewarded with a name selected by Sir David Attenborough.
By Rosie Paterson Published
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How the acrobatic buzzard survived persecution to become one of Britain's best avian hunters
It may appear lethargic, but no one could argue with the hunting prowess of the common buzzard when it transforms into a surging missile intent on an unsuspecting victim.
By Mark Cocker Published
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‘Though she be but little, she is fierce’: Everything you didn't know about sparrowhawks
Scourge of the bird feeder and a master of ‘shock and awe’ assassinations, the sparrowhawk pursues its quarry with such tenacity and unpredictability that it often blindsides its prey.
By Mark Cocker Published
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An ode to Britain's wildflowers, from the London bloom which grew in the craters of the Blitz, to the weather-predicting scarlet pimpernel
Decorating the land with their brilliant and varied hues, our native flora which operate as clocks, calendars and Nature’s medicine cabinet are blooming brilliant, says John Lewis-Stempel.
By John Lewis-Stempel Published
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Is there enough beauty and hope left in the natural world to counter the current state of global despair?
Trees are dying, our food is covered in chemicals and we are stuck in a deteriorating international security situation.
By Joe Gibbs Published
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The pine marten is a predatory force to be reckoned with
The pine marten may have a taste for jam sandwiches, but its razor-sharp claws and appetite for eggs and grey squirrels makes it a predatory force to be reckoned with.
By Patrick Galbraith Published
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Roger Morgan-Grenville: We need to reset our children's connection to nature — and it starts at school
Our schools can — and must — lead the way in teaching the next generation the incalculable value of the natural world.
By Roger Morgan-Grenville Published
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The white-tailed eagle is crafty, controversial and has wings the size of a barn door
A penchant for spring lamb saw the raptor species ruthlessly exterminated, but the beguiling white-tailed eagle — also known as the sea eagle — is now back on our shores.
By Mark Cocker Published
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What everyone is talking about this week: How Wimbledon is repurposing its 55,000 used tennis balls
Week in, week out, Will Hosie rounds up the hottest topics on everyone's lips, in London and beyond.
By Will Hosie Published
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Arthur Parkinson: Chicken Licken isn’t just a children’s story about a chicken who believes the sky is falling, it tells us everything we need to know about keeping hens happy
Too many people think chickens only need shelter when it's hot, but the truth is much more complex.
By Arthur Parkinson Published
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Don't judge a plant by its smell: Why 'the little stinkers of the natural world' are just doing their job
Reminiscent of love and with an unmistakable odour of death, the little stinkers of the natural world might incite repulsion, but they are only doing their job, pleads Ian Morton
By Ian Morton Published
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Peregrine falcons went to the edge of extinction in the 1960s — today, there are more of them than at any time since the Middle Ages
In the latest instalment of Mark Cocker's 'Winging it' column, he looks at the peregrine, a bird of prey with astonishing speed and super strength.
By Mark Cocker Published
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Hope from the ashes: This new generation of ash trees is more resistant to dieback
When ash dieback first arrived in Britain, in 2012, an emergency COBRA meeting was formed. The disease has since spread rampantly across the countryside, but there is still hope.
By Annunciata Elwes Last updated
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From the Country Life archive: The 19th century answer to Swingball
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.
By Melanie Bryan Published
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'Fences have blocked wildlife corridors, causing the wildebeest migration to collapse from 140,000 individuals to fewer than 15,000': Is the opening of the Ritz-Carlton in Kenya’s Masai Mara National Reserve a cause for celebration or concern?
In Kenya's iconic Masai Mara region tourism is an important and necessary part of the economy, but the arrival os several large hotel groups — including Ritz-Carlton — have some on edge.
By Lisa Johnson Published


