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The First World War, as seen through the unique Country Life Picture ArchiveCountry Life looks back at the First World War through the lens of the Country Life Archive. View images, read a selection of wartime articles, and also download war artist Muirhead Bone’s first catalogue of drawings, originally published in 1917.
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Seven true ghost stories from a century of Country LifeOver the course of Country Life's 125-year history, dozens of readers have shared their tales of ghosts. Here we've picked out seven of the most fascinating.
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Curious Questions: Which person has spent the most time on TV?Is it Elvis? Is it Queen Elizabeth II? Is it Gary Lineker? No, it's an eight-year-old girl called Carole and a terrifying clown. Here is the history of the BBC's Test Card F.
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'Without fever there is no creation': the tumultuous talent of Giacomo PucciniThree of the top 10 operas performed worldwide are by the emotionally volatile Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, who died a century ago. Henrietta Bredin explains how his colourful life influenced his melodramatic plot lines.
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Burghley Horse Trials preview: From Paris, with loveBritish equestrian sport is riding high post-Olympics and next month’s Defender Burghley Horse Trials, which has attracted an illustrious entry, should show it in its best light.
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The ship that was in two different centuries, two different years, two different months, two different days and two different seasons, all at the same timeOn December 31, 1899, the SS Warrimoo may have travelled through time — but did it really happen?
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How to stop your dog from being protective and barking at buildersBarking can be annoying and unsettling for visitors. Ben Randall looks at how to get a little peace and quiet.
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Tiny sanctuaries: The best huts in BritainA shed is merely somewhere to keep tools. A hut, on the other hand, is a doorway to sporting adventure. Robin Ashcroft selects five of his favourites in the UK.
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Henry Wood: The man who made The PromsAs the 2024 Prroms get under way, we take a look at the man who began this great British summer institution: Henry Wood.
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'I didn't realise quite what we were getting into': how to make cheese in Norfolk and what it says about usPatrick Galbraith visits a cheesemaker in Norfolk and leaves wondering what 'a hard day's work' really means.
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The seven greatest winners in the history of the Badminton Horse TrialsThe Badminton Horse Trials, the oldest competition of its kind in the world, celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2024. Kate Green chooses seven heroic winners in its history.
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Everything you could ever want to know about Badminton, 'the most important and most typically English' eventing competition in the worldIn the latest edition of The Legacy, we look at the 10th Duke of Beaufort who, so disgusted at Britain's eventing performance at the 1948 Olympics, decided to set up his own competition at his home at Badminton.
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How the Stevenson lighthouses saved the sailors of ScotlandThe Stevenson family saved countless thousands of lives off the coast of Scotland with their network of hundreds of lighthouses — and their designs made life safer for sailors around the globe.
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14 things to book today to make the most of the 2024 Summer SeasonMusic, sport, gardens and more — here are some of the best events to attend this summer.
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Behind the scenes at Blenheim Palace, from the £40m leaky roof to towing visitors stuck in muddy fieldsEmily Spencer of Blenheim Palace joins the Country Life Podcast to give a glimpse in to what it takes to keep a UNESCO World Heritage site up and running with 6,000 visitors a day coming through the hallowed halls.
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Curious Questions: Was music's famous 'Lady of the Nightingales' nothing more than a hoaxer?Beatrice Harrison, aka ‘The Lady of the Nightingales’, charmed King and country with her garden duets alongside the nightingales singing in a Surrey garden. One hundred years later, Julian Lloyd Webber examines whether her performances were fact or fiction.
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Curious Questions: Who wrote the Happy Birthday song?There are few things less pleasurable than a tuneless public rendition of Happy Birthday To You, says Rob Crossan, a century after the little ditty came into being
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Help for our four-legged heroes: the charity that looks after retired service animalsIn 2016, the Countess of Bathurst set up the National Foundation for Retired Service Animals, which continues to look after blue-light families and their animals.
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John Lewis-Stempel: Never look after other people's animalsOur countryside columnist does a friend a favour, and ends up having to free a half-ton heifer from a muddy trench.
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A walk across the Cheshire Plain, the 200-million-year-old landscape where yesterday’s old industrial sites are today’s nature reservesFiona Reynolds heads out for a walk on the Cheshire Plain, where industry and farming are juxtaposed to startling effect.
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St Patrick’s Chapel ruins, Heysham: The mythical Lancashire ruins with a heavenly viewAnnunciata Elwes takes a look at St Patrick’s Chapel ruins, a Morecambe Bay landmark.
