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A walk of wonder: The enduring beauty of the Kingston Lacy beech avenueFiona Reynolds takes a stroll around ancient Badbury Rings leads to Kingston Lacy, where an 188-year-old avenue of trees stands proud
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King Charles Spaniels: 'They’re like little people in fur coats'Once a favourite of the nobility, the distinguished King Charles spaniel is a loving and loyal little lap dog that can also hold its own outdoors, says Katy Birchall.
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Indices to Country Life articlesThe Country Life Index of articles is all articles published by Country Life, since 1897, in one place.
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What price culture? £380 to see Taylor Swift — or £12 for a night at the Royal OperaCountry Life's cultural crusader Athena takes a look at the thorny issue of live music ticket prices — and how the habits of concert-goers today show that the struggles of classical music and opera to find an audience run far deeper than mere cost.
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Wallace & Gromit: The Wrong Trousers turns 30Not all heroes wear capes, some are more likely to put on the wrong trousers and ask their dog if he wants ‘more cheese’. Harry Pearson meets Wallace and Gromit, two of our best-loved Plasticine characters.
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Curious Questions: What is the Stone of Scone?Shrouded in myth and mystery, the unremarkable-looking Stone of Scone — the ancient symbol of Scottish sovereigns — still plays a significant role in the coronations of British monarchs, says Matthew Dennison.
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The Ship Inn Cricket Club: The tale of the world's only cricket club to play its matches on the beachA game of beach cricket with captains and kings leaves Steve King with hazy memories, but the all-encompassing glow of a perfect game (despite losing by three wickets).
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10 of Scotland’s most magical white sand beachesWhat better day to celebrate some of Scotland's most stunning locations than St Andrew's Day? Here's our pick of 10 of the finest white sand beaches in the country.
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A walk from Adder’s Copse to Gallows Down, Berkshire: 'I've rarely done a circular walk as perfect as this one'Fiona Reynolds takes a stroll on a quiet part of the North Wessex Downs that is redolent with history and wildlife.
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The remarkable tale of the bathing machineWhen the British fell in love with the seaside, they invented a mobile building to convey them to the water. Kathryn Ferry tells the remarkable tale of the bathing machine.
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Britain's elite fossil hunters on their finds of a lifetimeFrom a kamikaze ichthyosaur to a gigantic shell with sinister tentacles, Britain teems with fascinating fossils. Simon de Bruxelles meets the collectors following in Mary Anning’s footsteps. Photos by Millie Pilkington for Country Life.
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The BBC Proms are the most ambitious, eclectic and successful classical music festival in the world — and we should celebrate themThe Proms are a great British institution and a remarkable success story, says Country Life's cultural commentator Athena.
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Walking the Llŷn Peninsula: A trip to the ends of the earthFiona Reynolds ticks off another extreme point of Britain with a trip to the end of the Llŷn Peninsula in Wales.
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Curious Questions: Who dislodged Britain's most famous balancing rock?A recent trip to Cornwall inspires Martin Fone to tell the rather sad story of the ruin and restoration of one of Cornwall's great 19th century tourist attractions: Logan Rock at Treen, near Land's End.
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Henley Festival: 13 things you'll see at the 'posh Glastonbury'Revellers in ball gowns and dinner jackets, turning up on board £200,000 boats to dance and party while knocking back magnums of vintage champagne? It can only be the extraordinary Henley Festival, the high-end musical extravaganza that's a sort of Glastonbury-on-Thames for the (very) well heeled. We sent Emma Earnshaw along to see what it was like.
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A walk in the footsteps of Evelyn Waugh at Madresfield Court, the real-life inspiration for Brideshead RevisitedFiona Reynolds takes a walk around the home that captured Evelyn Waugh’s imagination, finding a place that is both intriguing and atmospheric.
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The best open air theatres in BritainAmid the sweet chestnuts, walnuts and cobnuts of a Suffolk farm, a natural amphitheatre has been transformed into a glorious sylvan venue for touring companies to tread Nature’s boards. Jo Cairdv pays a visit to the mesmerising Thorington Theatre, and picks out three more of the finest outdoor performance venues in Britain.
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William Shakespeare: The original Nature boyWilliam Shakespeare wasn’t only the greatest playwright of our history, he was an avid ornithophile, a green man and a master of transposing the true power of Nature onto the page, says John Lewis-Stempel.
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How a British team of mountaineers conquered Everest, the 'goddess of the sky'Seventy years ago, on the eve of the Queen’s coronation, Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reached the summit of Everest. Octavia Pollock considers the legacy of their achievement and what it meant for British mountaineering.
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Alexandra Palace: How it's survived fires, bankruptcy and even gang warfare in 150 years as London's 'palace of the people'Alexandra Palace has suffered every imaginable disaster, yet remains enduringly popular even a century and a half after its official grand opening. Martin Fone takes a look at the history of one of Britain's great public buildings.
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The 2023 summer outdoor opera season: Where to go, who to watch, and what to put in your picnic hamperHenrietta Bredin, deputy editor of Opera magazine, shares her tips on how to make the most of the outdoor opera season in Britain this summer.
