Features Archive | January 2026

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January 31st
- Ranking Agatha Christie’s murders from least to most likely
- ‘Re-using gemstones and gold pays in so many ways, turning "something old" into "something new" again’
- 'The Taylor Swift effect? We've never experienced anything like it': Jeweller Cece Fein-Hughes' consuming passions
- A medieval parsonage that's a 'fantasy mash-up of architectural styles', just down the road from a swish Somerset hotspot
- 'It was like going on a blind date... over a few glasses of wine our friendship was sealed and by three in the morning we had a plan': The creation of a spectacular Moroccan garden
January 30th
- Thinking of running away from the world? Then you'll need one of these log cabins, hillside villas, mountain retreats or island homes, from £75,000 to £6 million
- Bridgerton is back and so is the Country Life Quiz of the Day, January 30, 2026
- 'It turns out that coconut charcoal is the best substance on Earth for nullifying astronauts breaking wind': The secret uses of plants
- From Sicily to Sussex: What the Normans did for us
- Gill Meller's recipe for wholesome and flavourful cauliflower cheese gratin
- What is everyone talking about this week: Everything you wanted to know about Greenland* (*but were afraid to ask)
January 29th
- Old universities, bubblewrap, and extremely rare blood: It can only be the Country Life Quiz of the Day, January 29, 2026
- Alan Titchmarsh: I'm always asked about 'creating a sensory garden', and my answer is always the same
- The Glovebox: BMW's moving art can't stop being the star of the show
- This clever interiors trick is the secret to creating multifunctional spaces — and it was integral to the design of many English country houses of the past
- A Piddle Valley paradise for sale, with eight acres, and a pool that'll mean you can't wait for winter to end
- Snowdrop shows signal spring’s arrival
January 28th
- As Dry January draws to a close, test your alcoholic intellect in the Country Life Quiz of the Day, January 28, 2026
- Can you tell the difference between a trefoil and an embrasure? A pictorial guide to medieval architecture
- Badrutt's Palace Hotel review: The beating heart of St Moritz’s jet-set social scene has never put a foot wrong
- 'I do understand, however, that some people like skiing. Weirdos, if you ask me, but each to their own': A snob's guide to skiing
- RHS to run two new touring shows at Badminton and at the royal estate at Sandringham
January 27th
- From the farmyard to fame: how well do you know your animals? It's the Country Life Quiz of the Day, January 27, 2026
- Sophistication on wheels: The most elegant method of train travel is still the sleeper
- Adders, Exmoor ponies and the future of the human race: Tom Hilder on the Country Life Podcast
- Slipshod no more: The slipper has made its way out of the bedroom and into the world of high fashion
- Country Life January 28, 2026
- A grand seven-bedroom manor house with 11 acres, stables, 600 metres of river front and space for a grand piano
- The tawny owl makes a compelling case as Britain's best loved bird of prey
- 'It was a complete wreck': Reclaiming a Hampshire coaching house from the earth
January 26th
- Treason, treachery and traitors, for those suffering Traitors withdrawal symptoms: Country Life Quiz of the Day, January 26, 2026
- Going out for a good old fashioned drove
- 'If romance was a property, this would be it': A wonderful Georgian house in a conservation village in the heart of West Sussex
- A study in sculpture: 10 of the finest pieces from the Royal Collection
- Lord Byron, Charles Dickens and Sir Walter Scott once dined at this Jacobean mansion in London. Destroyed by The Blitz it lives on now only in the Country Life Archive
- What is everyone talking about this week: Mutton chops are back and everyone's drinking sloe gin
January 25th
- Zero XE: Zipping around the countryside on a 'mountain bike on steroids'
- The smartest dog breed in the world — loved by Robert Burns and Queen Victoria
- Five magical homes for sale, from an 18,000sq ft mansion in Devon to a 1960s-period piece right on the waterfront in Cornwall
- Hello Kitty, the FBI and the exclusive island of Nantucket: Weird and wonderful tartans, and where to find them
- 'Climbing is to ascend not only through space, but through centuries of lineage': The great staircases of Britain's finest country houses
January 24th
- A golden-stone manor that's just about as perfect a Cotswolds home as you could wish for
- ‘I thought I was going to be sick. I was very nervous about MasterChef’: Monica Galetti’s consuming passions
- 'We're not looking to make two dodos. We're looking to make thousands': Bringing the world's most famous bird back to life
- Sopwell House hotel review: For a spa trip, look no further
- The gardeners' gardens: Alan Titchmarsh, Mary Keen, Clive Nichols and more on the places they have on their 2026 hitlists
January 23rd
- An 'architectural masterpiece' on New York's Fifth Avenue — and Ralph Lauren could be your neighbour
- Where in the world is this? And other questions in the Country Life Quiz of the Day, January 23, 2026
- Donald Insall Associates
- Forget haggis — the humble swede is the real hero of the Burns Night meal
- Come rain or shine: Burberry’s Gabardine Capsule collection celebrates the art of dressing for Britain’s changeable skies
- Tom Parker Bowles talks tartiflette: 'This is not a dish worried about precision, elegance or nuance. It is all about beautiful ballast and you wouldn’t want it any other way'
- A 'wildly romantic' castle that once hosted royalty and supermodels, saved from ruin and ready for a new family to make it their home
- Don’t old towns need saving?
January 22nd
- Swashbuckling Reepicheeps, pipistrelles and the Devil’s Dyke: They're all in the Country Life Quiz of the Day, January 22, 2026
- Beautiful, rewarding, unpronounceable: Chaenomeles, the spectacular shrub that grows happily in gardens where azaleas will never bloom
- How do you add a dash of theatricality to a 1930s house? By taking inspiration from the legendary architect and set designer Oliver Messel
- Eileen Soper: The 'schoolgirl among the masters' with paintings in millions of homes, even yours
- John Constable's old school is for sale, and it's now a 500-year-old house in the wonkiest village in Britain
- The evergreen appeal of winter tree planting
January 21st
- When it comes to literature, how literate are you? It's the Country Life Quiz of the Day, January 21, 2026
- Posh people do well on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! because they survived boarding school: Sophia Money-Coutt's snob's guide to reality television
- A mesmerising portrait in the eerie country house that inspired Charlotte Brontë to write 'Jane Eyre'
- What is everyone talking about this week: Winter weddings might just be better than their summer counterparts
January 20th
- The house where a young Stephen Fry fell in love with Norfolk is for sale, and it's a charming (and enormous) family home filled with character and warmth
- Call yourself a music maestro? Put your expertise to the test in the Country Life Quiz of the Day, January 20, 2026
- The monk strap: Where did the shoe with sole and sophistication come from?
- The Seaside Boarding House review: The cosy gourmet getaway on Dorset’s Jurassic Coast with a proper sense of place
- Katharine Hay, the woman who's walking the length and breadth of Scotland
- Country Life January 21, 2026
- Wealthy Boomers collected blue-chip paintings. Gen Z is opting for collectibles. Who will come up trumps?
- Twenty momentous photographs from the last 100 years that define our history
January 19th
- AI is now reaching into every corner of our lives — we can, and must, carefully choose how to engage with it
- Who said that? Find out in the Country Life Quiz of the Day, January 19, 2026
- A riverside home that's Victorian country house on the outside and five-star boutique hotel within
- Small but mighty: How can you not love the little owl?
- The Picturesque Scottish castle built on land admired by Robert Burns and erased by war
- What is everyone talking about this week: Rewilding starts in your own back garden — even in the city
January 18th
- The best preparation for a half marathon is a long drive in the Aston Martin Vanquish Volante
- ‘They don’t just fling themselves at you — they choose you’: Everything you need to know about the Scottish terrier
- Six superb country homes for sale across Britain, from £1.1 million to £13.5 million, as seen in Country Life
- Are you a curator, a sympathiser or a conscientious objector? Take our Interiors Editor's quiz to discover your design DNA
- Portmeirion: A century of peculiar genius at Clough Williams-Ellis's great village experiment
January 17th
- The Sussex mansion of a member of one of the biggest bands of the 80s is for sale, and it's an Art Deco delight
- Sin, deceit, art, education: The secret history of playing cards explained
- Jazz music has always made a case for revolution, and we're falling back in love again
- 'I am blessed with many talents, most of which I can’t print, but taking a decent photograph is not one of them': How a camera-challenged Millennial fell in love with a landscape
- English country gardens once dotted the French Riviera. Now the last of them is about to slip away forever
January 16th
- Tropical paradises for sale, from a breathtaking rainforest lodge in Brazil to a 144-acre private island in The Bahamas
- Have you been keeping up with this week's news? Find out in the Country Life Quiz of the Day, January 16, 2026
- For Hairy Biker Si King, the secret ingredients will always be hard work and community
- This 18th century watermill saved from the verge of collapse has become a spectacular 21st century home
- What do Taylor Swift, Guy Ritchie and The King have in common? They all love a 200-year-old fabric born in Scotland’s textile mills
January 15th
- Reimagined by Sir Edwin Lutyens for Victoria Sackville-West, a Brighton home for sale in the Regency square that inspired 'Alice in Wonderland'
- From Boudica to Bohemian Rhapsody: how well do you know your queens? Find out in the Country Life Quiz of the Day, January 15, 2026
- Three plants to grow in 2026 that are as delicious as they are pretty, from Siberian chives to 'Turkish warty cabbage'
- The Glovebox: Fashion that's fast and five of our favourite Concours for 2026
- ‘The pair drove to Belgium in their Mini and returned with the chair wrapped in duvets’: The mother-and-daughter duo that brought a converted Cotswolds barn back to life
- Make sure you don't skip these South of England art and history highlights
January 14th
- A six-bedroom Highland lodge on the shores of Loch Ness for the price of a modest London flat
- How much do you know about Hilary Mantel, the oldest Oscar winners and world's most expensive race? It's the Country Life Quiz of the Day, January 14, 2026
- 'Why do the Americans insist on calling a perfectly ordinary walk a hike?': A snob's guide to staying fit
- The 'micro mosaic' at Holkham Hall that uses a fascinating, unusual technique pioneered by the Vatican
- Above the clouds to beat the crowds: Where to stay in Wales if you want to conquer the 'other' Snowdon
- The seven artistic wonders of the Midlands to put on your bucket list
January 13th
- Lancasters, literature and vegetables: how well do you know your kings? Find out in the Country Life Quiz of the Day, January 13, 2026
- From the front line to the front row: A potted history of the Wellington boot and some of our favourites to buy right now
- 1,000 issues and counting: Mark Hedges on two decades editing Country Life magazine
- Country Life January 14, 2026
- Tate-à-tête: The National Gallery’s promise to grow its modern-art collection risks reopening old wounds
- The world's grandest student house is for sale, with cinema, steam room, roof garden, and a starring role as Oscar Wilde's Bohemian hotspot
- Top arts and culture things to see in Wales — that give you a real sense of our shared history
January 12th
- Agatha Christie and the murder mystery: A bloody-good legacy
- Royal weddings and exotic animals feature in Country Life's Quiz of the Day, January 12, 2026
- Inside the 19th century château in St Tropez where hotel guests are ferried to the beach in Rolls-Royces and season four of The White Lotus is about to start filming
- What is everyone talking about this week: January is the worst month of the year. Here's 15 ways to make it fun
- Find out what remains of the colossal country house whose 'corpulent buffoon' of an owner had it blown up with vast quantities of gunpowder
January 11th
- Volvo ES90: If you want the world's finest interiors for less than £100,000, ask the Swedes
- The 3,000-year-old dog built to survive temperatures as low as –60°C
- Six great country houses, from £1.2 million to £13.5 million, as seen in Country Life
- Seeing the centuries old specimens of Carl Linnaeus in a new light
- The light, heavenly mills that 'rival the splendour of the great palaces of Venice', built beside a canal in West Yorkshire
January 10th
- A 1960s pop star's 'iconic' mansion right by the water's edge in one of prettiest spots on the Thames
- Scotland's unmissable art and history touchstones — and where to find them
- Making sense of the cider soaked wassail
- Revelstoke is the heli-skiing capital of the world, where legendary powder, lethal lines and famous names collide
- Alan Titchmarsh: Everything you think you know about ivy is probably wrong
January 9th
- This treasure-filled palace for sale was built by one of the greatest architects of the 18th century, and became the birthplace of Italy as we know it
- From mobile phones to meteor showers: it’s the Country Life Quiz of the Day, January 9, 2026
- The ultimate guide to London in the rain, from the best cosy pubs and restaurants to spas, saunas and cinemas, and what to wear
- The enduring allure of menus from ancient civilisations to modern day, via the revolutionary France
- What to see in the North of England if you want to learn more about the artistic history of our country
January 8th
- The last house built by Edwin Lutyens, an Oxfordshire masterpiece with 27 bedrooms and its own cricket pitch, has had a £3 million price cut
- Baby, it's cold outside, so cosy up and try the Country Life Quiz of the Day for January 8
- The railway station gardens that bring a touch of bucolic bliss to an ordinary train ride
- 'You should need little reminding that the 1980s are back': Country Life's interior-design predictions for 2026
- London is teeming with things that define our artistic history — here's how you can visit them
January 7th
- The 'new Notting Hill': more wine, more cafés, and the same old gardens where Hugh Grant kissed Julia Roberts
- Hot rocks, impassable jungles and many, many eels: The Country Life Quiz of the Day for January 7 has landed
- This new hotel medi-spa in Morocco has got tongues wagging for all the right reasons — and it’s nearly as big as The White House
- The 400-year-old floors perfectly preserved in the house that inspired Charles Dickens to create Miss Havisham's mansion
- Your own private Mediterranean retreat, with The Thinking Traveller
- Sophia Money-Coutts: A snob's guide to making it through Dry January
- From a spectacular funerary monument to a victory Armada portrait: Here are our must-see treasures in the East of England
January 6th
- It's the first Country Life Quiz of the Day in 2026. How much do you remember about last year?
- ‘Live in the country (or, failing that, Kensington Square) and wear navy’: A brief history of the colour that never goes out of style
- Endangered bumblebees, sifting spoonbills and trespassing tortoises: Britain's railway network is a wildlife haven
- Country Life January 7, 2026
- The artistic and historical treasures in Ireland that you must visit at least once in a lifetime
January 5th
- A 300-year-old home with grace, style and history, yet unlisted and exempt from mansion tax
- 'I first read this as a teenager and was open-mouthed at the sharp satire and the normalising of deep eccentricity': The books that the Country Life team return to again and again and again
- What is everyone talking about this year: The countryside news that will definitely dominate the headlines in 2026, according to Country Life
January 4th
- A Venetian palazzo that entranced John Ruskin and was painted by Monet is for sale — but beware, it’s cursed
- Hamnet won the top film award at the 2026 Golden Globes — but where in the British countryside was it filmed?
- Our cathedrals are 'by far the most important works of architecture in Britain', and Exeter is a perfect 21st century update to a medieval masterpiece
January 3rd
- The nearest thing you'll get to a beach house in London: this four-bedroom Georgian home for sale that's right by the water's edge
- Tickled pink: Jewellery designers are united in their love for colourful gemstones
- Country Life's top 10 travel articles of 2025, including the Scottish survival experience beloved by David Beckham and what a A-list ski resort does when it stops getting snow
January 2nd
- A huge farmhouse that mixes Georgian charm with an 80 foot party barn and a swimming pool
- The lynx effect: It's about time to reintroduce this shy predator
January 1st
- The 12 types of hangover, from 'Backwards Binoculars' to 'Titanic', and how to cure them all
- What to expect from Country Life in 2026