Features
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Corinne Fowler: Exploring the hidden history of the British countryside, one walk at a time
Professor Corinne Fowler joins the Country Life Podcast.
By Toby Keel Published
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Country Life 25 June 2025
Country Life 25 June 205 looks at ancient stone monuments, the Venetian empire and why blazers are back.
By Country Life Published
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Lord Foster's design — with statues, pathways and a translucent bridge — chosen as the Queen Elizabeth II National Memorial in St James's Park
Norman Foster's design, created with the artist Yinka Shonibare and the landscape designer Michel Desvigne Paysagiste, has been chosen as the permanent memorial to Queen Elizabeth II.
By Annunciata Elwes Last updated
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Whatever floats your moat: Tower of London's former waterway receives help to adapt to the pressures of climate change
It is one of five gardens across the globe that have been selected by the fund for aid in adapting to the growing pressures of climate change.
By Annunciata Elwes Published
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It's a cruel summer to be a bee with up to 80% of swarms dying if they cannot find a safe place to settle — but here is how you can help
Currently, swarms of bees are taking flight to search for new homes and up to 80% of these swarms will perish if they cannot find a safe place to settle, but we can all help, says the BBKA.
By Annunciata Elwes Published
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Why society needs snobs to tell us that 'actually, we've got this terribly wrong'
Necessary arbiters of taste or entitled has-beens? Will Hosie discusses the implications of society turning against its snobs.
By Will Hosie Published
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Quentin Letts: Heaven in Herefordshire
Quentin Letts is best known as a merciless sketch writer and critic — but when he's back home at Herefordshire he embraces a very different life.
By Quentin Letts Published
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Curious questions: Why do golf balls have dimples? And why are tennis balls furry?
As the weather picks up and tennis takes over the silver screen, millions of us are starting to thinking about dusting off our golf clubs and tennis rackets. Which begs the question, why aren't the balls we use for tennis and golf perfectly smooth?
By Martin Fone Last updated
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From the Country Life archive: The questionable vacuum caps that promised a 'healthy, vigorous growth of hair'
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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Canine muses: The English bull terrier who helped transform her owner from 'a photographer into an artist'
In the first edition of our new, limited series, we meet the dogs who've inspired some of our greatest artists.
By Agnes Stamp Published
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Five of the most majestic properties for sale in Britain today, from a 1,700-acre estate to a private island, as seen in Country Life
Our look at the best homes to come to the market via Country Life this week includes some genuinely breathtaking places.
By Toby Keel Published
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The successor to the 'most beautiful car of the 20th century' is smooth, comfortable... and ends up highlighting everything that's wrong in car design today
The DS No. 4 traces its lineage back to the Citroën DS, a car so extraordinary that people described it as looking 'as if it had dropped from the sky'. And while the modern version is more friendly to the earth, says Toby Keel, it's also worryingly earthbound.
By Toby Keel Published
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Richard Rogers: 'Talking Buildings' is a fitting testament to the elegance of utility
A new exhibition at Sir John Soane's museum dissects the seminal works of Richard Rogers, one of Britain's greatest architects.
By James Fisher Published
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'This is how the countryside looked to Gilbert White, to Thomas Hardy, even to Shakespeare and Chaucer': The forgotten corner of the world where King Charles has poured his energy into preserving an all-but-extinct way of life
The historic buildings of a Transylvanian settlement have been restored and preserved with the help of several foundations and backed by The King’s personal enthusiasm. Jeremy Musson reports on this remarkable place; photographs by Paul Highnam.
By Jeremy Musson Published
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‘The perfect hostess, he called her’: A five minute guide to Virgina Woolf’s ‘Mrs Dalloway’
To mark its centenary, Lotte Brundle delves into the lauded writer’s strange and poignant classic, set across a single summer’s day in 1920’s London.
By Lotte Brundle Published
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'It’s not ironic that I really like wasps and that they nearly killed me. It’s simply a coincidence': What to do if you're stung by a wasp
After a close encounter with some wasps put him in hospital, William Kendall sought an unlikely remedy...
By William Kendall Published
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'No Yorkshire dale, no Scottish moor, no view from Westminster Bridge can match it': Charles Quest-Ritson on The Itchen Valley, his personal piece of heaven
Charles Quest-Ritson lavishes praise on the Itchen Valley, a part of Britain that's so charming and unspoilt as to restore your faith in the world.
By Charles Quest-Ritson Published