Country Life February 25, 2026

Here's a look at some of what you'll find inside.

Do you own Britain’s naughtiest dog?

Calling all cheeky canines — COUNTRY LIFE is on a mission to find the most mischievous mutts in the land

I’ve got you, babe

John Lewis-Stempel marvels atNature’s symbiotic relationships, from barnacles hitching a ride on whales to birds debugging deer

The pubs that made history

Ashleigh Arnott raises a glass to DNA discovery, D-Day planning and Stilton’s exalted status on a pub crawl to end all pub crawls

Interiors

Tiffany Daneff admires an Oxfordshire garden’s bespoke green-house and Amelia Thorpe picks out glorious garden buildings

Spread from Country Life 25 February, 2026 — Photo: ©Clive Nichols

Baroness Jan Royall’s favourite painting

The former Somerville principal chooses a striking work by an alumna of the Oxford college

Country-house treasure

John Goodall unearths a 2,500-year-old Assyrian carving at Eastnor Castle, Herefordshire

Legacy of the aesthete bachelor

Contrary to popular belief, the National Trust’s portfolio is largely founded on the wealth of single male donors, reveals Michael Hall

The legacy

With Crufts on the horizon, Agnes Stamp hails Florence Nagle’s campaign for Kennel Club reform

Scale model

David Profumo profiles the lake-dwelling charr, a dandyish fish as ‘beautiful as a butterfly’

It’s alive!

Tom Howells meets the British producers rediscovering the flavour of fermented foods such as kefir, kombucha and kraut

A lapwing and a prayer

John Lewis-Stempel is lifted by the heart-warming sight of Vanellus vanellus picking over the Big Field in February

Luxury

Amie Elizabeth White shares the latest in jackets, jewellery and fragrances, as Rankin reveals his favourite things

Dear Daphne

Winter-flowering daphnes are a must for every garden, says Charles Quest-Ritson, who shares his favourite varieties

Brown study

Harry Pearson traces the story of Britain’s love of brown sauce from Hoe’s and HP to Daddies

Travel

In a new series exploring the best places to visit in the UK, Mark Hedges enjoys the delights of Cornwall’s rugged coastline

Arts & antiques

Ruth Fainlight treasures her Sibyls poems as a link to lost friends Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes, she tells Carla Passino

Reaching for the stars

George III set a trend for the Royal Family to be cheerleaders for scientific advancement, as Matthew Dennison discovers

And much more

Country Life is unlike any other magazine: the only glossy weekly on the newsstand and the only magazine that has been guest-edited by His Majesty The King not once, but twice. It is a celebration of modern rural life and all its diverse joys and pleasures — that was first published in Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee year. Our eclectic mixture of witty and informative content — from the most up-to-date property news and commentary and a coveted glimpse inside some of the UK's best houses and gardens, to gardening, the arts and interior design, written by experts in their field — still cannot be found in print or online, anywhere else.