Country Life March 11, 2026

Britain's top 100 craftspeople, architects and designers are the stars of Country Life March 11, 2026, while we also look at toads, David Hockney and Castle Howard.

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Cover of Country Life March 11, 2026
The cover of Country Life March 11, 2026, featuring the home of Emma Burns, managing director of Colefax & Fowler (Photo: Simon Brown).
(Image credit: Country Life / Future)

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

A 21st-century renaissance

John Goodall applauds an award-winning restoration of Castle Howard, Vanbrugh’s Baroque masterpiece in North Yorkshire

Spread from Country Life March 11, 2026

(Image credit: Future)

Now you see them…

Bufo bufo plays an intriguing role in the folklore and traditions of Britain. Sarah Langford studies the toad, warts and all

Among the Wicklow hills

Lucinda Gosling falls for the irresistible Glen Sit as she extols the virtues of the seldom seen Glen of Imaal terrier

The COUNTRY LIFE Top 100

Our guide to the best of British craftspeople, architects and designers, who are experts at breathing new life into country houses and their settings

Spread from Country Life March 11, 2026

(Image credit: Future)

Stem subjects

Matthew Rice’s annual Tulip in a Bottle competition is bringing fresh vigour to a 165-year-old institution, finds Tiffany Daneff

Heaven in a wild flower

David Hockney’s 295ft iPad epic A Year in Normandie celebrates the infinite variety of Nature, says Martin Gayford

Francesca Beauman’s favourite painting

The author and publisher picks a 1944 portrait that represents a meeting of artistic minds

Country-house treasure

John Goodall spies a life-saving telescope at Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland

Spread from Country Life March 11, 2026

(Image credit: Future)

The legacy

Thomas Telford is the epitome of civil-engineering excellence, says Kate Green, as his Menai Suspension Bridge turns 200

What a way to make a living

What happened to all the badgy fiddlers, powder monkeys and doffers? Stephen Roberts laments lost occupations of yesteryear

Luxury

Jonathan Self delves into the Affair of the Diamond Necklace and Amie Elizabeth White hails the Belstaff Trialmaster jacket

Where there’s a willow, there’s a way

There’s no end to the wonders of willow — Deborah Nicholls-Lee weaves the tale from aspirin to wickerwork and cricket bats

Spread from Country Life March 11, 2026

(Image credit: Future)

Run, rarebit, run

Tom Parker Bowles passes on pudding in favour of Welsh rarebit, a dish that turns cheese on toast into a savoury sensation

A new beginning for Benton End

Kendra Wilson traces the story of the plant collector Sir Cedric Morris ahead of the reopening of his Suffolk garden in June

Travel

Emma Love explores the Amazon in pursuit of the elusive pink river dolphin and Rosie Paterson unpacks the latest cruise news

There’s a star man…

David Ellis marks a milestone moment for the Michelin star, that assurance of fine dining first bestowed 100 years ago

Arts & antiques

The Divine intervention of Sarah Bernhardt set Alphonse Mucha on the road to a stellar career, as Carla Passino discovers

Country Life
Country Life

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.