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How Sir Walter Scott made the Dandie Dinmont terrier a legend
This week marked Sir Walter Scott’s birthday — and so it seemed the right moment to celebrate the terrier that owes its fame, and its name, to his pen.
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'Two months to the Moon, three for rest and refreshment and two more for the return': The English stork success story
Long unseen on British shores, white stork chicks are hatching once again in the UK and a colony is now flourishing in West Sussex thanks to a pioneering restoration project.
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How the acrobatic buzzard survived persecution to become one of Britain's best avian hunters
It may appear lethargic, but no one could argue with the hunting prowess of the common buzzard when it transforms into a surging missile intent on an unsuspecting victim.
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From Lincoln to London, the crosses of Eleanor are a legacy of love
A grief-stricken Edward I built a legacy to love across the middle of England in memory of his adored Queen Consort, marked by 12 Eleanor Crosses. The historian Alice Loxton walks in the footsteps of the epic funerary procession.
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Pier today, gone tomorrow: Blackpool pleasure pier up for sale
A product of Victorian entertainment, piers are synonymous with the British seaside. But they need our help to survive.
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Sophia Money-Coutts: Can my dog sit with me at the table when I’m eating out?
'Admittedly, I did once offer Dennis a small piece of truffled arancini in a Mayfair restaurant, but I felt it was important that he try his first truffle.'
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A hoover for goose droppings, a tree-planting battle with the Hilton, and a disgusting banana: Inside Buckingham Palace and its gardens
The summer tours of The King’s residence this year include two new state rooms and a peep inside his private gardens.
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What everyone is talking about this week: Would you swim in the River Thames?
Week in, week out, Will Hosie rounds up the hottest topics on everyone's lips, in London and beyond.
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‘She’s absolutely everything to me. She’s my future, my hope, my light’: How Labrador retrievers went from catching fish to saving lives
As International Assistance Dog Awareness Week comes to an end, we celebrate the Labrador retriever, one of the most cherished and versatile dog breeds.
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Reading al fresco: The best places in London to get lost in the written word, according to the Country Life team
In London, north, east, south and west, there's a public place suitable for all performative acts of reading.
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Marsh Harriers: The wetland-loving bird that defied the odds to reconquer British skies
Mark Cocker's first ever sighting of the bird was at Minsmere, Suffolk, in 1976 — and he's never forgotten it.
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Louis Wain: The Edwardian artist who was 'perhaps the best PR cats have ever had'
The artist's fascination with cats is the subject of a show at Chris Beetles Gallery which will feature 25 previously unseen works by Wain.
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The Irish wolfhound: Meet the loyal and strong gentle giant that won the hearts of John F. Kennedy and the British Army
From its roots in ancient Ireland to its present-day role as the Irish Guards' official mascot, the Irish Wolfhound shows that loyalty, strength, and grace are qualities worth celebrating.
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Killer whales: The perilously rare and super-smart predator we risk loosing from British waters forever
They’ve recently made headlines for interfering with boats, but intelligent, family-focused and remarkably long-lived orcas–better known as killer whales–contain multitudes.
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‘Though she be but little, she is fierce’: Everything you didn't know about sparrowhawks
Scourge of the bird feeder and a master of ‘shock and awe’ assassinations, the sparrowhawk pursues its quarry with such tenacity and unpredictability that it often blindsides its prey.
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An ode to Britain's wildflowers, from the London bloom which grew in the craters of the Blitz, to the weather-predicting scarlet pimpernel
Decorating the land with their brilliant and varied hues, our native flora which operate as clocks, calendars and Nature’s medicine cabinet are blooming brilliant, says John Lewis-Stempel.
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Sophia Money-Coutts: If I’m sending a thank you card to a friend, do I really have to address it to ‘Mrs W Butler’ as if it’s 1928?
Sophia Money-Coutts is the new Debrett's and she's here every Wednesday to set some modern etiquette wrongs, right.
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'Calm, beautiful, loving, and intelligent — everything about that dog was pure majesty': The greyhound is Country Life’s first dog breed of the week
From ancient hunting dogs to royal symbols in medieval Britain, greyhounds have captured the hearts of many — including Jilly Cooper and Twiggy.
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The pine marten is a predatory force to be reckoned with
The pine marten may have a taste for jam sandwiches, but its razor-sharp claws and appetite for eggs and grey squirrels makes it a predatory force to be reckoned with.
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The white-tailed eagle is crafty, controversial and has wings the size of a barn door
A penchant for spring lamb saw the raptor species ruthlessly exterminated, but the beguiling white-tailed eagle — also known as the sea eagle — is now back on our shores.
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Full steam ahead: The joy of the traction engine
Acres of gleaming brass, piercing whistles and history come alive: traction-engine rallies are a gloriously British summer celebration.
