January: Coppicing at Garston Wood, Dorset
On January 10, the RSPB begin their annual coppicing days at this beautiful spot near the Dorset-Wiltshire border. Volunteers are welcomed along each Wednesday and Sunday until March to help the charity manage this stretch of woodland. Coppicing involves cutting tree stumps near ground level to stimulate new growth – training, tools and gloves are all provided. See more at www.rspb.org.uk.
February: See the snowdrops at Shepton Mallet
Dozens of places across Britain now celebrate the arrival of snowdrops in their millions, but the daddy of all those displays is at Shepton Mallet. The town was home to James Allen, aka 'The Snowdrop King', who was the first man to breed new varieties from wild plants. See more details at www.sheptonsnowdropfestival.org.uk.
March: Go foraging for Birch sap
'There aren’t many new leaves on trees or blossom, the cherry plum being a notable exception. However, Nature is busy with its preparations, for, unseen, the sap is rising,' writes expert forager John Wright.
'Halfway through the second week of the month, I venture into a birch wood armed with brace, bit, bucket and spouts. An exploratory drill into a birch tree will, by mid-March, be rewarded with a flow of sap. In 24 hours, five to seven pints may be collected from each tree.
'Simmered, oh so slowly, in a bain-marie, it will reduce to birch-sap syrup, one of the most prized of the forager’s commodities.'
April: Go walking in the footsteps of Thomas Hardy
The beautiful coastline around the north Cornwall town of Boscastle is full of dramatic cliffs rocky inlets and sweeping views – it's where Thomas Hardy met his wife. Emma. The town puts on a week's worth of activities from March 15-20, including many guided walks. Find out more at the visitboscastle.com website.
May: Go and see some top-class horse trials
Badminton, at the start of the month, is rightly world-famous – both for its competition and its atmosphere. For something a little more sedate, why not try the Chatsworth International Horse Trials in Derbyshire. It has all the top riders and the graceful country-house setting, but with smaller crowds – plus a sheep show. Badminton runs from 2-6 May (www.badminton-horse.co.uk) while Chatsworth runs from May 11-13 (www.chatsworth.org).
June: Go to an agricultural show
These take place across the country and throughout the summer, but The Royal Norfolk Show, held just outside Norwich on June 27-28 this year, is a terrific option if you're looking to a recommendation.
About 800 head of cattle will be judged, along with pigs, sheep and heavy horses, plus there’s a major choral project, show jumping, craft demonstrations, gundogs and flyfishing. The website is at royalnorfolkshow.rnaa.org.uk.
July: Go fruit picking and create something wonderful with what you collect
Strawberries, raspberries, elderflower berries – if you can find them – are all approaching their peak in July, and whether you go to a pick-your-own or foraging in a hedgerow, there's nothing quite like the taste of fruit freshly-picked by your own fair hands. Jam is the obvious thing to turn them into (here's one of our best jam-making recipes) but home-made elderflower wine is beautiful – and we'll put modesty aside to say that our recipe for doing to is the finest on the internet. If you end up with punnets full of strawberries, meanwhile, these recipes will help you put them to great use.
August: Have a day out at one of Britain's finest secret beaches
Britain's hottest, driest month is without doubt the time to head to the coast. Trouble is, everyone will have the same idea – so to beat the crowds, shun Brighton, Blackpool and Bournemouth in order to head to one of our list of Scotland's most beautiful beaches, or one of the secret beaches of the West Country.
September: Visit a Highland Games
It's nothing less than a celebration of the very soul of the Highlands: giant men in kilts lifting huge stones, dancing and – of course – tossing cabers. In case you think the latter looks too easy, we’re happy to reveal that the logs used are soaked in water before the event to add extra weight. The Braemar Gathering is arguably the grandest option, and often attracts royal guests – it takes place on September 1 this year. See more at www.braemargathering.org.
October: Go foraging for mushrooms in the New Forest
'I do nothing in October except look for mushrooms, identify mushrooms, photograph mushrooms, eat mushrooms, dry mushrooms for the larder and take people on mushroom forays, ' writes expert forager John Wright. And if you're making a special trip, the New Forest is an ideal destination, as John explains:
'It’s the most magical of places at any time, but October suits it best. The leaves are still on the trees, for the most part, and chestnuts lie thick on the ground, crab apples surround the base of their parent trees in a green corona and fungi are everywhere... On a typical day we'll find 60 species; my all-time record is 125.'
November: Mark the centenary of the Armistice
Throughout Britain in November, events will be taking place to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War. Exhibitions, ceremonies, plays and parades will be listed on the www.1914.org website, while the Imperial War Museum will have events at its sites in London, Manchester, Belfast and Duxford.
December: Go ice skating in a beautiful location
Yes, it'll be cold. Yes, your feet will ache from being strapped into ill-fitting, tungsten-hard, plastic boots. And yes, you'll probably start off skittering across the ice with all the gawky lack of grace of a newborn foal. But once you find your balance point and the pain in your extremities subsides through cold, it's a wonderfully wintry pastime in a beautiful spot.
There are outdoor rinks all over the place these days. London has Hyde Park (within Winter Wonderland) Hampton Court and Somerset House; Brighton has the rink at the Royal Pavilion; Winchester has a rink in the shadow of the cathedral; and there are more picturesque options in Edinburgh, Bath, York, Cardiff and even one at the Eden Project.
Things to do: Music in the gardens, the buildings of the Weald & Downland and a circus at the cathedral
Keep your diary up-to-date with our selection of unmissable events and things to do in the next few weeks.
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'I have lost a treasure, such a sister, such a friend as never can have been surpassed': Inside Jane Austen's Winchester home, the house where she penned her final words and drew her final breathJane Austen spent the last days of her life in rented lodgings in Winchester, Hampshire. Adam Rattray describes the remarkable recent discoveries made about the house in which she died.
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An utterly charming island home in Scotland with gardens so beautiful they made the cover of Country LifeAn Cala on the Isle of Seil has a fascinating history that is only enhanced by its amazing setting.
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What do 32 pigeons, 38 dogs, four horses and one cat have in common? They've all been awarded a Dicken medal, and now you can have one tooPunch and Judy, two brave boxer dogs, saved the lives of British officers in Palastine. Now Judy's PDSA Dickin Medal will go under the hammer at Noonans on June 11.
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Forget catnip, it's all about catmintNepeta, the highly aromatic and pretty perennial beloved of so many country gardens, may be your feline’s favourite fix, but we should be wary of its root, warns Deborah Nicholls-Lee
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‘It's a bit like a pub, but without the requirement of being drunk’: Why we’re all hot for a countryside saunaThe sauna is the latest wellness trend — especially one immersed in Nature. Lotte Brundle dips into why the pastime has been heating up.
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'When you are blind, your physical world is only as far as your arms can reach, but with my guide dog, my world is limitless'Tubby little bundles of joy, guide-dog puppies may be irresistibly sweet, but they’ve been expertly engineered to perform life-changing duties, discovers Katy Birchall.
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Arthur Parkinson: Ruffled feathers and a bad attitude — my guide on how to deal with broody hensA chicken's desire to sit on and hatch a clutch of eggs can be the most effortless way to rear your own birds, but for those who are after eggs and not chicks it can be a real issue.
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'We don’t expect to catch monsters in British seas': The return of the bluefin tunaIt’s no longer necessary to venture to tropical waters in order to catch a monster tuna, says Jonathan Young, as he attempts to land a big-game fish in Falmouth Bay.
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From 'Gerroff my land' to 'Get on my land': Farmers are keen to set the record straight with Open Farm Sunday 2025The event — which sees farmers throw open their gates to visitors — returns for its 19th year on Sunday, June 8 with hundreds of farms across Britain will be taking part.
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Goodwoof: 'The remarkable thing is how few incidents of biting there are, from dogs and owners'Now in its 4th year, Goodwoof could be the canine Glastonbury. Charles Gordon-Lennox, the Duke of Richmond, reveals some of the secrets of its success.
