Impressive horsepower
Last week, members of the public and press at Cheltenham Festival were treated to a first look of Aston Martin's new Vantage Roadster. Look out for a test drive and review on the Country Life the website in early May.
When the pupil becomes the master
When carrying out conservation work on its 18th-century Venetian paintings, staff at the Wallace Collection reappraised one of the vedute, The Grand Canal with San Simeone Piccolo, long thought to be by Canaletto, and attributed it instead to his nephew and pupil Bernardo Bellotto. He would have painted it when he was 16, making this the earliest known work by the Venetian artist.
London's right on time
The Watches of Switzerland group opened up a brand new Rolex flagship store over the weekend — one of the largest in Europe.
The new site, on London's Old Bond Street, spans four floors and includes a Rolex exhibition celebrating some of the brand's best-loved models of the last 120 years. Timepieces available to purchase include the GMT Master II, Cosmograph Daytona, and Submariner models.
Beaver or not, here I come
Last week, the National Trust released the first two pairs of Eurasian beavers into the wild, in the Purbeck area of Dorset, following Defra’s announcement in February that applications to return the semi-aquatic rodents into river catchments in England would be accepted.
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Graham Norton's elegant East London home hits the market, and it's just as wonderful as you would expectThe four-bedroom home in Wapping should be studied for how well it uses two separate spaces to create a home of immense character and utility.
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Sign of the times: In the age of the selfie, what’s happening to the humble autograph?When Ringo Starr announced that he was no longer going to sign anything, he kickstarted a celebrity movement that coincided with the advent of the camera phone and selfie. Rob Crossan asks whether, in today’s world, the selfie holds more clout than an autograph?
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Betty is the first dog to scale all of Scotland’s hundreds of mountains and hillsFewer than 100 people have ever completed Betty's ‘full house’ of Scottish summits — and she was fuelled by more than 800 hard boiled eggs.
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'A delicious chance to step back in time and bask in the best of Britain': An insider's guide to The SeasonHere's how to navigate this summer's top events in style, from those who know best.
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Burberry, Jess Wheeler and The Courtauld: London Craft Week 2025 explainedWith more than 400 exhibits and events dotted around the capital, and everything from dollshouse's to tutu making, there is something for everyone at the festival, which runs from May 12-18.
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New balls please: Eddie Redmayne, Anna Wintour and Laura Bailey on the sensory pleasures of playing tennisLittle beats the popping sound and rubbery smell of a new tube of tennis balls — even if you're a leading Hollywood actor.
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Arthur Parkinson: ‘I want my chicken coop to look like the one from “Far from the Madding Crowd”’In his second instalment of all things chicken keeping, our columnist outlines the dos and don'ts of hen house maintenance.
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RHS Chelsea Flower Show: Everything you need to know, plus our top tips and tricksCountry Life editors and contributor share their tips and tricks for making the most of Chelsea.
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What the cluck? Waitrose announces ‘trailblazing’ pledge to help improve chicken welfare standardsWaitrose has signed up to the Better Chicken Commitment, but does the scheme leave Britain open to inferior imports?
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Having a ruff day: Kennel Club exhibition highlights the plight of vulnerable spaniel breedsPhotographer Melody Fisher has been travelling the UK taking photographs of ‘vulnerable’ spaniel breeds.
