-
‘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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
'F1 on water': SailGP makes a splash in Portsmouth
Six years after it was founded, SailGP has got the wind behind its sails. What makes this sport, dubbed 'F1 on water', so compelling?
-
'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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
What everyone is talking about this week: How Wimbledon is repurposing its 55,000 used tennis balls
Week in, week out, Will Hosie rounds up the hottest topics on everyone's lips, in London and beyond.
-
Arthur Parkinson: Chicken Licken isn’t just a children’s story about a chicken who believes the sky is falling, it tells us everything we need to know about keeping hens happy
Too many people think chickens only need shelter when it's hot, but the truth is much more complex.
-
'He unleashed a series of war cries, then intercepted the vole mid-air': There's nothing remotely common about the common kestrel
Known in Orkney as ‘moosie-haak’, kestrels are fierce hunters but have seriously declined and are now an amber-listed species.
-
Five British gardens have a starring role on the New York Times's list of 25 must-see gardens — here are the ones they forgot
Multiple British gardens have topped a New York Times list.
-
Beyond Royal Portrush: Castles, country houses and ancient towers in the other dimension of golf in Ireland
Rory McIlroy's history-making exploits and The Open arriving at Royal Portrush have made 2025 a banner year for Irish golf — but there's far more to golf on the island of Ireland than those headline-grabbers, as Toby Keel finds out.
-
14 ways to keep your dogs cool in the heat, by A-list dog trainer Ben Randall
Dogs can't regulate their body temperatures as well as humans can, so at this time of year they need your help keeping cool, whether you're on the road, out and about or leaving them with someone else while you go away.
-
The red kite is a soaraway success story, having escaped extinction to become a familiar sight in our skies again
Unhurried in flight and with a sideline in stolen goods, the handsome red kite is the gentleman thief of the raptor world, writes Mark Cocker.
-
Brideshead Revisited (again): The 10 scene-stealing British country homes from film and television
What do an enigmatic Caped Crusader, a sopping-wet Mr Darcy and Lord Eddard Stark of Winterfell have in common? Believe it or not, British country houses.
-
Sophia Money-Coutts: Is it ever okay to throw your dog a birthday party?
Sir Lewis Hamilton did it, so why not throw a birthday party for your canine companion, Sophia Money-Coutts asks.
-
'Never willing to pardon where I had a power to revenge’: The history of the duelling class
Settling a dispute with swords, pistols and, if legend is to be believed, sausages and guitars, has long been a matter of honour even among modern-day rock stars, discovers John F. Mueller.
-
What everyone is talking about this week: 'People who tended to be more obedient about lockdown are now its fiercest critics'
Week in, week out, Will Hosie rounds up the hottest topics on everyone's lips, in London and beyond.
-
Canine muses: Lucian Freud's etchings of Pluto the whippet are among his most popular and expensive work
In the third edition of our limited series, we meet the dogs who've inspired some of our greatest artists.
-
Water you're waiting for? Britain's best heritage lidos were built to save swimmers from polluted seas full of potato peelings, oil and coal — and they're still in action today
The seaside lido continues to offer safe swimming for holidaymakers irrespective of the tide, but they're also architectural gems worthy of our admiration.
