14 things to book today to make the most of the 2024 Summer Season
Music, sport, gardens and more — here are some of the best events to attend this summer.
Music, sport, gardens and more — here are some of the best events to attend this summer.
Our beautiful, infinitely varied coast has become central to our national concept of what makes Britain so special, says Peter Waine.
Country Life's Kate Green joins the podcast to talk about the tale of how the world's best three-day eventing competition came to be.
Our countryside columnist does a friend a favour, and ends up having to free a half-ton heifer from a muddy trench.
Fiona Reynolds heads out for a walk on the Cheshire Plain, where industry and farming are juxtaposed to startling effect.
Alister Mackenzie, the golf course architect who created Augusta National Golf Club, was a GP with an enthusiastic sideline in golf until he won a competition in Country Life. Roderick Easdale tells the extraordinary tale.
The 'Surrey Six' is a collection of ways to tie rope that, for most people, are the only six knots you'll ever need. Agnes Stamp tries her hand at tying them, and looks in to the lore of knot tying.
Patrick Galbraith has a night to remember.
Is it still possible to use a penny-farthing today? The answer is an emphatic yes, at least if you're former Special Forces officer and adventurer Neil Laughton. He rode his Victorian high wheeler for 400 miles across war-torn Ukraine, doing everything from making pizza for local children to raising money for charity. Here he tells his tale.
Few games rival conkers for sheer excitement. Simon Lester ponders the merits of round-topped nuts versus flat-sided cheesers and exposes the nefarious tricks some use to win at all costs.
Joe Gibbs ignored the warnings and bought himself a boat. One year one, are the joys greater than the regrets?
The dreamily beautiful Manor House in Hornton has been home to Felix Francis, the best-selling writer and son of Dick Francis, for 16 years, but now they are moving on.
Solitary daily pacing of Hadrian’s Wall, in the footsteps of Roman soldiers, brings back family memories for Fiona Reynolds.
As Britain goes through a blazing hot tail-end of summer, Christopher Woodward dives into the history of the swimming pool and relishes some lengths in the best private pools in the country. Photographs by Simon Buck and Millie Pilkington.
A game of beach cricket with captains and kings leaves Steve King with hazy memories, but the all-encompassing glow of a perfect game (despite losing by three wickets).
An archaeological discovery near Jason Goodwin's idyllic spot has sparked excitement far and wide — but not a little dismay nearer to home.
Fiona Reynolds takes a stroll on a quiet part of the North Wessex Downs that is redolent with history and wildlife.
When the British fell in love with the seaside, they invented a mobile building to convey them to the water. Kathryn Ferry tells the remarkable tale of the bathing machine.
From a kamikaze ichthyosaur to a gigantic shell with sinister tentacles, Britain teems with fascinating fossils. Simon de Bruxelles meets the collectors following in Mary Anning’s footsteps. Photos by Millie Pilkington for Country Life.
We've rounded up all the utterly inessential products — posh tennis gear, in other words — that you absolutely do not need to enjoy Wimbledon, but would probably fancy having anyway.