Country Life 11 January 2023
Country Life 11 January 2023 looks at ancient drovers routes, the exquisite snowdrops of Benington Lordship, and the surprisingly recent invention of the fork.

Here's a look at what is inside:
The roads most travelled
The ghosts of drovers and their herds can still be felt in ancient churches and old pubs. Gavin Plumley follows their winding ways
The remains of the day
Dusk, dimpsy, an ephemeral time, when the owl and badger emerge: twilight has a special magic, says John Lewis-Stempel
Happy to be in the soup
Tom Parker Bowles is always ready to tuck into a hearty bowl of bouillabaisse or borscht
Sweeping statements
Old snowdrops are enhanced by snowy new plantings at Benington Lordship, Hertford-shire, finds Kathryn Bradley-Hole
Eat your new greens
Tantalise your taste buds with agretti, salsify and Good King Henry, suggests Mark Diacono
Kate Mavor’s favourite painting
The chief executive of English Heritage picks a regal portrait
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Of Constable and clouds
Fiona Reynolds embraces the rain on a walk past Flatford Mill
Masterpiece
Jack Watkins admires Geoffrey Grigson’s whimsy-free writing in The Shell Country Alphabet
Ancestral Modernism
Old and new are imaginatively blended in the Dalrymples’ Leuchie Walled Garden, East Lothian, discovers Mary Miers
Native breeds
The dark woolly coats and sweet white faces of Herdwick sheep enchant Kate Green
The fork in the road
The ubiquitous fork is a remarkably recent addition to our tables, explains Matthew Dennison
Interiors
Wood-burning stoves are cleaner and cosier than ever
That’s got my bird name written all over it
Old French, confusion, Gaelic, lilting song or clumsy movement: the reasons for avian names are legion, reveals Derek Turner
The good stuff
Time for tartan, says Hetty Lintell, as Burns Night approaches
Bringing the quintessential English rural idle to life via interiors, food and drink, property and more Country Life’s travel content offers a window into the stunning scenery, imposing stately homes and quaint villages which make the UK’s countryside some of the most visited in the world.
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