Country Life 11 October 2023

Country Life 11 October 2023 looks at the rise of the super cottage, autumn berries and how to win at conkers.

Here’s a taste of what you can find inside.

Is this the best year ever for berries?

A summer of sun and rain has given way to a glut of autumn berries, to the delight of hedge-row forager John Lewis-Stempel

Conkering heroes

Simon Lester swings into the win-at-all-costs world of that old playground chestnut: conkers

Last call for the corncrake

This small and secretive bird is becoming ever-more rare, but there is hope, finds Vicky Liddell

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Doing it by the book

Independent bookshops are thriving against the high-street odds. Catriona Gray selects a few of her favourites from the shelf

Interiors

Giles Kime picks 10 blasts from the past that are back in fashion, Eleanor Doughty marvels at Nels Crosthwaite Eyre’s light touch, Bee Osborn hails the rise of the super cottage and Amelia Thorpe visits a resurgent Pimlico Road

Pull a rabbit out of the hat

Tom Parker Bowles advocates the return of rabbit to the menu

Hugo Barclay’s favourite painting

The art-fair director chooses a work awash with symbolism

The last peak conquered

Fiona Reynolds refuses to be blown off course as she ticks off another Snowdonia summit

Nine centuries of service

In the second of two articles, John Goodall focuses on London’s St Bartholomew’s Hospital

Native breeds

The ‘picturesque’ New Forest pony is central to centuries-old grazing rights, finds Kate Green

Colour supplements

Fiery autumn tints catch the eye of Jane Powers in the secluded Cliff House Garden in Co Dublin

We reap what he sowed

Katherine Cole hails campaigner Miles Hadfield, who fought to save a host of historic gardens

Having a gourd time

Pumpkins and squashes have long been an inspiration to chefs and artists, reveals Lia Leendertz

The good stuff

Brown is the colour this season, so it’s chocs away for Hetty Lintell

Scents and sensibilities

Oxford Song is a festival not to be sniffed at, says Henrietta Bredin

And much more