Country Life 5 December 2018

published 5 December 2018

Country Life 5 December 2018 features Britain's best wildlife photography, our top choices for Christmas wines and why house plants are making a return.

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SPELLBINDING: Paula Lester is captivated by images from the British Wildlife Photography Awards.

THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS: Grahame's best-loved characters, born from a great love of nature.

CHRISTMAS WINES: From fizz to Port, Harry Eyres pick the best wines for the festive season.

HOUSE PLANTS: Steven Desmond explains this most recent Victorian revival.

SEAT OF CIVILISATION: The second of two articles on Seawood Castle and its life as the home of Kenneth Clark.

FAVOURITE PAINTING: Bamber Gascoigne chooses a poignant portrait.

PIGGERY TO PALACE: How neglected outbuildings become family homes and luxury hideaways.

LIVING NATIONAL TREASURE: The ice sculptor.

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BY THE BOOK: Octavia Pollock on why the Encyclopaedia Britannica still has a place in the age of Google.

INTERIORS: Entrancing entrance halls.

CRANBERRIES: Tasty bakes, curtesy of Melanie Johnson.

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Country Life is unlike any other magazine: the only glossy weekly on the newsstand and the only magazine that has been guest-edited by His Majesty The King not once, but twice. It is a celebration of modern rural life and all its diverse joys and pleasures — that was first published in Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee year. Our eclectic mixture of witty and informative content — from the most up-to-date property news and commentary and a coveted glimpse inside some of the UK's best houses and gardens, to gardening, the arts and interior design, written by experts in their field — still cannot be found in print or online, anywhere else.