What you'll find in this week's issue of Country Life — and how to subscribe or get your copy

Cover of Country Life May 6, 2026 — The cover of of Country Life May 6, 2026, featuring a cottage in the Cotswolds village of Taynton, Oxfordshire (Photo: Cotswolds Photo Library/Alamy).

(Image credit: Future)

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Country Life May 6, 2026 celebrates Jilly Cooper, the Badminton Horse Trials and delves into the greatest property in the Cotswolds.

Here's a look at some of what you'll find inside.

The legacy

Kate Green salutes ‘Rutshire Chronicles’ author Dame Jilly Cooper, whose much-loved books have sold 11 million copies

‘We must farm with Nature, not against it’

Forward-thinking Cotswolds farmers explain to Mary Skipwith how they are using sustainable methods to balance food pro-duction with wildlife recovery

They broke the mould

Records are there to be broken, suggests Kate Green, as she profiles would-be history makers at the Badminton Horse Trials

Winging it

In a new series on unloved birds, Mark Cocker profiles the carrion crow, that most canny of corvids

Creating a buzz

Melanie Cable-Alexander meets the honey sommeliers who are busy as bees trying to elevate our appreciation of this liquid gold

Right up your alley

The game of boules was banned in England for centuries, but pétanque is peaking once again

Karl Openshaw’s favourite painting

The designer chooses a vibrant abstract work of clashing colours

Country-house treasure

John Goodall is struck by the Duke of Wellington’s hearing stick at Apsley House, London

A galaxy of details in stone

John Goodall investigates the fascinating history of the Old and New Deanery in Gloucester

‘Splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower’

John Wright peeks into the golden grasslands of Britain and finds a hidden world teeming with life and vitality

Luxury

Dressing for the Chelsea Flower Show, plus the darling buds of May, with Amie Elizabeth White

Interiors

Go to sleep in style with Amelia Thorpe’s selection of the best in beds and bedside accessories

London Life

Grace McCloud looks at Lee Alexander McQueen’s legacy, Will Hosie presents seven of the best properties for sale, Kathryn Ferry revives the spirit of the Festival of Britain and Battersea Pleasure Gardens, plus our writers have all you need to know this month

From cattle byre to elegant bower

George Plumptre pays tribute to the four generations that have created spectacular gardens at Hodges Barn in Gloucestershire

Dark magic

Gentleman’s Relish is the pride of Britain for Tom Parker Bowles

Travel

Pamela Goodman falls in love with Manrique’s Lanzarote

Arts & antiques

A visit to the porcelain capital of China changed Felicity Aylieff’s career, as she tells Carla Passino

Breaking the code

Michael Hall ponders the meaning of still life and the often fruitless search for symbolism in art

Drawn to the natural world

Jack Watkins relives the magical animal stories of Alison Uttley

And much more.

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.