This week's issue of Country Life — and how to subscribe or get your copy
Find out what's in this week's issue of Country Life — and how to save over 50% on the cover price when you take out a subscription.


Country Life is available at newsagents and supermarkets across the UK.
You can get a single copy of the magazine to be posted to your home, whether in the UK (with free postage included) or anywhere else in the world: see how to order a single issue of Country Life.
If you'd rather get the magazine delivered direct every week and save over 50% on the cover price, you can subscribe to Country Life. You can subscribe to the print magazine in the UK and across the world.
The May 7, 2025, issue of Country Life is a patriotic celebration of the 80th anniversary of VE Day, plus much, much more.
Here's a look at some of what you'll find inside.
For her eyes only
On the 80th anniversary of VE Day — which feels especially poignant given that 75th celebrations were scaled back due to the pandemic — Allan Mallinson salutes the women who aided the Allies in the dark arts if espionage.
Sign up for the Country Life Newsletter
Exquisite houses, the beauty of Nature, and how to get the most from your life, straight to your inbox.
An outpouring of joy
Jubilation and bittersweet tears greeted the end of hostilities in 1945, reports Octavia Pollock.
Mrs Olga Hopkins, Second World War veteran, takes centre stage on this week's Frontispiece.
The carver, the baker and fancy shoemaker
Jane Wheatley meets some of the craftspeople enhancing the Cotswolds' standing as a hive of creativity.
'I am the Marquis of marmite'
Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen is applying his trademark swagger to a new passion for painting, reveals James Fisher.
Nothing lasts forever
Laura Parker reveals in those 'blink and you'll miss it' moments that only Nature can provide.
The Cotswolds never disappoints (above)
Penny Churchill showcases glorious country houses for sale in two 'golden triangles'.
All set for the Chelsea chop?
This it the time to prune our late-flowering herbaceous perennials — join John Hoyland in wielding the secateurs.
Martina Froth's favourite painting
The Yale Centre for British Art Director chooses a work tinged with a melancholy sadness.
An estate made public
John Goodall investigates the gradual architectural revolution of Bowood in Wiltshire, a house that boasts a remarkable history.
The legacy
Kate Green pay tribute to Alan Turing, the code cracker who curtailed the Second World War.
The Badminton A-Z (above)
From amateur riders to Zaragoza, Kate Green guides you through the world-class eventing action.
New series: Winging it
The elegant hobby is capable of snatching swallows in flight — Mark Cocker is rapt by raptors.
The good stuff
Hetty Lintell is wowed by watches.
Interiors
Restful bedroom furniture and accessories, with Amelia Thorpe.
London Life
Rosie Paterson reveals how bees are creating a buzz in the capital, our writers have all your need to know this month and Selina Cadell shares her on-stage experiences of the Theatre Royal Drury Lane.
A soft touch
Tiffany Daneff marvels at the flower-filled paradise of Hampnett House in Gloucestershire.
Travel (above)
Emma Love has an eye for adventure, Mark Hedges goes wild on safari in Botswana, Rosie Paterson hits the walking trail in Sri Lanka and Pamela Goodman hail's Giubbilei's gardens.
Art and antiques
Simon Finch tells Carla Passino he will not part with his £1 note signed by a Great Train Robber.
One king to rule them all
Mary Miers explores the artistic and cultural legacy of James I.
Country Life is unlike any other magazine: the only glossy weekly on the newsstand and the only magazine that has been guest-edited by HRH 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.
-
The ‘utterly unique’ skincare brand that’s used in the ‘world’s best hotel’ spa
The Seed to Skin brand was the byproduct of one woman’s length fertility journey — it’s so good that today it’s used in a hotel voted the ‘world’s best’.
-
Britain's longest suspension bridge? Country Life Quiz of the Day, May 12, 2025
Friday's Quiz of the Day celebrates a northern landmark.
-
Britain's longest suspension bridge? Country Life Quiz of the Day, May 12, 2025
Friday's Quiz of the Day celebrates a northern landmark.
-
Angels, kings and fluffy bunnies; Country Life Quiz of the Day, May 9, 2025
Friday's Quiz of the Day celebrates a northern landmark.
-
Sheep-herding dogs, The Archers and Sir David Attenborough: Country Life Quiz of the Day, May 8, 2025
Thursday's Quiz of the Day features dogs, David (Attenborough) and radio drama.
-
Garden gnomes and the March sisters: Country Life Quiz of the Day, May 7, 2025
Wednesday's Quiz of the Day features a clutch of famous literary sisters and some fast-moving bees.
-
How many bees, Channel 4 and a Catch 22: Country Life Quiz of the Day, May 6, 2025
Tuesday's Quiz of the Day features a famous road, nature and science.
-
The heroine's name in 'Rebecca' and a strange coffee subsitute: Country Life Quiz of the Day, May 2, 2025
Friday's Quiz of the Day has a rock legend, a delicate flower and much more.
-
Country Life is hiring
Change is afoot at Country Life and we are looking for a new News & Property Editor, and a Luxury Editor.
-
Britain's fastest mammal, a tropical tester and a Scottish estate: Country Life Quiz of the Day, May 1, 2025
Thursday's Quiz of the Day offers up a great country estate in Scotland.