London Life
London Life is Country Life's section dedicated to life in the capital.
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What is everyone talking about this week: Why we need more female treesFor too long, urban planners and landscape designers have favoured male trees for easier maintenance — but it's made hay fever a whole lot worse. Fortunately, a solution exists.
By Will Hosie Published
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Where to eat, where to drink and where to shop in Chelsea, according to the Country Life teamThere's more to Chelsea than just the Flower Show so we've rounded up some of the best places to eat, stay and shop.
By Rosie Paterson Last updated
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What is everyone talking about this weekend: Is cider the new black?Cider — more specifically, fine cider — is making waves on the British dining scene following a bumper apple harvest in 2025. Could cider tasting menus soon replace those for wine?
By Will Hosie Published
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The first detailed and accurate bird’s-eye view of the capital ever seen shows London in a whole new lightA new book lets readers travel back in time to a period when myriad timber yards were on the south side of the Thames opposite the Strand and Bermondsey was open countryside.
By Julie Harding Published
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'The best letters feel necessary, as though the writer couldn’t not write them': Shaun Usher opens the envelope on 13 years of Letters LiveFrom humble beginnings at a book launch, to events across the world, James Fisher investigates the enduring appeal of the letter from its greatest curator.
By James Fisher Published
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Specs in the city: You shouldn't underestimate the transformative effect of bespoke glasses — and this London shop crafted some for Amelia EarhartMark Hedges heads to E. B. Meyrowitz to find the ultimate bespoke glasses.
By Mark Hedges Published
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All hail the egg! The most innovative eggs in London — and how to make some of them at home this EasterForget the chocolate eggs, Lotte Brundle traipses around London, at her stomach's expense, to bring you a cracking guide to the most interesting eggs in the capital.
By Lotte Brundle Published
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Six Thames-side homes where you can watch the Boat Race without even getting out of your pyjamasThe CHANEL J12 Boat Race — aka the annual Oxford vs Cambridge Boat Race — is upon us, and if you lived in one of these places you could watch it all take place without even leaving the house.
By Toby Keel Published
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One of the first substantial buildings constructed from cast iron lives on only in the Country Life ArchiveThe London Coal Exchange enabled City merchants to buy and sell coal across the world. Despite this magazine's best efforts, it was destroyed in the 1960s.
By Melanie Bryan Published
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'This is an international institution, a great Regency building and a public face of London. It deserves something better'The British Museum's proposal for a new temporary pavilion has every chance of casting a permanent shadow.
By Athena Published
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The definitive guide to London's best afternoon teasThere's an afternoon tea for everyone — from gluten-free to art-inspired — if you know where to look. Here are some of our tried and tested favourites.
By Country Life Published
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A murdered entrepreneur, an iconic London department store, a £1.5 billion makeover, and the quest to create 'the capital’s greatest residential address'The more you read about Whiteleys — from Queen Victoria and Eliza Dolittle to the tragic tale of its founder — the more surprising it is that nobody has made a film about the place. Yet.
By Julie Harding Published
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A Georgian home with a Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen living room that brings a touch of Hogwarts to one of the greenest parts of LondonThis fine, six-bedroom home in Blackheath has a living space created by the famed interior designer who once dominated the television schedules.
By Toby Keel Published
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You don’t need to live in the countryside or have acres of space to start a cutting gardenAmy Merrick consults the expert growers at The Real Flower Company on her new West London cutting garden.
By Amy Merrick Published
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Sir Roger Moore's London pad is on the marketThe former home of the most prolific 007 of them all is for sale. Toby Keel takes a look inside.
By Toby Keel Published
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Pushing back against a culture of disposability: The enduring importance of craftCorrine Julius grapples with a world dominated by mass production, digital life, AI and explains why the unique and the tangible is spearheading a renaissance.
By Corinne Julius Published
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‘French pastries all look amazing… but I wish more British bakers would look at what we used to have’: Richard Hart on the joys of jammy dodgers and iced bunsRichard Hart has made his name as one of the world’s best breadmakers, but as Oliver Berry finds out, his latest project marks a return to his British roots.
By Oliver Berry Published
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Is this London’s sexiest hotel room?Suite Sloane comes with a bathtub for two and its own ‘mistress door’. For our new series where we hunt for the best hotel rooms in the UK, Lotte Brundle checks in to ...At Sloane just before Valentine’s Day.
By Lotte Brundle Published
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£1.5 billion might be spent on Arts buildings, but who will be left to run them?Spending money on bricks and mortar is one thing, but we must also reward the staff and experts that keep our culture alive.
By Athena Published
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The magnificent London mansion that Country Life mourned when it was demolished to make room for the Dorchester HotelDorchester House was once the epicentre of late-Victorian society.
By Melanie Bryan Published
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What is everyone talking about this week: As Valentine's Day beckons, love letters are making a comebackYoung lovers are foregoing expensive gifts and turning instead to quill and paper. Is it a result of the cost-of-living crisis — or something else?
By Will Hosie Published


