Country Life

A wise man once said to me, about buying a house, that you ‘have to remember that this is the most money you will spend on anything, ever, so you want to make sure you get it right’. It’s probably best, therefore, to...

Depending on who you ask, the food and drink scene in London is either in a state of despair or it's never been in better health. As always, when there is this much noise, it's best to get an expert on to cut a path...

Each year, the Country Life Top 100 names the very finest country house architects, interior designers, landscapers, garden designers and craftspeople in Britain. It's one of the magazine's undisputed highlights of the...

On March 26, it will have been precisely 300 years since the death of Sir John Vanbrugh, the visionary architect behind buildings such as Blenheim Palace, Castle Howard, and Seaton Delaval. He is, without a doubt, one...

The River Tamar that forms the Devon-Cornwall border comes within four miles of making Cornwall an island. In and around the Scottish Borders, many people define themselves as Bordermen first, and Scottish or English...

The more things change, the more they stay the same. As the Formula One season kicked off on Sunday, we saw the advent of full hybrid racing at the top level for the first time. A full 50/50 split between internal...

The composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim was an icon. As the creative force behind a string of huge musicals — including West Side Story and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum — he is widely...

Novelist, biographer, journalist and writer Justine Picardie joins the Country Life Podcast to talk about her life in fashion and journalism, her writing, and her close encounters with the Royal Family — including...

Is it worth the effort? That’s the question that many people might ask themselves as they stand in the doorway of a knackered old house in the Cotswolds, wondering whether to buy it and start renovating. For Jim...

For as long as he can remember, the writer and illustrator Aidan Meighan has been inspired by Nature. His early exploits might not have been entirely welcomed by those around him — collecting and storing slugs and...

Tom Hilder was born to a life in the country. Born in rural Scotland but raised in Hampshire, he went through school always thinking – and being told — that he needed to find a life, and a career, out in the...

It's just over two years ago that the journalist Katharine Hay, a year into her new job as rural affairs correspondent for The Scotsman newspaper, had an epiphany. '98% of Scotland is rural,' she recalls thinking, 'and...

It's 2006. Tony Blair is the Prime Minister, George W. Bush the US President, the existence of global warming is still up for debate, and a couple of new websites come out of early test versions to open their doors to...

In the last 20 years, the world of whisky has exploded, being transformed beyond recognition. What was once a croft industry in the Scottish Highlands and Islands has spread around the world. The Scots' craft has spread...

An off-grid lodge in the Canadian Wilderness? The colourful charm of Germany? A weekend jaunt to New York? Or perhaps a palazzo in Florence? Rosie Paterson, who is both Country Life's Travel Editor and Digital Content...