Country Life

Published by Time Inc. (UK) Ltd Country Life, the quintessential English magazine, is undoubtedly one of the biggest and instantly recognisable brands in the UK today. It has a unique core mix of contemporary country-related editorial and top end property advertising. Editorially, the magazine comments in-depth on a wide variety of subjects, such as architecture, the arts, gardens and gardening, travel, the countryside, field-sports and wildlife. With renowned columnists and superb photography Country Life delivers the very best of British life every week.

Miss Sophie Bell • Sophie is reading Geography at the University of Edinburgh. She is the daughter of James and Sue Bell of Jordans, Buckinghamshire.

More hedges, please

Country Life

Town & Country

Town & Country Notebook

Letters to the Editor

Athena • Cultural Crusader

My favourite painting Joanna Jensen

A castle of curiosities • A castle saved from the brink of ruin is now a memorable home. John Goodall reports

Groundhog day • February can sometimes feel like the never-ending month, but it also gives clues as to what the weather has in store, says Lia Leendertz

Windows on the world • The desire to chart the world around us is an impulse as old as time and some map-makers’ efforts have an astonishing longevity, reveals Matthew Dennison

Irruption of the waxwings • Once thought to have presaged the First World War, these exquisite European songbirds are a blessing to our shores, says Mark Cocker

Thunderous waterfalls and torrents hoarse • Surging, foaming, trickling, crashing, cascading or flowing, waterfalls paint the landscape with rainbow-scattered spray and misty plumes. Here, we celebrate these streaks of molten silver, from wild moor to woodland dell

Flight mode • Travel in khaki green, says Hetty Lintell, with her choice of useful and stylish accessories

How to light a period house • Careful planning is the secret to illuminating historic spaces, says lighting designer Sally Stephenson of Owl Lighting

Shining examples • The latest lamps and lighting accessories, selected by Amelia Thorpe

Home truths • Cash-paying downsizers will have to compete with families hoping to upsize for these three charming homes under £2 million

Decisions, decisions…

London Life • Your indispensable guide to the capital

London Life Need to Know

In with the new • Thomas Cundy II changed the face of Mayfair with the refronting programme he launched as chief surveyor of the Grosvenor estate, but much of his work was lost in subsequent renovation, as Carla Passino discovers

The tale of two towers • England and France competed fiercely for bragging rights in the 19th and early 20th centuries, but no version of France’s fêted Eiffel Tower ever came to fruition. Not for lack of trying, however, says Martin Fone

COUNTRY LIFE • Travel 2024

The eagle hunters of Mongolia

New house rules • COUNTRY LIFE’s inaugural list of top hotels is here to help inspire your travels. But what makes a good hotel great and how do you choose, asks Jo Rodgers

Travel Top hotels

Travel News

Surf and turf • The jaguar is the jewel in Belize’s conservation efforts, but they’re notoriously elusive, discovers Nigel Tisdall, on a journey to find them from rainforest to reef

On the strait and narrow • Istanbul’s Bosphorus Strait is one of the world’s most evocative and significant water-ways in a constant state of flux, says Catherine Fairweather, who journeys upriver to find out what’s occurring on the European and too-often-overlooked Asian banks

All the fun a mile high up • Modern-day commercial flight leaves plenty to be desired, but there’s lots you...