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.

Mrs Rupert Stearn • Ali is the author and illustrator of the ‘Jack Brock’ children’s books, inspired by her miniature pony Jack Brock, with which she visits care homes and raises money for dementia charities. Ali is the stepdaughter of Bob Champion of Newmarket, Suffolk, and the daughter of Darcy Champion of Kingham, Oxfordshire. She has two children, Bunny and Albert, with her husband, Rupert.

Reaching Olympian heights

Country Life

Town & Country

Town & Country Notebook

Letters to the Editor

Water will cost

Athena • Cultural Crusader

My favourite painting Willie Hartley Russell

Fitting like a glove • A new country house addresses the challenge of combining the traditional architectural forms of its locality with flexible and modern living spaces. Jeremy Musson reports

The legacy William Penny Brookes and the Modern Olympic Games

Whistle while you work • Sheepdog trials are mesmerising to watch, with one man and his dog speaking a language all of their own, but sheep welfare remains the ultimate goal, says Katy Birchall

Who are you calling a peewit? • Often preceded by its otherworldly call, the jaunty emerald-and-purple lapwing is an increasingly rare presence in southern England, says Vicky Liddell, as she explores a new initiative to halt the decline

Heavy metal • Responsible for Trafalgar Square’s lions and Westminster’s Boadicea, Morris Singer has been creating bronzes since 1848 and the foundry’s furnaces are still burning bright, discovers Catriona Gray

The dogs that ask why • Sent to the Isle of Lewis to report on the allure of shooting walked-up grouse over Gordon setters, Patrick Galbraith is dismayed to discover that the magnificent working dog covering the ground ahead of him is actually a cross-breed

The tale of the Croque Monsieur • Our correspondent pits his wits and home-tied flies against the wily trout of the crystal-clear chalkstream waters that meander through the South of England

As different as night and day • An early-morning foray in Dorset sees John Lewis-Stempel revelling in the antics of the nightjar or ‘fern owl’, the enigmatic crepuscular bird with a purr-like call

Getting shirty • Linen shirts are the sensible sartorial route for gents to take in sunnier climes, says Hetty Lintell

From little acorns • Strong, sustainable and flexible, oak-frame buildings have their roots in prehistory. Yet this time-honoured method of building continues to thrive in the 21st century, finds Arabella Youens

Country living, Georgian style • The perennial appeal of classic Georgian architecture is highlighted by three elegant country houses currently for sale in prime areas of Wiltshire and Hampshire

West is best • Commuters, welcome to the West Country (just). Eleanor Doughty explores the best places to buy a house between one and two hours from London in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Somerset

The odd couple • A private garden near Tunbridge Wells, Kent Almost two centuries separate this Decimus Burton villa from its new contemporary garden and yet, writes Caroline Donald, they suit each other perfectly

Summer madness

Kitchen garden cook Cherries

Bay watch...