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 Rosanna Mullins

The bearable lightness of being • Future Publishing Ltd, 121–141 Westbourne Terrace, Paddington, London W2 6JR 0330 390 6591; www.countrylife.co.uk

Country Life

Town & Country • For all the latest news, visit countrylife.co.uk

Town & Country Notebook

Letters to the Editor

The long road to recovery

We need an end to demolition

The way we were Photographs from the COUNTRY LIFE archive

My favourite painting Martin St Quinton

Squirrel wars and straying sheep • The pine marten is proving a mixed blessing in the task of restoring wildlife

Cheltenham Racecourse

Small is beautiful • Church Cottage, Humbleton, East Yorkshire The home of Digby Harris An 1830s schoolhouse has been reworked to create a perfect smaller country house. John Martin Robinson admires the skill of the craftsmanship and the character of the building

Native breeds Buff Orpington

The healing power of honey • Bees are vital for life on earth and, for the past 30 years, a British charity has been helping some of the world’s poorest people to become self-sufficient through beekeeping, finds Agnes Stamp

Raising the flag • From the good old Union Jack to a personal banner depicting your own design, there are countless ways of setting your flag pole aflutter, but be sure to avoid flag cushions at all costs, cautions John F. Mueller

Who are you calling ugly? • Inevitably hideous-looking and often mischievous, why do gargoyles and grotesques adorn some of our most solemn churches, asks Ben Lerwill

The real drive of his life • Never one to idle time away, Sir Henry Royce–co-founder of Rolls-Roycespent his spare moments working on a farm bought through the pages of COUNTRY LIFE, reveals Russell Higham

Let’s pull straws • Raffia needn’t be reserved for the beach, says Hetty Lintell, as she dreams of seaside adventures

A charter for second homes • The demand for second homes has intensified in recent years and, in some areas, has provoked intense resentment, as well as punitive taxation. Simon Jenkins considers the positive contribution second homers can make and proposes a charter to clarify their responsibilities

Starting from scratch • Building a house requires everything from planning to patience, says Arabella Youens

Creating character • Surfaces and fittings to add distinction to a new-build, chosen by Amelia Thorpe

Not so quiet on the western front • A trio of houses in Wiltshire, Somerset and Devon set the market going this spring in the West Country

The real thing • These delightful countryside properties offer the best of pastoral England, all for less than £1 million

Marvels of the moor • Lukesland Gardens, Ivybridge, Devon The home of the Howell familySet in a steep valley just below Dartmoor, these romantic woodland gardens are filled with exotic trees and flowering shrubs, many of historic importance, writes Caroline Donald

Spring into action

Ripe for the sowing • Nothing beats the flavour of homegrown tomatoes, whether you like them large and meaty or tiny and juicy. Mark Diacono has the lowdown on how to do it and which varieties to choose

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