Country Life

Published by TI Media Limited 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 Harriet Hansard • Harriet is an interior designer and the director of Joanna Wood, her mother’s shop and studio in Belgravia, London SW1. She is the creator of Nosegay, a line of candles and scent diffusers, and is the daughter of Charles and Joanna Hansard of Southrop, Gloucestershire.

The past is not a theme park

Country Life

Town & Country

Town & Country Notebook

Stuff & nonsense

Letters to the Editor

A smear on the spring’s beauty

Athena • Cultural Crusader

My favourite painting Rachel Portman

Country-house treasures

A triumph of local talent • The restoration of a Transylvanian manor house, using only local craftspeople and traditional methods, has stood the test of time. The project is a model of its kind, finds Jeremy Musson

The legacy • Mirabel Topham and the Grand National

Chalking it up • The abstract white steed of Uffington and the excitable giant of Cerne Abbas may be Britain’s most famous chalk icons, but our landscape is festooned with gleaming hillside figures, discovers Vicky Liddell

Seen and herd • The imposing yet sensitive bison isn’t a common sight on our shores, but a cohort of enthusiasts has taken up its cause, writes Eleanor Doughty

If you only buy one… Hairbrush Kent Brushes

Labours of love • The revival of interest in folk art is fuelling a new fascination with the painstaking art of decorating wagons. Three devotees share their enthusiasm with Arabella Youens

A warm welcome • Are chilly drafts and tepid baths a price to be paid for the pleasures of living in an old house? Not at Julian and Isabel Bannerman’s toasty Somerset home, finds Giles Kime

So near, yet so far • A restored cricket pavilion a short walk from Tasha and Barney Green’s Devon home is the perfect escape from the demands of their busy lives, finds Arabella Youens

Bright and beautiful • New looks for a new season, selected by Amelia Thorpe

Brushing up on history • What is the secret to choosing colours that are sympathetic to the past, asks Arabella Youens

Words don’t come easy • How to navigate the perplexing language used to describe modern interior design

Space and serenity in Constable country • The River Stour and Dedham Vale, immortalised in John Constable’s landscapes, continue to inspire and, to mark the artist’s 250th birthday this year, savvy agents are launching nearby classic properties to the market

Several degrees of separation • A home with distinct rooms offers seclusion and warmth, where each space has purpose and comfort in thoughtful definition, as opposed to open-plan expanse

Thinking big • Even superlatives are dwarfed by the scale and quality of this garden, which began to be developed in the 1960s, writes Charles Quest-Ritson

Good weather for Judas trees

As sure as eggs is eggs • From midtown Manhattan to west London, eggs Benedict is a luxurious treat–and a foolproof hangover cure–at any time of day, says Tom Parker Bowles

Herrings, red and otherwise • Chris Dwyer takes a deep dive into the rich and intriguing lore of the flatulent fish that gave us Yarmouth Bloaters and kippers

From coast to...