Country Life 9 August 2023

Country Life 9 August 2023 looks at shells, animal architects and the North Wessex Downs.

See some of what’s inside:

The master builders of the British countryside

Exploring labyrinthine tunnels and forest skyscrapers, John Lewis-Stempel gets lost in the world of animal architecture

Always reaching for the stars

Ben Lerwill requires a head for heights as he meets steeplejacks working at the top of their game

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May I have a word in your shell-like?

Natasha Goodfellow combs the seashore in search of her favourite cockles and limpets

Grace and favour rooms

Many grand country houses are now welcoming overnight guests. Rosie Paterson checks in

Keeping it in the family

Norman Thelwell’s descendants have inherited the artist’s creative streak, discovers Octavia Pollock

Rose Balston’s favourite painting

The art historian is captivated by a female artist’s innovative work

From Adder’s Copse to Gallows Down

Fiona Reynolds encounters both history and wildlife in abundance in the North Wessex Downs

A collector’s palace

Clive Aslet marvels at London’s Crosby Moran Hall, a celebration of the Tudor and Stuart worlds

Native breeds

Kate Green on the Eriskay pony

The good stuff

Mellow yellow is the ideal feel-good colour for high summer days, suggests Hetty Lintell

Interiors

Giles Kime discovers that top US designers are eager cheerleaders for classic decoration

Cool, calm and connected

Tiffany Daneff admires the pristine finish in a Chilterns garden created by this year’s Chelsea Best-in-Show-winning pairing

Of beards and men

Ian Morton charts the colourful history of the hedgerow stalwart wild clematis, or old man’s beard

A fool’s paradise

A fruit fool is the perfect summer pudding — and don’t spare the cream, says Tom Parker Bowles