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Skara Brae: The prehistoric village on Orkney that's older than Great Pyramid of Giza
The best-preserved Neolithic settlement in Europe isn't in a French cave or an Italian hillside; it's Skara Brae on Orkney, far beyond the north of Scotland.
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The Fortingall Yew, the Scottish tree which was already 3,000 years old when Christ was born
Yews are well known for their longevity, but few — if any — can top the 5,000-year-old Fortingall Yew.
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The Giant's Causeway
The Giant's Causeway is a geological marvel, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and an unmissable stop for anyone heading to Northern Ireland.
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The Woodland Trust at 50: How a car nut with a yellow Ferrari helped save the trees of Britain
The Woodland Trust was set up as a Nature-conservation charity specifically concerned with trees. Clive Aslet visits its south Devon birthplace of 50 years ago and remembers its far-sighted and altruistic founder, Ken Wood.
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Gustavus III: The designs of the king who dreamed he was an architect
Many monarchs of the Enlightenment showed an active interest in architecture. Inspired by a new facsimile of royal drawings from Sweden, Clive Aslet looks at the designs of Gustavus III.
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Almshouses: What they are, how they were created and why they're still relevant in the 21st century
Built for the clergy, the military, retired estate workers and, most commonly, for the poor, almshouses are as important today as they ever were, finds Clive Aslet.
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Edward Hudson: The tale of the man who founded Country Life, 125 years ago this month
A publisher, innovator and shrewd businessman with strong connections to the Liberal political establishment, Edward Hudson was the visionary founder of Country Life 125 years ago. Clive Aslet revisits his remarkable life.
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The 100 greatest cathedrals in Europe, as picked by Simon Jenkins
Simon Jenkins gives himself a daunting task with his latest book, Europe's 100 Best Cathedrals (Viking, £30), which does no less than attempt to both explain and judge the masterpieces of western civilisation. Clive Aslet took a look and found a tome that will set readers 'afire to go on architectural pilgrimage'.
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In Focus: The art that has broken out of London's galleries and made it onto the street
Art is breaking free from the traditional gallery and its emergence on our streets and in our parks is changing the way we live, says Clive Aslet.
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Why is most new-build housing in Britain is awful — and why it doesn't have to be this way
Housing development is conditioned by concerns that have nothing to do with creating attractive or sustainable places to live. Clive Aslet gives his take on the situation, and suggests what we might be able to do about it.
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Feargal Sharkey: From Top of the Pops to crusading for Britain's rivers
Feargal Sharkey, one of the most recognisable pop voices of the 1970s and 1980s, talks to Country Life about his life, his passion for fishing, and how campaigning for clean rivers has become an obsession.
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The secret life of bumblebees: Fighting queens, pollinating tomatoes, and the males who 'stay out all night, get drunk on nectar and look for sex'
Did you know there’s only one insect capable of pollinating tomato plants — and that the insect in question is the bumblebee? Clive Aslet finds out more.
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The story of the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, the brainchild of a Liverpool curate that touched the world
A century on from its inauguration, the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior still has the power to move us — and the tale it tells is one of anguish, not triumphalism. Clive Aslet looks at how this monument came about.
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In Focus: How ‘Life in the freezer’ has been recorded in art
The British Museum's ‘Arctic: Culture and Climate’ exhibition prompts Clive Aslet to discover how the indigenous life and culture of the northern polar region have been shaped by Earth’s most extreme and dramatically changing climate.
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In Focus: Wood engraving, the peculiarly British artform that's 'the perfect medium for the times we are living through'
Wood engraving commands laborious attention to detail, but the effects can be entrancing and varied. A new exhibition at the Ashmolean celebrates a British phenomenon that continues to fascinate.
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The rather wise folly at Wolverton Hall: 'There isn’t a detail that I don’t think is extraordinarily deft and beautiful'
The new garden folly at Wolverton Hall in Worcestershire — owned by Nicholas and Georgia Coleridge — is inspired by Tudor and Georgian design, and provides the perfect retreat for study, entertainment and contemplation. Clive Aslet reports; all photographs by Paul Highnam for the Country Life Picture Library.
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How the architecture of the Cotswolds came to define the archetypal English country village
The architecture of the Cotswolds is almost intrinsically linked to popular conceptions of the English country village. Clive Aslet considers the people and places that contributed to bringing that about.
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Christopher Boyle on why the future is Georgian: 'It informs how we exist today and can do in the future’
Clive Aslet meets the chairman of the Georgian Group, and hears why the 18th century was best.
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Discovering Owletts, the family home of Imperial architect Sir Herbert Baker
Intensely proud of his Kent ancestry, Sir Herbert Baker restored this unpretentious family house. Clive Aslet revisits the unexpected home of one of Britain’s outstanding Imperial architects. All photographs by Dylan Thomas for the Country Life Picture Library.
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A tour of the trailblazing Elmley nature reserve: 'Little more than an hour from London and we feel we’ve been on safari'
One family’s steadfast commitment to Nature means the privately run Elmley National Nature Reserve in Kent teems with wildlife, including the country’s largest lowland collection of breeding waders
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In Focus: How mass tourism to the seaside produced an entire era of iconic Modern art and architecture
Clive Aslet examines how seaside resorts used Art Deco to catch the eye, spurring on a movement of Modern designs for health and beauty.
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Minterne Magna: The early 20th century transformation spearheaded by a radical architect to who turned his hand to creating a cosy, beautiful home
We delve into the archives to enjoy the tale of the early-20th century rebuilding of Minterne Magna in Dorset.
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In Focus: Osterley's lost treasures, brought together more than 70 years after the blaze that split them up
The story of the family that created one of the National Trust’s best-known houses is revealed to Clive Aslet through its collection of art and furniture.
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The ancient collection of the Rothschilds, improved by technology and open to the public
The retiring banker Jacob, 4th Baron Rothschild, on continuing his family’s tradition of artistic innovation.
