Comment & Opinion

Jonathan Self: The simple key to a life full of joy and happiness and free of care

An encounter with a 21st century goatherd makes Jonathan Self wonder if things might one day again be simpler.

Jason Goodwin: How to fill the Sycamore Gap

Our columnist on how some good might come out of the felling of the sycamore in the gap.

What price culture? £380 to see Taylor Swift — or £12 for a night at the Royal Opera

Country Life's cultural crusader Athena takes a look at the thorny issue of live music ticket prices  — and how the habits of concert-goers today show that the struggles of classical music and opera to find an audience run far deeper than mere cost.

'Owning a boat is like standing in a cold shower, ripping up tenners — but it's everything I dreamed it would be'

Joe Gibbs ignored the warnings and bought himself a boat. One year one, are the joys greater than the regrets?

How London nearly had its own Eiffel Tower

England and France competed fiercely for bragging rights in the 19th and early 20th centuries — but no version of France's most famous building ever came to fruition. That wasn't for the lack of trying, though, as Martin Fone discovers.

Jonathan Self: The lost art of hitch-hiking

A first encounter in decades with somebody hitching a ride prompts our columnist to look back on the days when hitch-hiking was entirely normal — and an incomparable way to get from A to Wherever.

How the Leyland Cypress went from botanical accident to taking over the world

The near-ubiquitous Leyland Cypress — or leylandii — is an evergreen with an extraordinary back story. Martin Fone explains.

What house buyers want above all? A wreck that needs fixing up

Forget all the work you’ve done priming your home for sale: the latest research suggests that what buyers really want is to roll up their sleeves and get stuck in to a fixer upper.

Jason Goodwin: A somewhat comprehensive agenda for fixing Britain, from turning off the internet to compulsory Natural Service for 18-year-olds

'I know they will thank me in the end,' says our columnist, with tongue in cheek — though who knows how firmly?

Curious Questions: Did English ladies really have a secret 'language of fans'?

Did ladies' fans in 18th and 19th century England carry hidden meanings? Many at the time certainly seemed to think so, and Martin Fone delves in to the history books and discovers that 'so shall each passion by the fan be seen, from noisie anger to the sullen spleen.'

Hadrian's Wall in an English summer: Wind, rain, and unforgettable beauty

Solitary daily pacing of Hadrian’s Wall, in the footsteps of Roman soldiers, brings back family memories for Fiona Reynolds.

Ten reasons we love the Cotswolds

The Cotswolds, arguably England's most popular Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, has long been a favourite of ours at Country Life. Here are 10 reasons why we can't get enough of the place.

Log cabin escapism is great — but super-luxury cabin escapism is even better

Pamela Goodman falls for the rustic charms of Glen Glack Cabins in Perthshire.

What is a garden hermit?

Martin Fone takes a look at the curious history of the hermits who spent years living happily in the grounds of country houses, perhaps the ultimate garden folly.

Carla Carlisle: It's taken me years, but I finally understand my father's dying gift to me

Carla Carlisle on learning to slow down — and how little life might mean if we don't.

What is the Stone of Scone?

Shrouded in myth and mystery, the unremarkable-looking Stone of Scone — the ancient symbol of Scottish sovereigns — still plays a significant role in the coronations of British monarchs, says Matthew Dennison.

Remembering Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, one year on

A year on from the death of Queen Elizabeth II, we remember the late monarch.

Sir Keir Starmer: 'I want everyone in the countryside to know that I will roll up my sleeves and restore respect'

We invited Sir Keir Starmer, Leader of the Opposition, to set out the Labour Party's ideas for the countryside.

Jonathan Self: The crisp sandwiches so good they were delicious even with a light coating of sand

A spell of time with a reduced sense of taste and smell proves a boon to Jonathan Self when it clears, giving him a new appreciation of some of life's joys.

Curious Questions: Why was absinthe banned?

Absinthe is almost unique among alcoholic spirits for having been outlawed in even some of the world's most liberal countries — but how did that happen? Martin Fone traces back the story to find the tales of debauchery, hallucination and even murder that once gave the drink its bad name — and looks at how it's returned to prominence.