Big boys’ toys, trips & tips

The Supercar Event where you can have a ride, instead of just peering through the window

The Utterly Inessential Shopping List: The Ministry of Defence's watch of choice, the perfect gift for the perfect puppy and our weekly wine blast

Another week has gone by in which producers and purveyors of goods have asked themselves not 'what does the world need?' but a far greater question: 'What does the world absolutely not need, but still whimsically wish for?'

Jaguar's ice driving academy: Thrills, spills and (almost) taking out photographers under the Northern Lights

Learning how to drive on snow and ice could save your life. It's also bloody good fun, as Adam Hay-Nicholls discovered driving Jaguars in sub-zero conditions through the Swedish wilderness.

Curious Questions: Did a double decker bus really jump over Tower Bridge?

London's most famous bridge is 125 years old in 2019, but for all the marvellous facts there's only really one story anybody wants to hear. Is it true that a double decker bus once cleared the gap as the bridge was opening?

Bentley Continental GT review: 100 years on, Bentley still making the ultimate hybrid of sports car and limousine

Over the past decade and a half the Bentley Continental GT has become the most-successful model in the company's history. As the Crewe-based firm hit their centenary, Toby Keel takes a look at the latest iteration of their flagship model.

Curious Questions: Why does nobody know where Christopher Columbus is buried?

He's one of the most famous human beings ever to walk the planet, but the final resting place of the Genoese explorer Christopher Columbus remains shrouded in mystery. Martin Fone, author of 50 Curious Questions, investigates.

The Utterly Inessential Shopping List: Scarves aplenty, whisky candles and some charitable cushions

In a world infested with 'must-have', 'don't miss' and 'buy now', one list stands alone as the voice of reason: this list, where everything is both entirely marvellous and completely unnecessary. Welcome, dear friends, to Utterly Inessential.

The Utterly Inessential Shopping List: Step back in time with nightshirts, port and good old fashioned dice games

In a world plagued by 'must-have's and 'buy now's, one list and one list alone strives to bring you the 'must-never-have's and 'please lord never buy this's. Welcome, dear friends, to Utterly Inessential.

The utterly inessential shopping list: An iPad/Alexa hybrid, a wire reindeer and a £145 air freshener

At this time of year more than any other, rampant consumerism is an inescapable fact of life. So don't fight it: plunge in headfirst and enjoy our latest utterly inessential but entirely marvellous shopping list.

Curious Questions: How did Abraham Lincoln come to be the only US president to hold a patent?

Statesman, lawyer, fearless leader – and part-time inventor. Martin Fone looks at one of Abraham Lincoln's lesser-known talents.

The utterly inessential shopping list: Christmas sushi, Shakespearean hand sanitiser and a lighter which will light any candle, any candle at all

Forget about the big things. You can keep the necessities. Don't tell us about the must-haves. Alexandra Fraser takes a look at a few little luxuries which, in a world too full of strife and woe, will help ease your way through life with a smile on your face.

How to use emojis: The Country Life guide

Back in 2015, we decreed that a gentleman should ‘know when to use an emoji’, but when exactly is that? And how? James Fisher presents his gentleman’s guide.

Fantasy travel: The boat, car and plane of you dreams

If money were no object, we all have a dream car, a boat and very probably a plane in mind. Simon de Burton shares his.

Range Rover Velar review: 'Room, anyone, for an iPhone on wheels? Meet the Velar.'

Range Rover’s Velar feels classy and timeless, with pools of polished, seamless black glass that rival even Steve Job's creations. Charles Rangeley-Wilson tried it out.

23 things you need to know before you go skiing

If you're new to skiing – or you're about to go skiing someone who's a novice – Rosie Paterson and Kate Green provide a guide that will save much pain for the newbies and provoke chuckles of recognition from the veterans.

The utterly inessential shopping list: The illustrious party sporran, a penny farthing for your thoughts and two liquors for the price of fun

Forget about the big things. You can keep the necessities. Don't tell us about the must-haves. Alexandra Fraser takes a look at a few little luxuries which, in a world too full of strife and woe, will help ease your way through life with a smile on your face.

Six gentlemen to watch in 2018 and beyond, as seen in Country Life

From the racing driver son of James Hunt to a man whose company could change the way we grow food in Britain, here are six young British gentlemen to watch, as featured in Country Life's frontispiece shoot. They spoke to Rosie Paterson.

Britain's most beautiful narrow-gauge railways, from Norfolk to Wales

Sporting life: At last, a bike for the middle-aged man emphatically NOT in Lycra

If you believe that an afternoon cycling should be about enjoyment rather than charging up hills and setting personal bests, the G-Tech eBike promises to make the sport easier and more fun. Toby Keel tested one out.

What it was like to ride the last steam train in Britain, by the passengers of the 'Fifteen Guinea Special'

It's exactly 50 years since the last passenger steam train in Britain made its way from Liverpool to Carlisle and back. Daniel Puddicombe spoke to some of those lucky few who were on board 1T57 back in 1968.