Nature

Curious Questions: What really happened to the Flying Dutchman?

Tales of phantom ships are as old as time itself, but the story of the Flying Dutchman has haunted sailors for generations.

Six of the most beautiful waterfalls in Britain, from Devon to the Isle of Skye

Surging, foaming, trickling, crashing, cascading or flowing, waterfalls paint the landscape with rainbow-scattered spray and misty plumes. Here, we celebrate these streaks of molten silver, from wild moor to woodland dell, as picked out by our picture editor Lucy Ford.

Waxwings: The winter visitors which come to Britain so rarely they may never see a human again

A walk around St Albans and its cathedral — a 'welcoming place, and proud of it'

Fiona Reynolds explores the ancient city of St Albans to discover how its cathedral connects with the people and geography of the surrounding area.

From the Box to the Yox — how did our rivers get their names?

British river names trip off the tongue like nonsense of Edward Lear, but the meanings behind these great watercourses run deep.

Charles Quest-Ritson: no chain, no gain — how using a chainsaw will improve your garden

Gardeners can be reluctant to take a blade to a healthy tree, but sometimes a severe pruning will leave both plant and garden in better health.

What it's like to live and work in a National Park

Cumbrian farmer Douglas Chalmers weighs the pros and cons of living in a national park.

'The countryside can pull us together, a connecting point for a nation that sometimes feels as though it is falling apart'

After 75 years, the job required of national parks has changed. They now need to be hothouses of Nature recovery, and it’s time we got on with it, says Julian Glover.

Far better than its bite — what's really going on in the secret world of tree bark

A vital source of food, a pharmacy and a haven for wildlife, a tree's living skin is a surprisingly sophisticated surface.

The vegan farce that is 'bee-free' honey will spell disaster for bees, farmers and all of us

Our columnist Agromenes ridicules the notion the bee-free honey is a kindness to bees.

Curious Questions: Why does the weather keep getting colder even when the days start getting longer?

The coldest months of the year in Britain are always January and February — despite the fact that we're getting more sunshine and daylight than we do during December. Martin Fone investigates why the weather gets colder even though the days are getting longer.

The weather lore of January that claims to predict the future

Predicting the weather using folklore is not as lackadaisical as it might seem, says Lia Leendertz, as she reveals what we can look forward to this month.

Plant trees for pollinators in need with the Woodland Trust

We can’t live without the industrious insects that pollinate our crops and support our ecosystem. Many of their populations are in decline, but you can help by creating a haven of nectar and nesting sites on your land this planting season.

Blazing summers, short winters and 15 years of erosion in a day

The changing weather is having an impact on everything from hibernating dormice to caterpillars and calves.

On the night watch: The lives of Britain's nocturnal creatures

As the diurnal delights of the animal kingdom slip into a deep slumber, John Lewis-Stempel explores the velvety black shadows where the wild things are.

10 truly breathtaking images from Country Life to celebrate the landscapes and seasons of Britain

The Wisdom of Sheep, by Rosamund Young: An exclusive extract for Country Life

Rosamund Young, best-selling author of 'The Secret Life of Cows', has a new book out book called 'The Wisdom of Sheep & Other Animals'. We have an exclusive extract for Country Life readers.

The magic of the Rowan tree

When it comes to driving away witches or keeping off evil, nothing beats the rowan tree, with its gleaming scarlet berries and pentagram markings. Aeneas Dennison walks into a forest of myths.

Jurassic bark: The 200 million-year-old trees rescued from extinction and now thriving across Britain

The Wollemi tree thrived hundreds of millions of years ago, and was thought to have disappeared some 90 million years ago — but a chance discovery brought it back, and it's now thriving in Britain as Annunciata Elwes reports.

What should you do if bats take up residence in your roof?

Watching bats flit across the night sky might be captivating, but their presence can be a challenge for the homeowners in whose roofs they roost. Jane Wheatley reports on what to do if a colony has taken up residence.