Country Life's 20 favourite stories of 2024, from elephants and explorers to the country house that came with a free Harrier Jump Jet
Over the Christmas period we'll be featuring some of the best stories of the year from the Country Life website.

Most of these will be based on the number of our readers who read each individual article — but this piece is our team's selection of our favourite articles: the ones that made us smile, or laugh out loud, or count our blessings, or sprang a surprise. Enjoy!
How (not) to fix up a country house, by our interiors guru Giles Kime
'Ignore your friends, take a long view and steer clear of anything that smacks of being fashionable'. Sage advice.
A country house that comes with a parking space for a Harrier jump jet
It really did. Honestly.
Alan Titchmarsh: Wordsworth was dead wrong about lonely clouds — but he was on to something with daffodils
'As any resident of Cumberland and Westmorland knows only too well, no cloud in the Lake District is ever lonely.'
Exquisite houses, the beauty of Nature, and how to get the most from your life, straight to your inbox.
Norman Foster on the Country Life podcast: 'The Green Belt is one of our greatest inventions'
A true legend — and a true gentleman.
Room with a cru
How an 'enduring legacy of lockdown' became a must-have in interior design.
Inside Madresfield Court, the house that inspired Evelyn Waugh’s 'Brideshead Revisited'
Amazing.
Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc: The world's most photographed hotel
'The stuff of legend'.
'One of the most amazing things in this country'
The tower of thorns that makes salt. Somehow.
Curious Questions: Was music's famous 'Lady of the Nightingales' nothing more than a hoaxer?
The amazing story of Beatrice Harrison.
Not cheap... but cheaper than a divorce lawyer'
Why it pays to hire a consultant to choose the perfect paint colour.
'Sometimes I like to think I have my finger on the pulse when it comes to design and fashion. I am incorrect'
We sent James Fisher to one of Europe's biggest street parties. Chaos ensued.
'If you get 12 great photographs a year, you're doing well'
Charlie Waite on the secrets of landscape photography
The ship that was in two different centuries, two different years, two different months, two different days and two different seasons, all at the same time
Mind-bending.
I loved it like a best friend, and shed a tear when it was finally consigned to the great junkyard in the sky'
Country Life's team on our first cars.
Lucy Shepherd: Britain's most intrepid young explorer
The adventurer on how she went from rural Suffolk to trekking the Amazon.
What it's really like to live in your own castle
Epic beauty, sweeping grandeur and water pouring through the ceiling.
Curious Questions: We used to fly cars across the English Channel in 20 minutes — why did we stop?
Martin Fone on the long-forgotten cross-channel air service.
Breaking the fourth wall: How Country Life's interiors editor redesigned and restored his own home
Nothing like seeing a design journalist who has put his money where his keyboard is.
Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen: Changing rooms, mixing leather and velvet, and the joy of growing old disgracefully
Our favourite podcast of the year, bar none.
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St Moritz and the slopes of hazard: How a Victorian bet sparked the Swiss resort's love affair with adrenaline-pumping winter sports
Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday snow.
Zebras, lobsters, lions and Ronald Reagan's baby elephant: The strangest pets in history
'The sales assistant answered Reagan’s call, listened politely to the request, then without skipping a beat enquired, "And would that be African or Indian, sir?"'
Toby Keel is Country Life's Digital Director, and has been running the website and social media channels since 2016. A former sports journalist, he writes about property, cars, lifestyle, travel, nature.
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The former stables — and recording studio for the Pet Shop Boys — transformed with a magical blend of city and country aesthetic, now seeking a new owner
In the heart of Clerkenwell, what was once a Victorian industrial unit is now a beautiful home.
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The red kite is a soaraway success story, having escaped extinction to become a familiar sight in our skies again
Unhurried in flight and with a sideline in stolen goods, the handsome red kite is the gentleman thief of the raptor world, writes Mark Cocker.
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Wimbledon at the movies, and the Royal Family's bank: Country Life Quiz of the Day, July 10, 2025
Plus wonderful words and one of Britain's most beautiful insects in Tuesday's quiz.
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A waterside idyll and the Henrys and Williams who have ruled Britain: Country Life Quiz of the Day, July 9, 2025
Plus Hilary Mantel, Octavia Hill and more in Wednesday's quiz.
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The English church that looks like a Van Gogh fever dream: Country Life Quiz of the Day, July 8, 2025
Plus wonderful words and one of Britain's most beautiful insects in Tuesday's quiz.
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The Beatles meet Disney, and the first-ever Cruft's: Country Life Quiz of the Day, July 7, 2025
Monday's Quiz of the Day covers dog shows, revolutions and animated classics.
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From the archive: 'This retina-awakening advert for British Nylon Spinners Limited sums up the swinging 1960s perfectly'
Every Monday, Melanie Bryan, delves into the hidden depths of Country Life's extraordinary archive to bring you a long-forgotten story, photograph or advert.
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A bridge just far enough: Country Life Quiz of the Day, July 4, 2025
Lions, castles and even a couple of US-themed questions for the 4th of July in Friday's Quiz of the Day.
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Roger Moore's James Bond debut: Country Life Quiz of the Day, July 3, 2025
Country houses, battles and London landmarks in Thursday's new-and-improved Quiz of the Day.
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The real Bear Grylls: Country Life Quiz of the Day, July 2, 2025
Britain's longest pier is among the highlights of Wednesday's Quiz of the Day.