Country Life 1 May 2024
Country Life 1 May 2024 looks at local distinctiveness.
Here's a look at some of what you'll find inside.
Local distinctiveness
- Kate Green and Agnes Stamp take a geological tour of our islands to dig out what makes them special; granite country, chalk downland, The Fens, Wealden clay, Welsh slate, Yorkshire mill-stone grit, The Highlands and Cotswold limestone
- Matthew Rice sketches the myriad architectural styles
- Mark Diacono rubs the soil between his fingers
- Victoria Marston wraps her tongue around dialects
- Harry Pearson downs a pint or three of local ale
- And finally, the ultimate quiz
Et in Arcadia ego
For Constable, the countryside was a lover, for Samuel Palmer, it offered an escape from the real world and for Paul Nash it held an inescapable lure. Michael Prodger examines the effect of British landscapes on art
The Duchess of Marlborough’s favourite painting
The ceramicist chooses an evocation of her childhood
Let us now praise the Nanny State
We should embrace Mary Poppins-esque common sense, believes Carla Carlisle
The legacy
Kate Green salutes the 10th Duke of Beaufort on the eve of the Badminton Horse Trials that set British riders on their gallop to three-day-eventing victory
Cometh the ice men
Don’t cast those jumpers out just yet, advises Lia Leendertz
Interiors
Get ready for the warmer weather with Amelia Thorpe’s pick of outdoor furniture
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London Life
- Royal photographs
- All you need to know about cloth, cheese and Trafalgar Square
- Jack Watkins tells the tale of Covent Garden
- Adam Hay-Nicholls relishes the roar of engines in Savile Row
Up hill and down dale
Kathryn Bradley-Hole finds that formality is leavened by verve and personality in the gardens of Dalemain at Penrith, Cumbria, where the blue poppies bloom
Kitchen garden cook
Melanie Johnson gathers bunches of fresh watercress
Native herbs
Unmistakeable in scent, versatile in use, wild garlic is a forager’s dream, but don’t let dairy cows graze it, warns Ian Morton
Travel
- Mark Hedges escapes to our nearest paradise, the Isles of Scilly
- Tom Parker Bowles feasts on a proper club sandwich
- Pamela Goodman dares to swim the Dordogne
The good stuff
Hetty Lintell takes her time choosing the latest wonderful watches unveiled in Geneva
And much more
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Dawn Chorus: The world's highest property has a fittingly sky-high price
Our daily round-up of news includes a flat that's 2,500 ft above the ground, our stop-you-in-your-tracks picture of the day, a chance to see two of Country Life's best-loved experts, and news about our Quiz of the Day.
By Toby Keel Published
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Brockfield Hall, the great Yorkshire house that's gone from Regency mansion to modern family home
Brockfield Hall in North Yorkshire is the family home of Charlie Wood and Hatta Byng, editor of House & Garden, who have transformed it since they came here in 2020, winning multiple awards in the process. John Martin Robinson reports on the restoration project that revived this compact Regency house as a modern family home. Photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
By John Martin Robinson Published