Country Life 12 July 2023

The perfect 10

From peregrine falcon to puffin and starling to skylark, Stephen Moss selects 10 birds that we simply must see in our lifetimes

We will not plunder music of his dower

Mark Cocker says John Clare’s lyrical works resonate today more than ever—230 years after the peasant poet’s birth

View to a thrill

The breathtaking garden of the Minack Theatre in Cornwall puts on a dramatic performance to overwhelm Alan Titchmarsh

Rebels and romantics with a cause

Tartan is one of Scotland’s most recognisable exports—follow the thread from Highland dress to punk fashion with Mary Miers

First, catch your trout

There is no finer riverside feast than freshly caught brown trout. Tom Parker Bowles is hooked

The true heir to the Old Masters

Susan Jenkins pays tribute to Sir Joshua Reynolds, the greatest Society portraitist of his age

Oliver Spencer’s favourite painting

The founder of Favourbrook picks an evocative cricket scene

To the end of Wales

Fiona Reynolds explores the crashing breakers and jagged coastline of the Llŷn Peninsula

For succour and relief

Roger Bowdler visits the Royal Hospital Chelsea, London SW3, a monument to the extraordinary talents of Sir Christopher Wren

Native breeds

The Saddleback may be a prince among pigs, but the breed is still at risk, reveals Kate Green

The good stuff

Orange is the new black for Hetty Lintell, as she homes in on zesty summer selections

Interiors

Amelia Thorpe discovers why bespoke carpets are the best for authenticity and longevity

Spreading the love

The Proms are hitting the road, taking music-making to all corners of the UK, finds Henrietta Bredin

A quieter way of gardening

Serene and sensitive, the garden at The Chain in Monmouthshire is a triumph, suggests Tilly Ware