Country Life 3 January 2024
Country Life 3 January 2024 celebrates 50 reasons to be proud of Britain.


Here's a look at some of what you'll find inside:
The foul-mouthed Miller and the prim Princess
Geoffrey Chaucer created his Canterbury pilgrims more than 600 years ago, yet his band of travellers speaks across the ages, finds Matthew Dennison
Let’s hear it for Britain
Carla Passino bangs the drum for the British Isles with 50 things to make the nation proud, from code-cracking to clever dogs — and everything in between
Snow magic
Mary Keen is mesmerised by the array of rare and highly collectable snowdrops that artist Anne Wright is breeding at her small nursery in North Yorkshire
Keith Halstead’s favourite painting
The chief executive of the Royal Countryside Fund chooses a work that sparks memories of his childhood in rural Norfolk
Thought for the year 2024
Carla Carlisle enters the new year with a determination to remain positive, fortified by the sentiments of W. H. Auden
A fairy house
The glamour and glitz of 1920s stage and screen is rekindled as Clive Aslet puts the spotlight on Marylands, a Surrey country house with a Spanish influence
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Baby, it’s cold outside
In the first of a new series on weather lore, Lia Leendertz reveals how January can set the tone for the year to come
Interiors
The bathroom of a Somerset house is restored with a nod to its historic roots, finds Arabella Youens, and Amelia Thorpe shares ideas for creating your own luxury bathing sanctuary
London Life
Start the year with an exhibition, says Charlotte Mullins, while Carla Passino assesses architect Richard Rogers’s contribution to the London skyline and Gilly Hopper looks ahead to the year’s big events in the capital
Kitchen garden cook
Melanie Johnson on sweet and nutty Jerusalem artichokes
Travel
Mary Lussiana stays at a land-mark luxury hotel in Marrakech while Luke Abrahams explores Athens in the snow and James Fisher dons his skis and discovers the Dolomites
New series: Arts & Antiques
Carla Passino investigates the centuries-long British passion for collecting antiquities and finds that all roads lead to Rome
Country Life is unlike any other magazine: the only glossy weekly on the newsstand and the only magazine that has been guest-edited by HRH The King not once, but twice. It is a celebration of modern rural life and all its diverse joys and pleasures — that was first published in Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee year. Our eclectic mixture of witty and informative content — from the most up-to-date property news and commentary and a coveted glimpse inside some of the UK's best houses and gardens, to gardening, the arts and interior design, written by experts in their field — still cannot be found in print or online, anywhere else.
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The BBC and the contender for the greatest April Fool's prank ever played
As April 1 looms, Martin Fone tells the tale of one of the finest stunts ever pulled off.
By Martin Fone Published
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How to disconnect from reality and feel like a new person in under 72 hours
Our round-up of the best British retreats that work wellness wonders in under 72 hours.
By Jennifer George Published