Country Life 8 February 2023
Country Life 8 February 2023 looks at the love lives of birds, Spring bulbs and much more.


Love on the wing
Romance is in the air for birds, but how faithful are our feathered friends, asks Stephen Moss
How do I measure up?
Ben Lerwill talks arms, stones and barleycorns as he weighs up the history of measurements
What’s in a puppy’s name?
Taxi for Rover! Jonathan Young argues the case for dogs to be given more imaginative names
Bright-bulb moments
Tilly Ware is spellbound by the dramatic display of spring bulbs at Doddington Hall, Lincolnshire
Cut and come again
Charles Quest-Ritson gets the low-down on pollarding, the age-old form of tree management
Kate Corbett-Winder’s favourite painting
The gardener and artist selects a work of abstract spontaneity
This is England
Fiona Reynolds senses spring is on its way on a march to May Hill
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Masterpiece
George Gissing’s New Grub Street still resonates for writers of today, as Jack Watkins learns
Romans and Reivers
John Martin Robinson charts the Roman past and modern revival of Netherby Hall in Cumbria
Native breeds
Conservation grazing is a boon for the Bagot, finds Kate Green
Let’s stick together
Douglas Chalmers argues that farming and the environment are one and the same thing
Your zest friend
Nothing can match the sweet and sharp magic of the orange, suggests Tom Parker Bowles
The good stuff
Hetty Lintell is on red alert—with a mood-enhancing shade and tone to suit everyone
Interiors
Giles Kime and Amelia Thorpe are tripping the lights fantastic to find the latest illuminations
Will the real Donatello please stand up?
Susan Jenkins assesses the life and work of the supremely talented yet famously tricky Italian Renaissance sculptor
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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Six rural properties with space, charm and endless views, as seen in Country Life
We take a look at some of the best houses to come to the market via Country Life in the past week.
By Toby Keel
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Exploring the countryside is essential for our wellbeing, but Right to Roam is going backwards
Campaigners in England often point to Scotland as an example of how brilliantly Right to Roam works, but it's not all it's cracked up to be, says Patrick Galbraith.
By Patrick Galbraith