Tag Archives: Fine Arts

Previews: Country Life Magazine – Oct 18, 2023

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Country Life Magazine – October18, 2023:  The latest issue features Norfolks – Little pockets of fun; The real Macnab – great adventures in the field; Britain’s loneliest trees; Beethoven’s Austria and Amsterdam’s canal life, and more…

I’m still standing

In memory of the Sycamore Gap tree, so callously cut down, we salute its fellow arboreal sentinels of Britain

Following in the footsteps of John Macnab

The Editor and The Judge set off across the Tulchan estate in pursuit of a stag, a brace of grouse and a salmon, in the spirit of John Buchan’s hero

Country Life International

  • Anna Tyzack uncovers Monaco’s unexpectedly magnificent restoration
  • Deborah Nicholls-Lee settles in to an Amsterdam canal house
  • Tom Parker Bowles gorges on Alpine cheese
  • Russell Higham explores the Austrian countryside that inspired Beethoven
  • Holly Kirkwood picks the best Caribbean properties
  • Mark Frary straps on his pads for a spot of cricket in the Windward Islands

Felix Francis’s favourite painting

The author picks a scene full of the thrill of the racecourse

Totally foxed

The rural people of Scotland are reeling under a prejudiced new law on hunting. Jamie Blackett despairs for the fox

The Englishness of English architecture

What makes a building English? Steven Brindle considers the answer, from soaring cathedral vaults to austere Palladian villas and rambling country piles

Native breeds

Kate Green luxuriates in the luscious locks of the Leicestershire Longwool

Come hell or high water

Few creatures face as difficult a journey as the salmon does to and from its spawning grounds. Simon Lester follows in its wake

Interiors

A dramatic kitchen and why it’s time to cuddle up in British wool

Plant theatre

Charles Quest-Ritson takes the well-worn path to the famed nursery of Larch Cottage in Cumbria

Having a field day

Behind hounds or on the marsh, casting for a salmon or stalking a stag, nothing stirs Adrian Dangar’s heart as fieldsports do

Kitchen garden cook

Melanie Johnson finds the perfect pairing for hazelnuts

Previews: Country Life Magazine – Oct 11, 2023

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Country Life Magazine – October11, 2023:  The latest issue features the rise of the super cottage, autumn berries and how to win at conkers.

Conkering heroes

Simon Lester swings into the win-at-all-costs world of that old playground chestnut: conkers

Last call for the corncrake

This small and secretive bird is becoming ever-more rare, but there is hope, finds Vicky Liddell

Doing it by the book

Independent bookshops are thriving against the high-street odds. Catriona Gray selects a few of her favourites from the shelf

Interiors

Giles Kime picks 10 blasts from the past that are back in fashion, Eleanor Doughty marvels at Nels Crosthwaite Eyre’s light touch, Bee Osborn hails the rise of the super cottage and Amelia Thorpe visits a resurgent Pimlico Road

Nine centuries of service

In the second of two articles, John Goodall focuses on London’s St Bartholomew’s Hospital

Native breeds

The ‘picturesque’ New Forest pony is central to centuries-old grazing rights, finds Kate Green

Colour supplements

Fiery autumn tints catch the eye of Jane Powers in the secluded Cliff House Garden in Co Dublin

We reap what he sowed

Katherine Cole hails campaigner Miles Hadfield, who fought to save a host of historic gardens

Having a gourd time

Pumpkins and squashes have long been an inspiration to chefs and artists, reveals Lia Leendertz

The good stuff

Brown is the colour this season, so it’s chocs away for Hetty Lintell

Previews: Country Life Magazine – October 4, 2023

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Country Life Magazine – October 4, 2023: The latest issue features the silvery spectacle of ethereal mist as it coats the countryside; Autumn’s beauty as a source of inspiration for artists from van Gogh and Monet to David Hockney, and more…

On gossamer threads

John Lewis-Stempel revels in the silvery spectacle of ethereal mist as it coats the countryside, moving in its mysterious ways

Season of mists and mellow artfulness

Autumn’s beauty is a source of inspiration for artists from van Gogh and Monet to David Hockney, finds Michael Prodger

A living fossil

In the first of two articles, John Goodall explores the founding of St Bartholomew’s in London

Previews: Country Life Magazine – Sept 27, 2023

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Country Life Magazine – September 27, 2023: The new issue features The Need For Tweed; A perfect pre-trained gundog; A new Jacobean drawing room is the crowning glory at Shilstone, Devon, and more…

The need for tweed

A true Hebridean hero weaves his magic to create an ‘estate’ Harris tweed for David Profumo

Here’s one I trained earlier

Has your over-excited pup left you red-faced on a shoot day? Katy Birchall has the answer: a perfect, pre-trained gundog

Loved to life

A new Jacobean drawing room is the crowning glory at Shilstone, Devon, discovers John Goodall

Previews: Country Life Magazine – Sept 13, 2023

Country Life Magazine – September 13, 2023: The new issue features the more outlandish and risqué techniques plants have developed to spread their seed, a magical garden restoration at Aldourie Castle in Inverness-shire, the origins of Spetchley Park, Worcestershire, and more…

Fifty shades of green

John Wright investigates some of the more outlandish and risqué techniques plants have developed to spread their seed

A Scottish fairy tale

George Plumptre is spellbound by a magical garden restoration at Aldourie Castle in Inverness-shire

An architectural accident

In the first of two articles, John Goodall explores the origins of Spetchley Park, Worcestershire

Previews: Country Life Magazine – Sept 5, 2023

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Country Life Magazine – September 6, 2023: The new issue features Labour’s Sir Keir Starmer’s vision for the countryside; Chelsea Physic Garden and motoring on at Goodwood; Remembering Elizabeth II and more…

Labour’s vision for rural Britain

Sir Keir Starmer promises a new politics of partnership and respect for rural communities

Not your average Fiesta

As Goodwood revs up for its Revival, the Duke of Richmond tells Octavia Pollock about 75 years of motorsport on his estate

Feudal splendours

In the second of two articles, John Martin Robinson steps inside Arundel Castle in West Sussex

Previews: Country Life Magazine – August 30, 2023

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Country Life Magazine – August 30, 2023: This week’s issue features looks at horse racing, Arundel Castle and how to make your own nature reserve.

A princely seat

In the first of two articles, John Goodall examines the early life of Arundel Castle, the Duke of Norfolk’s seat in West Sussex

Take cover

Simon Lester sows the seeds of Nature recovery by ditching chemical fertiliser and planting green manure and cover crops

Conditions of carriage

The history of horse-drawn transport is not all romance and gentility, reveals Charles Harris

Previews: Country Life Magazine – August 23, 2023

Country Life Magazine – August 23, 2023: This week’s issue features the ‘Scotland special’, filled with castles, nature and 43 pages of magical dream property.

In the swim

Christopher Woodward dives into the pools that keep the golden age of swimming alive

Holding fast

Brooding on its island cliff top, Dunvegan Castle, Isle of Skye, has been splendidly restored to glory, finds John Goodall

Hoop, stock and barrel

Vital to the water of life, whisky barrels require ancient skills. Joe Gibbs visits Speyside Cooperage to witness the magic

It’s all in the genes

Small details put the finishing touch on Backhouse Rossie in Fife. Caroline Donald visits a garden redolent with history

Previews: Country Life Magazine – August 16, 2023

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Country Life Magazine – August 16, 2023: This week’s issue features a look at Britain’s sharks, classic posters, nightjars and dramatic wallpaper.

No fin compares to you

Far from being scary, our native sharks are friendly, sleekly swift and even bioluminescent. Helen Scales takes a dip

And all that jazz

The Roaring Twenties saw war-damaged Britain come alive in a swirl of cocktails and flapper dresses, finds Claire Jackson

A dramatic revival

The ruins of Hellifield Peel Tower, North Yorkshire, have been transformed. Jeremy Musson tours a splendid family home

Previews: Country Life Magazine – August 9, 2023

Country Life Magazine – August 9, 2023: The art of the shell seeker; High time – the daring life of a steeplejack; Animal architects; grand rentals and Thelwell’s legacy…

The master builders of the British countryside

Exploring labyrinthine tunnels and forest skyscrapers, John Lewis-Stempel gets lost in the world of animal architecture

Grace and favour rooms

Many grand country houses are now welcoming overnight guests. Rosie Paterson checks in

Always reaching for the stars

Ben Lerwill requires a head for heights as he meets steeplejacks working at the top of their game