Country Life

Published by TI Media Limited Country Life, the quintessential English magazine, is undoubtedly one of the biggest and instantly recognisable brands in the UK today. It has a unique core mix of contemporary country-related editorial and top end property advertising. Editorially, the magazine comments in-depth on a wide variety of subjects, such as architecture, the arts, gardens and gardening, travel, the countryside, field-sports and wildlife. With renowned columnists and superb photography Country Life delivers the very best of British life every week.

Miss Lily Bungay • Lily is a photographer specialising in documentary-style family and wedding images. She is the daughter of John and Margerite Bungay of Oxted, Surrey, and is engaged to Martin Richardson, whom she will marry at The Gallivant on Camber Sands, Rye, East Sussex, in July.

A dog is for life

Country Life

Town & Country

Town & Country Notebook

Letters to the Editor

Take two politicians

Athena • Cultural Crusader

My favourite painting Admiral Sir Ben Key

Palaces of finance • In the second of two articles, Clive Aslet looks at the work of Sir Edwin Lutyens as the architect of the Midland Bank, through his connection with Reginald McKenna

The legacy • Sheridan and The Rivals

Can’t you hear me SOS? • Some of our treasured native dog breeds are at risk of extinction, often due to a simple lack of publicity. Do you dare to be different, asks Victoria Marston

Get your motor runnin’ • Once upon a time–125 years ago, to be exact–a group of motorists set off on a 1,000-mile drive designed to convince the public of the value of automobiles. Imagine that, says Andrew Green

Sparkling society • The early 20th century brought with it a new style and decadence, with British royalty and American ‘Dollar Princesses’ commissioning resplendent pieces of jewellery from Cartier, as Kim Parker discovers

Luxury Notebook

A few of my favourite things • The broadcaster, author and authority on property, environmental sustainability and business development hosts a new podcast–Seriously?! with Sarah Beeny–alongside her two eldest sons. Her Channel 4 programme Sarah Beeny’s New Life in the Country, which documents the family’s relocation from London to Somerset, is now in its fourth season. Sarah lives with her husband, four sons, two dogs and four cats.

Snaking around • This is the Chinese Year of the Snake, seen as a time of transformation, wisdom and personal growth; the snake symbol is also associated with charm and elegance.

Soak it up • Beautiful tubs, tiles and accessories for the bathroom, selected by Amelia Thorpe

Rural playgrounds • Growing up with open countryside on the doorstep can mean a childhood filled with adventure, exploration and a deep connection with Nature. These houses in and around the South Downs offer such an opportunity

Ones in a million • Kate Green finds five character houses in rural settings that are enticingly priced at below the magic million-pound marker

Parlez-vous fromage? • The French language of love

‘Absurdly wonderful’ • The gaze of the Old Masters fails to intimidate Joana Vasconcelos as her monumental and witty installations take over the House of Alba, discovers Jessica Lack

Tour de fromage • The very essence of France, glorious cheese–from buxom, creamy Camembert to mighty, swaggering Roquefort–is as much a signifier of place as any accent or burr, says Tom Parker Bowles

Are you not entertained? • With an almost cinematic vision of the Colosseum, Jean-Léon Gérôme’s paintings of near-legendary realms were fed by myth as much as reality, finds Michael Prodger

Saints and angels • To embark on a path of pious contemplation, St...