Country Life UK Magazine - October 02,2024

In this issue

Of tide and time - The peaceful paradise of an estuary.

Our last hurrah - October is the time for filling up winter stores, says Lia Leendertz.

Handsome and genteel - Mount Vernon, Virginia, US, part II A property in the care of Mount Vernon Ladies' Association

In the second of two articles, Jeremy Musson reports on the recent campaign to restore the memorable interiors of George and Martha Washington's country home

8 mins

Mud-gilded places

Part water, part earth and a habitat of constant movement, the bleak and desolate estuary environment is an acquired taste. Yet this monochrome minimalism can be paradise, finds John Lewis-Stempel

4 mins

Bury me in a willow-shaped coffin

In the osier beds of Worcestershire and Somerset, the wind is still playing in the willows destined for baskets, 'fedging' and custom-made coffins, finds Jane Wheatley

3 mins

Another string to the bow

For British luthier Roger Hansell, a chance teenage encounter led to a lifetime devoted to making the perfect violin, discovers Harry Pearson

5 mins

Pretty Chitty-Bang-Bang, we love you

As our fine four-fendered friend turns 60, Mary Miers relives the adventures of the magical flying car and reveals the little-known story of its creation.

5 mins

Nice work in the West

With hybrid working now a fact of life, four special houses in Devon and Cornwall are well equipped to more than pay their way

5 mins

Best foot forward

Some of the country's finest estate agents let Annabel Dixon in on the secrets of prepping a country house for sale.

2 mins

Pyramid scheme

In a city as large as London, the problem of where to lay the dead to rest is ever-present. One extraordinary unfulfilled scheme would have made space for five million, finds Jack Watkins

3 mins

To build or not to build

When it comes to the skyline, do we need to know when to say 'enough is enough', asks John Goodall

3 mins

The world on the doorstep

England, Africa, Italy or China-it's possible to travel the world without leaving this imaginatively designed garden, which divides into four distinct geographical sections. Each one has resonance for the owners, reports Caroline Donald

4 mins

A berry timely harvest

AS summer leans into autumn and either end of the day anticipates the season to come, I occasionally find myself checking the slowly colouring fruit of the Chilean guava hedge that edges one of the perennial beds.

3 mins

That old chestnut

For the unimaginative Briton, chestnuts roasting on an open fire is the only way to go. Yet these sharp little nuts can elevate your baking game, assures John Wright

3 mins

If walls could talk

Is it possible to take on the genius or character of those who have slept in your bed before? Steven King stays in homes with illustrious past owners to find out

6 mins

The show must go on

England travel to Pakistan for a three-match Test series. James Fisher contemplates the sublime and the ridiculous

3 mins

Read all stories from Country Life UK

Country Life UK Magazine Description:

Country Life; architecture, gardens, countryside, property, the very best of British life Published by IPC Media. 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.