CountryLife Blogs

Carry On in the allotment - June

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 01:46:15 GMT

Phil battles the weeds, appreciates recycling and sharing surplus and plans his next film project

London Riding School trip: Dressage and sherry in Spain

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 15:28:06 GMT

Octavia travels to Jerez to brush up on her dressage skills and see some wonderful displays of horsemanship

Hunting blog: The last meet of the season

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 15:28:06 GMT

Octavia bids farewell to a season not without its problems and has a memorable last day out hunting until after the summer

Projectbook blog: How to choose the right paint for historic properties

Sat, 10 Jul 2010 07:14:57 GMT

Patrick elaborates on choosing paints for your period house  and warns owners not to be swayed by marketing ploys

Luxury property for sale: The history of the Ilsington estate �� Puddletown

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 09:29:47 GMT

This Dorset estate was once owned by author and politician Horace Walpole

Town mouse on Selfridges food hall

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 07:16:02 GMT

On a hunt for an air-hockey or table-football table, Clive finds himself in Selfridges Food Hall

Carla Carlisle on new ideas

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 13:30:34 GMT

Embracing summer Carla reflects that ideas are disseminated in a very different way in modern times

Need to Know: Rivers and fishing rights on estates

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 11:33:53 GMT

In the first of our series on purchasing farms and estates, Need to Know, Elizabeth looks at the pros and cons of rivers and fishing rights

Country mouse spends a Saturday running between school events

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 09:53:18 GMT

Summer sees Mark dashing between summer school events, from f��tes to cricket matches

Carla Carlisle on feeling relief

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 07:06:02 GMT

Preparing to take her self help books to the farmers market Carla feels an overwhelming sense of relief

Town mouse on travelling to France

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 07:07:01 GMT

Clive leaves Britain cursing the Victoria Line on his way to Normandy, but on the way back its the reliability of the French under scrutiny

Projectbook blog: Historic buildings and conservation �� guide to using lime

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 15:23:39 GMT

Many period building owners have a perception that using lime is prohibitively difficult. Not the case, says Ben Smith

Country mouse on the dilemmas of making hay

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 09:41:21 GMT

Making hay involves gambling heavily on the British weather, which for once has been exemplary says Mark

Carla Carlisle on free thinking in your coffee break

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 07:16:19 GMT

From peacock pie to cutting the defence budget, Carla and her team try to make the world a better place over morning coffee

Restoring a period kitchen garden

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 14:15:59 GMT

If you have a kitchen garden in your period property it can be easily adapted for modern living by being both decorative and edible at the same time

Town mouse on travelling in Britain

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 07:02:32 GMT

Clive has an adventure trying to reach the last few of the 500 British villages he has visited for his next book

Country mouse on the genius of Gertrude Jekyll

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 00:52:24 GMT

Mark reflects on the unquestionable genius of garden designer Gertrude Jekyll

House Historian: The history of Westlands Farm

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 12:12:14 GMT

Melanie researches the history of Westlands Farm which sits in the site of a lost Medieval village

Carla Carlisle on Al Gore's divorce

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 06:06:41 GMT

Carla wonders whether Tipper and Al Gore really know what they're giving up with the end of their 40 year-old marriage

Town mouse on the London 2012 Olympics

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 07:00:24 GMT

Having suppressed enthusiasm for Londons winning bid, Clive now admits to a thrill of excitement when he passes the site for the London Olympics

How to make sure your garden is properly insured

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 14:14:19 GMT

You get an enormous amount of pride and joy from your garden, now imagine returning home one day to find it stripped of plants and ornaments or damaged...

Country mouse learns some new cookery skills

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 10:45:17 GMT

Mark has a cooking lesson from Marco Pierre White and learns some new, simple ways to cook

Luxury property for sale: Tracing the history of this Kentish property

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 10:08:51 GMT

Roman battles, pilgrims and hop farming are all part of this lovely period propertys past

Carla Carlisle on the greed of the oil industry

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 14:02:49 GMT

As the oil spill into the Gulf of Mexico continues, Carla wonders how far the greed of those making so much money from oil will go

Country mouse makes elderflower cordial

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 09:49:53 GMT

Mark gets into the swing of summer with some elderflower cordial