Country Living UK February 2021

For many years, our talented homes director Ben Kendrick has sought out the spectacular houses that define our magazine. Always understated (just like Ben himself!), the homes have a warm, lived-in feeling and are utterly individual. The people who inhabit them are usually artists – or creative souls – who have embarked on a restoration project, often taking years to complete it. And that’s the point. For them, renovating is a gradual and organic process: the joy lies in the journey of bringing a tired house back to life. One of the best examples of this comes from interiors expert Cassandra Ellis, who (on page 102) shares her passion for taking on properties ‘that are sad and imbuing them with happiness’. Her approach to renovation has inspired me just as…

“Late February days; and now, at last, Might you have thought that Winter’s woe was past; So fair the sky was and so soft the air”William Morris QUAINT AND QUIRKY Blessing of the salmon nets For thousands of years, fishermen cast their nets into the River Tweed in the hopes of hauling in the ‘King of Fish’. The salmon-fishing season in Northumberland was considerable and customs such as the Blessing of the Nets became a seasonal spectacle not to be missed. At midnight on 14 February, the Vicar of Norham would row out in the moonlight to lead the gathering in prayer. Afterwards, spectators drank a wee dram of whisky in a thanksgiving tradition of their own. EAT THE SEASONS Forced rhubarb IN DEEPEST WEST YORKSHIRE, A MYSTERIOUS RITUAL TAKES PLACE EVERY FEBRUARY. IN THE LONG,…

Follow @CLArtisans on Instagram for news of our Shop at Home Artisan Markets in 2021 and to see more unique products from our favourite makers FOR STOCKISTS see Where to Buy *CAKES/FLOWERS AND CASES NOT INCLUDED. **A FEW SHOWN HERE ARE MADE TO ORDER PRICES AND AVAILABILITY CORRECT AT TIME OF GOING TO PRESS. POSTAGE/DELIVERY IS IN ADDITION TO THE PRICES QUOTED HERE.…

We have a puppy! This time last year, I told you we were thinking of getting a dog, but it was definitely not a done deal. For the next six months, we pondered and prevaricated. We dithered and deliberated. We worried at the whole subject like, well, a dog with a bone. There was a nagging feeling at the back of my mind that this might not be a good idea. I couldn’t quite remember why: our previous dog died four years ago, aged 12, so my puppy-training memories were vague. All I could articulate was the overwhelming responsibility involved. Everyone says it. “They’re a tie,” they say ruefully, as you explain you can’t just drop everything to join them for a spontaneous weekend away. They’re expensive. There are the routine…

Sally and her family share their plot with sheep, horses, chickens and the odd peacock. Maintaining a vegetable garden, orchards, fields and a wild pond, Sally has perfected the art of smallholding on a budget (sallycoulthard.co.uk) LOCATION The Vale of Pickering, North Yorkshire PLOT SIZE 12 acres EXPERIENCE Sally has been running her smallholding since she moved to Yorkshire 11 years ago AUTHOR AND JOURNALIST Sally Coulthard Barn owls and farmland go hand in hand. Or at least, they did. These birds are such efficient mousers that farmers used to encourage them to nest in their grain barns. The relationship between farmer and owl was one of mutual benefit – the farmer’s cereal grains were protected from vermin, while the owl had somewhere to nest and could also hunt indoors when the weather was bad. January is particularly…

Sara and her family have transformed the garden of their Victorian terrace house into a mini smallholding, complete with 24 hens, three colonies of bees, a kitchen garden and a micro-bakery (hencorner.com) LOCATION Brentford, west London PLOT SIZE 475 square metres EXPERIENCE Sara started farming in her garden in 2007 with vegetables, later followed by hens, fruit trees and bees FOUNDER OF HEN CORNER Sara Ward On 14 February a couple of years ago, my husband Andy gave me the most unusual and exciting gift for Valentine’s Day: a grow-your-own mistletoe kit (£15.25; englishmistletoeshop.co.uk). You might associate mistletoe with Christmas, but now is the perfect time to propagate your own. I’ve always admired mistletoe – hanging, as it does, in large balls, like a chandelier, rooted to the branches of a larger host tree, often hawthorn, lime or poplar.…