Country Living UK A Year In The Country

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF LOUISE PEARCE SPECIAL PROJECTS EDITOR | AMANDA MORGAN EXECUTIVE EDITOR | VICKY CARLISLE CREATIVE DIRECTOR | LINDSEY JORDAN ART DIRECTOR | DINA KOULLA GROUP ART EDITOR | ROGER BROWNING GROUP CHIEF SUB EDITOR | MICHELE JAMESON CHIEF SUB EDITORS | SUSAN HENDERSON & SARAH OPENSHAW PICTURE DIRECTOR | PATRICIA TAYLOR PICTURE RESEARCHER | CHARLIE HEDGES HOME & STYLE DIRECTOR | BEN KENDRICK HOME & CRAFTS EDITOR | ALAINA BINKS FEATURES EDITORS | ANNA JURY & LAURA SILVERMAN DEPUTY FEATURES EDITOR | LAURAN ELSDEN FEATURES WRITER | SARAH BARRATT PRODUCTION MANAGER | JEFF PETTITT GROUP MANAGING EDITOR | INGRID EAMES INTERIM CEO, HEARST UK/PRESIDENT, HEARST EUROPE SIMON HORNE FINANCE DIRECTOR JULIEN LITZELMANN CHIEF BRAND OFFICER, LIFESTYLE & HOMES SHARON DOUGLAS…

In 2020, Country Living celebrated its 35th birthday. As part of these milestone festivities, we produced a short series of some of our favourite images garnered over the previous three and a half decades that perfectly captured everyday life in the countryside: farmers in their fields; fishermen on their boats; artisans in their studios, craftspeople creating their wares… It was while trawling the archive for these gems that we discovered the full extent of our back catalogue – literally thousands of fabulous photographs, many of which hadn’ t been seen for years. So we decided to publish a whole issue specially dedicated to these iconic images. Working with our brilliant and loyal family of photographers – the unsung heroes without whom Country Living would merely be words on a page…

Like a chrysalis, over the three months of spring, the country is woken from its dormancy and gently coaxed into life. Winter has loosened her icy grip and nature, free from her grasp, re-emerges. March begins tentatively: wild primroses and bluebells peep through the woodland floor, tempting hungry bees from their hibernation. High up in the treetops, rooks have been busy for days, rebuilding their nests with stolen twigs. By April, more birds have returned, pouring home from warmer climes in search of a place to raise their young. Swallows, after a heroic flight from southern Africa, seek out familiar spaces in barns and old buildings. Once they’ve settled in, they’ll raise a family for a few months in the rafters and then head back. Over the space of just a few…

A HOST OF DAFFODILS photographed by Andrew Montgomery, 2018 The village of Kempley in Gloucestershire has a special reason to welcome the festival of Lent. In the days preceding Easter, a floral tapestry of sunshine-yellow wild daffodils – also known as Lent Lilies – spreads across the fields, through the forest and along the hedgerows and byways. The neighbouring communities are determined to conserve and celebrate this annual display. Since 1975, the three villages in Gloucestershire’s so-called Golden Triangle have held daffodil weekends, raising funds for the parish church by organising walks and serving refreshments to locals such as Peter Barley, pictured here. JUMPING-OFF POINT photographed by Alun Callender, 2017 Timing is everything when it comes to photographing animals. Alun had to stand knee-deep in a stream and poke his camera through a wire fence…

DUNNOTTAR CASTLE, NEAR STONEHAVEN, ABERDEENSHIRE OFF THE BEATEN TRACK photographed by Eva Nemeth, 2019 The Beanstalk Tea Garden, set along an old coach road through the South Downs National Park, is the perfect place to stop and enjoy the peace and tranquillity of the English countryside. Winding paths are cut through swathes of cow parsley leading to secluded tables set with pretty vintage china and embroidered tablecloths. “I fell in love with this little caravan when I was shooting there,” Eva says. “It was a really sunny day, which can create challenging conditions for a photographer, but this shot perfectly captured that spring feeling.” DUCK TALES photographed by Andrew Montgomery, 2019 DUCKS belonging to Hannah Storton and Henry Knowles, founders of the Docker Duck Egg Company in CUMBRIA, waddle around joyfully, JUMPING in and out of…

Early June rarely feels like summer: the last vestiges of chill breezes and wet afternoons linger on. And yet, warm days are close at hand – at first just the odd day and then two, three, four in a row. The trees are laden with luminously new leaves, casting shade for the first time in months. Honeysuckle, dog roses and elderflowers, with their muted, sweet scent, overrun the hedgerows. The nights are short – moths, owls and bats have to be quick to catch the darkness, often finding themselves slipping into dusk and dawn to make up for lost time. July burns out June, with her glorious cloudless skies and early starts. The occasional scorching day takes everyone by surprise, not least the garden birds who seek shelter under the bushes and…