Country Life

Viking hats, natural wines and messy lunches, with Leonie Cooper

Tue, 07 Apr 2026 11:30:00 GMT

Depending on who you ask, the food and drink scene in London is either in a state of despair or it's never been in better health. As always, when there is this much noise, it's best to get an expert on to cut a path through the metaphorical fog. Who could be better than Leonie Cooper, food and drink editor at Time Out London, and co-host of Messy Lunch with Gizzi Erskine.

Where can you meet a man called Otto, wear a viking hat, and grind up a pigeon into a sauce? Where was ground zero for the natural wine movement? Where are the best pubs in our capital? You'll agree, all very important questions, and thankfully Leonie has all the answers. Somehow, we even get into the contents of her fridge, which will no doubt impress plenty of our regular listeners.

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We also talk about messy lunches (should we be having more of them? Are they allowed? Why were they ever allowed?) and her new show Messy Lunch, which she co-hosts with Gizzi Erskine. Messy Lunch sees Leonie and Gizzi take the great and the good from the world of music and interview them over a slap-up meal, greasing the wheels of gossip and drawing out the best stories from some of the nation's most famous musicians. Not only will it make you hungry, it will also make you wonder why you ever took a job in accounting.

I don't say this often, but Leonie has been one of the best guests we've ever had on the podcast, so make sure to tune in and listen. And then go and book a decent restaurant afterwards. Or become a rockstar. Or both.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Leonie Cooper

Editor and producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The craft renaissance, with Giles Kime

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 11:24:12 GMT

Each year, the Country Life Top 100 names the very finest country house architects, interior designers, landscapers, garden designers and craftspeople in Britain. It's one of the magazine's undisputed highlights of the year, with our interiors expert Giles Kime spending months alongside experts from across the country to produce the final list.

We're delighted, then, that Giles joins James Fisher on the Country Life Podcast this week to talk about the 2026 list, to explain how it's evolved and developed for its latest iteration.

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This year, the most striking change is in the number of artists, craftspeople and artisans who've earned recognition. Giles explains to James why that is, why craft is so important and becoming ever more so, and highlighting some of the wonderful people who are in this year's Top 100.

You can see the full Country Life Top 100 here; and to see Giles in person you can book a ticket for his conversation with Kit Kemp — a designer on the Top 100 list — at the Winchester Book Festival in April.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Giles Kime

Editor and producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Vanbrugh, Castle Howard, and iconic buildings destroyed in the flames, with Dr John Goodall

Tue, 24 Mar 2026 12:37:57 GMT

On March 26, it will have been precisely 300 years since the death of Sir John Vanbrugh, the visionary architect behind buildings such as Blenheim Palace, Castle Howard, and Seaton Delaval. He is, without a doubt, one of the most influential ‘surveyors’ (as they were known back then) in British history.

To talk about John, we needed the help of another man called John. The one and only Dr John Goodall, Architectural Editor of Country Life and co-host of the Your Places or Mine Podcast, is among the most qualified minds to talk about all things brick, stone, and mortar, and he’s also just a fun guy to hang out with.

We explored the story of Vanbrugh, from his beginnings in Cheshire, his life as a minor revolutionary, political prisoner, playwright, Kit-Cat Club member and architect. To put it simply, he was one of those annoying kids at school who was just quite good at everything.

As well as the fascinating story of Vanbrugh, we also discuss the restoration of Castle Howard, which Dr Goodall has recently written about in the magazine and online. How can you restore a building of that size after it was almost totally destroyed by fire? The answer is quite slowly, and extremely carefully. But, as you can see from the glorious images by Paul Highnam in the article on the Country Life website, they have done an exquisite job.

And no conversation about rebuilding a fire-damaged building can exclude a discussion about the future of Clandon Park in Surrey. As the legal, historical and architectural debate about its use rumbles on, Dr Goodall offers a few thoughts on what the National Trust’s decision to leave the interiors mostly unrestored means for conservation.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: John Goodall

Editor and producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Borders, identity, and the truth about Cornish independence, with Richard Collett

Mon, 16 Mar 2026 17:00:00 GMT

The River Tamar that forms the Devon-Cornwall border comes within four miles of making Cornwall an island. In and around the Scottish Borders, many people define themselves as Bordermen first, and Scottish or English second. And the the great medieval border created in the years of Danelaw both split Britain, and lives on today as one of the biggest roads in the country.

These are just a few of the fascinating tales woven together by Richard Collett as he talks to James Fisher in this utterly fascinating episode of the Country Life Podcast.

Yes, a border is a line on a map — but it's also a state of mind, with many of the lines that divide us, define us and even unite us taking on very different meanings depending on where you live. Richard Collett has spent years travelling Britain and talking to people throughout the land about our borders, where they come from, and what they mean — and the result is a fascinating book, Along the Borders: In search of what divides and unites the British Isles.

The book is published in April 2026 by Penguin — you can pre-order a copy here — and we can't recommend it enough, if only to read the tale of the English sailor who got shipwrecked on Shetland, and has now spent decades fighting for its recognition as an independent country.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Richard Collett

Editor and producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Do androids dream of electric cars, with Adam Hay-Nicholls

Tue, 10 Mar 2026 12:30:00 GMT

The more things change, the more they stay the same. As the Formula One season kicked off on Sunday, we saw the advent of full hybrid racing at the top level for the first time. A full 50/50 split between internal combustion and electrical power at the pinnacle of motorsport. Quite the change. And then Mercedes ran off into the distance. More of the same (mostly).

The world of cars is changing, slowly but definitively. Although the ban on fully petrol and diesel powered cars seems to be the can that will be endlessly kicked down the road, more and more people are turning to hybrid and electric cars with each passing month. It’s not always easy to make sense of it all, especially in the luxury world, so naturally I made a few phone calls and got Country Life’s car aficionado, Adam Hay-Nicholls, to come on and so some explaining.

We talked about growing up in the age of internal combustion, and what the transition to electric means for both the consumer and the professional car journalist. We chatted about the upcoming Formula One season, and whether anyone will really notice the difference (the answer is no, but also yes, a bit). And then of course we segued.

Why did Adam once meet a sheikh in Dubai who owned Saddam Hussein’s watch? Why did Adam once land a helicopter outside of a biker bar in Revelstoke, Canada? And why is he writing a new book on all things Bugatti, which means he must simply go and drive the new £4 million Tourbillon? All essential in a day’s work, and you’ll have to tune in to find out the answers.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Adam Hay-Nicholls

Editor and producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The untold story of Stephen Sondheim, by the people who knew him best

Tue, 03 Mar 2026 15:03:29 GMT

The composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim was an icon. As the creative force behind a string of huge musicals — including West Side Story and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum — he is widely regarded as the 'Shakespeare of the musical'.

Sondheim's life and legacy are the subject of a new podcast entitled Loving You: The Untold Sondheim, hosted by two close friends of the composer, Martin Milnes and Peter E. Jones, which is out on March 5, 2026. We're delighted that Martin and Peter joined James Fisher on the Country Life Podcast to talk about their own upcoming show.

Loving You: The Untold Sondheim features contributions from many people who knew and worked with Sondheim during his life, from Dame Julie Andrews to Dame Judi Dench, and from Mia Farrow to Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Loving You: The Untold Sondheim will be available on all streaming platforms from March 5. A trailer is available on Apple, Spotify and Amazon.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guests: Martin Milnes and Peter E. Jones

Producer and editor: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Justine Picardie: Fashion, spies and Queen Elizabeth II's wardrobe, from timeless tweeds to a pair of Marigolds

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 17:00:00 GMT

Novelist, biographer, journalist and writer Justine Picardie joins the Country Life Podcast to talk about her life in fashion and journalism, her writing, and her close encounters with the Royal Family — including the day she found herself in a remote Scottish bothy, helping the late Queen Elizabeth II clean up after lunch.

Justine's also talks about her latest book, Fashioning The Crown (Faber, £25), which is published on February 26, 2026 — you can order a copy here.

In the research and writing, she was afforded extraordinary access to the Royal Archives, including the Queen's wardrobe itself — and Justine shares with James some of the most extraordinary insights, including her timeless style, her practicality, and her savvy adoption of bright colours as colour television became widespread. Many of the outfits she wore 'would have looked as perfect today as they would have 100 years ago,' Justine says.

It's a fascinating episode — we hope you enjoy listening as much as we enjoyed recording it.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Justine Picardie

Editor and producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Moving to the Cotswolds and DIY disasters, with Jim Chapman

Mon, 16 Feb 2026 18:00:00 GMT

Is it worth the effort? That’s the question that many people might ask themselves as they stand in the doorway of a knackered old house in the Cotswolds, wondering whether to buy it and start renovating.

For Jim Chapman, author, illustrator, presenter, occasional model, fashionable dad and social media star, the answer was ‘yes’. And so began the year-long (and still ongoing) odyssey of transformation, as he gives up a life in London, moves his family to rural England, and starts ripping out walls.

Jim is famed for sharing his life on social media and this renovation is just one chapter of a story that began online all the way back in 2010. In 2010, YouTube was a website to watch your favourite music videos, or compilations of people falling over. It was a simpler, more sinister time. Jim was one of the first to realise that it could and would become something greater, documenting his life, his hobbies and his family. That idea has turned into a following of more than 7 million across multiple platforms. In other words, you might not know who he is, but your kids definitely do.

But while the world of YouTube might be an alien one to us, the one of rural home renovation certainly isn’t. James Fisher talks to Jim about everything from what inspired the move, the benefits of leaving city life, do’s and don’ts when tearing apart a house and putting it back together again, what’s worth doing yourself and what’s best left to the experts, and how not to flood a room.

Is it worth it? A year in, and just a few days from moving in, Jim certainly thinks so

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Jim Chapman

Editor and producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

'They've nourished us, sheltered us, protected us... we owe trees far more than they owe us': Aidan Meighan on the folklore of trees

Mon, 02 Feb 2026 17:00:00 GMT

For as long as he can remember, the writer and illustrator Aidan Meighan has been inspired by Nature. His early exploits might not have been entirely welcomed by those around him — collecting and storing slugs and snails in a cupboard at school, and stashing a dead adder in a drawer at his parents' home — but they paved the way for a career illustrating the beauty of the natural world, both in words and pictures.

We're delighted, then, that with his new book The Folklore of Trees about to appear, Aidan came to join James Fisher on the Country Life Podcast. He talks about some of the 36 varieties of tree that he discusses in his book, the creative freedom of working as both writer and illustrator on a project, and how trees have left their mark on human history — not least in the form of the hill in Rome that owes its existence to the Ancient Roman habit of discarding empty olive oil containers.

'We absolutely could not survive without trees,' says Aidan, 'but trees would easily prosper, if not flourish, without us.. They're like guardians, arboreal guardians, to us, and I really think we ought to show them respect.'

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Aidan Meighan

Editor and producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Adders, Shetland ponies and the future of the human race: Tom Hilder on the Country Life Podcast

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 13:30:41 GMT

Tom Hilder was born to a life in the country. Born in rural Scotland but raised in Hampshire, he went through school always thinking – and being told — that he needed to find a life, and a career, out in the countryside, working with his hands.

A chance meeting with a lecturer at Sparsholt College changed his life for good, and put him on a pathway to become (deep breath) the 'Senior Nature-Based Solutions Officer — Practical Delivery' at the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust. It's comfortably the longest job title of anyone who's yet joined James Fisher on the Country Life Podcast, but the aim is clear: to make the world around us a better, greener place.

Tom talks to James about his life, how he ended up working in the field (literally), and the challenges he's faced — from Shetland ponies and landowners suspicious of his tender years to the 'charismatic adders' found on Hook Common, in north Hampshire.

You can find out more about the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust here, and to nominate someone for the 2026 edition of the award Tom won, visit the Schoffel Countryside Awards website.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Tom Hilder

Editor and producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Two years, 2,000 miles and counting: Katharine Hay, the woman walking the length and breadth of Scotland

Mon, 19 Jan 2026 17:31:59 GMT

It's just over two years ago that the journalist Katharine Hay, a year into her new job as rural affairs correspondent for The Scotsman newspaper, had an epiphany.

'98% of Scotland is rural,' she recalls thinking, 'and here I am sitting in the two per cent urban area. It really doesn't feel like I'm doing the role justice.'

What Katharine decided next changed her life: she decided to walk the length and breadth of the country. Armed with a tent, a camping stove, solid support from her editor and a hot water bottle from her mother ('I thought she was mad — it honestly turned out to be the single best thing I took with me'), she set off on what was supposed to be a six-month trek.

2,000 miles and almost two years later, 'Hay's Way' is still going — and probably will be for at least another six months.

'For a woman, or indeed anyone walking alone like this, you're in a very vulnerable situation,' she tells James Fisher on the Country Life Podcast. 'But I've been blown away by the Scottish hospitality everywhere I've been.'

On this wonderful episode Katharine recounts some of her adventures, from the joys of birdsong and red squirrels on sunny, summers day to a terrifying near-death experience climbing back up a cliff after visiting The Old Man of Hoy, and from coming face-to-face with an otter (adorable, if smelly) to a fishing boat trip in the Outer Hebrides that left her with sea legs so bad that she 'couldn't walk in a straight line for two days'.

We can't recommend listening to this episode strongly enough — and to hear more you can sign up for her (free) newsletter on The Scotsman website, read her journalism, or follow her on Instagram or X.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Katharine Hay

Editor and producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1,000 issues and counting: Mark Hedges on two decades editing Country Life magazine

Mon, 12 Jan 2026 17:00:00 GMT

It's 2006. Tony Blair is the Prime Minister, George W. Bush the US President, the existence of global warming is still up for debate, and a couple of new websites come out of early test versions to open their doors to the world: YouTube and Facebook. Amid all this, in an office on London's South Bank, Mark Hedges takes a new job: Editor of Country Life magazine.

Two decades later, Mark has passed an astonishing milestone: he has edited 1,000 issues of the weekly magazine, the only perfect-bound, weekly glossy magazine in Britain. That's 20 years of magnificent architecture, beautiful houses, exquisite gardens, breathtaking nature, pithy columnists, and lots and lots of dogs — to name but a small selection.

It seemed only fitting, then, that we invite the boss back on to the Country Life Podcast. Mark speaks to James Fisher about his unusual route in to the world of magazines, the unflinching war veteran who taught him the hard way how to polish a headline, the incomparable experience of working alongside HM King Charles, Queen Camilla, The Princess Royal and Sir David Beckham on guest-edited issues of Country Life, and how magazines — and journalism in general — will still have a part to play in an AI-driven future.

It's a fascinating episode which lifts the lid on what it's like to spend decades on a magazine that's become a national institution. We hope you enjoy it.

EPISODE CREDITS

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Mark Hedges

Editor and producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Secrets from the world of whisky, from the 60-year-old bottle that sold for £650,000 to the tipple you get at the supermarket

Mon, 22 Dec 2025 16:00:00 GMT

In the last 20 years, the world of whisky has exploded, being transformed beyond recognition.

What was once a croft industry in the Scottish Highlands and Islands has spread around the world. The Scots' craft has spread out across the world, from Ireland and Wales to Japan, India and beyond. In India alone, tens of millions of cases of whisky are made each year. And even the English have been getting on the act.

What's driven the change? How has the craft of whisky-making changed, if at all? And how have we gone from a world where once your grandad laid a few bottles down under the stairs to one in which the world's finest and rarest single malts have become an investment-class commodity?

This week's Country Life Podcast sees James Fisher joined by Kevin Balmforth, cask master at Glenlivet, and Andrew Simpson, international brand ambassador for Chivas Brothers, to talk through all this and more. From the 60-year-old bottle auctioned off at £650,000 to the astonishing image of the six million casks lying in wait for future generations to taste, it's a fascinating listen.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guests: Kevin Balmforth and Andrew Simpson

Producer and editor: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Where should you go in 2026? Anywhere that you can just kick back and relax

Mon, 15 Dec 2025 17:00:00 GMT

An off-grid lodge in the Canadian Wilderness? The colourful charm of Germany? A weekend jaunt to New York? Or perhaps a palazzo in Florence?

Rosie Paterson, who is both Country Life's Travel Editor and Digital Content Director, has done all of this and more in 2025, and she joins James Fisher on this week's Country Life Podcast to talk about the best places to go in 2026.

The good news is that Rosie reveals that the new trend in travel — if you can call it that — is actually an anti-trend: instead, it's rejection of 'what you ought to do' in favour of just doing what you want to do.

'We don't really like like the phrase "fly and flop",' says Rosie, 'but everyone should, if they can, take a couple of weeks each year when they can just kick back and do nothing.'

With that in mind, Rosie shares her favourite discoveries, tips and anecdotes from her last 12 months of jetsetting.Enjoy!

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Rosie Paterson

Editor and producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The King, The Queen, David Beckham and me: Paula Minchin on Country Life's best guest edits

Mon, 08 Dec 2025 17:00:00 GMT

Country Life's features editor Paula Minchin is a force of nature. Every week she steers her team of editors and writers through the creation of dozens of pages of magazine features, with hardly a glitch and never, ever a missed deadline.

So when Country Life brings in a guest editor — something which has happened five times in the past 12 years — it's Paula who is at the helm alongside our temporary boss. It's a process of helping, guiding, steering, commissioning and editing in tandem with whoever is at the helm, a challenge which has been taken up in the past by Her Majesty Queen Camilla, Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, His Majesty The King (twice), and most recently Sir David Beckham.

Paula joins James Fisher on the Country Life Podcast this week to talk about her experiences with these very special issues. The focus is on the eight-month journey with Sir David, from first contact and brainstorming through to the joyous final product, but she also talks about her experiences with our Royal guest editor. It's a fascinating and rare insight into the guest-edits of the magazine that we've been thrilled, delighted and privileged to have worked on.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Paula Minchin

Editor and producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jane Austen's greatest scoundrel: Being Mr Wickham, with Adrian Lukis

Tue, 25 Nov 2025 11:36:02 GMT

In the heady days of mid-1990s Britain, the actor Adrian Lukis went to a screen test for a glossy new drama: an adaptation of Jane Austen's classic novel Pride and Prejudice.

To an actor, auditions come and go — most don't work out — and having hated the book while at school, he didn't have high hopes. They fell even lower when he bumped in to his rival for the part of Mr Wickham, a dashing man at least 10 years his junior.

But Adrian got the part, and his life changed forever thanks to his starring role as Jane Austen's charming rogue — and decades later, he still gets stopped by fans wanting to talk about the greatest adaptation of what is arguably Austen's best novel (and one which quickly won Adrian over upon re-reading it).

In the course of those conversations a seed was planted: was Wickham really that bad? How did he get that way, if he was? And are we trusting Mr Darcy's assessment, which might easily be horribly skewed? The result was Being Mr Wickham, Adrian's self-penned one-man show that shares the untold tale of the suave but slippery army officer.

Adrian talks about his life, his career and the challenges of writing one of literature's most enduring characters — which even saw him poring over a dictionary Regency-era slang — as well as the perennial appeal of Jane Austen. It's funny, clever and enlightening in equal measure and we hope you enjoy listening as much as we enjoyed talking to him.

Being Mr Wickham is on in the Minerva Theatre at the Chichester Festival Theatre from January 20-24 — find out more and get tickets at the theatre's website.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Adrian Lukis

Editor and producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The dogs of Country Life, with Agnes Stamp

Wed, 19 Nov 2025 08:42:39 GMT

What makes Country Life? Country houses, gardens, nature, fine art — and dogs. Right from the first issue of the print magazine in 1897, Man's Best Friend has been right at the heart of Country Life — with that original edition featuring an article on Princess Alexandra and her Borzois.

Almost 130 years later, dogs are just as important as ever, and September 2025 saw the publication of Country Life's Book of Dogs, written by our deputy features editor Agnes Stamp. We're delighted that Agnes — who has worked for Country Life for over a decade —was able to join James Fisher on the Country Life Podcast to talk about some of the dogs featured in the pages of this handsome tome, from labradors and bull terriers to Great Danes and Dalmatians.

Country Life's Book of Dogs is out now (Rizzoli, £50) — and you can read more of Country Life's stories about dogs on the website.

Episode Credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Agnes Stamp

Editor and producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Falconer's Tale: Tommy Durcan on how an ancient art lives on in the 21st century

Mon, 10 Nov 2025 17:00:00 GMT

The ancient and noble art of falconry has been practised for thousands of years, but it's rarely been more easily accessible to the curious.

Today, there are places across Britain, Ireland and the rest of the world where you can go on a hawk walk — or an an owl prowl — accompanied by an expert guide and a bird of prey, to see for yourself how these majestic creatures fly and hunt.

One such expert is Tommy Durcan, a falconer at Ireland's School of Falconry at Ashford Castle — once a home of the Guinness family — and we're delighted that he joined the Country Life podcast to talk to James Fisher about his life and work.

From the devastating energy of the hawks to the eerie silence of an owl in full flight, Tommy talks through how he came to work with these amazing creatures. Their astonishing skills and eyesight that goes far beyond that of any human are mixed with surprising fragility, where the slightest mistake during a hunt could cost them their lives. It's fascinating stuff.

You can find out more about Tommy and his colleagues — both avian and human — at the Ireland's School of Falconry website.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Tommy Durcan

Editor and producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Amelia Thomas: The woman who learned to talk to animals

Mon, 03 Nov 2025 17:00:00 GMT

A few years ago, Amelia Thomas and her husband packed up their fast-paced lives and moved to a remote farm in Nova Scotia.

Faced with a desolate landscape, appalling weather and a husband who — like most Finns — abhorred small-talk, she found herself spending more and more time listening to the animals she cared for in her house and on her farm. And at that point, something magical began to happen: she began to notice and, eventually, understand the many ways in which they were communicating with her.

Amelia joined James Fisher on the Country Life Podcast this week to tell her tale, and explain how she honed her skills — from interviewing world-renowned animal behaviourists, to simply understanding that sitting quietly among animals for a prolonged period can be enough to really begin to understand the messages that we, as constantly on-the-go humans, almost always miss, from the twitch of a horse's ear to the quiet stare of a cat.

It's a tale that is fascinating, inspiring and entertaining — and also a little sad, as in the case of one of Amelia's beloved pets who communicated with her as he reached the end of his life. Learning to listen to animals, it turns out, can mean hearing things that you won't always like.

Amelia's book about her experience, What Sheep Think about the Weather, is out on November 13 (Elliott & Thompson, £16.99), and is a fascinating read. You can find out more and order a copy here.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Amelia Thomas

Editor and producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stefan Pitman: Making great country houses cost less to heat than a suburban semi

Tue, 21 Oct 2025 13:16:43 GMT

Ten years ago, Stefan Pitman set up SPASE Architects. Right from the start, he realised many of his clients were coming to him with one big problem: they might own beautiful old buildings, but they cost a fortune to run.

'We have really close connections with our clients,' he tells James Fisher on the Country Life Podcast, 'and we talked about what is it like to actually have the responsibility and the upkeep of these old buildings? And that's when, certainly for a number of owners and clients, we very quickly realised that there is a vast cost to keeping these buildings in use, and comfortable, and many of them aren't comfortable because of that. And because of that they fall into a state where they begin to get damp, and then you get some timber decay, and it all starts to snowball a little bit.'

Fixing those problems began to become one of the firm's specialities, until one key project which made a huge impact: their work on Athelhampton Manor, where they cut a monthly energy bill that was well into six figures to between £0 and £500, saving over 100 tons of CO2 annually.

We're delighted that Stefan was able to join James on the podcast to talk about that project — which won them a string of architecture awards — as well as how the landscape of preserving and insulating old buildings has changed in the last five years, and how the same principles can be applied to almost any building, 'from a two-bed terrace to Hampton Court'.

Find out more about SPASE Architects at their website.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Stefan Pitman

Editor and producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The lives, wild parties and country houses of the Guinness family: Adrian Tinniswood on the Country Life Podcast

Mon, 13 Oct 2025 16:00:00 GMT

'When they came to me and said, "do you want to do a book on the Guinness houses?" I leapt at the chance. Because, I've got to tell you, they have some astonishing houses. I mean, some really amazing places.'

So says Adrian Tinniswood, who — like the Guinness family houses — is also amazing and astonishing. He's a historian and writer who has enjoyed a fifty-year career writing books about the greatest houses in Britain which manage to be simultaneously scholarly, fascinating and wildly entertaining. Adrian's new book, The Houses of Guinness (Scala, £34), is out at the beginning of November, tying in nicely with the new Netflix series about the Guinness family.

'I don't know if you've seen it, James,' Adrian tells the podcast host, James Fisher. 'It's fascinating. There's very little truth in it, but it's a fascinating piece of TV.'

Adrian tells James about how his early studies in literature fell away as he began his career, first with a temporary job working at Sudbury Hall, and then when he read Mark Girouard's Life in the English Country House. 'Still, 50 years later, that book is a bible for me,' Adrian says. 'That just changed the game as far as country houses were concerned.'

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Adrian goes on to talk through his work, his favourite places and some of the most extraordinary tales of the Guinness family's houses and the colourful characters who inhabited them. He takes us through the early days of cunning business decisions, the wild success of the stout that bears the family name and the philanthropy which ushered them into the corridors of power, right through to the wild parties where the later generations of Guinness heirs rubbed shoulders with The Beatles and the Rolling Stones. It's a wonderful episode, and we hope you enjoy it.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Adrian Tinniswood

Editor and producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Amanda Owen: The Yorkshire Shepherdess on farming, life, and having tea with her sheep

Mon, 06 Oct 2025 16:30:00 GMT

Growing up in the cityscape of Huddersfield, Amanda Owen was inspired by tales of farming life, from the adventures of James Herriot to the classic Hill Shepherd by John Forder, painting a picture of fell farming that became all she wanted to do.

Fast forward to the 2020s and Amanda has become one of the best-known farmers in the country, starting with her Instagram account — where she has over half a million followers as @yorkshireshepherdess — and progressing on to television documentaries and more.

While doing all this she has somehow found the time (and energy) to have nine children, keep the farm thriving, write a children's book about farming life, and appear on the Country Life Podcast with James Fisher.

Amanda talks to James about her life, her inspiration, her philosophy and what she'd change if she ruled the countryside for a day — and also tells the tale of her new book, Christmas Tales from the Farm, which is out now (Penguin, RRP £14.99).

Episode Credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Amanda Owen

Editor and producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

James Robinson: A fifth-generation farmer on the ups and downs of 'the most glorious job in the world'

Mon, 29 Sep 2025 16:00:00 GMT

'It's often the most glorious job in the world,' says James Robinson, a farmer in Cumbria whose family have been working the same piece of land since the 19th century.

The bad days, though, can be bleak, and when 'you're life's work is disappearing before your eyes' there are days when 'you wish you'd never started farming at all,' James tells the Country Life Podcast this week.

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It's an utterly fascinating look at the life of a farmer in modern Britain — full of joy and wonder, the beauty of nature and the satisfaction of working organically, with the land, yet also realistic, honest and at times heart-wrenching.

Honesty like this — and especially when it comes to facing up to the mental health challenges of being a farmer in Britain in the 21st century — have seen James grow a following online as he works the land with his father and son. And he's now working with the World Wildflife Fund's Prescription for Nature campaign, to help share his story to help others.

It's a wonderful episode of the podcast, and we hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

You can find out more about A Prescription For Nature at wwf.org.uk/prescription-for-nature

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: James Robinson

Editor and producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hannah Shergold: Flying helicopters, rampaging elephants and painting Ronnie Wood

Mon, 22 Sep 2025 16:00:00 GMT

Hannah Shergold is nothing if not proof that following your instincts really can take you anywhere.

Today, she's one of the best-known artists in Britain, a painter and sculptor who has sold countless works, and raised over £350,000 for charity while doing it.

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Yet 20 years ago she was at Cambridge University and on course to become a vet, and a few years after that she was flying military helicopters on rescue missions on the other side of the world.

With her latest show in London just a few days away, we're delighted that Hannah found time to join James Fisher on the Country Life Podcast to talk about her journey through life, her art, how she has raised vast sums for charities including Tusk and Help for Heroes — and how she ended up painting a portrait of Rolling Stones superstar Ronnie Wood.

Hannah's 2025 Collection will launch at Mall Galleries in September. The evening Preview event will see a guest appearance from Ronnie Wood, and will see Hannah's portrait of the Rolling Stones legend auctioned for Tusk. Find out more about Hannah at hannahshergold.com, and you can register for her Mall Galleries show here.

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Mark Ashley-Miller: The man who sailed to (almost) every harbour in the British Isles

Mon, 15 Sep 2025 14:08:27 GMT

In 2018, Mark Ashley-Miller bought a boat. There's nothing unusual in that, but there is in what happened next: he decided to sail around the coasts of Britain and Ireland, visiting every single harbour in the British Isles. And unlike most people who have such pipe dreams, he actually did it.

The journey is now over, and we're delighted that Mark joined James Fisher on the Country Life Podcast to talk about his five years at sea, the 9,000 nautical miles he's sailed, and the 300+ harbourmasters he visited in the course of his epic journey.

As well as talking through the inspiration for his trip, Mark talks about his favourite places on the route, the most hospitable harbourmasters, those who were rather frostier... and the one who immediately threw Mark and his crew the keys 'to go exploring' the local area before cracking open the Irish whiskey for a night of revelry. He also talks through the day he had to be rescued by the RNLI, and the few harbours that he wasn't able to make it in to — and why.

Mark has written a book about his experiences, which is available to order now with all proceeds going to The Seafarers' Charity. You can find out more about Mark and his journey at his website or see his Instagram page.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Mark Ashley-Miller

Editor and producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jules Perowne: Where to go in 2026, hotel disasters and podcasting with Richard E. Grant

Mon, 08 Sep 2025 16:30:00 GMT

Jules Perowne — CEO and founder of Perowne International — is one of the most respected voices in the luxury travel industry, working as a consultant and PR guru for some of the most famous hotels in the world, including Gleneagles, Claridges and dozens more around the globe.

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Now, she's also becoming a podcaster alongside the actor Richard E. Grant, presenting the newly-launched Hotels with History show. It's a podcast which looks at some of the most storied places to stay, telling tales of war, celebrity scandals, legendary parties and shocking moments that turned buildings into landmarks.

We're delighted that she joined James Fisher on the Country Life Podcast to talk about Hotels with History, the world of top-end travel, the places which should be on your list for travel in 2026 and even a few of her pet peeves — including the horrors of 'a bathroom designed by a man'.

You can listen to Hotels with History wherever you get your podcasts, and find out more about Jules's work by following her on Instagram.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Jules Perowne

Editor and producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

White-tailed eagles: From 'the greatest wildlife crime imaginable' to Nature's most wonderful comeback story

Mon, 01 Sep 2025 12:00:00 GMT

For most of the last 2,000 years, the white-tailed eagle — or sea eagle — has been one of the most common birds of prey in Britain.

That all ended in horrendous fashion from the late 18th century onwards. Shooting, poisoning, egg collection, a mania for taxidermy and more combined to see this majestic creature — affectionately dubbed the 'flying barn door — hunted to extinction in Britain. The last bird is thought to have been killed in 1918.

Fast forward a century and they are now one of the great success stories of nature. Starting with four chicks brought to RAF Kinloss in June 1975, a 50-year effort led by the RSPB but supported by a string of other organisations has seen populations restored from the Highlands to West Sussex. The RSPB have celebrated this milestone with the making of a film, Return, which tells the full story, and we're delighted that two of the — conservationist Dave Sexton and musician Alice Boyd — joined the Country Life Podcast to talk to James Fisher about how it all came together.

It's a wonderful, inspiring story which shows just what can be done by committed experts, backed by long-term thinking, and is a must-watch for anyone with even a passing interest in wildlife and nature. As of August 29 it's now available to watch on the RSPB's YouTube channel.

You can find out more on the RSPB website — rspb.org.uk — about white-tailed eagles themselves, the making of the film and Alice's hauntingly beautiful music which captures the beauty and majesty of these great creatures.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guests: Dave Sexton and Alice Boyd

Producer and Editor: Toby Keel

Music: Alice Boyd and JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If there's no fish, there's no fishing, with Robin Philpott

Tue, 26 Aug 2025 13:09:36 GMT

If you are a person who lives in the UK, and you like standing in, or nearby, rivers, there’s a good chance you will have heard of Farlows. It is one of the great outdoors companies of the UK, a place for all fishermen and women to obsess over rods and reels while they tell themselves that they would catch way more fish if they could just buy a bit more gear.

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We were joined on the podcast this week by Robin Philpott, group CEO of Farlows and Sportfish, to talk about the business, fishing and the state of our waterways, because while the newspapers have only been covering the pollution crisis for the past few years, the people on the rivers of this country have been sounding the alarm for a decade.

When you think about it, who better to keep an eye on our rivers than the people who spend their time standing on or nearby them? Falling catch numbers, murky water and low levels have been plaguing this most ancient sport for a long time, and if there’s one thing an angler has in spades, it is patience when it comes to making a fuss.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Robin Philpott

Editor and producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Robin was more than forthcoming about the work that Farlows and other fishing businesses are doing to raise the alarm and help protect our rivers, from investing in more sustainable business practices to creating Sportfish Rivers Month, a grassroots campaign that saw anglers spending the month of July cleaning and improving the health of our rivers. After all, if there’s no fish, there’s no fishing.

It was a fascinating chat with a business leader in a sector very close to Country Life’s (and this host’s) heart. We hope you’ll enjoy listening.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What the hedge can tell us about the countryside, with Richard Negus

Tue, 19 Aug 2025 10:30:00 GMT

Hedges are fascinating because they are like buildings. They are pretty much everywhere in rural England, Scotland and Wales, and yet do we ever really stop and think about what they are and what they do?

One man who thinks a lot about what they are and what they do is Richard Negus, a professional hedgelayer and writer from Suffolk. His recent book, Words from the Hedge: A Hedgelayer's View of the Countryside aims to shine a light on these great green structures that define and demarcate our green and pleasant land.

Not only are they important for nature, Richard says, they can also tell us much about the history of rural England from Enclosure all the way to the agricultural policies of the post Second World War era.

As well as laying hedges with his trusty billhook and chainsaw, Richard's work also sees him meet plenty of unusual but crucial conservationists that work in East Anglia, and his hands-on approach gives him a perspective on rural affairs that might be considered 'different' to those making policy in Westminster. The countryside is an idiosyncratic place, but Richard tries his best to explain why things are the way they are.

He's also a podcaster himself, so if you enjoyed this episode, check out the CountrySlide podcast, and you can read his articles on Scribehound, The Critic, Country Life and elsewhere. But first, listen to this engaging and entertaining chat.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Richard Negus

Editor and producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ken Follett on Stonehenge, building cathedrals, and the glaring flaw in Shakespeare's greatest soliloquy

Tue, 12 Aug 2025 13:45:36 GMT

Ken Follett is a man who doesn’t really need much introduction, but introduce him I will anyway. Thirty-eight books written. 197 million copies sold in 80 countries and in 40 languages. Very popular across the world — and even in China and Brazil, according to the man himself.

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You would think that might be enough to retire on, but Ken is not interested in retirement. Rather he would like to talk about his latest book Circle of Days, which is about the building of Stonehenge and is out on September 23 (but is very much available to pre-order now).

Ken has long been the master of historical fiction, with his bestseller Pillars of the Earth adoring most bookshelves up and down the country. He joins the podcast to discuss his writing process, and how he combines his painstaking research with fiction to create his much-loved tales.

We also chat about cathedrals, the revival of Notre Dame, whether he’s played his own video game, a fictional dinner with Shakespeare, and his favourite place in the UK (the answer to which might just surprise you).

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Ken Follett

Editor and producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The finest wines available to humanity, and how to buy them, with Beth Pearce

Tue, 05 Aug 2025 13:30:00 GMT

You would be forgiven that a trip to space might be one of the hardest things that a human being could do. But, it might actually be becoming a Master of Wine (MW). After all, more people have been to space than there are MWs.

One such master of the grape is Beth Pearce, the head of buying at Flint Wines, who took some time from her very busy schedule of finding, trying and signing off on some of the world’s finest wines to join the Country Life podcast.

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She was incredibly gracious in talking to me, a self-confessed wine idiot, about her career in the industry. From working at Majestic, to passing her exams to become an MW (who knew there were so many essays involved? Not me), to her work at Flint, buying some of the finest terroir-driven drops the world over and putting them on tables at the finest restaurants, hotels and private collections in the country.

It’s amazing to hear just how much effort and skill is required in not only producing wines, but tasting them, pairing them, and presenting them. Thankfully, Beth absolutely knows her stuff, and not only gives us a peek behind the scenes of the wine-buying world, but also offers us some take-home advice on what we can do to drink better wine, as well as get ahead of the curve.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Beth Pearce

Editor and producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Levison Wood: Trekking the Nile, near-death experiences and why nothing beats a cup of tea and a piece of toast

Mon, 28 Jul 2025 16:00:00 GMT

'There was a time when I couldn't walk down the King's Road without being mobbed,' chuckles Levison Wood. This is no brag, though: it's said with the bemusement of a man who was catapulted to fame after his plan to trek the length of the River Nile made him into an unlikely celebrity alongside today's crop of modern explorers.

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We're delighted that Levison joined James Fisher on the Country Life Podcast this week, to talk about how his early life roaming Staffordshire morphed — via a stint in the Paras regiment — into a career trekking the world, from the jungles of South America to the freezing mountains of the Himalayas. His books and documentaries — one of which became the most-watched factual TV programme in Britain in 2015 — have made him a hugely well-recognised face, and he tells the tale of how his thirst for adventure, and his fascination with connecting with people around the world, brought him to where he is today.

That fascination with people also underlies his latest book, The Great Tree Story. He happily admits that he's no botanist, and couldn't tell one species of tree from another: instead, this is a tale of how the lives of people have intertwined with the trees around them for millennia. Take the yew trees that dot churchyards around Britain, for example: they weren't planted after the ancient churches were built; instead, the churches were built at the sacred spots where the oldest trees stood proud.

It's a fascinating listen; you can find out more about The Great Tree Story here.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Levison Wood

Editor and producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bruce Hodgson: Artichoke's founder on catflaps, carpentry and the future of crafts

Mon, 21 Jul 2025 16:00:00 GMT

What do catflaps and some of the finest carpentry in the land have in common? Bruce Hodgson, that’s what.

The man who founded Artichoke is our guest on the Country Life Podcast this week, talking us through the history of the brand, as well as his own personal journey as a craftsman, and what the future holds for heritage crafts.

Bruce’s journey to Artichoke wasn’t what we’d call traditional. After ‘being asked to leave’ school, and a brief stint in the army, he returned to the thing that made him happy as a child. But it wasn’t straight into the Country Life Top 100 for him — he spent 15 years working as a carpenter before Artichoke became synonymous with elegance, timelessness and quality.

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Bruce’s is a fascinating story, but he’s not done yet. Not satisfied with creating one of the country’s most well-respected interiors companies, he’s determined to put making and craftsmanship back into the spotlight.

Whether it’s little steps, such as re-framing woodworking away from being just ‘a hobby’ and to be taken more seriously as a career, to larger projects such as the Inspiring Makers conference, apprenticeships, work experience and the Artichoke School of Furniture, it’s clear that in Bruce, making has a fine champion.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Bruce Hodgson

Editor and producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The truth about P.G. Wodehouse: Robert Daws on playing England's greatest comic writer

Tue, 15 Jul 2025 14:01:03 GMT

Anyone who loves P.G. Wodehouse knows Jeeves and Wooster, Blandings Castle and the Oldest Member golf stories. But what of the man himself? His early life as a sensation on Broadway? His extraordinary seven-days-a-week work ethic? The truth about his attempts to flee the Nazis, scuppered by an unreliable car, before he was interned and pressured into making wartime broadcasts for the German regime? His later life in the US, and his sadness at never returning to the UK — even to collect his eventual knighthood?

These are some of the things that fuelled a conversation a decade ago between Robert Daws and Stephen Fry, which set Daws off on a road that will lead him to the stage at the Assembly Rooms in Edinburgh this summer, playing the role of P.G. Wodehouse in a one-man show, Wodehouse in Wonderland.

'Stephen mentioned that very few people know anything about P.G. Wodehouse the writer,' he said. 'They might know about the scandal around him in the Second World War, but apart from that, not really anything. And we thought there should be something.'

That led to Daws speaking to William Humble, a friend, collaborator, screenwriter and playwright who happened to have been working on an unproduced screenplay about Wodehouse. The play Wodehouse in Wonderland was ready within weeks, went on tour a couple of years ago, and is now back on stage at the Edinburgh festival to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Wodehouse's death.

We're delighted that Robert was able to join us on the Country Life Podcast to talk about Wodehouse's life and career, from his little-known start as a writer of smash-hit shows on Broadway — he was a huge success before he wrote a single word about Jeeves and Wooster — through to his final years living in the US.

Wodehouse in Wonderland is at Tabard in London from July 20-22 and at The Assembly Rooms in Edinburgh from July 30 to August 25, 2025.

Episode credits

Host, editor and producer: Toby Keel

Guest: Robert Daws

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Back next week: James Fisher

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What it's like to come face-to-face with a great white shark, by Dan Abbott of Netflix's All The Sharks

Mon, 07 Jul 2025 15:57:03 GMT

How do you come to a point in your life when you find yourself swimming with great white sharks?

And how can it be that when you do, you find that moment 'completely normal'?

Dan Abbott — aka Shark Man Dan — answered these and many more questions when he joined us on the Country Life Podcast at the beginning of 2025.

In the six months or so since then, Dan's career has taken a huge upswing after he ended up as one of the stats of Netflix's All The Sharks, a unique blend of nature documentary and reality TV contest which has become something of a sensation in just a few days, hitting the Netflix Top 10 in more than 44 countries at the time of writing.

So we thought it would be a great time to look back on this recording to share it once again. It'll be a treat for those who might have missed it first time round, and just as much of a treat for those who revisit this truly fascinating interview.

All The Sharks is out now on Netflix and you can follow Dan Abbott on Instagram @sharkman_dan.

Episode credits

• Host: James Fisher

• Guest: Dan Abbott

• Producer and editor: Toby Keel

• Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Marcus Janssen: Chelsea Lifejackets, bagging a 'MacNab' and recognising the best of the British countryside

Mon, 30 Jun 2025 15:00:00 GMT

'We still see people out wearing colours which we know for a fact we haven't produced in 15 or 20 years,' chuckles Marcus Janssen, head of Schöffel, as he speaks about the company's gilets — the 'Chelsea Lifejackets' — to James Fisher on this week's edition of the Country Life Podcast.

Marcus took over at Schöffel after a career as a countryside journalist, stepping in to a role as head of a family-owned business which has been going for well over two centuries.

His love of the British countryside shines through as he talks to James about how a South African journalist ended up running a much-loved countryside brand whose roots are in Germany — and many of whose customers wear their gilets as much in the streets of SW3 as they do in the fields of Scotland or Gloucestershire.

Marcus also talks about the recently-inaugurated Schöffel Countryside Awards, run in partnership with the GWCT.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher
Guest: Marcus Janssen
Editor and Producer: Toby Keel
Music: JuliusH via Pixabay
Special thanks: Adam Wilbourn

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Corinne Fowler: Exploring the hidden history of the British countryside, one walk at a time

Mon, 23 Jun 2025 16:00:00 GMT

Corinne Fowler has never been one to shy away from straight talking.

The Professor of Colonialism and Heritage at the University of Leicester made headlines for weeks back in 2020 after co-authoring a report for the National Trust on how the history and creation of many of our great houses are bound up with the history of slavery, conquest and colonialism. She was vilified in the right-wing press and accused by Nigel Farage of 'trashing our nation'.

Her response does her huge credit. Instead of launching in to stoke this battle in the culture wars any further, she embarked upon a new project which became her latest book, Our Island Stories. Embracing the spirit of 'show, don't tell' the book is structured around a series of walks in Britain, taken in the company of people whose lives have been shaped by the tales the route, and the places along it, have to tell. It's a book that has won enormous praise, being described in The Observer as a 'compassionate, measured account — which does not shy away from the inevitable controversy of its subject, but never embraces easy or pat answers — [which] offers an eloquent vision of how imperialism has come to define our green and pleasant land'.

We're delighted that Corinne joined James Fisher on the Country Life Podcast to tell her story, and explain more about how so many of the tales of our island nation — and how it became the country it is today— have been hidden in plain sight for generations. It's an absolutely fascinating look at a side of Britain that has been all too often overlooked for so long, from the true source of wealth creation in 17th, 18th and 19th centuries to the places across the country that were far more diverse centuries ago than almost any of us realise.

Our Island Stories by Corinne Fowler is out now in paperback.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Professor Corinne Fowler

Editor and producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Steve Backshall on sharks, idyllic childhoods and getting his fingertips eaten by piranhas

Mon, 16 Jun 2025 15:08:04 GMT

The adventurer, broadcaster, scientist and writer Steve Backshall has been a fixture on TV screens in Britain for nearly three decades — and we're absolutely thrilled that he joined James Fisher on the Country Life Podcast.

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Steve talks through some of the highlights of his amazing career, from coming face-to-face with tigers and great white sharks to discovering ancient ruins while diving in flooded cave systems. But as well as a globetrotting naturalist with a gift for overcoming his natural fears, he's also a natural raconteur who shares and why he's determined that his kids should have a wonderful childhood spent outdoors — just as he did.

Steve is now sharing his lifetime of adventures on a new podcast called That's Just Wild, which he presents alongside biologist Lizzie Daly and environmental journalist Sarah Roberts, with two episodes each week from wherever you get your podcasts.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Steve Backshall

Editor and producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hannah Bourne-Taylor: Saving swifts, naked protests and the bird that nested in my hair

Mon, 09 Jun 2025 11:00:00 GMT

‘I thought, okay, well it worked for Lady Godiva, didn’t it? This whole naked stuff? So let me give that a try. I felt like it was the only option.’

Just as it worked for Lady Godiva, so it has for Hannah Bourne-Taylor, the campaigner, naturalist and writer who has spent years fighting for change to help Britain’s bird population — and particularly the swift.

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After spending years overseas in places where she was surrounded by birds and nature, Hannah was dismayed on her return to see how little is being done to help preserve wildlife — and particularly with regard to her favourite bird, the swift. And after deciding to do something about it, she launched the campaign which has now taken years of her life — and which, as she tells James Fisher on the Country Life Podcast, has seen her enjoy a blaze of publicity by marching up and down Whitehall without a stitch on, in a desperate, yet wildly successful, publicity stunt.

She tells James about the swift, their plight, and how the simple introduction of one or two ‘swift bricks’ added to each new build house could have an enormous impact at negligible cost, by providing safe nesting for birds whose former favourite spots have increasingly disappeared due to modern construction techniques.

Hannah also talks about her love of nature in general and the struggles she’s faced, from battling apathy and indifference to hastily adjusting a stick-on G-string in the House of Lords toilets. She also tells a tale from an earlier time in her life, when a tiny lost fledgling nested in her hair as it recuperated before rejoining its family.

It’s a fascinating glimpse in to the mind of a woman who is in equal measure strong, brave, eccentric and passionate. Once you’ve listened, we’d highly recommend Hannah’s books for more: her latest, Nature Needs You, about her battle to save the swift, and Fledgling, her story that rewrites ‘the conventional boundaries of the relationships people have with animals’.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Hannah Bourne-Taylor

Editor and producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Simon Armitage: "I've tried getting AI to write poems — and they've all been reassuringly awful"

Mon, 02 Jun 2025 15:00:00 GMT

Poet, author, musician and Yorkshireman, Simon Armitage has been Britain's Poet Laureate since 2019 — so we're thrilled that he joined James Fisher on the latest edition of the Country Life Podcast.

From the surprising details of what he does — or, more accurately, doesn't — have to do as part of his role, to the primary school teacher who didn't even put his Christmas poem in his class's top six, Simon shares tales of his life, his work and his inspiration.

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Nature has always been a big part of the latter, and never more so than with his latest collection of poems, Dwell. The book was inspired by the time he has spent at the Lost Gardens of Heligan in Cornwall — a place where he'll be back on June 21st for the Heligan Homecoming Festival, which runs June 13-22 and features guests including Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Dawn French.

Simon also talks about how the world — and the world of art in particular — is being changed by technology... even if what AI can create so far has been limited to verse that is, in his phrase, 'reassuringly awful'.

That said, Simon also worries that 'it will only get better', something which could actually change how art is made.

'I wonder if it might throw art back on some of its high-end, traditional values that are quite difficult to imitate and replicate,' he adds.

'The art that will really be in trouble is sort of avant-gardism and experimentation which — dare I say it? Yes,I do — is quite easily imitated.

Charming, funny, self-deprecating, Simon was a wonderful guest — enjoy the show.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Simon Armitage

Editor and producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Poppy Okotcha: The model-turned-gardener who swapped the catwalk for the vegetable patch

Mon, 26 May 2025 11:30:00 GMT

Amid the birdsong, the snores of a dog, and the purrs of a cat, sits Poppy Okotcha. The horticulturist and author joined the Country Life Podcast this week to discuss all things gardening and, specifically, its restorative effects on not only nature but people.

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A former model, Poppy walked away from the world of fashion to 'return to the earth'. From humble beginnings growing ginger in a houseboat in London, now she lives in rural Devon, growing regeneratively and organically. But it's not just plants, but people, that the garden improves. After spending 30 minutes talking to her, it's difficult not to believe her.

Her book A Wilder Way: How Gardens Grow Us is a compelling look at her life in gardens, and she's also giving a talk at the Cheltenham Science Festival, which runs from June 3–8. If this podcast is anything to go by, it's one you can't afford to miss.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Poppy Okotcha

Producer and editor: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What you absolutely must see at the Chelsea Flower Show 2025, from the King's new rose to the 'perfect' garden

Mon, 19 May 2025 17:32:42 GMT

The Chelsea Flower Show is one of the high points of the summer: a celebration of plants, gardens and creativity, as well as an unbeatable opportunity to rub shoulders with those who share the passion for making the most of this gorgeous time of year in England.

This year, Country Life has its own presence at the show, at stand PW210, and we're thrilled to be part of this incomparable event. We'll be reporting from SW3 throughout the week, and you can see all our Chelsea 2025 stories right here, where we have been (and will continue) to share all the best photographs, stories and more from the show.

To kick things off on the opening day, we are delighted that Country Life's gardens editor Tiffany Daneff was able to record a podcast at the show itself, speaking to Country Life's Toby Keel. Tiffany is a veteran of the show, having been literally dozens of times in her career, and has been talking to many of the garden designers whose work is on display in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea.

She talks through the things not to miss at this year's show, from the best of the show gardens to the cleverest ideas from among the smaller gardens tucked away in the corners, and she also gives a rundown of the finest flowers from inside the Great Pavilion, all while telling the stories and sharing the insights about behind how the show comes together.

And yes, Tiffany also shares her very favourite plant from this year's show, one which she'd just seen before we started recording — so much so that she didn't yet have a note of the name. As promised in the recording, we've added the name here: it's called Ranunculus acris 'Citrinus'.

Episode credits

Host: Toby Keel

Guest: Tiffany Daneff

Producer and editor: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Back next week: James Fisher

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Tony Juniper: Saving the world, breeding budgies and why the King is 'the most influential environmentalist of all time'

Mon, 12 May 2025 15:00:00 GMT

When it comes to England’s environment and our landscape, few people in the country are as important as Tony Juniper. Since 2019, he has been the chairman of Natural England, the public body for ensuring that the country’s natural environment is protected and enhanced. Not a small job, as we are sure you’ll agree.

He is also a recognised authority on parrots. More on that later.

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As well as managing Natural England, Tony is a prolific public speaker and author. Om Saturday May 17th, 2025, he’ll be at London’s newest literary festival, Fleet Street Quarter Festival of Words, in conversation with former leader of the Green Party Natalie Bennett, to discuss their books Just Earth and Change Everything, respectively. Tickets are available here.

We spoke to Tony about Just Earth, and it was enlightening to hear his words on how climate degradation is as much a social issue as it is an environmental one. So much has been said about the changing climate, that it was fascinating to talk to someone with so much experience in the sector, and someone who has witnessed so much decline in his own lifetime, as well as someone who has experience and success in putting things right. Experience that he has shared with a wide variety of people and organisations, from Friends of the Earth to The King himself — a man he refers to as 'one of the most influential environmentalists of all time'.

We also talk about parrots. Tony worked at BirdLife international and is a formally trained zoologist and conservationist. His book, Spix’s Macaw: The Race to Save the World’s Rarest Bird is a classic; so much so that it was adapted in part to create the animated film Rio.

It’s a fascinating chat, and it was a real privilege to get the chance to speak to him.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Tony Juniper

Editor and producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Louis D. Hall: Crossing the Alps, sailing the Atlantic in a glorified bathtub and bringing sanity to how we live with horses

Mon, 05 May 2025 15:00:00 GMT

Most people have friends who text them about going to the pub. If you're Louis D. Hall, you've got friends who'll text you about crossing a mountain range, sailing the Atlantic or coming face to face with remote tribes.

All in a normal day (or week's) work for Louis. Most recently, he's trekked on horseback from Italy to Cape Finisterre in Spain, in a journey that spanned more than 100 days. He wrote about it in his book, In Green: Two Horses, Two Strangers, A Journey to the End of the Land, which is out now in all good bookshops.

We're absolutely delighted that Louis joined James Fisher on the Country Life podcast to talk about all these adventures and more. From his upbringing in rural Scotland, he's spend years covering the world and ending up following some of the least-travelled worlds that the planet has to offer.

Suffice to say, it's absolutely fascinating.

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To find out more, Louis's latest book In Green: Two Horses, Two Strangers, a Journey to the End of the Land is out now.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Louis D. Hall

Editor and producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

George Monbiot: 'Farmers need stability and security... Instead, they're contending with chaos'

Mon, 28 Apr 2025 15:16:38 GMT

For four four decades, George Monbiot has been one of Britain's strongest voices speaking out on the environment.

After starting his career with the BBC, Monbiot is now best known for his books and his weekly column in The Guardian, winning a reputation as a tireless and passionate advocate for the natural world, as well as making plenty of enemies along the way. He joins James Fisher on this week's episode of the Country Life Podcast to talk about farming, development, nature and neoliberalism. Covering a huge amount of ground — from developers and corporations pushing their agenda on government, to how flawed farming practices have created monoculture deserts across huge swatches of Britain — it's a fascinating listen.

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You may not always agree with him, but his commitment to making the world a better place is fierce and unwavering. His passion isn't just directed towards the environment, but also society as a whole — something explored in his recent book on neoloberalism, The Invisible Doctrine, which he recently spoke about at the Cambridge Literary Festival.

You can find out more about George and his work at monbiot.com.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: George Monbiot

Editor and producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Vintage tractors and memories of summers past, with Oliver Godfrey

Wed, 23 Apr 2025 12:01:15 GMT

Everyone has their passions. I, for example, enjoy collecting football shirts. Other people like stamps. Some people like vintage tractors. Oliver Godfrey, from Cheffins, is very good at auctioning them. It is important to understand people and their passions.

So we asked Oliver to join the Country Life Podcast, to talk us through the slightly niche world of vintage tractor buying, selling and collecting. He is the best man to ask. Not only is he a man of the countryside, who has a burning passion for all things tractor, his work at Cheffins sees him handle the largest sale of vintage tractors in Europe, which takes place this weekend.

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We talk about what makes a tractor great, his record-breaking sale in 2022, and crawling around people's dusty old sheds looking for hidden gems ('There's a lot of dark sheds in this country, and we've not been through all of them. You never know what you're going to find').

But most importantly, we discuss why people love them. They are fun. They bring back memories of summer. You can drive them around. And the market for them seems to be doing better than ever. Is now the time to move away from gold and invest in Vintage Tractor? We don't do financial advice.

It was a great episode, and something a little different. I hope you enjoy it.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Oliver Godfrey

Producer and editor: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Melissa Harrison: The accidental nature writer who became an accidental nature app developer

Mon, 14 Apr 2025 17:00:00 GMT

The nature writer, children's author and journalist Melissa Harrison joins James Fisher on the Country Life Podcast to talk about her life, her career, and how she found herself creating a smartphone app to help people connect with nature.

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Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Melissa Harrison

Producer and editor: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The remarkable history of Britain and its animals, with Karen Jones

Mon, 07 Apr 2025 16:44:53 GMT

The animals we share Britain with mean far more to us than we realise. Beyond the obvious companionship, food and farming, they are a part of our folklore, our language and intertwined with our lives.

Karen Jones, professor of environmental and cultural history at the University of Kent, has long been fascinated by the creatures that populate our island, and our interactions with them. We're delighted that she came on to the Country Life Podcast to talk about the importance they have, from the fairy stories of wolves, foxes and the Loch Ness Monster to the hooting owls, the sheep we count to get to sleep and the red herrings which crop up in our lives.

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Karen has collected her thoughts in a book, Beastly Britain, published in May, which looks at foxes and hedgehogs, newts and beetles, ghostly hounds and the legendary creatures who still generate new stories to this day. It's a fascinating read and comes warmly recommended.

Beastly Britain is published on 13 May 2025 (Yale University Press, £20) — see more details or order a copy here.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Professor Karen Jones

Producer and editor: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chloe Dalton: The woman who swapped top-level geopolitics to rescue a baby hare, and had her life changed forever

Mon, 31 Mar 2025 16:04:34 GMT

Before lockdown changed life in Britain in early 2020, Chloe Dalton led an almost overwhelmingly metropolitan existence. A foreign policy expert, her comfort zone was in the corridors of power, around Whitehall and Westminster, a person who — in her own words — was ‘addicted to the adrenaline’ of flying around the world playing a key role in the decisions that shape the nation.

A chance moment on a walk changed that. She came across a tiny leveret, barely more than a newborn and weighing under 100 grams, whose mother hare had been chased away by a dog. Despite being, as she says, ‘the least likely person’ to adopt and hand-rear a wild animal, that’s exactly what she did.

The resulting story is an astonishing tale of how Chloe developed a beautiful bond with a this truly wild animal, from the fraught early days — in which she almost made the disastrous mistake of feeding the leveret cow’s milk — through to the moment the now-grown hare went freely back in to the wild... only to pay her the ultimate compliment by returning to continue their shared life together.

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Chloe’s book about everything that happened, Raising Hare (Cannongate, £18.99), is a gorgeous story, beautifully written and utterly fascinating, and it has earned incredible praise as well as being nominated for several awards.

We’re delighted that she joined James Fisher on the Country Life podcast to tell us all about it. Find out more about the book, order a copy, and you can follow Chloe on Instagram @chloedaltonuk.

This episode of the Country Life Podcast is sponsored by Strutt & Parker

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher
Guest: Chloe Dalton
Editor and producer: Toby Keel
Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The photographer on a 15-year quest to find the most incredible doors in London, with Cath Harries

Mon, 24 Mar 2025 17:07:06 GMT

It's almost two decades since photographer Cath Harries set out to work on a book documenting London's finest pubs. As she walked the streets of the capital, however, she found herself wondering about a new project: London's most extraordinary doors. The idea took hold, and she found herself embarking upon a project which would take a decade and a half.

The resulting work has come together in a book, Doors of London, which sees Cath's photos partnered with words by historian Melanie Backe-Hansen. There are wooden doors, glass doors, scary doors, brightly-coloured doors, mural doors and even a door which is — quite astonishingly — some 50ft high... complete with knocker which only a fairytale giant would be able to reach.

Cath joined James Fisher on the Country Life Podcast to talk about her journey, how she went about pulling it all together — and the one door in London which she was banned from photographing, despite it being one of London's most famous.

Doors of London is published by Sheldrake Press, priced at £25

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Cath Harries

Editor and producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Britain's whale boom and and the predator that's far scarier than a great white shark with Dan Abbott, aka Shark Man Dan

Mon, 17 Mar 2025 16:42:44 GMT

Wildlife cinematographer Dan Abbott has travelled the world documenting marine life from the peaceful turtles of the Mediterranean to the iconic great white sharks off the coast of South Africa.

More recently, though, Dan has hit the headlines for the videos he has shared of the colonies of whales who have made the British coast a regular stop in recent years.

We're delighted, then, that Dan was able to join James Fisher on the Country Life podcast to talk all things marine wildlife, from the disarming curiosity of the blue shark to the alarming rudeness of the bottlenose dolphin.

And yes, we also spoke to him about great white sharks, the awe-inspiring predator which actually inspired him to get in to a career as a wildlife film maker. Dan speaks about what it's like to come face to face with a creature which — thanks in large part to Steven Spielberg's Jaws — has a reputation as one of the scariest on the planet.

Not only will Dan's insights make you think again, he'll also have your eyes widen as he talks about the predator even scarier than a great white in full flow. It's an amazing episode with a fascinating guest.

You can find out more about Dan's life and career by following his Instagram page @sharkman_dan.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Dan Abbott

Producer and editor: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The timeless elegance of English country house style, with Guy Goodfellow and Steven Rodel

Mon, 10 Mar 2025 16:51:02 GMT

Guy Goodfellow and his Creative Director Steven Rodel have carved out a reputation as two of the finest interior designers working in Britain today. We're thrilled, then, that they were able to join us for the Country Life Podcast, to discuss the unique qualities of British design, the country house look, and what it feels like to see your cushions in the background while watching The King on television.

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After training as an architect, Guy worked for Sibyl Colefax before striking out on his own, later bringing Steven on board — a designer with whom he 'almost always' agrees.

The pair talk about their working relationship, their inspiration, and the keys to a great project. They also discuss some of the work that has made Guy Goodfellow a permanent fixture in the designers among the Country Life Top 100, and reveal how their show-stopping drawing room at Wow!House 2024 came to fruition.

You can see more of Guy and Steven's work at their website at guygoodfellow.com or on Instagram.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guests: Guy Goodfellow and Steven Rodel

Editor and producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eleanor Doughty: The secret lives of the aristocracy in Britain

Mon, 03 Mar 2025 15:00:00 GMT

After starting her career writing about student life, Eleanor began to write about Britain's great country houses, and — more importantly — the people who live in them. Over a decade later she has travelled to over 150 of the finest country piles in Britain, interviewing their owners to discover the ups and downs of their lives.

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Eleanor has a book coming out in September, Heirs and Graces: A History of the Modern British Aristocracy, which details some of her most fascinating experiences. Ahead of that, she joined James Fisher on the Country Life podcast to talk about the people in Britain — and there are fewer than 5,000 of them in existence — who can claim to be members of the aristocracy.

From dinner with dukes to the peer who programmed his car to welcome him by saying 'Good morning, your Lordship', it's a fascinating glimpse in to a mysterious world that's hidden from view for most of us.

Eleanor's book Heirs & Graces will be published by Penguin in September 2025. See more details or pre-order it here.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Eleanor Doughty

Producer and editor: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Special thanks: Adam Wilbourn

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Patrick Galbraith: Dukes, drug dealers, nudists, and the truth about access to Britain's countryside

Mon, 24 Feb 2025 16:36:39 GMT

Should we have a right to roam? It's something that we've talked about a fair bit at Country Life in recent times — not least with our articles from opposing sides of the argument from Alexander Darwall and Lewis Winks.

Rather than just listen and read, Patrick the author and journalist Patrick Galbraith decided to travel the length and breadth of Britain to discover for himself what access really means — and what it's really like at the moment.

Coming in to contact with everyone from county lines drug dealers to nudists who happily petted his dog, Patrick discovered that the truth is far more complex than it might seem at first — and that a lot of what you think you know about land rights is almost certainly wrong. He joined James Fisher on the Country Life Podcast to talk about what he discovered, and how it spurred him to write his latest book, Uncommon Ground: Rethinking our relationship with the countryside, which is published in April 2025 (William Collins, £22).

This episode is Patrick's second appearance on the Country Life Podcast; you can listen to his first, in which he recounts his adventures living on an uninhabited island, here.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Patrick Galbraith

Produced and edited by: Toby Keel

Music: ‘Summertime’ by JuliusH

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gareth Dennis: The truth about HS2 that you never knew until it was too late

Mon, 17 Feb 2025 12:37:06 GMT

HS2: blot on the landscape? Or the greatest missed opportunity in a generation?

What if the future of transport in Britain wasn't about electric cars and extra runways at Heathrow, but a 200-year-old technology of the past?

That's the argument made by Gareth Dennis, the engineer, writer, policy adviser and podcaster who has made a name for himself in recent years with his clear-headed analysis of how people move around. We were delighted, then, when Gareth joined James Fisher on the Country Life Podcast to talk about the future of the railways.

It's eye-opening, fascinating stuff. Did you know, for example, that a single high-speed rail way line can replace 10 lanes of motorway traffic? Or that the true benefit of HS2 was never about the high speed rail link itself, but instead its ability to free up other areas of the network to help improve daily life for people?

Gareth presents these and more arguments in a fascinating discussion which — we'll warn you now — will likely challenge a lot of things that you thought you knew.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Gareth Dennis

Editor and producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The best places to visit in 2025 and hunting for the Ark of the Covenant, with Lonely Planet's Tom Hall

Tue, 04 Feb 2025 17:00:00 GMT

It’s an annoying thing to have to write down, because in my head it felt like it was only yesterday, but it’s been 10 years since I finished university, packed a big rucksack, and went to go and see the world. Lots of people had gap years. We all knew that there were only two essential items that you needed. Some rehydration tablets and a Lonely Planet guide.

This week, I was joined on the Country Life Podcast by Tom Hall the head of Lonely Planet UK, to drill down into what makes Lonely Planet guides so essential for the modern traveller, plus a nice chat about the 2025 Best in Travel Awards.

So naturally that began with a discussion about Tom looking for the Ark of The Covenant in Ethiopia, why Belize is a must-visit destination in 2025 and the joys of high-speed rail in Uzbekistan. Naturally.

We talked a lot about responsible tourism, what it really means and how to do it, and why Mozambique is a bucket-list destination for Tom. We also got into the nitty gritty of how a guide is put together, what’s important and what isn’t, and why East Anglia is the 8th best destination to travel to in 2025. Nobody was more surprised than me, someone who grew up in Suffolk, but the answer is very compelling.

The skies are grey and it doesn’t seem to be getting any warmer any time soon. So tune in and start plotting your next getaway.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Tom Hall

Editor and Producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Marina Gibson: The angler extraordinaire on salmon fishing, conservation and bagpipes on the Tay

Mon, 27 Jan 2025 17:16:55 GMT

We are back. Thank you all for bearing with us while we get our ducks in a row for another year of the Country Life Podcast. If it’s even possible, it’s going to be better than last year, that we can guarantee.

Our first guest for 2025 is the legendary Marina Gibson, angler extraordinaire, who was more than happy to indulge me in lots of fishing related conversation. She was at Gleneagles, where she had just been sending out the first cast of the salmon season at the hotel, with accompanying bagpipes and whisky pouring to bless the river. Gleneagles has plenty of fishing and fieldsports related activities, which you can look at here.

It’s also, and this goes without saying, an immensely wonderful hotel. Marina has been fishing pretty much since she could walk and spent 30 minutes making me extremely envious about her career. She’s travelled the world, fishing in rivers, lakes and oceans for everything and anything. We talked about her favourite fishing spots, her favourite fish to catch, and some of the absolute monsters of the deep she’s landed.

We also got a bit more serious, talking about the desperate state of some of the UK’s waterways, and what, if anything, can be done to save them. Salmon in particular have been suffering in recent years, and it’s going to take a lot of work to get stock levels rising again.

But fishing isn’t all about catching fish. It’s about taking time away from the world, from emails and Instagram, and working on your own mental health. The benefits are scientifically proven. Did you know that fishing can even be prescribed on the NHS?

It was a fantastic conversation to start 2025, and sets a very high bar for the rest of the year. I hope you enjoy listening as much as I did recording.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Marina Gibson

Editor and Producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mushroom gin, Lego houses, and Dull Men (and women), with James May

Mon, 16 Dec 2024 17:15:00 GMT

Like all serious journalists, James May used to work for Country Life writing about cars. It didn't go very well, but thankfully he bounced back and went on to present Top Gear, The Grand Tour, and many other TV shows including his latest, James May and The Dull Men. He's also been busy making his own gin.

James Gin started off as something to pass the time during Lockdown, but it soon got a bit serious, as people wanted to drink it. He joins James Fisher to discuss the intricacies of gin making, as well as why he's chosen some unusual flavours. There's a bit where he gets quite serious about parsnips, but don't let that put you off.

We also talk about Dull Men, why cans of baked beans are the wrong size and why he doesn't think it's acceptable for suitcases to have wheels. All very serious research that only he has been brave enough to undertake. He's also very well travelled, having visited Mauritania, the North Pole, and many other unusual destinations. When we asked him where his favourite place in the world was, well, the answer might surprise you.

It was a fantastic chat with one of our favourite ever guests. We hope you'll enjoy listening to it.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher
Guest: James May
Producer and editor: Toby Keel
Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Champagne with fish and chips, and what to drink at Christmas with Oscar Dodd of Fortnum & Mason

Mon, 02 Dec 2024 16:11:51 GMT

'Anything said with absolute confidence and in absolute terms is normally nonsense,' says Oscar Dodd, about Fortnum & Mason's wine and spirits buyer, when it comes to discussing the oft-trotted out truisms about wine, beer and spirits that you often hear. But not everything you hear is so wide of the mark.

'They say that the English drink their red wine too old and too warm, and their white wine too young and too cold,' he adds. 'That is certainly true.'

Oscar has spent over two decades in the wine and spirits trade, starting out by eschewing university in order to stack shelves in his local Oddbins, falling in love with wine within a matter of weeks.

He's since gone on to forge a fascinating career, taking in everything from obscure vineyards that play Mozart to their grapes to help them grow, to walking the streets of New York City persuading people to drink more absinthe. These days, he's found in the more rarefied atmosphere of central London, at Fortnum & Mason, the world's most famous food and drink seller.

Oscar talks to James Fisher about his career, his pet hates, why you really shouldn't be saving that bottle of champagne you have under the stairs, and the amazing discoveries in the world of drink that are changing the industry — including Fortnums' alchoholic sparkling tea.

Then, of course, he shares his tips on the best tipples to buy for the Christmas period, from whisky, wine and liqueurs to the indispensable seasonal bottle of sherry.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher
Guest: Oscar Dodd
Producer and editor: Toby Keel
Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kelvin Fletcher: From Strictly to sheep dip

Mon, 25 Nov 2024 15:30:54 GMT

Dancer, actor, father of four and farmer. There are very few things that Kelvin Fletcher cannot do. ‘Hold on’, you might say. ‘What do you mean farmer? I thought that was just acting?’ Well, it was, until about three years ago when Kelvin and his wife Liz decided that they needed a change of scenery. Plans to move to Los Angeles were touted, but a far more sensible decision (we think) was made: a move to a small family farm in the Peak District.

Not your typical move for an actor and he’ll be the first to admit it. But since the move, he and his family haven’t looked back. Even better for us, they decided to bring some TV cameras with them to document the experience, leading to the creation of Fletchers’ Family Farm, the second season of which began yesterday.

Did playing a farmer on Emmerdale provide any experience for the real thing? What are some of his favourite animals? What did he wish he'd known before he started? And is he still dancing? All these questions, and more.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher
Guest: Kelvin Fletcher
Producer and editor: Toby Keel
Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Henrietta Spencer-Churchill: My life at Blenheim Palace

Mon, 18 Nov 2024 16:10:16 GMT

Lady Henrietta Spencer-Churchill, the only daughter of the 11th Duke of Marlborough, has by any measure led an extraordinary life. As a girl she moved from the family home in Oxfordshire to Blenheim Palace, the family seat and — by any measure — one of the finest buildings not just in Britain, but the world (it has UNESCO World Heritage Site status to prove it).

Ever since then, first as a resident, then as a world-renowned interior designer who has played a leading role in the conservation of this 18th century masterpiece, her life has revolved back and forth around Blenheim, and we were thrilled that she agreed to talk to James Fisher on the Country Life Podcast this week.

Living at Blenheim, as she explains, brings great privilege: she tells how her father bought a speedboat, and taught Henrietta and her brother to waterski on the lake. Yet living in a house of global stature, and which opens its doors to visitors every day of the year, also brings unique pressures: everything from where to park and struggling to find a spot of lawn on a sunny day, to wondering how on earth they'll raise £10 million to replace a leaking roof that is three centuries old.

Lady Henrietta also discusses Woodstock Designs, her hugely successful interior design company, and talk about her latest book, Blenheim: 300 years of Life in a Palace (Rizzoli, £57.50), a truly sumptuous publication which tells the tales of those who have lived in the palace over the centuries, illustrated with beautiful images taken by Hugo Rittson-Thomas.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher
Guest: Lady Henrietta Spencer-Churchill
Producer and editor: Toby Keel
Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The science behind how Nature can heal us, and how it's easier than you think, with Professor Miles Richardson

Mon, 11 Nov 2024 12:00:00 GMT

The idea of 'nature as a healer' as become a truism, often repeated without much thought given to how or why it should do so.

One man who has thought about this phenomenon — and spent much of his life researching and writing about it — is Professor Miles Richardson, a member of the psychology department at Derby University, founder of the Nature Connectedness Research Group, and author of The Blackbird's Song & Other Wonders of Nature: A Year-Round Guide to Connecting With the Natural World.

We were thrilled, then, when Miles agreed to join James Fisher on the Country Life Podcast this week.

Did you know, for example, that merely looking at a picture of a flower for a few minutes boosts your mood in very real psychological and physiological ways? Or that even when you're blindfolded, your body knows and responds to the difference between objects that are man made and those that are artificial?

It's a completely fascinating episode of the podcast which explores all this and much more.

You can find more about Miles and his work — particularly with the Nature Connectedness Research Group — at his research website, his blog and his Twitter page.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Professor Miles Richardson

Producer and editor: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen: Changing rooms, velvet and leather, and growing old disgracefully

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 15:36:01 GMT

In 1996, a television show arrived on British screens which changed the way we see interior design: Changing Rooms.

It made household names of several of its stars, including host Carol Smilie and carpenter 'Handy Andy' Kane, but none became so famous as designer Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, whose flamboyant dress sense, often outrageous designs and laconic demeanour made him world-famous.

As he turns 60, he remains almost as famous as he did at the height of the show's popularity, and we're delighted that he joined host James Fisher for this episode of the Country Life Podcast.

Laurence talks about his early career, his influences as a designer and his entirely accidental transformation into a global TV star. He also talks candidly about ageing, from his thoughts on turning 60 to how retirees and the elderly are seen and treated in modern Britain.

It's something he feels passionate about, and indeed his latest job isn't on the small screen, but instead designing a series of retirement villages for Rangeford.

Instead of the 'beige coffin' that 'smells of cabbage and wee', Laurence is determined to create spaces that are more like boutique hotels that burst with colour, energy and fun.

'We're the generation who saw The Sex Pistols play live,' he says. 'We've been all over the world, and we've done all these kinds of things. We know what Soho Farmhouse feels like. And you know what, why on earth would we want to just sort of slide into this very nondescript, oatmeal environment just to wait to die?'

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher
Guest: Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen
Editor and Producer: Toby Keel
Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Louise Davidson: Haunted houses, psychic aunts, Gothic novels and writing at night with the lights off

Mon, 28 Oct 2024 08:00:15 GMT

Why are country houses so often the perfect settings for horror novels?

That's just one of the questions posed by James Fisher to Louise Davidson, author of The Fortunes of Olivia Richmond, on the latest episode of the Country Life Podcast.

Growing up in Northern Ireland with an aunt who was — and had been since childhood — possessed of supernatural gifts made the idea of thinking, talking and writing about ghosts second nature to Louise. But there's far more to our obsession with haunted houses than just the ghost stories which we tell, as she explains to James.

You can follow Louise Davidson on X and Instagram, or see more about The Fortunes of Olivia Richmond.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher
Guest: Louise Davidson
Editor and Producer: Toby Keel
Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Do leopards hunt in packs, and other frequently asked questions on travel, with Rosie Paterson

Mon, 21 Oct 2024 14:25:11 GMT

When it comes to travel, few know more than our very own Rosie Paterson. She has been to many places, and seen many things. And that’s just this year.

She also has her finger on the pulse when it comes to places people might like to go in the future. Imagine how smug you would feel telling friends at a drinks party that, actually, ‘Japan is a bit overdone at the moment; south-west China is where it’s at’. These are the kinds of insights you could gain if you listen to this week’s episode.

Other insights include, but are not limited to, hiking with leopards in Sri Lanka, walking with wolves in Montana with a man named Randy, plus some of the best spots in New York City, Greece, Rome and the UK.

It’s a must listen if your thoughts are already turning towards where to spend some time next week. Below is a bunch of links to all the establishments mentioned, so you can check them out for yourself. And we very much hope you enjoy the episode.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher
Guest: Rosie Paterson
Editor and Producer: Toby Keel
Music: JuliusH via Pixabay; Another Pineapple Please - The Fly Guy Five via Epidemic Sound

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nicole Salvesen and Mary Graham: 'We're designing houses for the next 50 years'

Mon, 14 Oct 2024 11:30:00 GMT

Interior designers Nicole Salvesen and Mary Graham, better known by their company name Salvesen Graham, have earned a reputation as some of Britain's most sought-after interior designers, developing an aesthetic which blends classic principles with modern touches.

Yet as well as having a great love of beautiful rooms and objects, they're both firmly rooted in how people actually live day to day in their homes.

'You have to be hugely practical, and you have to have a love, and want to create something and solve a problem,' says Nicole. 'My love of it came from how people live in a home, how they want to use it.'

'I think people are almost surprised actually that it's almost the practical side of it that we tackle first,' adds Mary. 'The decorative side is layered on top of that.'

It makes for a fascinating episode of the Country Life Podcast as Nicole and Mary speak to our host, James Fisher, talking about everything from fabric samples and paint colours to one of Britain's great design resources: the shops that line the Pimlico Road in central London.

You can find out more about Salvesen Graham at their website, follow them on Instagram, and see one of their projects — a house in Berkshire — which was featured in Country Life.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher
Guests: Nicole Salvesen and Mary Graham
Editor and Producer: Toby Keel
Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The truth about growing up in a castle, with Cosmo Linzee Gordon

Mon, 07 Oct 2024 12:25:00 GMT

I suppose we all remember the house, or houses, we grew up in. Where we learned to walk, or first explore the garden, or climb some stairs.

Most houses are quite small. Some are quite big. And then there are houses like Cluny Castle in Abderdeenshire.

I was joined on the podcast this week by its owner, Cosmo Linzee Gordon, who grew up there. Cosmo agreed to answer the questions that I imagine I am not alone in wondering: what exactly is it like to grow up in a big castle? What is hide and seek like when you have more than 20 rooms to get lost in? And is it really freezing all year around?

Not only did Cosmo grow up at Cluny, he also took over running the house and estate in his early 20s, meaning that he is also well placed to answer another important question — what’s it like to keep it going? Because big houses — just like small houses — love nothing more than breaking, and are tremendously expensive to fix. They are more than just homes, they are monuments to architecture and the Arts that need preserving, a task that is easier said than done.

For Cosmo, it meant diversifying into a wedding business, that means that people from the UK and abroad can fulfil their fantasy of a fairytale wedding (I mean seriously, look at the pictures of this place: it is the very definition of ‘castle’).

There's something else too: what’s it like to know that there is a certain future set in stone for you? Maybe Cosmo would have wanted to become an astronaut, or a rock star. Sadly, he never really got the choice. I mean, there are worse things in life to be lumped with than a castle and estate in one of the most beautiful parts of the country, but it’s not everyone’s dream.

These are just some of the many questions we discuss in this week’s podcast, which basically boils down to ‘the secret stories of growing up and living in a big castle’. We like to ask the important questions here at Country Life. We hope you’ll enjoy listening to the important answers.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher
Guests: Cosmo Linzee Gordon
Editor and Producer: Toby Keel
Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Poems about pies, the foul-mouthed parrot upstaging Margaret Atwood and starting World War III via Desert Island Discs: Ian McMillan on the Country Life Podcast

Mon, 30 Sep 2024 10:40:39 GMT

What is the fundamental job of a writer? 'We try to turn the world into language,' according to the poet, broadcaster and writer Ian McMillan.

Ian, one of Britain's best-loved poets and writers, as well as the presenter of The Verb on BBC Radio 4, joined James Fisher on the Country Life Podcast in what is one of the most entertaining and wide-ranging chats so far.

James and Ian start off by discussing Under the Changing Skies, a collection of highlights from The Guardian's long-running Country Diary series. It's a collection for which Ian has penned the foreword, despite admitting that he'd be 'no good at all' at writing the column himself.

'You've only got 200 words, 200-and-odd words,' says Ian. 'I'd still be clearing my throat at 250 words, and might just be ready to go at 300 words.'

Ian and James go on to talk about an amazing: nature, writing, inspiration and more, with some wonderful anecdotes added in from an illustrious career (Ian's, that is; not James's). There's also a chance for Ian to explain why he chose John Cage's 4 minutes 33 seconds of silence when he appeared on Desert Island Discs — a quirky choice to put it mildly, and one which might conceivably have had some rather alarming unintended consequences.

Under the Changing Skies: The best of The Guardian's Country Diary, 2018-2024 is out now, published by Faber (£20)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Literature, landscape and bending rivers, with Vicky and Charles Rangeley-Wilson

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 07:00:01 GMT

Organising a literary festival is no mean feat. You've got to book the right guests, organise plenty of activities, and find somewhere to host it.

Vicky and Charles Rangeley-Wilson joined the podcast this week to talk about exactly that, ahead of the upcoming Literature and Landscape Festival in Norfolk. With a star-studded lineup, there was plenty to talk about.

From discussions on the future of farming and the environment, to getting children to count insects in rivers, it turns out the literary festival isn't just boring old men reading from their novels. Thank goodness for that.

The Literature and Landscape Festival takes place in Wells-next-the-Sea, from October 4-6. Tickets can be found here

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guests: Vicky and Charles Rangeley-Wilson

Editor and Producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lucy Shepherd: Britain's most intrepid young explorer on trekking the Amazon

Mon, 16 Sep 2024 13:30:00 GMT

The bushmaster snake is on the one hand, very polite: it announces its presence with a two-tone whistle.

On the other hand, however, it's utterly merciless: a creature which will chase humans through the jungle, attack aggressively, and should it miss with its fangs will leap on to its intended prey and attempt to whip them in to submission.

This is just one of the extraordinary tales shared by Lucy Shepherd, the brilliant young explorer who has travelled through both the Antarctic and the Amazon. She joined James Fisher on the Country Life Podcast to talk about her life growing up in rural Suffolk, to the high-adrenaline life she now leads, blazing a trail through impenetrable jungle. You'll like her.

Lucy's latest exploits are the subject of an upcoming show on Channel 4 called Secret Amazon: Into the Wild, which is scheduled to air on October 7th at 10pm.

You can also catch up with Lucy on Instagram at @lucysheps

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Lucy Shepherd

Editor and Producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Charlie Bigham on food, farming and why it takes three hours to make the perfect lasagne

Mon, 09 Sep 2024 06:45:06 GMT

We were thrilled to discover that Charlie Bigham is a real person. It's a bit like meeting Aunt Bessie, and asking how she does her Yorkshire Puddings, or running swapping tips with Ronald McDonald about how to get your fries crispy.

But real person he is, and he's a man with a fascinating story to tell, from ditching a hugely promising career in order to drive a campervan to India, then to return to Britain and become a household name in the world of pre-prepared meals.

Food for many people is a source of comfort, and it certainly is too for Charlie, who joined the Country Life Podcast this week to talk about cooking, his business and his new cookbook Supper With Charlie Bigham, which is out on Thursday September 12.

In the book, you can cook classics from his range (including the lasagne, rejoice) as well as plenty of other dishes that he makes for his family and friends at home. Which is neat. A risk too, perhaps, because if you could whip up a Charlie Bigham meal on cue then your friends and family will constantly be coming around. We can only imagine how annoying it is for him already.

We also spoke about his decision to leave his consulting work in 1994 and go traveling. It was that journey, and a love of cooking, that inspired him to set up his business in the first place. We chatted about creating the world’s most expensive fish pie, known as the ‘Swish Pie’, the importance of sustainable business and caring for the planet, and his favourite place in the British countryside.

Charlie has always been the guy behind the wooden tray. It was great to finally meet him. We hope you’ll enjoy listening.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher
Guest: Charlie Bigham
Editor and producer: Toby Keel
Music: JuliusH via Pixabay
Special Thanks: Adam Wilbourn

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Adam Hay-Nicholls: How to sneak onto a yacht at the Monaco GP, rub shoulders with Beyoncé and accidentally buy a Bentley

Mon, 02 Sep 2024 11:10:00 GMT

Here at the Country Life Podcast, we like to think we deliver a useful and necessary service. We want to discuss the important issues. We want to talk to Norman Foster about why architecture matters. We want to speak to farmers about how they can help tackle the climate crisis. We strive to compress the beauty of nature into an audio format so we can learn to cherish and appreciate the world around us.

Sometimes, however, we have to ask important questions such as: ‘How can you sneak onto a yacht party at the Monaco Grand Prix?’. Thankfully, we know just such an expert. Adam Hay Nicholls has spent decades travelling the world, driving fast cars, reviewing fancy hotels and writing about Formula One. His answer? Confidence, good socks, and knowing the name of the owner of said yacht. Either that, or pretend you’re from pest control. Even fancy yachts have rats, apparently.

To complement this week’s Horsepower Issue, Adam joined me for a chat about all things cars, travel and F1. What are some of his favourite cars that he’s driven? What’s it like owning a vintage Bentley? Why was he at the opening of a hotel in Dubai with Beyonce? Why is he currently trapped in a log cabin in Northumberland? All very important questions as I’m sure you’d agree.

We also spoke at length about his trip around England, Scotland and Wales to complete the Three Peaks challenge. If that doesn’t sound very luxurious, don’t worry, we sent him off to do it in an Aston Martin.

We’re not yet sure whether CountryLife.co.uk will be able to hire an ‘Editor of having a jolly good time’, but if we do, Adam certainly has the resumé for the role. We think you’ll enjoy listening to what he’s been up to.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Adam Hay-Nicholls

Producer and Editor: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Spice Girls, The Stage and the state of the Arts, with Alistair Smith

Mon, 26 Aug 2024 08:00:37 GMT

If it wasn’t for The Stage, there’s every chance that Britain and, indeed, the world may have been deprived of such great names as Kenneth Brannagh, Harold Pinter, Michael Caine, Sharon D Clarke, Idris Elba, The Spice Girls and Steps.

It goes to show the importance of trade publications, especially those that work in the Arts. I was very lucky to be joined this week on the Country Life by The Stage’s editor Alistair Smith to talk about all things theatre and the performing arts, as well as the Edinburgh Fringe. Full disclosure, he is also my friend and neighbour, and sometimes he feeds my cat while I’m on holiday.

Nevertheless, he is an expert in his field, having started working at the newspaper 20 years ago on work experience, before rising through the ranks to the top job. Over the years, he’s seen it all, from mime shows to the Kit Kat club to a Fringe performance that took place entirely in a lift.

We talked about The Fringe, the state of the Arts in the UK and what can be done to help them, his work for the charity Get Into Theatre, how he got his big break in journalism thanks to a juggler and how to get Ian McKellen to take your picture.

As always, it’s a supremely engaging listen and you can download it wherever you get your podcasts.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Alistair Smith

Editor and producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Special Thanks: Adam Wilbourn

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How to live like a Tudor, and other stories, with Ruth Goodman

Mon, 19 Aug 2024 07:30:00 GMT

It’s important to think about the past. I think about it often. Usually when I’m lying in bed and my brain decides that’s the best time to think of mistakes I’ve made, loves that have been lost, and, of course, the Roman Empire.

A lot of history is about kings, queens and battles. Which is very interesting in its own way. But is it real history? After all, most of history doesn’t involve kings or queens or battles. Most of history is just normal people going about their business, trying not to be too hungry, too cold, or too sick. That’s real history.

That’s why it’s important to talk to people such as Ruth Goodman, who is less interested in kings and queens and battles. She likes to learn about normal people, doing normal things, in the past and what that says about us.

She came on the Country Life Podcast to talk to us about normal people doing normal things in the past, and how she learns so much about them. The secret is to put yourself in their shoes. She cooks dinners over an open fire. She once lived according to a ‘Tudor body-cleansing regime’ for three months and apparently it wasn’t so bad. To her, the study of the people of the past is a type of anthropology; after all, to us, the Tudor is a different society altogether.

It was extremely eye opening and interesting. We also discussed her work around restoring a former ‘ragged school’ in Fulham that has been redeveloped into something called KYN Hurlingham. It’s an interesting focal point of how working-class people worked together to improve their own lives, in the face of indifference from the wealthy and the government.

It was a wide-ranging and interesting chat. You’ll love it. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Ruth Goodman

Editor and producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Special Thanks: Adam Wilbourn

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

David Messum: Whimsical tales from the life of one of Britain's greatest art dealers

Mon, 12 Aug 2024 07:00:50 GMT

When it comes to the world of British art, few names are more widely recognised than David Messum. From extolling the virtues of the English Impressionists to resurrecting interest in the Newlyn School, David has spent more than 60 years reminding us all that English art is as good as any across the world.

We were very lucky that when we asked him to join us on the Country Life Podcast he said yes. Not everyone says yes. We started off talking about his early career in the art world — from what inspired him to get into art, to his early days working at Christie’s and Bonhams — before moving on to the establishment of his eponymous business, which has been championing British art since 1963.

What inspired him to revisit the late 19th/early 20th-century West Country painters known as the Newlyn School? Who are some of his favourite artists working today? What’s his favourite painting? What would he do if he could change one thing about the art world? All these questions and more are answered.

And it’s not for us to shout from the rooftops, but we are pretty sure this is a Country Life exclusive, as David tells us it’s the first time he’s been on a podcast. Listening to his whimsical tales of his life as a collector and dealer, it’s unlikely to be his last. Tune in below, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: David Messum

Editor and producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Special Thanks: Adam Wilbourn

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From Tudors and Georgians to pet monkeys in Roman Britain: Matt Thompson of English Heritage on telling the stories of the past

Mon, 05 Aug 2024 12:40:00 GMT

This week on the Country Life Podcast, Matt Thompson — Curatorial Director of English Heritage — joins our host James Fisher to talk history.

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Recent research from English Heritage asked people to name their favourite periods of the past, and as you might expect the headline findings reflected the widespread interest in the Romans, World Wars, Tudors and Victorians.

But dig deeper, as Matt explains, and a huge number of fascinating stories are revealed by the thousands of sites and artefacts that sit within English Heritage's collection.

He shares many of these with James, talks about the organisation's role in stimulating our love of history and throws light on some bizarre objects — not least a single bone from a Barbary Macaque found in a Roman city. Matt also names his all-time favourite English Heritage site, and it's a beautiful, unspoilt site that's free to visit.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher
Guest: Matt Thompson
Editor and producer: Toby Keel
Music: JuliusH via Pixabay
Special Thanks: Adam Wilbourn

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lady Violet Manners on the past, present and future of our heritage

Mon, 29 Jul 2024 08:15:41 GMT

The thing about good ideas is that they sound incredibly obvious only after they’ve been invented. Take Deliveroo, for example. Looking back, of course it makes sense to get restaurants to deliver food, above and beyond the old-fashioned takeaway. Of course being able to summon a cab using an app will be a successful business, considering we tell everyone where we are all the time. Why didn’t I think of that?

Violet Manners has had an idea. In her own words, she was quite surprised that nobody else had thought of it first. How do we take privately owned country homes, castles and gardens, and create a simple way of allowing people to look at them, understand them, and then visit them? By creating a site where you can look at them, understand them, and then book a visit. It’s called HeritageXplore.

She joined the Country Life podcast this week to talk about HeritageXplore, what it offers, why it’s important and what it means for our, well, heritage. We expanded into conversations about how stately homes and gardens, often considered something ‘old’, are becoming something new, through tv shows such as Bridgerton and Downton Abbey, and how it’s important for privately owned country houses to take advantage of the wave of interest in these buildings and their stories.

And Violet is the perfect person to bridge the gap between heritage and the digital space. She tells us about growing up in Belvoir Castle and why her and her sister were entrusted with fishing pigeons out of the pipes. Listen to the full episode above, or wherever you get your podcasts. HeritageXplore is found at heritagexplore.com, and you can listen to Violet's own podcast, Hidden Heritage, wherever you get your podcasts.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher
Guest: Lady Violet Manners
Editor and producer: Toby Keel
Music: JuliusH via Pixabay
Special Thanks: Adam Wilbourn

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The best beaches in Britain with Chris Haslam, the man who's just visited 543 of them

Mon, 22 Jul 2024 09:00:00 GMT

The award-winning journalist Chris Haslam doesn't just like beaches; he loves them.

Chris, chief travel writer for the Sunday Times, recently returned from spending seven weeks touring the coastline of Britain to produce his list of the very best beaches in Britain.

It's a mammoth undertaking, in which he and his dog — a Jack Russell called Dave — drove over 5,500 miles to inspect beaches from the tip of the Highlands to the Kent coast, and from the furthest tip of Cornwall to the broad sands of East Anglia and Lincolnshire.

He found beauty, joy, and plentiful fish and chip shops — but also came into contact with once-beautiful coastal spots that were clean and beautiful a decade ago, but are now tarnished by pollution.

For all that, though, Chris remains a huge fan and advocate of British beaches: 'Nowhere I've been in the world has the variety and raw natural beauty of the British coastline.'

He spoke to Country Life's James Fisher for this wonderful episode. You can read Chris's full list of beaches here.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher
Guest: Chris Haslam
Editor and producer: Toby Keel
Music: JuliusH via Pixabay and the Fly Guy Five via Epidemic Sound
Special Thanks: Adam Wilbourn

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Buckingham Palace, Taylor Swift, and how to get your house featured in Country Life, with John Goodall

Mon, 15 Jul 2024 07:00:37 GMT

Buckingham Palace’s East Wing has opened up to visitors for the first time in 2024. St James’s Palace did so at the tail end of 2023. Even Balmoral — a royal residence privately owned by the Windsors, rather than part of the holdings of the Crown — has opened up its doors, something which would have been unimaginable during the lifetime of the late Queen Elizabeth II.

Why has it happened, and what can it tell us about the Monarcy today? Country Life’s Architectural Editor John Goodall joins host James Fisher in this episode of the Country Life Podcast to talk about this, and much more.

Some of the topics are very much in John’s ballpark: how to get your house featured in the pages of Country Life, and what you can expect once it happens, for example. But, never a man afraid to stray out of his lane, John also delves into the wonderful world of Taylor Swift concerts, how to build 1.5 million homes, and why sequin-covered books on architecture might one day be best-sellers. He even squeezes in a bit about how Oxford University ought to do a better job of keeping track of their own buildings. Enjoy.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: John Goodall

Editor and producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay and the Fly Guy Five via Epidemic Sound

Special Thanks: Adam Wilbourn

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The accidental invention of the teenager and other stories from the history of the home, with Sonia Solicari

Mon, 08 Jul 2024 06:00:47 GMT

Look around you. You might be reading this in your home. Or perhaps someone else’s home. The point is we spend a lot of time in our homes, more so now than ever before (apart from that year we don’t talk about).

They are our own private spaces — reflections on ourselves, our styles, our opinions, our choices, our ideas. Every choice you make when it comes to your home, from the wallpaper to who you choose to share it with, is both an extension of yourself and often an extension of the world around you. Homes are something we look at most days, and yet something that we probably don’t often think about all that often.

I know this now because I spent 30 minutes talking to Sonia Solicari, the director of the Museum of the Home, who opened my eyes to what ‘the home’ really means. At her museum, based in Hoxton in East London, the home is used to understand and explain history in a fascinating way. Through rooms, from a parlour in 1695 to what the living room of the future may look like, we can understand the world around us.

These are just some of the fascinating insights from our talk. Another one is how Sonia explained to me how everyday objects often found in the home changed our lives. Did you know that the invention of the thermostat may have given rise to the moody teenager? There’s a free little tidbit for you.

It’s been one of my favourite podcasts we’ve done and I would highly recommend you listen to the rest. There’s even a bit where a squirrel interrupts me by staring at me through the window, but at the time of writing I've not yet heard the final cut, so I’m not sure if Toby left that bit in. The only way you'll find out now is to have a listen for yourself. And in doing so, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did (the podcast, not the squirrel).

— James Fisher

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Sonia Solicari of the Museum of the Home

Editor and Producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Charlie Waite: Britain's greatest landscape photographer on the secrets of his art

Mon, 01 Jul 2024 10:15:00 GMT

The landscape photographer Charlie Waite is a true national treasure. A fellow of the Royal Photographic Society, he has published dozens of photography books and founded the Landscape Photographer of the Year awards back in 2006.

We're absolutely delighted that he joined us on the Country Life Podcast, telling host James Fisher about his life in photography, how he was shaped by his early years in theatre and film, and his philosophy on how to produce — not just 'take' — a photograph has evolved.

He tells us about how he has been inspired by some of the greats of the craft, from Ansel Adams to Henri Cartier-Bresson, quoting some of the advice he has taken on board from his heroes. Charlie is also passionate about sharing his love of landscape photography with as many people as possible, both through his Light & Land workshops and tours, and with his latest venture, an exhibition at the Mall Galleries in September 2024 in which Charlie's pictures will hang alongside those of other landscape photographers, amateur and professional, from across the world.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher
Guest: Charlie Waite
Editor and Producer: Toby Keel
Music: JuliusH via Pixabay
Special thanks: Adam Wilbourn

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The worst new buildings in Britain, with Charlie Baker

Mon, 24 Jun 2024 09:30:46 GMT

The Carbuncle Cup — the award given to the worst new building in Britain — has returned after a six-year hiatus. Competition judge and magazine editor Charlie Baker spoke to James Fisher about why pointing out bad architecture matters.

You can see pictures of all the buildings Charlie and James discuss in our show notes.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What you need to know before you move house, by property expert Annabel Dixon

Mon, 17 Jun 2024 06:30:13 GMT

From the rollercoaster of mortgage rates to the calling of a surprise election, the economic landscape of Britain never seems to sit still these days.

Thankfully, award-winning property journalist Annabel Dixon writes regularly for Country Life to help us make sense of what's going on and we're delighted that this week she joins James Fisher on the Country Life podcast.

Annabel talks about whether now is a good time to buy, the best places to look, what you can expect if you move across the North-South divide and much more — including her own dream house and part of the country.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Annabel Dixon

Editor and Producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Special thanks: Adam Wilbourn

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why you've been doing holidays wrong for years

Mon, 10 Jun 2024 07:00:07 GMT

We lead busy lives these days — which might be all well and good for getting things done, but is the last thing you want on holiday.

That's the central idea behind a new book by the travel writer Liz Schaffer, Slow Travel Britain, in which Liz travelled to 22 off-the-track parts of Britain to really take them in. From walking Hadrian's Wall to exploring the unspoilt corners of the Pembrokeshire coast, Liz made a point of taking her time, talking to the people she met, and avoiding — at all costs — falling in to the trap of box-ticking sights and places.

We're delighted that Liz joined us on the Country Life Podcast, speaking to our own Travel Editor, Rosie Paterson, to discuss the places she saw, the people she met, and what she learned about travel — and indeed herself — on the way.

Liz's book is published by Hoxton — you can order a copy here.

Episode credits

Host: Rosie Paterson

Guest: Liz Schaffer

Producer and Editor: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Special thanks: Adam Wilbourn

On holiday this week but will be back next time: James Fisher

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why does Wales exist, and 46 more questions about the borders of the world, with Jonn Elledge

Mon, 03 Jun 2024 06:30:14 GMT

Some time between the formation of the earth, and now, some human beings decided to draw some lines on the sand somewhere to define ‘our bit’ of the earth and ‘their bit’ of the earth. We now refer to these lines as borders.

Journalist and author Jonn Elledge has always been fascinated by why and how this happens, and in this episode he joins the Country Life Podcast to talk about borders and his new book, The History of the World in 47 Borders.

Jonn's fascination with borders made him think that the smart thing to do would be to write a book about them. 47 of them, specifically, which he claims can tell us ‘the history of the world’. We invited him on to the Country Life podcast to discuss just how the border came to be, what they mean, some weird ones, and the somewhat disturbing truth about why a lot of them are simply just straight lines.

We answer important questions such as ‘why does Wales exist’, what happened during the partition of India, and why most borders are a bit nonsensical, when you think about it.

And at the heart of it all lies the great question: are national identities defined by their borders, or vice versa? To find out the answer, you’ll just have to listen — and if you get to the end and still want to know more (including the answer to the question ‘why does landlocked Bolivia still have a navy?’), you can buy his book, which is available at all good bookshops (and some bad ones).

'The History of the World in 47 Borders' can be bought online here. Follow Jonn on X/Twitter here

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Jonn Elledge

Editor and Producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Special thanks: Adam Wilbourn

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The 12 most iconic paintings in the National Gallery

Mon, 27 May 2024 07:00:05 GMT

On May 10, 1824, Britain's National Gallery opened its doors for the first time. This year, to celebrate its bicentenary, the gallery is hosting a whole string of events and celebrations to market the occasion.

Of all these, perhaps the boldest and most eye-catching is National Treasures, a selection of just 12 from among the thousands of masterpieces in the National Gallery's collection. The 12 paintings will be on display at 12 galleries around Britain, bringing art to people across the land, and making the National Gallery truly national.

But how do you go about choosing the 12 most famous paintings from such an astonishing collection? It's an almost impossible task, and one that fell to one of the gallery's curators, Dr Francesca Whitlum-Cooper, who led the team that whittled down the almost countless options to the final 12.

Francesca joined James Fisher on the Country Life Podcast to talk about how it was done. She also shares the story of her life and career, how she came to be at the gallery, what art really means to us — and, of course, the practicalities and philosophy that underlies the idea of sending a string of artworks worth tens of millions of pounds across the country to be seen by fresh eyes.

You can find out more about the National Gallery, and the NG200 celebrations, at the gallery's website, nationalgallery.org.uk. And you can see the 12 paintings that made the cut for the National Treasures exhibitions at nationalgallery.org.uk/exhibitions/across-the-uk/national-treasures

Episode credits:

Host: James Fisher
Guest: Dr Francesca Whitlum-Cooper
Editor and Producer: Toby Keel
Music: JuliusH via Pixabay
Special thanks: Adam Wilbourn

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An insider's guide to judging the Chelsea Flower Show

Mon, 20 May 2024 05:30:55 GMT

James Alexander-Sinclair is one of Britain's foremost garden designers and writers. He's a regular contributor to Country Life magazine and many other titles, and a regular presence on television screens talking about gardening.

He is also one of the top judges at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show — and we're absolutely delighted that he joins us to give a full behind-the-scenes account of the entire judging process.

James doesn't shy away from any of the issues — or the controversies which have raged in recent years over the unconventional winners that have had many lovers of traditional gardens up in arms.

You can find out more about James Alexander-Sinclair at his website or follow him on Instagram.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher Guest: James Alexander-Sinclair

Editor and producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Special thanks: Adam Wilbourn

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Isabella Tree: How rewilding took the Knepp Estate from a ruin in the red to a miracle of Nature

Mon, 13 May 2024 18:02:06 GMT

At the turn of the millennium, Isabella Tree and her husband Charlie Burrell faced a crisis. They were £1.5 million in debt after spending 17 years trying to run a farm that simply wouldn't grow the crops they needed for it to be sustainable.

With all their efforts to effect change and introduce diversification failing, they took a drastic decision: to return the farm to Nature — a decision which Isabella tells James Fisher all about on the Country Life Podcast.

Rewilding might be a buzzword in the 2020s, but at the time was almost unheard of in Britain. Only a few projects on the Continent showed that there might be a potential alternative that could save the estate. Charlie and Isabella pushed ahead — and were staggered at how, within months, Nature began to recover and restore this heavy clay farmland that simply refused their attempts at agriculture.

'Suddenly it felt like the land was breathing a sigh of relief, and everything was coming to live,' Isabella tells James Fisher on the Country Life Podcast. Even things which scientists had told them could take a century began happening within the first year, and they've never looked back.

'We knew we were on to something,' she adds, 'and it's just got better and better.'

Isabella went on to write a bestselling book about her experiences — a book which has now been turned into a documentary film, out in June 2024 (you can watch the trailer at the Country Life website).

You can find out more about Isabella, Charlie and the Knepp Estate at knepp.co.uk

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Isabella Tree

Producer and Editor: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Special thanks: Adam Wilbourn

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When the King and Queen edited Country Life, by the editor who guided them every step of the way

Mon, 06 May 2024 07:30:49 GMT

Paula Lester has been running the features desk at Country Life magazine for over a decade. So when His Majesty The King — Prince Charles, as he was at the time — agreed to guest edit the magazine, she was the obvious choice to guide him and his team through the process.

The result, as Paula tells James Fisher on this week's Country Life Podcast, could never have been foreseen: after months of work and literally thousands of emails, the magazine became Country Life's best-selling issue of all time. A second guest edit came; then The Princess Royal took the helm as well; and in 2022, it was the turn of Queen Camilla, while still Duchess of Cornwall, to try her hand at it.

Paula talks through those extraordinary experiences, and what it was like to work with His Majesty and Their Royal Highnesses on putting together an issue of the magazine. Everything from commissioning features to arrange a photo shoot carried out by none other than The Duchess of Cambridge (now Princess of Wales) — who phoned Paula while she was at the hairdresser!

As well as the royal guest edits, Paula explains how the magazine's features come together each week, looking at where ideas come from, how they're brought to life, and the amazing team around her who make sure that it happens 52 weeks a year.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Paula Lester

Editor and Producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Special thanks: Adam Wilbourn

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Everything that's wrong with housing in Britain — and how to put it right

Mon, 29 Apr 2024 08:00:07 GMT

The housing crisis in Britain has gone on for decades almost unchecked — but it's only thanks to voices such as Nicholas Boys Smith that we can use the word 'almost' in that sentence.

Nicholas is the founder of Create Streets, a think tank and consultancy which looks at property development and town planning across Britain. He joins host James Fisher on the Country Life Podcast to explain what has been going wrong, why we've lost faith in planners, architects and developers, and what we can do to put things right.

Striking a balance between preservation and progress is right at the heart of what Nicholas has to say — for there is no reason at all why we can't make buildings which are modern and practical while also preserving the beauty of our villages, towns and cities.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Nicholas Boys Smith

Producer and Editor: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Blenheim Palace: Behind the scenes at one of Britain's greatest building

Mon, 22 Apr 2024 11:00:00 GMT

Beyond the Monarchy and the Church, there is only one building in Britain which is designated with word 'palace': Blenheim Palace.

This UNESCO World Heritage Site is beyond any doubt one of the world's greatest, and most famous buildings. It was built to commemorate a famous battle 320 years ago: the victory in the Battle of Blenheim led by John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, in which the army of Louis XIV was beaten in what was France's first major military defeat in half a century.

Queen Anne was delighted by the outcome, and granted Churchill both the land and the funds to create a grand house which, from the start, was planned as both ancestral home and national monument.

Three centuries later, the house and gardens — designed by Sir John Vanbrugh and Capability Brown respectively — are just as magnificent today, and one of the most visited buildings in Britain, with as many as 6,000 people a day visiting.

Keeping a great house like this running is no easy feat, as Blenheim's director of operations Emily Spencer explains in this episode of the Country Life Podcast.

"It's an ongoing battle," Emily explains of the need to balance restoration, conservation and the needs of visitors, from the £40 million project in place to keep the building standing to towing visitors' cars out of muddy fields.

But the efforts are all worthwhile, Emily adds.

"The second you step across the landscape, it's everything — it all has such a power over you."

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Emily Spencer

Producer and editor: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Special thanks: Adam Wilbourn

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emma Sims-Hilditch and the re-invention of the country house aesthetic

Mon, 15 Apr 2024 11:00:32 GMT

How important an interior designer is Emma Sims-Hilditch? 'In my view, she has almost completely turned the country house aesthetic on its head, and reinvented it for the 21st century,' says Giles Kime, Country Life's Executive Editor and our resident interiors guru.

'She's a great believer in creating houses which are not just elegant, but also function brilliantly and are perfectly configured for family life.'

Emma joined Giles for this special episode of the Country Life Podcast to discuss her ideas on design, architecture and making historic houses fit for 21st century living.

She talks through several of the projects she's worked on — not least her own. It's a former schoolhouse which she and husband — the designer John Sims-Hilditch of Neptune — took on as a complete wreck while they were still in their 20s, and turned it into a magnificent home.

At Country Life, we’ve covered many of Emma's projects over the years — this boot room, for example, and this bedroom — but you can see more of her work at the Sims Hilditch website or on Emma’s Instagram page.

Episode credits

Interviewer: Giles Kime

Guest: Emma Sims-Hilditch

Host: James Fisher

Producer and Editor: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Badminton at 75: The story of the 'Wimbledon of 3-day eventing'

Mon, 08 Apr 2024 11:15:00 GMT

Kate Green isn't just the Deputy Editor of Country Life magazine. She's also one of the country's foremost equestrian journalists, having worked at four Olympic Games as well as countless other top events around the world.

With her book on the 75th anniversary of the Badminton Horse Trials just launched, Kate tells the tale of how the crushing disappointment of the 1948 Olympics paved the way for a resurgence in the sport on these shores, which has led to Britain becoming the home of eventing.

Kate joins Country Life Podcast host James Fisher to talk about Badminton, equestrian sport in general and the incomparable magic of the Olympic Games, from being chased by irate security guards while walking the showjumping course in Atlanta to the outpouring of joy shared by fans and competitors alike during the golden weeks of London 2012.

Kate's book, Badminton Horse Trials at 75, is published by Quiller (£40) — find out more about it here.

Episode credits:

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Kate Green

Editor and Producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Special thanks: Adam Wilbourn

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Revd Colin Heber-Percy: Easter, the Meaning of Life, and making dog collars from chocolate wrappers

Mon, 01 Apr 2024 07:30:38 GMT

What is it all about? It's the question that Man has been struggling to answer since the dawn if human consciousness. And while we all have to figure out our own answer, it's never less than fascinating to hear of others who've found theirs.

And in that light, this week's guest on the Country Life podcast is Colin Heber-Percy, a successful screenwriter for film and TV who, in his 40s, stepped away from a lucrative career and retrained to become an ordained minister in the Church of England. Today, Revd Dr Colin Heber-Percy is a rural vicar in Wiltshire, and while he still writes — his book Tales of a Country Parish became a bestseller — his main concern now

Colin joined James Fisher on the Country Life Podcast to talk about that change of gear in his life, and how hiw foray into the world of the clergy was less a career change and more a way of tying together all the threads of his life. Religion and ‘The Big Questions’ had long permeated his life and his work and, by becoming a vicar, he could truly focus on all of them.

Somewhat controversially, he still describes himself as an agnostic — which for a vicar, is quite the claim. Ask him why, and the answer is intriguing — how can you have faith if you claim to know everything? Is not knowing what Easter is really about?

Colin also speaks about what he would do if made Archbishop of Canterbury for a day, ponders the questions of medieval metaphysics — really — and, perhaps best of all, explains how the packaging of a Bounty Bar makes for an ideal emergency dog collar.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Revd Dr Colin Heber-Percy

Producer and Editor: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Special thanks: Adam Wilbourn

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The architect whose grand designs bring inspiration to the English countryside

Mon, 25 Mar 2024 13:00:00 GMT

The award-winning architect Richard Hawkes is no ordinary designer of buildings. He has made his name and forged a career by creating some of the most astonishing new homes build in Britain in the past two decades.

He joins James Fisher on the Country Life Podcast to talk about the homes he designs, many of which are built under the Paragraph 84 rules, which allow the creation of new homes in rural areas where development would otherwise be forbidden.

Richard's own house, centred beneath and around a magnificent arch, was featured in a memorable episode of the Channel 4 TV programme Grand Designs, and he talks about how appearing on the programme played its part in building his reputation.

He also tells James about the many factors that come in to play with creating such houses in the countryside — and why he regularly turns potential clients away if he feels the land in question is simply too important, ecologically speaking, to build on.

The greatest tribute of all? Not a single one of the homes he and his team have built has ever come back on to the market, each one instead still being lived in by the clients for whom he built it in the first place.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Richard Hawkes

Producer and Editor: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Special thanks: Adam Wilbourn

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Millie Pilkington: Photographing dogs, movie stars, and the Royal Family

Mon, 18 Mar 2024 13:00:00 GMT

Millie Pilkington is one of Britain's best-known portrait photographers, with her work regularly appearing in Country Life as well as dozens of other publications.

We were truly delighted that she joined James Fisher on the Country Life podcast this week to talk about life behind the lens.

She talks about how she turned a hobby in to a dream career, one in which she has dealt with everything from incorrigible dogs to taking private family pictures for the Prince and Princess of Wales.

The secret of a good photograph, she explains, isn't just technical — it's emotional. 'Yes, you want to have nice light, you want to have a nice composition, you want to think about how all of this marries together, how it's going to draw people in,' she says.

'But actually the real thing that takes a photograph to a different level is this mood, this emotion, this spirit. And if you can connect with whoever you're photographing, you might not have the perfect crop, or the perfect light, or the perfect something. But that photograph, if it talks to you in some way, if it brings an emotion to you, then you've got some home of someone else feeling that too.'

You can see more of Millie's work on Instagram and at her website, milliepilkington.co.uk.

Episode credits

Host : James Fisher

Guest: Millie Pilkington

Producer and Editor: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Special thanks: Adam Wilbourn

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What I grow in my own garden, by Country Life's gardens editor Tiffany Daneff

Mon, 11 Mar 2024 12:00:11 GMT

Country Life's Gardens Editor Tiffany Daneff is one of Britain's foremost gardening journalists, having worked at titles including The English Garden and The Daily Telegraph, where she launched the gardening supplement.

But while she's spent years writing about other people's gardens, this time she talks about her own outside spaces in this very special episode of the Country Life Podcast. From the people who influenced her love of plants and gardening in her formative years to the friends and colleagues who she now relies on to help her create her own perfect garden, she tells host James Fisher all about this great passion of her life.

You can read Tiffany's writing about gardens on the website at countrylife.co.uk/gardens, where you'll also find tips and advice from Alan Titchmarsh, Mark Diacono and many other wonderful plantsmen and women.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Tiffany Daneff

Producer and Editor: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH on Pixabay

Special Thanks: Adam Wilbourn

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Britain's 100 best architects, interior designers, craftspeople and garden designers

Mon, 04 Mar 2024 12:30:00 GMT

For the past eight years, the Country Life Top 100 has been the essential list when it comes to finding the best architects, builders, interior and garden designers in the UK. The list is the brainchild of our Interiors Editor Giles Kime, who has used his decades of experience to showcase two of our nation’s great talents — architecture and design.

Giles joins James on the podcast for a second time, becoming the first returning guest, to discuss the history of the Top 100, what it takes to be included, who chooses what and, most importantly, why a list such as this one matters.

Country Life has had a rich tradition of promoting and maintaining our built heritage, dating from the magazine’s inception in 1897, when we were early champions of now-legendary names such as Edwin Lutyens and Gertrude Jekyll. As Giles points out, the Top 100 is more than just a directory, it’s a list designed to inspire and elevate the next generation of artisans and craftspeople. Perhaps someone in our list will be the next Edwin Lutyens or Gertrude Jekyll?

While a lot has changed between 1897 and now (materials, sustainability implications, styles), one thing will always remain, says Giles, and that is timelessness. Not to be confused with ‘tradition’, Giles adds that ‘what is exciting about the best houses being built or restored today is that, increasingly, they combine desirable qualities both from the past and the present’. It’s that principle that has guided the best country house design and, by extension, those included on our list.

By beginning with functionality, with things that work for people in terms of comfort and practicality, timeless design grows outwards into a style and approach that is less likely to date. Timelessness is creating and restoring buildings ‘with a capacity to evolve as needs change’. You can find the Country Life Top 100 in the magazine on March 6, 2024, or on our website at www.countrylife.co.uk

Episode Credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Giles Kime

Producer and editor: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fiona Stafford: The greatest myth of the countryside

Mon, 26 Feb 2024 13:00:00 GMT

We tend to think of the British countryside as rural idyll, a patchwork of fields, farms and forests, rolling on through time until rudely interrupted by the building of a new housing estate, a dual-carriageway or some other man-man incursion.

But the landscape around us is changing constantly, has always been doing so, and always will. Fiona Stafford, professor of English at Oxford University, joins the Country Life podcast this week to talk about how, and why, we fail to recognise those shifts. Even in the space of a generation or two, vast changes can take place that we scarcely think about: from swamps drained and reservoirs created to the hundreds of Second World War airfields which once dotted so much of Britain, and which how have mostly been turned to other purposes. And how about the River Humber, crossed by a mighty suspension bridge which feels as if it will be there forever; yet the Solway Firth was once spanned by a spectacular Victorian viaduct of which almost nothing now remains.

When we talk about conservation, then, what are we conserving? If the landscape is being constantly made and re-made, how are we to say which particular moment in time we're trying to return it to? The countryside, after all, is a workplace, not a museum. Fiona tackles these ideas in her new book, Time and Tide: The Long, Long History of Landscape, and we're delighted that she was able to join our podcast host James Fisher to discuss this fascinating topic.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Professor Fiona Stafford

Producer and editor: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Special thanks: Adam Wilbourn

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Helen Rebanks: Farming, food, the meaning of life... and dogs stealing birthday cakes

Mon, 19 Feb 2024 15:11:05 GMT

Helen Rebanks went from farmer, wife and mother to publishing sensation last year when her first book, The Farmer's Wife, earned huge success and a legion of fans — not least the likes of bestselling author Raynor Winn and Times columnist Caitlin Moran. Her bestselling tale of everyday life on the Cumbrian farm which she runs alongside husband James is a wonderfully honest look at the ups and downs of what it means to raise — and feed — a family while keeping a roof over everyone's heads.

In this edition of the Country Life podcast, Helen joins host James Fisher to talk about her life in the country, and how her youthful ideals were shaped and changed as her life unfolded. She is completely candid about how she swapped a life in the city that was 'quite often very lonely, quite often very empty', to return to the country and live a quieter life which has proven immeasurably meaningful. 'I've been very proud, happy, content, fulfilled doing the work I do,' she says. 'Not to say it's easy, or that there aren't hard times... but I think writing it was reflecting on the choices I've made.'

Helen also talks with huge passion about the importance of farming, sustainability and the environment, particularly as farmers themselves are squeezed by supermarkets, government policy and a market saturated with low-quality, imported produce. 'After Brexit we had an opportunity to make things better in this country, but it's got worse and worse and worse,' she says. 'There isn't enough value put on the importance of healthy food and healthy environment together.'

Helen's book, The Farmer's Wife, is out in paperback on 29 February, 2024, (Faber, £10.99).

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Helen Rebanks

Produced and editor: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stonehenge, Avebury and the stone circles of Britain, with Professor Vicki Cummings

Mon, 12 Feb 2024 12:56:24 GMT

What is a stone circle? Who made them, and how? And just as importantly, why?

This week's guest joining James Fisher on the Country Life podcast is one of Britain's foremost experts on stone circles and henges: Professor Vicki Cummings, the archaeologist who is head of the School of History, Archaeology and Religion at Cardiff University.

Vicki explains all you could wish to know about the most extraordinary stone circles in the country, from the world-famous sites such as Stonehenge and Avebury to beautiful and remote spots such as Castlerigg in Cumbria and Sunhoney in Aberdeenshire.

The result is a fascinating and entertaining chat looking at the latest knowledge we have about stone circles and henges (not to mention the difference between the two). While many of these ancient marvels had religious or celestial roles, we now believe that stone circles were, to most people who used them, the entertainment multiplexes of their day, meeting places for people to congregate from miles around to come together and share their lives with each other.

Vicki is the co-author, with Professor Colin Richards of the University of the Highlands and Islands, of the forthcoming book The Stone Circles: A Field Guide, published in April 2024 by Yale University Press.

Episode credits:

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Professor Vicki Cummings

Editor and Producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Special thanks: Adam Wilbourn

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Clive Nichols: The secrets of the king of garden photography

Fri, 02 Feb 2024 14:35:43 GMT

Clive Nichols is Britain's top garden photographer.

After originally starting his career in travel photography, Clive switched his focus to gardens — despite, by his own admission, knowing almost nothing about them at the time. It proved a brilliant move, however: he has since photographed thousands of gardens for publications including Country Life and The Sunday Times, to institutions such as the National Trust and the RHS, and individuals including Lord Heseltine and Hus Majesty King Charles III.

Clive joins James Fisher on this episode of the Country Life podcast to talk about his life, his photography, and his favourite gardens from around Britain — and indeed the world.

From getting the right gear to the best season for taking pictures, he shares his wisdom, experience and plenty of his tips for taking great images — among them a tolerance for early mornings, cold weather, and a car capable of being driven almost half a million miles.

You can find out more about Clive Nichols, including his photography, books and teaching, at his website, clivenichols.com — and don't forget to follow him on @clivenichols, surely one of the most beautiful accounts on Instagram.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Clive Nichols

Producer and Editor: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Special thanks: Adam Wilbourn

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Norman Foster: A life in architecture, why we need to save the Green Belt, and the future of cities

Fri, 26 Jan 2024 16:46:55 GMT

Norman Foster is unarguably one of the greatest architects of the last half century. We're delighted that he joins Country Life magazine for a very special episode of the podcast.

Speaking to Country Life's Carla Passino, Lord Foster describes how he left school in Manchester at 16 before eventually working his way through university in order to forge a career as an architect, a role in which he has reshaped countless cities — not least London.

He shares his view on what makes London the city that it is, how it is a city that 'is essentially organic', and how its informality, copious green spaces and thriving neighbourhoods model can help popularise the concept of the 15-minute city across the world, and what he has to say to those who criticise how he, and his imitators, have reshaped the skyline of the British capital.

The architect also talks about his other key passion in life: flying. The 89-year-old has flown 75 different types of aircraft, including helicopters and jets.

Lord Foster also talks about the work of the Norman Foster Foundation, and how he is trying to help tomorrow's architects to plan and create cities which are as sustainable as they are vibrant and liveable.

Episode Credits

Host: James Fisher

Interviewer: Carla Passino:

Guest: Lord Foster

Editor/Producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH

Special thanks: Adam Wilbourn

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hot destinations, missing underwear and dodging volcanoes: An insider's guide to travelling the world

Fri, 19 Jan 2024 18:15:00 GMT

Country Life magazine's Rosie Paterson has the enviable task of travelling the world in order to report on where to go, when and why. She's also — and she probably won't mind us saying this — developed something of a reputation for being incident prone.

Rosie speaks to Country Life podcast host James Fisher to share her tips on everything from the world's greatest hotels and destinations to the reason it's almost always worth trying to get an upgrade — along with a few hints on how you can manage to do so. She also explains how she's managed to fall foul of everything from natural disasters to armed insurrections in her efforts to trot the globe.

Episode credits:

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Rosie Paterson

Producer and editor: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay / Epidemic Sound

Special thanks: Adam Wilbourn

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tom Kerridge: Michelin stars, fish and chips, and a life in food

Fri, 12 Jan 2024 15:48:58 GMT

Tom Kerridge is one of Britain's best-loved chefs. In 2005, after years spent working at some of finest restaurants in London and the Cotswolds under the likes of Gary Rhodes, he took over The Hand and Flowers pub in Marlow, Buckinghamshire.

He quickly earned a Michelin star, a glowing reputation and a high profile which opened up opportunities in television, where he's been a familiar sight for many years. His latest show, Tom Kerridge's More Sunday Lunch, which appears on The Food Network from January 15, 2024.

Tom speaks to Country Life's James Fisher about his life as a chef and restauranteur, but also shares his passionate views on farming, the countryside, and the restaurant industry as a whole.

Episode credits:

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Tom Kerridge

Producer and editor: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Special thanks: Adam Wilbourn

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How (not) to fix up an old country house

Fri, 05 Jan 2024 12:22:59 GMT

'The ability to go in and specify everything for an interior might be within the powers of an interior designer,' says Giles Kime, Country Life's long-standing interiors guru. 'ButI think when we're doing on our own homes, it's really important to take your time and put a lot of thought and effort into it.'

Giles has spent 35 years writing about interiors, the last seven of which have been with Country Life magazine. During that time he has bought, refurbished and moved on from a string of characterful homes, leading to his current project: a 1630 cottage in rural Hampshire. He joined our podcast host James Fisher to share some of the tips he's picked up over the year — and to tell some of the stories behind his hugely popular article on the Country Life website, '10 things I wish I’d known about doing up old houses before I started.'

You can see more of Giles Kime's articles at the Country Life website, or can follow him on Instagram @giles.kime where you'll be able to see details of his upcoming talks and publications.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Giles Kime

Producer & Editor: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Special thanks: Adam Wilbourn

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My week surviving on an uninhabited Scottish island

Fri, 22 Dec 2023 10:35:22 GMT

The journalist and author Patrick Galbraith spent a week on the uninhabited island of Scarba, a speck on the map in the Inner Hebrides.

In the course of his adventure, Patrick fished and foraged, walked and wondered, and went from moments of joy and beauty to pure misery. He came to the Country Life Podcast to tell us all about it, share some of the highs and lows, and explain what motivated him to give it a go in the first place.

You can read Patrick's article about his time on Scarba on the Country Life website. You can find Patrick's book, In Search of One Last Song: Britain's Disappearing Birds and the People Trying to Save Them, from all good bookshops.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Patrick Galbraith

Producer and editor: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH

Special thanks: Adam Wilbourn

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rosamund Young: The Wisdom of Sheep and other animals

Fri, 15 Dec 2023 15:57:37 GMT

Rosamund Young, the best-selling author of The Secret Life of Cows, has been a farmer for almost half a century. She joined us at the Country Life podcast to talk about her animals, the farms she's known, how the Cotswolds has changed in the years she's called it home, and her beautiful new book, The Wisdom of Sheep.

You can read an exclusive extract from The Wisdom of Sheep on the Country Life website, you can read the full series of articles she wrote for Country Life here.

The Wisdom of Sheep & Other Animals: Observations from a Family Farm by Rosamund Young is published by Faber (£14.99 hardback).

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Interviewer: Toby Keel

Produced and edited by: Toby Keel

Music by: JuliusH

Special thanks: Adam Wilbourn

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Boom, bust and property lust: Penny Churchill on 30 years of Britain's best houses

Fri, 08 Dec 2023 15:41:38 GMT

This week's podcast features Country Life's long-standing property correspondent Penny Churchill, who looks back on three decades of writing about Britain's finest houses.

From the ups and of the market in the past three decades to the quirkiest agents and owners, Penny speaks to host James Fisher to share her insights on the country houses that have been at the heart of her career.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Producer and Editor: Toby Keel

Guest: John Goodall

Music: ‘Summertime’ by JuliusH

Special thanks: Adam Wilbourn

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The five best castles in Britain

Fri, 01 Dec 2023 13:50:01 GMT

Britain's landscape is dotted with quite incredible castles, from towering and imposing masterpieces to crumbling, romantic ruins.

In this week's podcast, we speak to Country Life magazine's Architectural Editor, John Goodall — the man who didn't so much write the book on castles as write a whole bookshelf's worth — to find out which five are his favourites.

John picks out five wonderful examples which show the full range of Britain's architectural legacy: Headingham, Knaresborough, Lancaster, Belvoir (pronounced 'Beaver') and Castle Drogo. And then he throws in a very special extra bonus castle at the end — arguably the greatest castle on the face of the planet, whose fate has been intertwined with that of the Royal Family for 1,000 years.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Producer and Editor: Toby Keel

Guest: John Goodall

Music: 'Summertime' by JuliusH

Special thanks: Adam Wilbourn

Find out more about the podcast and see the episode notes at countrylife.co.uk/podcast

Follow Country Life on Instagram @countrylifemagazine

On Facebook @countrylifemagazine

And on Twitter @countrylifemag

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tales from Country Life

Fri, 17 Nov 2023 12:30:00 GMT

Country Life's first ever podcast sees us speak to the magazine’s Editor-in-Chief, Mark Hedges. Mark has been in charge of the magazine for 17 years, presiding over circulation which has risen year after year, bucking the trend of the publishing industry, and winning every award possible in the process. He’s done everything from writing about fishing to hob-nobbing with members of the Royal Family — several of whom he’s persuaded to guest edit the magazine, not least King Charles himself.

Episode credits:

Host: James Fisher

Producer and Editor: Toby Keel

Guest: Mark Hedges

Music: 'Summertime' by JuliusH

Special thanks: Adam Wilbourn

Find out more about the podcast and see the episode notes at countrylife.co.uk/podcast

Follow Country Life on Instagram @countrylifemagazine

On Facebook @countrylifemagazine

And on Twitter @countrylifemag

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.