Countryside
How Brexit would affect British farmers
How would British farming change without EU subsidies?
The joy of winter birdwatching (and how it’s changing)
Our harsh December days are a temperate escape for some gorgeous birds
Wrestling with the romantic glory of the Lake District
Cumberland and Westmorland Wrestling is the best thing in the Lake District. I lived near Wigton, just north of the…
The pitfalls of picnics (and how to avoid them)
Strange, isn’t it, that despite having such famously terrible weather, we Brits are so fond of a picnic. It’s something…
Country house picnics (with some ace opera attached)
I stole a blanket last night. Rather a nice one, in fact. I feel bad about it, of course, but…
Dear Mary: Should I follow Cilla Black’s lead on disabled loos?
Q. I was at the theatre recently and bumped into a well-known Liverpudlian crooner coming out of the disabled lavatory.…
A piece of primeval England reborn in Sussex
A piece of ancient England is being reborn around a castle in Sussex
Welcome to Miliband country: how Labour would wreck rural life
A ‘progressive alliance’ would be a profound threat to rural life
I went looking for a used car – and found my inner boy racer
A bit late, I know, to put in a bid for Jeremy Clarkson’s old job. But I think I might…
I know just the vicar for my parish church. Pity he’s fictional
I know just the man my parish church needs. Unfortunately he’s Catholic – and fictional
Dear Mary: What can I do to make couples split the bill fairly?
Q. I’m a single bloke now and for various reasons don’t foresee any change to that status. I have moved…
The myth of the housing crisis
The coalition is letting developers concrete over the countryside, but that won’t help young people buy houses
It takes a village (or six): the battle for rural churches
Can England’s 10,000 rural churches survive?
How long will it be before the climate forces us to change?
As the climate changes, will we? The story of the little ice age suggests that adaptation will take years of suffering
The sheer joy of hunting
This time three years ago, I hadn’t jumped a single thing for almost ten years. This season, I am happily…
Return of the fairy-hunters
An eccentric English tradition has attracted fresh academic attention
Here’s what I’ve learned in 2014
The countryside is all very well so long as you know you can leave it. Funnily enough, exactly the same…
The birth of a barrel of cider
The fabulous October weather is now just a memory but it made for a golden, old-fashioned apple day down in…
My new affair is thrilling, expensive — and might just break my neck
I have fallen in love with an unsuitable male. My wife isn’t totally happy about this relationship because she recognises…
The wonderful and unpredictable Candida Lycett Green
Remembering Candida Lycett Green
You owe it to yourself to visit John Clare country
This has been a terrible year for horseflies. It’s bad enough if you’re human: often by the time you swat…
Read this book and you’ll see why our meadows are so precious
This book is a portrait of one man’s meadow. Our now almost vanished meadowland, with its tapestry of wildflowers, abundant…
Dear Mary: Is there any way to wriggle out of a phone invitation?
Q. Is there a tactful way to keep one social offer on hold while waiting to see if you have…
Simon Jenkins's notebook: Why a wind farm will never be as beautiful as a railway viaduct
Until I plotted a book on England’s best views I had not realised how much people cared. Ask them to…
