Images of delighted children scampering around searching for brightly-coloured eggs and symbolic rabbits hopping with baskets seem to be the modern view of Easter. However they actually originate before the birth…
Country House
Spring turn out: when cows are put out to grass
The spring turn out In the Alps the seasonal droving of livestock from winter holdings in the valleys to summer mountain pastures is widely celebrated. Whilst the Alpine transhumance triggers…
Sporting Diana Sarah Henderson on the magic of growing up on her father’s racing yard
Sarah Henderson, the daughter of six-times National Hunt champion trainer Nicky Henderson has riding and the countryside in her blood
How can you encourage little owls to nest?
A reader writes: “Last year we were lucky enough to have little owls nesting in our barn. Do they return to the same place each year and is there anything…
Relatively deer-proof plants
My house sits in the middle of a farm surrounded by forestry. We love to see the wildlife in our garden but are unable to have flower beds as the…
What can I do about marauding pheasants in my garden?
Q: I live near a shoot, and my garden is inundated with pheasants celebrating the end of the shooting season and enjoying the calm. Every year they arrive and wreak…
How to be the perfect house-party guest
There is a scene in AG Macdonell’s classic post-First World War comedy novel England, Their England when the protagonist, a Fleet Street journalist, is invited to a grand Kent house-party…
The best country houses to hire for house-parties
Dabton House, Dumfries and Galloway Good for Year-round fishing Garden lovers Active types Built in 1820 in the classical villa style, Dabton House originally served as the home of the…
How to make smoked bacon bourbon
Q: I recently read an article about the joys of smoked bacon bourbon and apparently it is something one can make. I have tried to find a recipe for smoked…
Shooting law: ownership of fallen game
Who does fallen game belong to if it lands on a public right of way?