Country Life

Country Life
  • 4.9 (28)
  • SOCIETY & CULTURE

Country Life magazine has been celebrating the best of life in Britain for over 126 years, from the castles and cottages that dot the land to the beautiful countryside around us. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. 3D AGO

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

    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. Subscribe to the Country Life podcast on Apple PodcastsSubscribe to the Country Life podcast on SpotifySubscribe to the Country Life podcast on Audible 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.

    30 min

  2. FEB 16

    Moving to the Cotswolds and DIY disasters, with Jim Chapman

    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. Subscribe to the Country Life podcast on Apple PodcastsSubscribe to the Country Life podcast on SpotifySubscribe to the Country Life podcast on Audible 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.

    31 min

  3. FEB 2

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

    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. Subscribe to the Country Life podcast on Apple PodcastsSubscribe to the Country Life podcast on SpotifySubscribe to the Country Life podcast on Audible 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.

    29 min

  4. JAN 27

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

    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.

    32 min

  5. JAN 19

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

    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.

    37 min

  6. JAN 12

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

    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.

    29 min

  7. 12/22/2025

    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

    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.

    38 min

  8. 12/15/2025

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

    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.

    31 min
See All (105)

Ratings & Reviews

4.9
out of 5
28 Ratings

About

Country Life magazine has been celebrating the best of life in Britain for over 126 years, from the castles and cottages that dot the land to the beautiful countryside around us. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Information

  • Creator
    Country Life
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    105
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Country Life
  • Show Website
    Country Life

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