BBC Countryfile Magazine

“One of my earliest memories is of a picnic at Wiltshire’s most famous landmark, Stonehenge, sat on a huge stone eating sandwiches in the drizzle. I’m not sure whether this happened, or whether my brain has simply fused a few memories into one, creat

This four-spotted chaser dragonfly roosts on a reed at Wicken Fen, a national nature reserve that has been designated a ‘Dragonfly Hotspot’ by the British Dragonfly Society due to its wide variety of dragonfly and damselfly species. The reed-flanked

The sun sinks behind Gaada Stack off the coast of Foula, one of the Shetland islands, throwing a glowing beam through the natural arch and over the frothing waves beyond. Captured in a long-exposure shot, the cloud-streaked sky adds drama overhead, m

In the amber haze of sunrise in the Peak District National Park, a red grouse stretches its wings, revealing flashes of white feather beneath the dark upper wings. A subspecies of the willow ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus), the red grouse is distinguishe

The sky wears house martins like summer bunting: a twirling decoration of forked tails and rapid wing beats. These small swallows chirp with sweet clipped notes as they head boldly to our own homes and offices. House martins did exist before houses,

The word ‘tarantula’ still causes a start. The purseweb spider is Britain’s only member of the order that contains these tropical giants, and we may walk past it without suspecting. Where the sun warms open habitats – on the southern side of chalk gr

The leaves are still abundant, but they are starting to fall. Now is the perfect time to make a sun print, otherwise known as a photogram. Go foraging in your local area for newly fallen leaves and try to find out the names of the trees that they bel

Neither worm nor snake, this legless lizard has a tail that it can ‘drop’ if attacked. Slow worms grow to 50cm long and are widespread, often found under logs or in rotting vegetation. Their fondness for slugs makes them popular with gardeners. They

Sweet by name and nature, edible meadowsweet makes itself known by its scent before you find it in all its frothy-flowered, almond-scented glory. A traditional medicinal, culinary and ritual herb, it can be found growing tall along riverbanks, in dit

The winding mountain pass widely known by its Gaelic name, Bealach na Ba (‘pass of the cattle’) is one of the UK’s highest, most spectacular drives. It’s often called our steepest road – but that only refers to its total elevation, from sea level to

Which of the conservation innovations featured in the podcast, Unearthed: Nature Needs Us, most excites you? I found the rise of seed banks to be most interesting. Seed banking is essential for our future as it is the method by which we can save plan

During the 35 years I’ve been reporting on Countryfile, British farmers have been hit from all sides by diseases that have decimated their herds and flocks, brought them heartbreak and uncertainty and cost us taxpayers billions of pounds to control –

A photographer in Wales has captured the ocean glowing with an eerie blue light created by tiny plankton. Lee McGrath has been chasing the bioluminescence phenomenon for over five years; he describes finally seeing the waves lit up against the dark n

Three years ago, the then Conservative Government passed the Environment Act 2021, which committed it to radical and far-reaching promises about how nature was going to be restored in England. “It will halt the decline in species by 2030,” the Depart

Blackbird numbers are in rapid decline in England, according to the latest garden bird counts. Now, scientists are worried a new virus may be contributing to the songbird’s ill fortunes. When infected with the Usutu virus (USUV), blackbirds can becom

Here is your chance to sample a specially curated collection of marine stories from recent issues of BBC Wildlife – the world’s best wildlife magazine – absolutely free! It’s easy… Simply scan the QR code to download your digital edition straight awa

“I’ve spent more than two decades trying to make sure my children were ‘into nature’, writing about it along the way and learning from them and the wild world. Now they are 22, 20 and 16, my work both is and isn’t done. But I can be sure that nature

RRP £16.50 PAY JUST £5! Great reasons to subscribe… • Get your first three issues for just £5 – just £1.67 per issue • Continue to save 30% off the shop price, paying only £11.99 every three issues • Free UK delivery direct to your door in our new pa

There’s nowhere else like it,” says Cornwall-based artist Paul Wadsworth as he accompanies me around his latest exhibition of huge, vibrant oil paintings at the St Ives Society of Artists. He’s talking about the contemporary arts and crafts scene, wh

Set up in St Just by painter Kurt Jackson in 2015, this gallery has put this former mining town on the map. The huge downstairs space shows changing exhibitions of Jackson’s work, including epic plein-air landscapes exploring elements of nature. You

The Gurnard’s Head, Zennor A local icon (left), its bright yellow paintwork visible for miles on the road between Zennor and St Just, this gastropub with eight double rooms makes for a characterful, convenient stay. There are many tempting walks righ

Midlands-born Terence Coventry studied at the Royal College of Art before taking up farming outside the remote village of Coverack on the Lizard Peninsula. He dedicated himself to sculpture 25 years later, his varied nature-based works inspired by ex

The first time Aidan Maccormick ever saw a tauros, he was at a breeding facility in the Netherlands. He doesn’t quite describe it as a life-changing moment, but it certainly left a deep impression on him. “There was this dominant bull wandering aroun

The aurochs were massive bovids, with bulls measuring between 160 and 180cm at the shoulder, and weighing up to a tonne, while cows were smaller at around 150cm. That’s roughly equivalent in size to a modern dairy breed such as a Holstein; cows are u

The modern Stonehenge ‘visitor journey’ is surely a far cry from how pilgrims would have experienced the site 4,500 years ago, in its Late Neolithic heyday. Back then, according to the latest archaeological theories, people would have approached the

I grew up in a pebble-dashed house alongside the requisite crazy-paved patio. Rising from the broken concrete slabs were a number of dangerously nailed-together posts, which, if you were short-sighted, you might have called a pergola. During the wint

Before you munch, do your research on whether a plant (and the specific variety) you have is edible; some plants are toxic, even deadly. Make sure plants you buy to eat have not been treated with chemicals. If you can’t find out for sure, then plant

One of the first flowers to bloom in spring, primroses are easy to grow. Plant a clump in a well-drained, sheltered bed and they’ll spread over the years, providing an abundance of buttery tasting flowers, with a hint of apple, to decorate cakes, mer

Built in the early 14th century on the site of a Saxon manor house, Baddesley Clinton became the property of one family – the Ferrers – for 12 generations and nearly half a millennium. Hidden deep in the Forest of Arden, Baddesley Clinton doesn’t dra

When you subscribe to GARDENS ILLUSTRATED Your first 3 issues for Continue at just £9.70 every 3 issues by Direct Debit – SAVING 35% Never miss an issue of your favourite magazine Free UK delivery direct to your door Subscribe online at ourmediashop.

At a smidge over 914m (3,000ft), Tryfan may only be the 15th highest mountain in Wales but it’s a peak that has achieved cult status. Aside from its associations with legendary climbers George Mallory and Edmund Hillary, much of the attraction lies i

All of Wales’ tallest mountains are located in Eryri (Snowdonia). The highest Welsh peak outside the region is Pen y Fan (886m) in Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons), which comes in 20th place. 1,085m (3,560ft), Mynyddoedd Yr The best known Welsh mo

The walk 3.3 miles/5.4km (return) | 4–5 hours | challenging (includes a Grade 1 scramble) | 615m ascent Start: Ogwen Cottage car park (LL57 3LZ) Terrain: Rocky, precipitous, involves scrambling Map: OS Explorer OL17 Arrive at the car park to the righ

By: Les Redhead Where: Linton, South Cambridgeshire “This hare came to check me out while I was in a field. It just kept getting closer so I crouched down and stayed quiet. It came within just a few feet, then ambled off from whence it came.” By: Jas

1 Series of cascades in Glen Affric nature reserve – Rover tumbles (3, 5) 6 Lady’s ___, yellow-flowering, herbal remedy plant (6) 9 Genus of maple – found in arboreta, certainly! (4) 10 Simple fungus used in brewing… raises the dough! (5) 11 ‘Garden

Your June edition was special for me. First, your feature by Ben Lerwill on Gower was excellent, with outstanding photographs. Second, you covered D-Day locations – but didn’t feature places where my father had worked. In the 1930s, my father enrolle

I was delighted to see your article regarding the 10 rarest dog breeds in the UK on Countryfile.com. Sadly I was disappointed, when eagerly scrolling to my breed, the Lancashire heeler, only to find an image of a completely different dog. The only si

When you subscribe to GARDENS ILLUSTRATED Your first 3 issues for £5* Continue at just £9.70 every 3 issues by Direct Debit – SAVING 35% Never miss an issue of your favourite magazine Free UK delivery direct to your door Subscribe online at ourmedias

When you subscribe to BBC Sky at Night Magazine today! ✦ Receive your first 3 issues for only £5* ✦ After your trial, continue to save over 30% on the shop price when you pay by Direct Debit ✦ Expert advice to help you get the most from the night sky

Late summer days at the seaside • Explore the epic Jurassic Coast • How ponies revive Cornish clifftops • UK’s 10 best seaside towns Don’t miss our next issue, on sale 5 September■

It’s no secret that I love being outside amongst nature. Ever since I was a young girl exploring the Peak District with my dad, I’ve been enamoured with the natural world. But it was just over two years ago that I really came to appreciate the benefi