AUGUST 2023

HOMES DECORATING CRAFTS GARDENS FOOD TRAVEL HEALTH

Serve up 20 ways
SUMMER
TO LET THE
SUNSHINE IN
Decorating
tips to light
Garden parties, country up dark
weddings and seafood spaces
suppers on the beach

SET ASIDE
YOUR SPADE!
Unearthing the secrets
of no-dig gardening
LORD OF
THE DANCE
How the
grasshopper goes
a-courting

OUR PICK OF
MEET THE
THE BEST CHERRY NEXT-GEN FARMERS
ORCHARDS Putting planet-friendly
food on our plates

SPACE-SAVING TIPS
countryliving.com/uk £5.99 FROM A TINY SUSSEX COTTAGE
F E A R G A L S H A R K E Y W H Y I ’ M F I G H T I N G T O S AV E O U R R I V E R S
 AUGUST 2023 ISSUE 452

48
88
34
Houses & gardens
17
58
EMPORIUM New ways to introduce elements of
country style into your home
34 SERVE UP SUMMER Dress an outdoor table with
homemade bakes and makes for a lunch to linger over
48
98
20 WAYS TO LET THE SUNSHINE IN Make the most
of summer days with tricks to bathe your home in light
SWEET PETITE Embroiderer Caroline Zoob has used Features 33
her design flair and imagination to maximise every inch
of her former farmworker’s cottage 23 GOING GREENER Our guide to a sustainable life
106 THE LAISSEZ-FAIRE GARDEN A laidback plot 27 THE NEW GOOD LIFE Growing produce in
designed to be undemanding for the gardener and greenhouses: expert tips from Sally Coulthard
welcoming for the local wildlife
33 VIEW FROM HERE Susy Smith on the rise of a new
114 DRAWN FROM THE LAND Botanical patterns and breed of dog-friendly cafés
bohemian paintwork shine out in a house that celebrates
44 THE FORMIDABLE FEARGAL Ex-frontman of
the Devon landscape surrounding it
The Undertones Feargal Sharkey is now using his
122 DOWN WITH DIGGING Create a vegetable bed in a voice to amplify the plight of our rivers
day with no-dig gardening
56 10 QUESTIONS WITH… ALEX JAMES The Blur
126 PUTTING HER STAMP ON IT Old rustic charm and bassist-turned-Cotswolds farmer on good cheese,
modern finishes in a 16th-century former post office good music and good times

countryliving.com/uk
 106 68
AUGUST 2023 ISSUE 452

58 YOUR DREAM GREEN WEDDING Our guide to the

ultimate in natural nuptials
66 CAUGHT ON THE HOP We shine a spotlight on the
remarkable courtship routine of the mottled grasshopper
68 BEST OF BRITISH: BUCKINGHAMSHIRE CHERRIES
The latest in our ongoing series celebrating food artisans
80 THE SCENT OF THINGS TO COME We meet a
candle-maker sparking a quiet revolution from her

150
garden studio in Yorkshire
88 MEET THE NEXT-GEN FARMERS A Devonshire
family pioneering a more planet-friendly way to
produce eggs and meat
ON THE COVER
178 A MONTH IN THE LIFE OF… Zoë Curnow, executive Serve up summer
director of Cornwall’s Minack Theatre

News, views & events pages 34, 58 and 142

20 ways to let the
sunshine in page 48 Set
aside your spade page

Wellbeing 9
31
A MONTH IN THE COUNTRY Places to go, things
to do and ideas to try in August
VINTAGE HOME How to buy the latest edition of our
122 Lord of the dance
page 66 Our pick of the
best cherry orchards
page 68 Cardamom buns
135 SUMMER FIRST-AID KIT Create soothing spritzes and beautiful bookazine page 150 Space-saving
salves using ingredients from the kitchen cupboard 42 DISCOVER SOMETHING DIFFERENT Find a unique tips page 98 Feargal
141 WELLBEING FOR MIND & BODY Natural tips and gift at the Country Living Marketplace Sharkey page 44
remedies to help you feel your best 78 THE COUNTRY LIVING COLLECTION AT DFS COUNTRY LIVING HOME
Comfort and style with our new design DELIVERY Subscribe to
Country Living and delight
86
Food & drink
142 TIME & TIDE Celebrated chef Emily Scott shares
95
THE COUNTRY LIVING COLLECTION AT
CARPETRIGHT Add country charm to any home
BURGHLEY HORSE TRIALS Visit the CL Pavilion
in the British countryside
from the comfort of your
home. Details on page 96
COVER CREDIT
recipes inspired by her life on the Cornish coast
96 SUBSCRIBE TO THE MAGAZINE Photography by Sussie
158 COUNTRY LIVING HOLIDAYS Exclusive trips Bell. Styling by Selina
150 TREASURES FROM THE TWO MAGPIES Favourite Lake. For details, see
recipes from the award-winning bakery in Southwold 163 WHERE TO BUY Stockists in the magazine page 34

04 AUGUST 2023
 Hearst UK, House of Hearst, 30 Panton Street, London SW1Y 4AJ
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 A note from the editor As the height of the summer holiday season approaches (where has the year gone?),
I’m feeling rather glum about the fact that our vegetable plot and fruit trees are
somewhat depleted of produce. We had a bad start to the year. First, a leveret decided
to set up home under our makeshift polytunnel and eat all the radishes, lettuce and
beetroot seedlings and this was followed by a long, cool spring that hasn’t helped to
establish the tomato plants, cucumbers and beans.
I regret now that we didn’t invest in a greenhouse and am kicking myself for not getting
into gear with it back in February. It was in the early spring when executive editor
Vicky Carlisle and I travelled up to North Yorkshire to see our friend and columnist
Sally Coulthard (below right), who was waxing lyrical at the time about her new
greenhouse. In fact, Sally was so positive about it that we agreed she should dedicate
this month’s feature to the topic of buying and owning one (page 27). It’s an entertaining and useful read and a piece
that I’ll certainly be re-visiting to remind myself of her tips before I go greenhouse-hunting later this year!
Staying with the subject of seasonal produce, our popular Best of British series on page 68 focuses on a family who
grow and sell cherries from the orchards of their farm in Buckinghamshire (below left). It’s a story of determination and
hard work, and one that’s typical of our British artisans and farmers, who are passionate about bringing seasonal
food to our table, something that all grow-your-own enthusiasts – amateur or professional – care about.
To overcome the disappointment of not being able to knock up a tomato salad from the
garden right now, I’ve decided to bake the delicious citrus cake that appears on our cover
instead. If you fancy doing the same, you’ll find the recipe on page 40, mixed in with lots of
other ideas for a relaxed outdoor lunch gathering. It all provides the perfect excuse to kick
back and enjoy the rest of the summer ahead.
PHOTOGRAPHS BY LISA LINDI; MATTHEW MONFREDI; ANDREW MONTGOMERY

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 A MONTH IN THE COUNTRY
PL ACES TO GO, THINGS T O DO, IDEAS T O TRY

“To see the summer sky is poetry,

though never in a book it lie
– true poems flee”
Emily Dickinson

AUGUST 2023 09
A MONTH IN THE COUNTRY August

EAT THE SEASONS

CRAB APPLES
An ancestor of the cultivated apple, the crab
apple is a common sight in woods, heaths
and hedgerows, its small, hard fruits strung
along branches of toothed oval leaves. Forage
for fruit in August, as they mellow slightly.
They’ll still be too tart to eat raw, but their
high pectin content makes for piquant jams
and jellies. Or use their intense appliness to
infuse vodka or gin along with a generous
amount of caster sugar for a golden liqueur to
lay down for nippy autumn evenings to come.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO…

TRY YOUR HAND AT... beekeeping
Pottering among hives of humming honeybees is the
aspiring apiarist’s dream – and it’s brought to life at the
Weald and Downland Living Museum in West Sussex.
On a Beekeeping for Beginners day, you’ll learn basics
including honeybee management, the beekeeping year
and where you can (and can’t) keep bees. Once you’re
buzzing about your new hobby, Beekeepers Associations
(bbka.org.uk) around the UK offer taster days with bees,
as well as practical courses. wealddown.co.uk
The Ridgeway
Since prehistoric times, traders,
herdsmen and Vikings have all trekked
the Ridgeway, with hikers officially
joining them 50 years ago, when the
route opened as a National Trail. “Britain’s
oldest road” follows a chalk ridge from
Avebury in Wiltshire across five counties to Ivinghoe Beacon in
Buckinghamshire, spooling through habitats from the North Wessex
Downs to the Chiltern Hills. Pretty villages and archaeological
monuments stud the 87-mile trail, including Barbury Iron Age fort
and the Uffington White Horse, offering a mix of history and natural
beauty that has sparked imaginations from Thomas Hardy to Tolkien.
Birthday celebrations include talks and wildlife-spotting events
at points along the way. nationaltrail.co.uk

OF THE BEST... scenic islands

Venture off the mainland to a British idyll
LUNDY ISLAND, DEVON This granite outcrop packs a lot
into three miles, with a 13th-century castle and lighthouse
among the places to stay (landmarktrust.org.uk).
ISLE OF TIREE, SCOTLAND The dazzling white sand on
Tiree rivals stretches on tropical beaches (isleoftiree.com).
BROWNSEA ISLAND, DORSET The plentiful wildlife on this
50-acre site includes red squirrels (nationaltrust.org.uk).
BRYHER, CORNWALL Sheltered coves lie to the east and
tumultuous open waters to the west (visitislesofscilly.com).
SKELLIG MICHAEL, COUNTY KERRY This UNESCO World
Heritage Site (right) is home to a 6th-century monastery
complex, including six domed beehive cells (ireland.com).

10 AUGUST 2023
A MONTH IN THE COUNTRY August
TAKE YOUR
TIME... to camp
out in a church
Snooze between the pews
in a church with a spot
of ‘champing’, or church
camping. Brainchild of the
Churches Conservation Trust, these soulful
sleepovers offer the perfect way to enjoy the peace
of some of the UK’s most ancient and beautiful
spaces, while financial contributions help their
preservation. Comfy camp beds, chairs, fairy lights
and lanterns are all provided, along with possible bat
sightings and breakfast in some parishes. Wake up
to sun streaming through stained glass and you’ll
never go back to regular tents. champing.co.uk

COMPILED BY ANNA MELVILLE-JAMES. INFORMATION CORRECT AT TIME OF GOING TO PRESS BUT MAY BE SUBJECT TO CHANGE, SO PLEASE CALL IN ADVANCE TO CHECK
SENSE OF THE SEASONS
Breeze through the long grass

THE SOFT STILLNESS OF HOT
SUMMER DAYS IS BROKEN ONLY
BY THE ODD BREEZE RIPPLING
THROUGH GRASSLANDS LEFT
LONG AND LANGUID IN THE
SUN. ALL SEEMS BLISSFULLY
TRANQUIL ON THE SURFACE,
ALTHOUGH BENEATH THE
RUSTLE OF A MILLION STALKS LIES A WORLD
OF ACTIVITY, FROM SPIDERS HANGING THEIR
SILKEN LINES BETWEEN THE BLADES TO MICE,
HEDGEHOGS AND FROGS HUNTING FOR INSECTS.
DETAILS. PHOTOGRAPHS BY ALAMY; BRENT DARBY (STYLING BY SIAN WILLIAMS); GETTY IMAGES; INVISION; STOCKFOOD; TATE BRITAIN. ILLUSTRATION BY ALLIRA TEE
DON’T MISS
Seeing the Light
In the summer of 1819, landscape artist JMW Turner
journeyed to Italy for a trip that would provide inspiration
for the rest of his career. At the Seeing the Light exhibition
(8 July-29 October) at Turner’s House in Twickenham,
Greater London, you’ll see his rarely displayed travelling
colour palette alongside a selection of sketchbooks and
sun-drenched watercolours capturing the artist’s first
impressions of a place he would later refer to as the
“land of all bliss”. Admission £10; turnershouse.org

22 The wingspan in centimetres of the soprano pipistrelle

bat, whose young start to catch their own insects this month
SPOTTER’S GUIDE Lizards

Find the UK’s three native species Common

under logs or snoozing in the sun lizard
SAND LIZARD This rare species has been
reintroduced to heathland habitats in the
South East, South West, Lancashire and Wales.
COMMON LIZARD The UK’s most prolific
reptile enjoys basking in sunny spots on
moorland, woodland and grassland.
SLOW WORM Often mistaken for snakes,
these curious legless creatures hide in
compost heaps waiting for a slug supper.

Sand lizard Find out more at wildlifetrusts.org. Slow worn

12 AUGUST 2023 countryliving.com/uk

 Snuggled into the Cotswolds countryside, St Mary the Virgin was built in the 19th
century on medieval foundations. Featuring a fine carved altar and grand cross finial,
it has a rare and impressive set of stained-glass windows with floral and geometric
patterns. See this pretty chapel on the gentle six-mile stroll from Lasborough to
Ozleworth, via verdant valleys and sun-dappled woodlands (walkingbritain.co.uk).
A MONTH IN THE COUNTRY August
WEEKENDERS

WORDS BY LAURA SILVERMAN. INFORMATION CORRECT AT TIME OF GOING TO PRESS BUT MAY BE SUBJECT TO CHANGE, SO PLEASE CALL IN ADVANCE TO CHECK DETAILS. PHOTOGRAPHS BY ALAMY; REBECCA DICKSON
Maggi Hambling’s Scallop

Where to eat Seafood triumphs

here. The Aldeburgh
Market (thealdeburgh
market.co.uk) is a deli
and café-restaurant
serving fish pie and
beer-battered fish
and chips. For a blowout meal, head to
The Suffolk (the-suffolk.co.uk) for grilled
lobster glossed with garlicky butter (above),
or try leek, mushroom and lentil ragu.
Recommended by our friends at The Good Food Guide
(thegoodfoodguide.co.uk).

SUFFOLK
This charming coastal town east of Ipswich falls within the Suffolk Coast
and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty – and deservedly so. The
pastel-coloured and timber-clad buildings along the seafront are postcard-
pretty, while the surrounding salt marshes and mudflats offer a spot of
calm from holidaymakers heading straight for the town’s shingle beach.
WHAT TO SEE AND DO Work up an appetite on a 6.5-mile walk. The
circular route starts in the town centre near the Moot Hall, a Tudor building,
now a museum (aldeburghmuseum.org.uk), and runs north along the seafront
towards Thorpeness, a quirky holiday village once frequented by JM Barrie.
You’ll know you’re on track when you pass a four-metre steel sculpture of a shell.
Scallop by Maggi Hambling celebrates Benjamin Britten, whose former nearby
home, The Red House, is open to visitors (brittenpearsarts.org). The route takes
Where to shop
Taste gin made with local botanicals at
you past North Warren Nature Reserve (rspb.org.uk), with views across marshes
Fishers Distillery (fishersgin.com) on
and reedbeds. As you trundle back towards town, look out for the Martello
the seafront and take home a beautifully
Tower, built as a defence against Napoleon. This gives you half an hour to decide designed bottle. The Aldeburgh Bookshop
your order from one of the seafood shacks on the beach. (aldeburghbookshop.co.uk), now more
than 70 years old, is also worth a browse.
WHERE TO STAY Rent the Martello Tower, with its vaulted ceiling, exposed
It stands on the site of the birthplace
brick walls and a sea view from the roof. It sleeps four (four nights from £792; of 18th-century poet George Crabbe,
landmarktrust.org.uk). Or escape town and head for The Farmstead, a cluster and the owners, John and Mary James,
of super-comfortable, self-catering eco-lodges in nearby Easton. The dog can organise the annual Aldeburgh Literary
come, too (three nights from £1,024; farmsteadlodges.co.uk). Festival each March.

FOLLOW US…
INSTAGRAM.COM/ FACEBOOK.COM/ TWITTER.COM/
COUNTRYLIVINGUK COUNTRYLIVING COUNTRYLIVINGUK
 SHOP SMALL

Create a pretty tablescape in the garden with Sharland

England’s hand-embroidered linen napkins, £95/four

Linen hair bow,

£24, hand-dyed
by Verity of Ved
Cooks using
leftover fruit and
vegetable skins

Pearl Lowe’s hanging Liberty-print

headboard, £325, from Coco &
Emma Britton’s Wolf, ties to a pole for an easy
glassware bedroom update
collaboration
with the RHS
includes this
picnic-friendly
bottle, £20,
which features
floral motifs
from RHS
Garden Wisley

Our hand-picked selection of favourite

pieces from individual makers, the
high street and small businesses
Pooky’s Phileas lamp, £120, is
rechargeable and wireless, so
you can pop it on an outside
table for summer evenings

Forest to Home
crafts characterful
wooden furniture,
like this English oak
stool, £425, in its Fruit looks even better served on this
Wiltshire workshop clay dish, £26, handmade in Suffolk
by Su of Blank Earth Ceramics

Scumble Goosie’s mango wood shoe storage

bench, £289, can be painted or upholstered in
your choice of fabric in their Cotswold workshop

countryliving.com/uk AUGUST 2023 17

SHOP SMALL

Speckled stoneware
colander (15cm
diameter) by Alison
Peet, £42, at Old
Brewhouse Pottery

PHOTOGRAPH BY NATO WELTON

Editor’s choice
“Flecked clay and a mottled glaze give this hand-thrown colander an earthy charm. I like to use
it to both wash and serve my fruit and vegetables.” Home and crafts editor Alaina Binks

18 AUGUST 2023
SHOP SMALL

This nostalgic design by Staycation

Vintage Parasols features a
Sparrow waterproof canopy made from
lampshade, recycled materials. £235 from the
£45 from Country Living Marketplace
Lupin Designs,
designed and
handprinted
in Dorset by
Sophie Sharp

Hot Pottery’s Mediterranean-style clay platter, £80,

would make a summery alfresco table centrepiece

Coffeenotes’
list pads, £15/
three, are
Serve fresh
made from
strawberries or ice
recycled
cream in these clay
coffee cups
bowls, £22 each,
hand-thrown
by Jen of The
Village Pottery

emporium
Hollyblocks’ breezy
cotton clothing is
block-printed in designs
inspired by founder
Andrea’s Norfolk garden.
Delphinium dress, £145
AVAILABILITY CORRECT AT TIME OF GOING TO PRESS

Henrietta
Spencer’s
COMPILED BY CARA LASKARIS PRICES AND

Somerset tote
bag, £75, is
handcrafted
from palm
leaves and
leather
Award-winning Henley Gin,
£40/70cl, is distilled in Oxfordshire

Follow @CLArtisans on Instagram to see more unique products from talented makers
FOR STOCKISTS see Where to Buy
20 AUGUST 2023
 Going
GREENER Our quick and easy guide
to sustainable living

JEANS OF your dreams

Denim washing can use 70-100 litres of water each wash, making jeans a less than DID YOU KNOW…
eco-friendly wardrobe item. But the process is improving. Blackhorse Lane Ateliers …bees might have emotions?
(BLA) in London has just opened the UK’s first sustainable denim-wash facility, Entomologist Stephen Buchmann makes
enabling it to wash 12 pairs in just four litres of water. For other greener options, try the case for the sophisticated mind of
collections from ELV Denim, which uses recycled denim, and People Tree, made
bees in What a Bee Knows (Island Press,
with organic cotton. blackhorselane.com; elvdenim.com; peopletree.co.uk
COMPILED BY LAURA SILVERMAN PHOTOGRAPHS BY ALAMY; ANDREW MONTGOMERY

£24), suggesting that bees might get

frustrated, feel fear and like to play. His

70
ideas are part of a growing body of
research that could change the way we
think about the natural world for ever.

per cent of us
*ACCORDING TO A SURVEY BY OCADO, APRIL 2023

ONE CHANGE TO MAKE

want to eat more
seasonally, Go easy on the mackerel
although 47 per The population of north-east Atlantic
mackerel has suffered a steep decline, says the
cent are unsure Marine Conservation Society, which has
what’s in season*. moved it from its green eco-friendly category
to amber (serve with caution). Instead, try
For tips, head to herring from the North Sea or North Irish
vegsoc.org Sea or pole-and-line Albacore tuna wild-
caught in the North Atlantic. mcsuk.org

LIVE THE WOOD LIFE

Put your local copse, wood or forest on the map by nominating it for a book compiled by
forest scientist Dr Gabriel Hemery. When completed, The Forest Guides will feature more than
1,000 of the finest woodlands across the UK. Take inspiration from locations in the first part
of the trilogy, focused on Scotland, which came out in spring (Bloomsbury Wildlife, £20),
to propose areas for part two on Wales, out early 2024 (ideas welcome until November),
and England, out in 2025 (suggestions invited until November 2024). gabrielhemery.com

Understanding plants and the power they have is crucial

to the future survival of our species on this planet
Botanist James Wong

AUGUST 2023 23
 Going
GREENER
ASK AN
ECO
EXPERT
This month Jen Adams of Manx
Whale & Dolphin Watch on spotting
marine mammals off the Isle of Man
WATCHING WHALES AND
DOLPHINS? SOUNDS LIKE
A DREAM JOB…
It is! I’ve wanted to work with wild animals
since I was little. I’m the outreach and
education manager of Manx Whale & Dolphin
Watch (MWDW), a tiny charity set up in 2006 by a resident of
the Isle of Man to find out more about the marine mammals
he saw from his window. We monitor harbour porpoises,
minke whales, basking sharks and three species of dolphin:
bottlenose, short-beaked common (above) and Risso’s.
ARE THEY EASY TO SPOT?
You can see all these species from the shore. In summer, we
run Sea Watch events at The Sound, a viewpoint on the island.
It’s a feeding hotspot for cetaceans [whales, dolphins and
porpoises] due to a confluence of tidal rips, which pushes the
fish together. Sometimes we get minke whales so close we
can hear and smell them.
24 AUGUST 2023
HAVE YOU ALWAYS LIVED HERE?
No, I didn’t know anything about this rock in the Irish Sea when
I came as an intern at MWDW in 2012. But I fell in love with the
work and came back. Now, I run the charity with two marine
biologists: Tom Felce, my partner, and researcher Bryony Manley.
DO YOU SPEND A LOT OF TIME AT SEA?
My work involves arranging talks, school visits and activities at
our visitor centre in Peel. But when the conditions are right, I’ll
join the team on a boat-based survey. You need a calm sea to spot
cetaceans, and collecting data takes priority: it’s why we’re here.
HOW DOES A SURVEY WORK?
Alongside environmental data, we record sightings of cetaceans
and photograph their dorsal fins. Every whale, dolphin and
porpoise has a unique pattern of scratches, cuts and scars on its
fin. Being top of the food chain, cetaceans are an indicator species:
their presence or absence tells us about the health of the ocean.
AND HOW ARE THEY DOING?
Really well, especially our short-beaked common dolphins. They
had been declining in the Irish Sea. But our sightings in Manx
waters have doubled during the past two years. In 2021 and 2022,
we saw large pods of adults and young in late summer and we
could see them mating and suckling their calves. The species has
been increasing in other parts of the west of Britain, too, so we will
be working with other cetacean charities around the UK to try to
discover why. Perhaps they are enjoying a post-Covid baby boom!
ANY BIG SIGHTINGS?
Last August, when out on a survey, something huge leapt out of
INTERVIEW BY RACHAEL OAKDEN PHOTOGRAPH BY ALAMY
the water. My colleagues shouted, ‘Oh my God, it’s a swordfish!’
Twenty minutes later, we saw these two fins – the dorsal fin and
the tail fin – streaking towards us. It started circling the boat
and we could see the sword-shaped bill. It was the first-ever
recorded sighting for Manx waters and the Irish Sea. They’ve
been recorded off the UK coast fewer than ten times.
AND YOU HAVE SPECIAL RESIDENTS…
Moonlight and Starlight are bottlenose dolphins, mother and
daughter, who appeared in 2019. They are always within three
miles of the coast and will swim right into the bays. The islanders
feel very attached to them, although we advise people never to
swim over to them. During lockdown, on daily walks, people
would often see Moonlight and Starlight from the coastal path,
playing in the sea. They filled us all with hope and happiness.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Do it today…
SUPPORT Manx Whale & Dolphin Watch by donating or
becoming a member. mwdw.net
Do it tomorrow…
HEAD TO THE COAST and look out for marine life. Record cetacean
and other marine sightings from anywhere in the UK using the
Sea Watcher app: seawatchfoundation.org.uk/sea-watcher-app
Do it this month…
HELP make oceans safer for cetaceans: avoid single-use plastics and
buy sustainably caught, dolphin-friendly fish. mcsuk.org/goodfishguide
 TRANSFORM YOUR OUTSIDE SPACE WITH THE
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 GOOD LIFE
There’s never been a better time to go
self-sufficient. In our ongoing series,
Sally Coulthard shares tried-and-tested
tips from her Yorkshire smallholding

THIS MONTH
Growing in a greenhouse
countryliving.com/uk AUGUST 2023 27
 Author and seasoned
smallholder Sally
shares her Yorkshire
plot with sheep, horses,
hens, ducks, geese, an
orchard, a vegetable
garden and a pond
y childhood home was a Victorian
townhouse, one of many built on the
outskirts of Leeds, when it was a busy
industrial and textile powerhouse. For
aspirant 19th-century house-hunters, it
would have been the epitome of Victorian
fashion – heavy decor, dark imposing
fireplaces and, out in the garden, that
most sought-after of all structures – a greenhouse.
Greenhouses were, in their first incarnations, places to show off.
Many of the early ones were designed to house fabulous collections
of exotic plants and demonstrate an owner’s worldly interests.
They were more about growing pineapples than everyday plants.
By the time my parents lived in our house in the 1970s – when
everything Victorian had fallen out of fashion – the greenhouse
had become a symbol of pennywise, good-life-style self-sufficiency.
For me, the greenhouse sits somewhere between these two extremes.
There is something eternally glamorous about sliding open the doors
and stepping into a balmy greenhouse filled with greenery. Never
mind a shed, on a warm, sunny day the greenhouse is the ultimate
in delicious seclusion. On a practical level, it creates a microclimate,
extending the growing season at both ends. Without it, my heat-
loving plants – such as tomatoes, aubergines and cucumbers – would
be at the mercy of the Yorkshire summer. It also saves me money,
allowing me to start off many of my vegetables and herbs as seeds,
rather than buying expensive plug plants later in the season. Many
people also use their greenhouses to grow delicate or tropical
28 AUGUST 2023
plants, or to bring tender varieties indoors, but I use every scrap
of space for food. Last year, even though the greenhouse was
unheated, I was still picking tomatoes and basil well into autumn.
When it comes to buying a greenhouse, the options can be dazzling.
It’s a truism to say that you get what you pay for, but if there’s one
thing you should invest in, it’s toughened glass. Many cheaper designs
use thin horticultural glass, which, when it breaks, forms dangerous
shards. Manufacturers often say not to buy this if you have children
or pets, but I’d add myself to this category, having tripped over in
the greenhouse more than once over the years. Look for models with
toughened or safety glass, or polycarbonate (which is much lighter
but isn’t recommended for very exposed or windy sites).
In terms of position, choose a firm, level site away from trees and
shading buildings. Some greenhouse manufacturers recommend you
orientate the ridge east to west, to get the most daylight, but I haven’t
found this makes much difference. What does matter, however, is
access to water. I’ve attached two 150-litre water butts to the gutters.
Without them, last year’s hose pipe ban would have been catastrophic.
I planted lavenders around the base – in summer, the pollinators
buzz in and out of the door – but it’s at least a metre away from raised
beds or other hard structures, so I can clean or replace the glass if
necessary. Ventilation is important – roof vents and side louvres
are useful for helping to control heat, but also preventing mould and
other diseases that take hold when a greenhouse gets too ‘steamy’.
Roller blinds or some other kind of shade is also a must.
Benches and shelves (rather grandly called ‘staging’, no doubt a
remnant of Victorian ostentation) are essential. What’s more vital,
however, is the time you give to the greenhouse while things are
growing. Over late spring and summer, I visit and water every day.
In full swing, things seem to grow incredibly fast. In fact, if you listen
really carefully, I swear you can hear the aubergines creaking…
countryliving.com/uk
 THE NEW GOOD LIFE Greenhouses

4 foolproof
GREENHOUSE
CROPS

AUBERGINE ‘SLIM JIM’

A prolific variety, these are smaller and
thinner than other aubergines, so are
quick to ripen. Harvest July-October.

TOMATO ‘COSTOLUTO
FIORENTINO’
Beefsteak tomatoes grow reliably in UK A greenhouse creates a
greenhouses. Ready July-October.
microclimate, extending the
growing season at both ends

GRAPE ‘SCHIAVA GROSSA’

Vines thrive if roots are planted outside
and then trained into a greenhouse GET THE KIT
through a gap. A sweet black grape.

CUCUMBER ‘MINI MUNCH’ PREMIUM GREENHOUSE BEEHIVE WATER BUTT GREENHOUSE STAGING
A heavy cropping, super-reliable This stylish Rhino Collect and store Keep your tools or
structure is fitted with rainwater in this 150-litre spring seedlings on this
cucumber that produces snack-sized
solar-powered roof terracotta butt with lid super-sturdy shelving unit
fruits from June to October. vents (from £3,249; and tap (from £75.95; (£158; greenhousepeople.
greenhousesdirect.co.uk). gardenplantsonline.co.uk). co.uk).
THE NEW GOOD LIFE
HOW TO MAKE
Halloumi & aubergine salad
The creamy tang of halloumi is
the perfect partner for the mild
savoury taste of aubergine ripe
from the greenhouse.
SERVES 6
150G BULGUR WHEAT
1 RED ONION, FINELY CHOPPED
300ML VEGETABLE STOCK
1 AUBERGINE, SLICED INTO 5MM
ROUNDS
2 TBSP OLIVE OIL
400G HALLOUMI, IN 1CM SLICES
SMALL BUNCH OF MINT, LEAVES
PICKED AND CHOPPED
LARGE HANDFUL OF FRESH
PARSLEY, ROUGHLY CHOPPED
1 CUCUMBER, DESEEDED AND
FINELY CHOPPED
2 TOMATOES, DESEEDED AND
FINELY CHOPPED
400G TIN CHICKPEAS, DRAINED
AND RINSED
100G POMEGRANATE SEEDS
FOR THE DRESSING
3 TBSP OLIVE OIL
30 AUGUST 2023
Greenhouses
JUICE OF 1 LEMON
1 GARLIC CLOVE, CRUSHED
1 TSP TAHINI
1 Put the bulgur, onion and stock in a
large pan. Bring to the boil, reduce
heat and cover. Simmer for 10-12
minutes, until bulgur is tender and
stock has been absorbed. Empty
onto a large serving plate to cool.
2 Heat a griddle pan over a high heat.
Brush the aubergine with most of
the oil, then griddle in batches for
about 2-3 minutes per side, or until
tender with charred lines. Set aside.
3 Brush remaining oil over halloumi
and griddle for 1½-2 minutes per
side. Set aside. In a small bowl,
whisk together the dressing
ingredients with some seasoning.
4 Stir the herbs, cucumber,
tomatoes, chickpeas, pomegranate
seeds and most of the dressing
through the bulgur. Top with the
halloumi and aubergine slices and
drizzle over the remaining dressing.
7questions
…with a greenhouse guru
Andrew White
is the gardening
expert at British
manufacturer
Rhino Greenhouses
1
What’s the growing appeal of greenhouses?
They offer the perfect conditions for growing
an almost limitless array of fruit, flowers,
MAIN PHOTOGRAPHS BY ANDREW MONTGOMERY. ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHS BY ALAMY; GAP PHOTOS/JONATHAN BUCKLEY/CLAIRE HIGGINS (DESIGN BY SARAH RAVEN);
vegetables and herbs. By harnessing the heat
of the sun, they enable you to cultivate crops all
year round. Plants can also establish themselves
before being positioned in your garden.
2
Can any garden have one?
Yes, but you must have a large enough area
with natural daylight for the structure you
want. You’ll also need enough space around the
perimeter to walk around when cleaning.
3
What makes a good greenhouse?
HOUSE OF PICTURES/TIA BORGSMIDT. RECIPE BY SAM STOWELL. SALLY’S APRON BY FIELD & FOUND (FIELDANDFOUND.COM)
Toughened glass, adequate ventilation and
an integral base plinth – or you’ll need a hard-
standing base that costs hundreds of pounds.
4
Do I need planning permission?
This isn’t usually required but if your
property is listed, or you plan to put a
greenhouse in your front garden, you may need
approval. Contact your council if unsure.
5
Heated or unheated?
It depends on what you’re growing. Even
an unheated structure will allow you to
extend the growing season (try cold-tolerant
carrots, chard, broccoli and Brussels sprouts).
But citrus, corn, chillies, aubergines and
tomatoes all need to feel the heat.
6
Easy plants for a greenhouse novice?
Chillies, tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers
– also great for getting children interested.
7
Anything more unusual to try?
Heat-loving plants are a good place to
start. Crops such as okra, melons and
sweet potatoes require more care and attention.
FOR GROWING TIPS, visit greenhousesdirect.co.uk.
And for more on how to clean your greenhouse, go
to countryliving.com/uk/clean-greenhouse.
 ON SALE
4 JULY

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home – whether you want to curate collections of demijohns and wooden
moulds or decorate in folk and salvaged styles. Plus, our comprehensive
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Order a copy at hearstmagazines.co.uk/cl-specials

or purchase your copy in selected retailers

Susy Smith loves the new breed of dog café
but wonders if it’s a recipe for canine chaos
have always been of the opinion that a walk – whether in
town or country – should include a well-placed pub or
café en route. Better still, it should take in a pit stop that
welcomes dogs. Happily, there are plenty of these in and
around the local parks where we walk Finlay, our cocker spaniel.
Indeed, in this neck of the woods, enterprising proprietors have
opened cafés specifically designed for dog walkers. Once you
have tired out your pooch, you can refuel and relax with a coffee
while your four-legged friend has a treat, too.
I’m not just talking about a dog biscuit or two here: canine
menus can be surprisingly inventive these days. When my
daughters took Finlay to a dog-friendly café for his first birthday,
he was offered a Puppuccino (a bowl of warm, frothy milk with
dog treats at the bottom) and a Pupcake (a sort-of carrot cupcake).
His initial response was mixed. He lapped up the drink in an
instant but the cake, topped with a lighted candle and served
to the accompaniment of “Happy Birthday”, momentarily fazed
him. However, as soon as the candle was removed and the cake
lowered to his snout, he very rudely snatched it and ran off,
determined not to share it with any of his well-wishers!
Dogs have long been welcomed in pubs and
even some hotels, but most cafés and
restaurants used to be deemed out
of bounds: even though there is no
PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPH BY RACHEL WHITING. ILLUSTRATION BY MAY VAN MILLINGEN
UK law banning dogs, food hygiene
regulations oblige café owners to
exclude domestic animals from
areas where food is prepared.
In recent years, however, many
cafés and restaurants have
become more relaxed, not only
tolerating dogs in seating areas
but actively advertising their
dog-friendly creds. In this respect,
pets have been beneficiaries of the
pandemic, when many eateries
created outside areas for customers.
Now, in these cash-strapped times
when businesses need all the custom
they can get, many continue to extend
their hospitality to dogs – and have
added bespoke catering on top.
I thought it was hilarious when
I first saw menus designed for
countryliving.com/uk
COLUMN
dogs but I guess it makes good business sense to add a few
extras to the dog-loving customers’ bill.
Sometimes, however, I can’t help feeling it’s all gone a bit too
far. I see that The Dogvine, the self-styled “go-to blog for London
dogs”, lists restaurants that not only provide bowls and beds
and allow dogs on the seats, but whose doggie menus include
cooked-to-order specialities such as Beef Burger with Sweet
Potato, Lettuce & Tomato and Chicken Breast & Pumpkin Purée.
Some serve tapas for dogs, afternoon tea or even homemade
dog “beer” and “cocktails”. All a little unnecessary in my view,
but there is clearly a market for these gourmet doggie dishes.
Personally, I’m just happy that local establishments like Paws
For Coffee will allow the rather excitable Finlay to settle down
with a Puppuccino (in this case, a bowl of goat’s milk with
chunks of black pudding) while I enjoy a flat white and
some peace and quiet.
Canine cafés are not always an oasis of calm. Having a sizable
gathering of dogs in one café can be a recipe for chaos, as
I discovered on one particularly memorable walk with Finlay.
My route that day took me down an attractive cobbled
street lined with cafés whose outdoor tables had
drawn a sizeable gathering of dogs and their
devoted owners. As Finlay and I were edging
our way past the thronging tables, a rumpus
suddenly broke out. I turned around in time
to see a lone grey squirrel running the
gauntlet along the street. Perhaps it was
a dare from a fellow squirrel but it was
undoubtedly a bold and provocative
move. Dogs everywhere started
straining at their leads, while some,
including Finlay, began barking
furiously. Just when we thought it
couldn’t get any worse, three dogs
snoozing under a table leapt up in unison,
charged forward and brought the table
– and their unfortunate owner’s coffee and
cake – crashing to the ground! Which
all goes to show, however popular they
become, I reckon you will never be
able to fully relax in a doggie café.
NEXT MONTH Susy enjoys the quirky riverside
haunts near her home. Meanwhile, you can follow
her on Instagram @susysmithmacleod.
AUGUST 2023 33
S E A S O N A L I N S P I R AT I O N

UP

Set up a trestle table outside and dress

it with our homemade bakes and makes
for a lunch party to linger over
WORDS AND STYLING BY SELINA LAKE PHOTOGRAPHS BY SUSSIE BELL

34 AUGUST 2023 countryliving.com/uk

 Pretty
DELICIOUS
Mark a special occasion with
a classy but simple alfresco
lunch party. Team classic
country china with gold-
effect cutlery and pretty
cotton textiles. Add loose
bunches of cottage garden
flowers and serve
home-grown produce and
home-baked cakes.
For make and merchandise
details, see page 41
S E A S O N A L I N S P I R AT I O N

COMFORT
zone
By combining candy stripes and pretty
gingham with earthier patterns and colours,
you can create a delightfully relaxing spot
for idling away a late summer’s afternoon
For make and merchandise details,
see page 41
 REFRESHMENT STAND
A drinks station – with homemade fabric napkins, fresh lemons, paper straws and
bottles of cordial – allows guests to charge their own glasses

countryliving.com/uk AUGUST 2023 37

S E A S O N A L I N S P I R AT I O N
JUST DESSERTS
For an effortlessly stylish summer dessert, mix
mascarpone cheese with natural yogurt and a
spoonful of lemon curd, and blend thoroughly. Serve
in coupes or sundae dishes and top with summer
fruits, an almond biscuit and some decorative, edible
flowers such as fennel, nasturtium and borage.
Pink glass sundae dishes, from a selection, H&M Home
COUNTRY SEAT
Combine textiles in an eclectic mix of styles and
colours – ruffles with checks, pinks with rusts – to
evoke a rustic yet chic feel.
Vintage chair, junk shop find. Handmade embroidered
gingham cushion, from £75, House of Pandas
38 AUGUST 2023
A POCKETFUL OF POSIES
Gather garden cuttings in a pretty home-sewn bag
before arranging them in mismatched vases.
Vintage ceramic spotty vase, £30, Hungerford
Antiques. Green ceramic pot vase, £10, Wattle &
Daub. Gingham frilled bag, £20, from bespoke
collection by Studio Blackwell. Vintage rattan
basket/planter, £25, Etsy
ROLL OUT THE BARROW
A wheelbarrow is ideal for transporting items you
need for the table or simply for displaying blooms.
Bench mattress, £34.99, H&M Home. Liberty-print
cushion by Tine K, £68, Design Vintage. Vintage
crate, flea-market find
countryliving.com/uk
 “Summer afternoon –
summer afternoon; to
me those have always
been the two most
beautiful words in the
English language”
Henry James

DEN OF delights
A sheet or two propped up with bamboo canes and twine, festooned with bunting and lined
with blankets and cushions, will offer a welcome spot of shade for children and adults.
For similar bunting, try Talking Tables
CITRUS CAKE
Topped with garden roses, candied peel and pink 1 Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan oven) gas mark 4.
icing, this homebake makes a pretty centrepiece Grease a 23cm round baking tin. Combine the butter and
for lunch or tea parties. caster sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat the eggs in a jug and
add to the mixture gradually, along with a small amount of
Makes a 23cm cake flour at a time. Add the citrus zest and juice.
2 Pour into the tin and place in the oven for 30 minutes, until
225G SALTED BUTTER, JUICE FROM ½ ORANGE
golden. Leave to cool on a rack, then remove from the tin.
SOFTENED (PLUS EXTRA FOR CITRUS PINK ICING
3 Make the icing by combing the citrus juice with the icing
FOR GREASING) JUICE OF ½ LEMON
sugar, a little boiling water and a few drops of pink food
225G CASTER SUGAR JUICE OF ½ ORANGE
colouring. Mix together until you have the consistency of
4 MEDIUM EGGS 400G ICING SUGAR (ADD
single cream.
225G SELF-RAISING FLOUR MORE IF TOO THIN)
4 Spread it across the top of the cake and add a sprinkling
ZEST OF 1 LEMON AND PRE-BOILED WATER
of candied orange peel.
1 ORANGE PINK FOOD COLOURING
JUICE FROM ½ LEMON CANDIED ORANGE PEEL

40 AUGUST 2023 countryliving.com/uk


SERVE UP SUMMER
(Above and page 34)
Vintage chairs, junk
shop finds. Tablecloth in
Eston Rose Quartz and
Elmer Rose Quartz
cotton, £45/m, Romo. Handmade
embroidered gingham cushions,
from £75 each, House of Pandas.
Cushion (right) in Chardon-Marie
Ardennes linen union with frill in
Meuse Rose, £95/m, Kate Medlicott.
Vintage spot vase, £30, Hungerford
Antiques. Green ceramic pot vase,
£10, Wattle & Daub. Vintage rattan
planter, £25, Etsy
PRETTY DELICIOUS
Tablecloth, as before.
Gingham Liberty frill
napkin, £55/mixed
set of four, Meri Meri.
Napkin in Chardon-Marie
Ardennes linen union; napkin in Meuse
Solid Macaron linen union: both
£95/m, Kate Medlicott. Gold-effect
cutlery, £28/16pc, Sainsbury’s.
Botanic Roses dinner plates, £19
each, Portmeirion. Marble-effect
cakestand, £34.99; bench mattress,
£34.99; pink striped plates, from a
selection: all H&M Home. Broadwell
tumbler glasses, £22/four, Garden
Trading. Yellow ceramic jug (as
vase), £15, Sunbury Antiques Market.
Cushion, as before
COMFORT ZONE
Cotton hand-woven
gingham pink rug,
£24.99; cotton pink
stripe floor cushions,
£14.99 each: both
Homescapes. Crosby Paddock green
ruffle cushion, from £75, Sharland
England. Sunhat, £10, Oxfam. Belvoir
Farm non-alcoholic Peach Bellini,
£3.25/750ml, Sainsbury’s. Gingham
party cups, £5.75/12, Meri Meri.
Rust cotton muslin bedspread,
£59.99, H&M Home. Cushion made
up in Wild Flower in Green linen
FOR STOCKISTS see Where to Buy
S E A S O N A L I N S P I R AT I O N
mix, £98/m, GP&J Baker. Mustard
scalloped cushion, similar from Zara
Home. Liberty-print cushion (just
seen) by Tine K, £68, Design Vintage.
Pink check frilled cushion, £55,
Studio Blackwell
REFRESHMENT
STAND
To make your own napkins,
cut out a fabric rectangle,
adding 1cm for the hem.
Fold and press the hem
all around, folding each corner so they
all match. Sew 0.5cm in from the edge
to secure. You could also do mitred
corners if you wish. Vintage orange
stool, £22, Sunbury Antiques Market.
Broadwell tumblers, £22/four,
Garden Trading. Party straws, £5/30,
Talking Tables. Botanic Roses dinner
plate, £19, Portmeirion. Napkins in
Chardon-Marie Ardennes and Meuse
Solid Macaron linen union, both £95/m,
Kate Medlicott; gingham Liberty frill
design, £55/four), Meri Meri
 DISCOVER
SOMETHING
DIFFERENT
THE COUNTRY LIVING MARKETPLACE IS THE DESTINATION
FOR BEAUTIFUL AND BESPOKE ARTISAN PRODUCTS
 NOW!
COUNTRYLIVING
SHOP.CO.UK/
CLV-MAG

The Country Living Marketplace is your one-stop online shop for finding a unique gift
for a special friend or family member (or yourself!). Each talented seller has been hand-
picked by the Country Living team, so you can be sure that whatever you buy, it has style,
quality, provenance and sustainability at its core. From hand-poured aromatherapy
candles and Cornish-made cushions to bespoke jewellery, art, clothing, homeware, pet
accessories and more, discover something different today at the Country Living Marketplace.
PHOTOGRAPHS BY BRENT DARBY (STYLING BY SIAN WILLIAMS) AND RACHEL WHITING
(MAKES AND DESIGNS BY EMMA MITCHELL; STYLING BY ALAINA BINKS)

TYLER AROMATHERAPY HELEN ROUND

From her base in the scenic Wye Valley,
aromatherapist Ellie Tyler crafts mood-boosting
garden candles with built-in bug-banning properties,
thanks to her secret blend of five essential oils, which
includes lemongrass, basil and citronella. Each candle
is hand-poured from sustainable soy wax and comes
in a reusable ceramic pot.
Textile designer and printmaker Helen draws
inspiration from the flora and fauna of her native
Cornwall. As well as seaside-influenced cotton ticking
and linen cushions, her collection features tea towels,
napkins, bread bags, toiletry bags and more, all made
using ethically sourced fabrics sewn from start to
finish by skilled local artisans.

SCAN HERE
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COUNTRYLIVINGSHOP.CO.UK/CLV-MAG THESE
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AND MORE

FORMIDABLE
As frontman of The Undertones, Feargal Sharkey belted out
some of the most iconic hits of the 1970s. Now, he’s using his
voice to amplify the plight of our beleaguered rivers
INTERVIEW BY LAURA SILVERMAN PHOTOGRAPHS BY ALUN CALLENDER
eargal Sharkey, former Undertones frontman,
was 11 when he took up the hobby that was to
change his life – fly-fishing. “I can, with some
certainty, point the finger at the Christian
Brothers and go, ‘It was their fault,’” he says of
the strict teachers who ran his school and its
fly-fishing club. Feargal, who grew up in Derry,
would often hop on a bus to the confluence of
the rivers Mourne and Finn to catch salmon.
Today, certain people responsible for looking after our rivers
may well blame the Christian Brothers. For it is Feargal’s love
of fly-fishing that led him to become a thorn in their side. The
former singer’s new gig is to amplify the scandal of sewage in,
and excessive draining of, our rivers. His audience is everyone
from the man in the street to the powers-that-be at Westminster.
RIVER RAGE
Only 14 per cent of the 1,500 rivers in England are in good ecological
condition and, unless there is significant intervention, this figure
could fall to six per cent in four years’ time. Until Feargal came along,
this was rarely acknowledged. Now it dominates the news. But Feargal
never set out to be the poster boy for clean rivers. Back in 2015, he
was just trying to protect the River Lea at the Amwell Magna Fishery,
in Hertfordshire, where he fished. He knew the Lea was stagnating
countryliving.com/uk
PROFILE
and, as the club’s new chairman, discovered the fishery had been in
conversation about it with the Environment Agency – the government
body created to protect the environment in England – since 1997.
After his years on stage, Feargal had been a record label boss. He
was used to getting things done. In the record industry, you have a
week to propel a song into the Top 40. Since 1997, more than 900
weeks had gone by. Little had been achieved. A report, produced
in 2003, had found the river had been over-abstracted (when too
much water has been removed from a river). The solution was
ignored. “I was not prepared to let this fantasy go on,” Feargal says.
He put together a case to take the Environment Agency to the High
Court, with help from Fish Legal, a body set up to use the law to
protect our rivers. At the last minute, the Environment Agency
struck a deal. They would fix the situation after all.
CAUGHT IN THE FLOW
We meet today at the Amwell Magna, with its babbling waters and
lush green banks. “It’s a godsend having this bit of space to come
to,” Feargal says. Martin, who looks after the land, is hoping to see
the water vole, who usually pops out for his daily apple core. Ratty
is on other business but, as consolation, Martin shows me a video
of a resident grass snake eating a small frog.
The best time to come here, says Feargal, is a Thursday evening,
when bellringers practise at a local Norman church. “When I
AUGUST 2023 45
PROFILE
“IN THE WORLD
come here by myself and can hear
nothing but birdsong and the peal of
I GREW UP IN, IF
bells, I go, ‘You know what, Sharkey?
The world’s okay.’
“I’ve constantly got 5,000 things
YOU SAW SOCIAL
running around inside my head, but
fly-fishing allows me to push that noise INJUSTICE, YOU
and static to the back of my mind.”
Once Feargal’s fishery was thriving
again, he could have stopped his
HAD AN
environmental investigations. But
something niggled. Why had it been OBLIGATION TO
such an effort to get the Environment
Agency to act? He realised that other
local groups had also faced problems
DEAL WITH IT”
with their stretches of river and had,
for years, been “trapped in meetings, going round and round”.
Feargal felt especially protective of many of these waterways
because they were chalk streams. There are just 200 of these in
the world. Most are in southern England, with ten per cent in
Hertfordshire. Fed mainly by spring water from chalk aquifers,
healthy chalk streams have diamond-clear water with stable
flows. Rich in minerals, they are loved by otters and water voles,
herons and kingfishers, trout and salmon.
One day, Feargal was standing on the banks of the River
Mimram, just outside Welwyn nearby, with the then-chair of
the Environment Agency. “It was a dried-up riverbed,” he says,
slapping his hand on the table for emphasis. “That’s a chalk
stream.” Another slap. “That’s one of the rarest habitats on the
planet and it had dried up, simply through over-abstraction.”
A pause. “Whose job is it to protect that river? That will be the
Environment Agency.” He shakes his head.
This performance is underpinned by genuine outrage. We
put our trust in bodies like the Environment Agency to make
sure water companies don’t abuse our waterways – and yet that
is what many seem to have been doing. Some of them dump
sewage. There were an average of 825 sewage spills a day last year.
Others take too much water, leaving our reserves perilously low.
“London and the South East is running out of water,” he says.
“We need about 30 per cent more water in the next 25 years and
we don’t have it.” The main reason, Feargal believes, is over-
abstraction because water companies have been trying to
meet excessive demand. “The Environment Agency blames
climate change but it’s got nothing to do with that; it’s purely
consumption,” Feargal says. “The regulations are there; all
we need is a government that’s going to enforce the law.”
STILL WATERS RUN DEEP
Feargal suspected that looking into the wider problem with our
rivers would mean wading into treacherous waters. “Every alarm
bell in my body was going, ‘Something doesn’t feel right.’ But my
mother instilled in us: if you decide to do something, do it properly.”
How could Feargal stand back? Yes, he cared about our rivers
– partly so he could fish. But he also cared that people had been
betrayed by trusting a government body and that water bosses
had been drawing huge salaries while draining our rivers and
46 AUGUST 2023
dumping sewage. Injustice, he felt,
had been done.
Growing up, the Sharkeys had never
held back when it came to perceived
injustice. They were Catholics in
Protestant Northern Ireland and
Feargal, the second-youngest of eight
children, grew up during The Troubles.
“It was a house where, two or three
times a week, there would be plumbers
and electricians and bricklayers and
schoolteachers plotting to bring down
the government of Northern Ireland,”
he says. “In the world I grew up in, if
you saw a social injustice, you had
an obligation to deal with it.”
He’ll stand up against that injustice wherever it appears. He
won’t be the mouthpiece of a particular party, although he did
speak at the Labour Party Conference last year. “I’m not playing
politics, but have I had a conversation with Keir Starmer
about sewage? Yes, I have. He sought me out to talk about
it.” We are not, however, likely to see Feargal as Shadow
Environment Secretary any time soon. “I have no ambition
to stand for election,” he says forcefully.
That’s not to say he doesn’t value the impact he has made by
speaking to politicians, lobby groups and the media over the past
few years. “Having people express concern, fury and even outrage
to me about this on a daily basis and knowing that it is being
discussed in the highest offices in the country – that is my
achievement right there,” he says. The outcome, we all hope, will
be cleaner rivers. Then, Feargal says, he can go back to talking
to people about music – and spending a lot more time fishing.
HELP RESCUE OUR RIVERS
Our rivers are at risk from over-abstraction, littering
and plastic pollution. Here are three ways to help:
SWAP YOUR BATH FOR A SHOWER A five-minute
PHOTOGRAPHS BY GETTY IMAGES; THE TIMES/NEWS LICENSING
shower uses about 40 litres of water – around half
the volume of the average bath, according to Ofwat.
This will reduce demand on limited resources.
INSTALL A WATER BUTT to collect and store
rainwater for the garden, just as Feargal has done at
the insistence of Mrs Sharkey. “I spent last Saturday
afternoon standing in my back garden looking at
the downpipe from the roof, going, ‘How the f***
do I plug this into this?’” he says.
GO LITTER PICKING Contact The Rivers Trust to find
volunteering opportunities at a nearby waterway
(theriverstrust.org).
countryliving.com/uk
Reel LIFE
1958 Born in Derry,
Northern Ireland, to
Jim, an electrician and
chairman of the local
branch of the Labour
Party, and Sibéal, who
organised an Irish
music festival

1960s and 70s

Educated at a school run
by the Christian Brothers,
leaving him with a
relentless work ethic
and a love of fishing

1976 Delivers television

sets for Radio Rentals

1978 Releases Teenage

Kicks, his first record with
The Undertones (below),
scoring a spot on Top of
the Pops

1985 Carves out a

successful solo career
with A Good Heart

1990s Moves behind

the scenes in the music
industry – first as an
A&R manager, later as
the managing director
of a record label

2008 Heads up UK
Music, an organisation
representing the industry

2015 Becomes
chairman of the Amwell
Magna Fishery in
Hertfordshire, uncovering
the state of our waterways

2019 Appointed OBE

for services to music

2022 Speaks at the

Labour Party Conference

2023 Steps down as

fishery chairman, leaving
more time for other roles,
such as vice-chair of
campaign groups, River
Action and Wild Fish
(riveractionuk.com)
 HOME INSPIRATION

WAYS TO LET THE

SUNSHINE
Embrace the long, slow days of summer with
our clever tricks to bathe your home in light

WORDS BY BEN KENDRICK

48 AUGUST 2023 countryliving.com/uk

LOOK UP HIGH
Clerestory windows can let ambient light flood
into a new-build, extension or garden room
and help give you light from a dual aspect
LEAVE WALLS CLEAR
Avoiding overhead cabinets,
such as wall-mounted
cupboards in a kitchen or
workroom, can make a room
feel more airy and open. So,
if you can afford to sacrifice
the storage, do without them.
Treron estate emulsion,
£54.50/2.5L, Farrow & Ball

3
CREATE A FUNNEL OF LIGHT
Glazed or part-glazed doors
allow light to stream into a space
or pass through rooms. This is
especially worth considering in
poorly lit areas. A borrowed-light
or part-glazed partition serves
the same purpose

LINK WITH THE OUTDOORS

When applied to a window frame,
paint shades such as leafy green
or sky blue can help draw the eye
to the outdoors. Painting woodwork
the same colour as your walls
allows your eye to travel easily
outside, whereas a contrasting
shade will stop it in its tracks.
Invisible Green, from £55/2.5L,
Edward Bulmer. Fountain Green
(left), £49/2.5L, Sanderson

KEEP IT UNCOVERED
Well-proportioned or
unusual windows can be
left uncurtained in the
summer months. Make
sure the glass is really

5
clean, though, and
that you trim any trees,
bushes or climbing plants
that might block light

CHOOSE
HIGH SHINE
Gloss paint on
ceilings, furniture
or flooring gently
reflects available
light. Deeper, darker
matt paint tends
to soak up light but
is fine if used in
small doses and
offset with glossy,
lighter shades
 H O M E S & D E C O R AT I N G

THINK SUBTLE PATTERN

Limiting the amount of pattern in a
room, or sticking with just one design,
will keep it looking fresh, light and
unfussy. Greenacre linen, £98/m,
Colefax and Fowler

countryliving.com/uk AUGUST 2023 51

 RAISE THE ROOF
Roof lights and Velux
windows can extend
your view to the
sky, making a room
feel more spacious
and brighter. They
are also a great
way of pushing
light into awkward
places, like a converted roof space or loft
conversion, with minimal impact on your
property’s façade. A light-well, lantern
SOFTEN HARD EDGES roof or light tube has the same effect
A ruffled pelmet breaks up
the crisp box of a window
frame without cutting
much light. A pretty, small
block-printed design, or
utility fabric, will keep the
look fresh and current

PICK PALE SHADES

Crisp cottons and linens in light colours suit fresh,
summery interiors, as do cool materials in a calming
neutral palette, such as stone, marble or wood

CLEAR SOME SPACE

A windowsill left bare and uncluttered can be a simple
way to make the most of a light source. Alternatively, a
collection of glass objects will illuminate and bounce light
around. Recycled aqua glass vases, £12 each, Home Barn

52 AUGUST 2023 countryliving.com/uk

 H O M E S & D E C O R AT I N G

KEEP IT SIMPLE
Paring back your decoration will help maximise
the light and make a room feel more spacious
and airy. Too much clutter can block light,
particularly if it’s positioned close to a window

12

14
ADD TRANSPARENCY
Voiles and sheers – in many
patterns, prints, embroideries
and weaves – allow you to soften EMBRACE COASTAL CHIC
a window with decoration Beachy accessories – such as breezy stripes, straw hats or rush shoppers
without cutting much light. – help to conjure a sunny, seaside vibe
Zebrina Eden sheer fabric, £62.50/m, Villa Nova.
Ringblomma white sheer blind, £17, Ikea

AVOID HEAVY FURNITURE

Look for furniture with an open
or streamlined silhouette.
Think a sleek iron and marble
console table, Philippe Starck’s
clear moulded Ghost chair
for a modern country look
or an open, woven chair or
lampshade. Fish trap pendant
light, £53, Hadeda

countryliving.com/uk
 TOO, SO TAKE PRECAUTIONS. FISHBOWLS, JAM JARS AND GLASS DOORKNOBS CAN ALL FOCUS THE SUN’S RAYS. PHOTOGRAPHS BY JAN BALDWIN; SIMON BEVAN; BRENT DARBY; EWA STOCK/KERSTIN SCHMIDT; CATHERINE GRATWICKE; HOUSE
THE RISKS THAT COME FROM GLASS, MIRRORS AND OTHER REFLECTIVE ITEMS WHEN EXPOSED TO THE SUN’S RAYS CAN BECOME A FIRE HAZARD, IN MUCH THE SAME WAY THAT A MAGNIFYING GLASS CAN CONCENTRATE THE SUN’S RAYS,
17
MAKE THE MOST
OF MIRRORS
A large mirror positioned
opposite a window will
bounce back natural
light. Glass or mirrored

OF PICTURES/FOTOGRAF TOMMY DURATH AB; LIVING4MEDIA; LOUPE IMAGES; JAMES MERRELL; CLAIRE RICHARDSON; JODY STEWART
SWAP OUT DARK CURTAINS accessories can have
Unlined curtains will softly filter the light rather than a similar effect and make
excluding it. You could try storing heavy, lined ones in even the most compact
summer (it’s a good opportunity to get them cleaned!) in room feel brighter
favour of lightweight sheers or voiles hung from café clips and more spacious.
Langham round mirror,
£275, Sophie Allport

18
MAXIMISE YOUR WINDOWS
Window dressings should just
soften the edge of the frame. If you
prefer curtains, invest in tie-backs
or choose poles that exceed the
width so they can be drawn back
fully. For awkward shapes, portiere
rods will work well. Single tassel
tiebacks, £38 each, Jessica Light
TRY LIGHTWEIGHT FABRICS
Sheer, pull-up blinds or lightweight, homemade café curtains are
especially useful in a bathroom to give you privacy without stealing
too much light. These fabrics can also work as Roman blind styles
or, for a softer look, try a London blind. Roller and pull-up blinds
(and curtains) can have thermal linings, helping keep your home
cooler in summer and warmer in winter
 H O M E S & D E C O R AT I N G

Top tips to
SLOW THE FADE
Here’s how to protect
carpets, paint, furniture
and fabric, which can all
fade when exposed to
bright sunlight…
LINE YOUR WINDOW
TREATMENTS to help reduce
fading – blackout or UV lining
is especially effective.
USE FABRICS WITH SOME
ELEMENT OF SYNTHETIC in
their make-up, as they are
less likely to fade. Darker-
coloured fabric, silk and
linen is more prone to
losing its colour.
APPLY A CLEAR UV-
BLOCKING FILM to windows
or glass doors to minimise
the amount of UV rays that
reach your furniture.

OPT FOR
SHUTTERS
Shutters that recess
back to leave a
window uncluttered
are practical,
hardwearing and
can come in flexible
sections or louvred
slatted designs to
allow you both
privacy and light

FOR STOCKISTS see Where to Buy

AUGUST 2023 55
INTERVIEW
The Blur bassist-
turned-Cotswolds
farmer on good
cheese, good music
and good times ALEX
1 You’re Britpop’s most famous foodie. JAMES
Have music and food always been a perfect
pairing for you?
My grandad was a chef and my dad was a piano player, so food
and music are baked into my DNA. My grandad had a hotel in
Boscombe, Dorset, and, when I was six or seven, I’d help him make
the breakfasts. After he died, my parents moved in and ran it, so
I grew up around food and cooking.
2 And you still love hanging out with chefs?
Bringing chefs and musicians together at the Big Feastival,
the three-day food and music festival we hold at our farm every
summer, is the most fun I’ve ever had. I started it in 2012 with
Jamie Oliver after we’d played in a Comic Relief band. He said:
“You love food, I love music, you’ve got the venue.” That first year,
we had a big top for the kids, a music stage and a chefs’ stage.
Now, there are 18 stages, fields full of street food and different
dining experiences. We welcome about 25,000 people a year.
3 It has been 20 years since you left performing and moved
to the Cotswolds. Would you do it again?
It was terrifying at first, a huge leap into the unknown. I was used
to playing around the world and I swapped it for a completely
different way of life. Blur had reached a hiatus – we all needed to
do something else. I’d just married Claire, but we didn’t really know
each other. We bought the farm on our honeymoon. The place
was derelict. But the minute we got here, we didn’t want to leave.
4 With Jeremy Clarkson’s farm up the road, the Cotswolds
now seems the place for celebrity farmers…
Things are certainly different from 2003, when we moved in.
Back then, farming was in crisis – the countryside was recovering
from foot and mouth disease. If you saw a farmer on television, he
was on the news, grief-stricken. Now he has a primetime show and
a huge following. The Cotswolds feels like the happy-ever-after
place. It’s largely to do with the shift in food culture, the range
of artisan producers, and chefs bringing investment into
restaurants and farm shops. When I pitched up and started
making cheese, it was ideal timing.
56 AUGUST 2023
5 Are you as obsessed with cheese as ever?
My mum has a recording of me as a toddler
asking for a cheese sandwich. I couldn’t
pronounce the words properly, but I was
already talking about cheese. I love the fact
that this simple, ancient food, made with
just four ingredients – milk, salt, bacteria
and enzymes – has such a variety of tastes,
textures and shapes. Give me a chunk of
good Cheddar, some bread and an apple
and I feel like the king of the world.
6 Is it true that you requested cheese in
every dressing room?
Touring with Blur was a wonderful way to
try the world’s cheeses. Our rider was essentially champagne and
cheese. Record companies and fans would go out of their way to
present me with outrageous types. I was once given casu marzu,
a sheep’s milk cheese with maggots in that was once a delicacy in
Sardinia. I remember tasting gjetost, the Norwegian brown cheese
made from scalded, caramelised milk. It was intensely sweet and
intensely savoury. It was the most revolting thing I’d ever eaten.
7 Will your cheese be on the bill at the Big Feastival?
Alex James Blue Monday is a key ingredient of my Staycation
Sandwich, a burger I created to show off salt-aged beef. I follow
the advice of Marco Pierre White: use the best ingredients, keep
it simple, do one thing and do it well.
8 Any other favourite recipes?
This year, I’ve been developing the ultimate bacon sandwich
with pork belly cured in a pit of sugar and roasted low and
slow. Delicious.
INTERVIEW BY RACHAEL OAKDEN. PHOTOGRAPH BY ALUN CALLENDER
9 How involved are the family in the festival?
Our five kids are all teenagers now and they each have their
roles: a couple of them are DJs, the others get involved with
the food. I’m very happy to let them get on with it because I’d
like to spend time with some of our acts, such as comedian
Matt Parker. He’s a stand-up mathematician. I’ll be geeking
out by day, freaking out by night.
10 Blur are reuniting this summer. Who else would you love
to share the stage with again?
It would have to be Nile Rodgers of Chic. When Chic performed
at the Big Feastival a couple of years ago, I played bass in We Are
Family. That song has become our anthem. Our line-up always
feels like a big family: chefs, musicians and comedians come
back year after year because they want to be a part of it.
BIG FEASTIVAL takes place at Alex James’s farm in Kingham,
Oxfordshire, on 25-27 August (thebigfeastival.com).
countryliving.com/uk
“Give me some cheese, some bread and an
apple and I feel like the king of the world”
 Compostable dress? Check.
Recycled ring? Check.
Homegrown flowers? Check.
We present our guide to the
ultimate in all-natural nuptials

DREAM
GREEN
WEDDING
WORDS BY LAURAN ELSDEN

countryliving.com/uk
 CL WEDDING PLANNER

the
DRESS

SAY YES TO
THE DRESS

SISTER ORGANICS
Devon
Made-to-measure
dresses come
in classic and
contemporary styles.
sisterorganics.co.uk
INSET PHOTOGRAPH: PHOTOGRAPHER SCARLET O’NEILL. FLORIST JORDANA BUTTA AT WHITE OAK FLOWER CO. WEDDING GOWN LUNA BEA BRIDE

ASHWELL & CO
Somerset
This emporium
houses one of the
largest collections
of vintage bridal
wear in the UK.
ashwellandco.com

SOPHIE ROSE
BRIDAL Hampshire
Sophie Rose
Bellchambers designs
elegant dresses using
recycled fabrics.
sophierosebridal.com

LUNA BEA
East Sussex
Each gown is made
in England using
chemical-free silk
(below).
lunabea.com

ROLLING IN ROSES Yorkshire

Following an uninspiring shopping trip with her sister, who was about to get married, seamstress Hayley Claire
Neil had an epiphany: “I spotted a gap in the market for wedding dresses that were comfortable, contemporary
and eco-conscious.” She launched Rolling In Roses in 2016, sketching, sewing and embroidering outfits in her York
boutique. “Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do,” says Hayley, who previously made costumes for BAFTA
and Academy Award-winning films. “Almost 95 per cent of our fabrics are organic, compostable or recycled. The
rest are naturally biodegradable.” Rolling In Roses dresses are available in all sizes. “Even after dressing hundreds
of brides, I still get a buzz from playing a part in such a happy occasion,” Hayley says. rollinginroses.co.uk

AUGUST 2023 59
CL WEDDING PLANNER

the
VENUE

CELEBRATE
GOOD TIMES

FFOREST FARM
Pembrokeshire
Opt for an outdoor
celebration in the
ancient Cilgerran forest.
fforestweddings.co.uk

BALLINLOUGH
CASTLE County
Westmeath
This country house is
surrounded by 300
acres of grassland,
woodland and lakes.
ballinloughcastle.ie

TRESEREN Cornwall
Georgian elegance
meets contemporary
cool at this intimate
wedding venue.
treseren.co.uk

KINKELL BYRE FARM Fife

Say “I do” in this
rustic barn (below),
one of just a few eco-
wedding venues
in Scotland.
kinkellbyre.com

THE GREAT BARN Devon

Once a derelict farm building, The Great Barn was lovingly restored by husband-and-wife wedding planners
Emma and John Birkin. “We’ve run the business for more than a decade, but I still struggle to sleep before
show day,” admits John, who met Emma when they worked together at the BBC. With its high beamed
ceilings, thatched roof and sweeping views of Dartmoor, the Barn is a rustic, relaxed venue. “We do a limited
number of ceremonies per year and put all our energy into each one being a showstopper,” Emma says. While
John perfects the playlists, Emma is on hand to offer advice or a steadying drink. “What really makes a good
wedding is a carefree bride and groom,” she adds. thegreatbarndevon.co.uk

60 AUGUST 2023
 the
INVITATIONS
WILDFLOWER ILLUSTRATION CO
Gloucestershire
At Wildflower Illustration Co, each piece of wedding stationery is
embellished with calligraphy and watercolour paintings. “We work
closely with clients, coming up with a design that reflects their ideas,”
says Rebecca McMillan, who left the law profession in 2017 to set up
shop with her husband, Karl Maguire. Inspired by the surrounding
Cotswolds countryside, Rebecca prioritises protecting the environment.
“We’re carbon neutral and plant twice as many trees as we use,” she
says. She hand-paints the illustrations, before Karl turns them into
digital images. “Magic comes when you put pen to paper,” Rebecca adds .
“It’s communication from the heart.” wildflowerillustrationco.com

YOU’RE INVITED

LITTLE GREEN Cheshire ROSE & BEAU Devon FLO & BERT
Choose from three Illustrator Maddy Cambridgeshire
papers embedded Secker is inspired by Print your invitations
with wild-flower seeds. Devon’s countryside. on a vintage press.
littlegreenwedding.com roseandbeau.co.uk floandburt.co.uk

the
RINGS
EMMA AITCHISON Somerset
Based in a studio in Frome, Emma Aitchison creates sculptural jewellery
inspired by nature: “A lot of wedding rings can be quite blingy. I try
to emulate moments like rain running down a window.” Emma
sources her materials with sustainability in mind, from 100 per cent
recycled gold and silver to locally made packaging. “I make every
effort to run a business that’s ethical and has minimal impact on
the environment,” she says. “My work can be daunting, but I get
such pleasure from making something that will be with a couple
for ever and passed on to future generations.” emmaaitchison.com

ONE RING TO RULE THEM ALL

R&R AURUM Anglesey SLADE FINE JEWELLERY SHAKTI ELLENWOOD

Wedding bands made Pembrokeshire London
from high-quality gold Pieces feature recycled This B-Corp-certified
recovered from old gold and silver and goldsmith works only
IT equipment. ethical gemstones. with Fairtrade gold.
rraurum.com sladefinejewellery.co.uk shaktiellenwood.com

countryliving.com/uk
CL WEDDING PLANNER

the
FLOWERS
62 AUGUST 2023
 COMING UP
ROSES

GREEN & GORGEOUS

Oxfordshire
Flowers are harvested at
their peak for vibrancy and
scent (above). greenand
gorgeousflowers.co.uk

OUTBLOOM FLOWERS
Ceredigion
Seasonal blooms from
west Wales for bouquets
and buttonholes.
outbloom.co.uk

APPLEHOUSE FLOWERS
Scottish Borders
Solomon’s seal and
sweet peas are plentiful
in the walled garden at
Bonjedward House.
applehouseflowers.co.uk

FOREVER GREEN
FLOWER CO Norfolk
Distinctive bouquets are
arranged in a naturalistic
style. forevergreen
flowerco.co.uk

THE YORKSHIRE
FLOWER PATCH
Yorkshire
British flowers and
foliage cultivated in
GREEN PEA STUDIO Stirling the Calder Valley.
theyorkshireflower
In her Stirlingshire garden, florist Amanda Clayden tends to rows of roses, sweet peas and pastel-coloured
patch.co.uk
peonies alongside her partner Andy Boullier. Celebrated for her naturalistic style, Amanda creates bouquets
for brides all over Scotland and across the border. “You have to manage clients’ expectations while delivering SPINDLE Dorset
something beautiful within the timeframe,” she says. “But there’s nothing better than assembling your blooms, Zanna Hoskins grows
handing them over and seeing the excitement on someone’s face.” Inspired by local lochs and landscapes, peonies and poppies,
Amanda loves coming up with creative concepts: “I once designed an ‘inverted meadow’ with wild flowers daisies and delphiniums.
strung from the ceiling on fishing line,” she says. “My head is constantly buzzing with ideas.” greenpeastudio.com spindleflowers.co.uk

countryliving.com/uk
CL WEDDING PLANNER

the
CAKE

SCRUMPTIOUS
ALTERNATIVES

PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARK BOLTON; ALUN CALLENDER; ROSIE DAVISON PHOTOGRAPHY; ANDREW MONTGOMERY; SAM LUKE WALTON; NATO WELTON
GODMINSTER
Somerset
Treat guests to a
cheese tower
featuring organic
Cheddar, Cornish Yarg
and Colston Basset.
godminster.com

THE BAKERY AT NO 4
Cumbria
Pastry chef Marianne
Woodend bakes
beautiful bespoke
wedding cakes using
local ingredients.
bakery4.co.uk

BRAY’S COTTAGE
PORK PIES Norfolk
Personalised
celebratory pork pies
(below) come in chilli,
chorizo and onion
marmalade flavours.
perfectpie.co.uk

LUCIE BENNETT Sussex

Inside her West Sussex kitchen, pâtissier Lucie Bennett makes multi-layered celebration cakes slathered in
Swiss meringue buttercream and finished with a flourish of edible flowers and fruit. “You can’t beat fresh,
seasonal ingredients,” says Lucie, who has been baking bespoke cakes since 2004. “I source local, organic free-
range eggs, while herbs and flowers are grown in the garden.” In the early days, she made cakes for family and
friends, but today her culinary services are so in demand she’s often booked up months in advance. “I once
created a wedding cake for a couple who loved skiing. It had five tiers with snow-capped slopes made from
shards of white chocolate,” Lucie recalls. “I love the opportunity to be innovative.” luciebennettpatissier.com

64 AUGUST 2023
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 ON THE

Steve Nicholls shines a spotlight on

the remarkable courtship routine
of the mottled grasshopper
PHOTOGRAPH BY STEVE NICHOLLS

countryliving.com/uk
 WILD WONDER

ne of the great pleasures of a warm

late-summer day is to lie on a
grassy hillside and watch the antics
of grasshoppers. Males use their
distinctive songs to attract females
– and when a female does turn up,
some species switch to a song-and-
dance routine. The courtship
rituals of the mottled grasshopper
(Myrmeleotettix maculatus), found
in dry places from heathland to old
quarries, are especially energetic.
Their calling songs are soft and pulsing, lasting for ten to 12 seconds.
In the presence of a female, a male seems to pulsate with energy. His
legs scraping over his wings move so fast that they are just a blur.
His antennae are held stiffly erect and his body bounces slightly to
the rhythm of his song. Then he flicks his back legs forwards over
his head and, as they move back to their singing position, he lays his
antennae flat along his thorax. When he starts
his song again, he jerks his abdomen up and
down in time to the music and tilts his head
manically from side to side. As I watch his
performance culminate in a blissful union,
I can only feel that he’s well and truly earned it.
ADAPTED FROM Alien Worlds: How Insects Conquered
the Earth and Why Their Fate will Determine our Future
by Steve Nicholls (Head of Zeus, £35).

AUGUST 2023 67
BEST OF BRITISH Cherries

In our ongoing series

highlighting delicious produce
around the country, we meet the
artisans and farmers helping to
bring it to our table. This month:
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE

CHERRIES
WORDS BY RACHAEL OAKDEN
PHOTOGRAPHS BY LISA LINDER
countryliving.com/uk AUGUST 2023 69
BEST OF BRITISH Cherries

It’s a happy day in Great

Horwood when Vikki
Grainge wheels her cherry
cart onto the village green.
Parishioners have been waiting eagerly for the midsummer
reappearance of this mobile honesty shop, which heralds the
beginning of the six-week Horwood cherry season. The upcycled
vintage cart is loaded with punnets of shiny magenta fruits that
owe their intense flavour and chin-soaking juiciness to the fact
that Vikki got up at 4am to pick them in their prime. “The sooner
you eat them, the better they taste,” she says.
So intoxicating is the first bite of such a cherry that it was
the reason Vikki and her husband, David, started Horwood
Cherries. They planted their orchard eight years ago in a corner of
Eastfield Farm in North Buckinghamshire. Despite occupying
less than two and a half acres of David’s 200-acre beef enterprise
just outside Great Horwood, the 2,500 cherry trees that Vikki
spends all year nurturing yield more than five tonnes of plump
and pristine fruits during their short but glorious season.
“I get an adrenaline rush when it starts,” says Vikki, who spends an
intense six weeks from the first harvest in mid-June eating, sleeping
and breathing cherries. Once she’s risen at dawn to harvest ripe cherries,
she makes deliveries to farm shops and restaurants and fills up the
cart. Then it’s back to the farm to welcome the pick-your-own visitors.

LOVE AT FIRST BITE

When Vikki and David decided to plant a cherry orchard, it was very
much a business arrangement. Vikki had recently returned from
teaching PE in the Middle East and they’d only just started going
out. Over a drink, David told her about a farmer friend who’d
returned from Kent with a punnet of fresh cherries. “I hadn’t realised
that UK-grown cherries could taste so good,” says David, whose
enthusiasm led to the pair forming a 50:50 partnership. “We drew
it all up properly in case the romantic relationship didn’t last,”
Vikki explains. “It was one of those ideas that just spiralled.”
David had grown soft fruit before, having set up a pick-your-own
strawberry enterprise in his twenties. Vikki, meanwhile, knew
nothing about fruit cultivation, but they agreed that tending the
trees and selling the cherries would be her responsibility – David
was busy building up a suckler beef herd with his father. “I like
to challenge myself,” Vikki says, with understatement: her last
challenge was riding across 1,000km of Mongolian grassland to
complete the world’s toughest endurance horse race.
Inspired by stories about the cherry-growing heritage of her
adopted county, Vikki threw herself into research. “I read books,
watched YouTube videos, called up leading growers in Kent and
Herefordshire, and asked if I could go and watch what they did,”
she says. “I’ve spent days and days over the years following experts
around with my notebook and pen. They’ve all been so kind.”
Her diligence paid off. Within days of their first harvest in
2017, Vikki took a punnet of Horwood Cherries to Le Manoir aux
Quat’Saisons, Raymond Blanc’s Oxfordshire hotel revered for the
kitchen gardens and orchards attached to its two-Michelin-star
restaurant. “I gave a punnet to the head gardener, who passed them
on to the kitchen,” she remembers. “I wasn’t even back home before
the phone pinged and I pulled over to read the email.” It was from
Benoit Blin, Le Manoir’s head pastry chef and a judge on Bake Off:
The Professionals. “It said, ‘Thank you so much for the cherries.
They’re absolutely superb. When can we place an order?’”
PERFECTLY FORMED
The words ‘cherry orchard’ can conjure a romantic image of serried
trees exploding into a wildlife-rich, fruit-laden canopy under which
families might picnic. Pick-your-own customers making their first
visit to Horwood Cherries’ orchard might be surprised, then, to be
led into a giant white tent filled with rows of ‘fruiting walls’ grown

70 AUGUST 2023 countryliving.com/uk

OPPOSITE AND THIS PAGE For six
intense weeks from the first harvest to
mid-June, Vikki Grainge, pictured with
her husband, David, and their sons,
George and Charlie, throws herself
into picking and selling cherries from
the 2,500 trees on the family farm in
Buckinghamshire
BEST OF BRITISH Cherries
on wire trellises in raised beds. Vikki and David use
a growing system known as UFO, although no flying
saucers are involved: the initials stand for Upright
Fruiting Offshoots. Trees are planted close together
in rows, each stem coming out of the ground at a
45-degree angle. The stems are trained horizontally
50cm from the ground so their offshoots form the
upright ‘leaders’ that produce blossom and fruit.
With diligent pruning, they flourish into two-metre-
tall walls of abundant, accessible cherries that can
be harvested from knee height upwards, no ladder required.
“We grow five varieties to take us through the six-week season,”
says Vikki, inspecting a cluster of ripening heart-shaped cherries
with a look of motherly affection. “This is ‘Regina’; we grow this
alongside ‘Kordia’ because they pollinate one another. ‘Merchant’
and ‘Bellise’ also cross-pollinate, and at the end of the season we
have ‘Lapins’, which is self-fertile.”
To keep this treasure safe from pests and the elements, Vikki
and David cover the entire orchard in a custom-made white tent
after blossom season. It lets in sunlight but keeps rain off the
cherries – netting strips in the roof allow water to fall onto the
grassy corridors between rows of trees instead. “A cherry will split
and degrade very quickly if water pools at the top where the stem
goes in,” Vikki says. The tent keeps out another arch enemy, the
fruit fly spotted wing drosophila, but cherries are so sensitive to
pathogens such as botrytis and mildew that Vikki can’t avoid
chemical inputs altogether. “We use only what we
absolutely have to for pest control,” she says, adding
that rotted-down manure from David’s grass-fed
beef cattle enables her to enrich her raised beds
with minimal use of manmade fertilisers.
PICK OF THE CROP
While signs recommend that pick-your-own customers
IN MEMORY OF PHOTOGRAPHER LISA LINDER’S PHOTO ASSISTANT DAISY JAYES
wash fruit before eating it, Vikki is content – thanks
to rigorous testing of residue levels – to let her sons
George, seven, and Charlie, five, eat as many cherries as they like
straight off the trees. When the family started offering PYO last
summer, having waited seven years for the orchard to reach maturity,
one of the most rewarding sights was children emerging with cherry
juice smeared over their faces. “The parents would be trying to
wipe it off before they reached the till,” says Vikki, who teaches in a
primary school two days a week. “But I loved seeing children learning
how fruit is grown, tasting a cherry and then wanting another.”
She delights in feedback from customers, including the leading
chef who told her that his life was better now that Horwood
Cherries were in it. But her favourite review came from a
ten-year-old who’d just picked three kilos: “Mummy, can we get
some more? I really, really need more cherries.”
TO BOOK a pick-your-own slot or find a farm shop or farmers’ market
selling Horwood Cherries throughout July, visit horwoodcherries.co.uk.
For more on how to use the fruit, read on.
countryliving.com/uk
 CHERRY PIE BY HORWOOD CHERRIES
1KG HORWOOD CHERRIES, STONED
2 TBSP CORNFLOUR

“Raymond 100G CASTER SUGAR (INCREASE OR DECREASE FOR TASTE. OUR

CHERRIES ARE VERY SWEET, SO WE ONLY USE A BIT OF SUGAR)
1 TSP VANILLA ESSENCE
Blanc’s head JUICE AND ZEST OF 1 LEMON
2 ROLLS OF SHORTCRUST PASTRY

pastry chef said 2 TBSP MILK

1 In a pan on the hob, simmer the cherries, cornflour, sugar, vanilla

our cherries essence and lemon juice and zest for about 15 minutes. We like to
keep some cherry chunks, so we don’t let them break down too

were absolutely much. Allow to cool.

2 Line a pie dish with pastry. Spoon in the cherries. Cut the other
roll of pastry into long strips. Weave the strips in and out of each

superb” other to form the lattice on top, using milk to ‘stick’ them to the base
pastry. Brush the top pastry strips with milk.
3 Cook at 180°C (160° fan oven) gas mark 4 for approximately 50
minutes. If you notice the top browning too much, pop some foil
over it. Serve warm or cold with cream, ice cream or custard.

AUGUST 2023 73
BEST OF BRITISH Cherries

PRISTINE BLACK FOREST PARFAIT

FOR THE CAKE 30G RAW CLEAR HONEY
60G BRAZIL NUTS ½ VANILLA POD (BEAN),
80G PITTED MEDJOOL SPLIT LENGTHWAYS AND
DATES SEEDS SCRAPED OUT
¼ VANILLA POD (BEAN), 50G COCONUT OIL,
SPLIT LENGTHWAYS AND MELTED
SEEDS SCRAPED OUT FOR THE CHERRY LAYER
½ TSP HIMALAYAN 100G CASHEW NUTS
PINK SALT 200G PITTED RED-PINK
1 TBSP CACAO POWDER FRESH CHERRIES
½ TSP GROUND ¼ TSP GROUND
CINNAMON CINNAMON
40G DARK ¼ TSP HIMALAYAN
(BITTERSWEET) PINK SALT
CHOCOLATE 85% FINELY GRATED ZEST
COCOA SOLIDS, OF ¼ LEMON
ROUGHLY CHOPPED
3 TSP LEMON JUICE
40G SPROUTED OATS 100G COCONUT OIL
FOR THE VANILLA LAYER 50G DRIED SOUR
100G CASHEW NUTS CHERRIES
70ML ALMOND MILK 15G RAW HONEY

1 Soak the cashews for the vanilla and cherry layers

separately in 200ml of filtered water with ½ tsp salt
for 3-4 hours. Drain and rinse.
2 Line a baking tray at least 27cm long and 4cm deep
with baking parchment. In a food processor, roughly
chop the Brazil nuts. Remove from the processor, then
blitz the dates, vanilla seeds, salt, cacao powder and
cinnamon in the blender to make a paste. Add the

RECIPE ADAPTED FROM CLEAN CAKES BY HENRIETTA INMAN (QUARTO BOOKS, £20). PHOTOGRAPH BY LISA LINDER
chopped nuts, chocolate and sprouted oats, and pulse
to combine. The mix will be in crumbs but should
come together when you squeeze it in your hands.
3 Turn out the cake mix and press it along one long
and one short edge of the tray to make a 26.5cm x 9cm
base. Now, make a rough mould around the cake base.
Fold up a piece of foil, overlapping three times to make
a 4cm high wall. Place the wall around the two edges of
the cake that aren’t touching the tray. Freeze.
4 To make the vanilla layer, blend the soaked
cashews and almond milk until smooth. Add the
honey, vanilla seeds and coconut oil and blend. Pour
over the chocolate base. Freeze to set (1-2 hours).
5 To make the cherry layer, place the cherries,
cinnamon, salt, lemon zest and juice in the blender
and process to a juice. Add the soaked cashews and
blend until almost smooth. Melt the coconut oil and
add it to the blender, along with the sour cherries
and honey, and blend until smooth.
6 Pour the cherry layer over the vanilla layer and
freeze for an hour until firm but not solid. Remove
from the freezer and slice into 2.5 cm-wide rectangles.
7 Decorate each piece as you like.

74 AUGUST 2023 countryliving.com/uk

 INSIDER
GUIDE
Cherries
5 PYO CHERRY
ORCHARDS
BROGDALE CHERRY TRAIL,
KENT Take a guided tour of
the National Fruit Collection
and sample some of Brogdale’s
heritage varieties. 8-9 and 22-23
July. brogdalecollections.org
CHARLETON FRUIT FARM,
ANGUS Sweet and sour cherries
grow in traditional orchards. A play
park and cafés make for a great
day out. charleton-farm.co.uk
CLIVE’S FRUIT FARM, WORCS
PYO started here in the 1960s.
There’s a farm shop, butchery
and café selling home-pressed
apple and pear juices.
clivesfruitfarm.co.uk
COPAS FARMS FRUIT FIELDS,
BUCKS AND BERKS Two PYO
farms in Iver and Cookham with
a maize maze and farm shop.
thefruitfields.co.uk
MAYNARDS, EAST SUSSEX
This long-established fruit farm
on the High Weald offers ten
cherry varieties among its PYO
soft fruits. It also makes its own
ice cream. maynardsfruit.co.uk
CHERRIES BY THE BOOK…
Cherries & Mulberries
Prospect Books £9.99
A celebration of cherries in literature,
language, history and folklore whets
the appetite for more than 50 recipes
in this informative manual. Cook Sally
Hughes and gardener Jane McMorland
Hunter bring together two orchard
fruits treasured all over the world for
hundreds of years. Growing them,
they say, is the best way to enjoy
them at their sweetest, freshest best.
Here, they offer advice on choosing
varieties and cultivating garden trees.
Get the kit
1
Kentish kibsey
These traditional
willow cherry-
picking baskets
are woven to order
at a greenwood
workshop in Kent.
From £42,
underwoodsman.
co.uk
CHERRY GOOD
2
Wemyss Ware
There’s a wealth of nutrients in every bite cherry plate
COMPILED BY RACHAEL OAKDEN PHOTOGRAPH BY GETTY IMAGES
Hand-painted
THEY’RE PACKED WITH VITAMIN C
in the signature
Twelve fresh cherries provide a quarter of
naturalistic style
the recommended daily amount.
of Scotland’s
RED IS THEIR SUPERPOWER Cherries’ most celebrated
deep red comes from anthocyanins, a type of pottery. £69,
antioxidant that can help the body protect itself wemyssware.co.uk
against disease and combat inflammation.
THEY EASE THE PAIN OF GOUT Sufferers
3
report fewer flare-ups after eating cherries, Good Grips cherry
although research is ongoing as to how. and almond pitter
A sturdy tool
AND MIGHT EVEN HELP YOU SLEEP All
that makes easy work
cherries contain melatonin, which regulates
of de-stoning fruits for
the sleep-wake cycle. The ‘Montmorency’
crumbles and compotes.
variety has the highest concentration.
£11.99, lakeland.co.uk
countryliving.com/uk
C H A RM A N D C O M F O RT W I T H
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See the full Country Living Collection at dfs.co.uk/country-living

 THE

OF THINGS
TO COME

Lesley Bramwell is sparking a quiet revolution in
candle-making from her garden studio in Yorkshire
WORDS BY CHARLOTTE VOWDEN PHOTOGRAPHS BY ANDREW MONTGOMERY
efore the day turns sultry,
Lesley Bramwell takes a turn
about her garden, gathering
flowers for a late-summer
posy. She plucks sedum, sage
and buddleia, and places
them in her basket. Her plot
is a mere 20-minute amble
from the centre of Sheffield, but it’s quiet and
peaceful. “I look at everything that’s growing
around me for inspiration,” she says, her pace
now slowed to a stop. Mother Nature is a
distracting muse.
“I just can’t walk past it,” she beams as she
leans into the unfurling petals of a tea rose. The
flower is flushed pink with fuchsia tips. Many
would pick it on its looks alone. But for Lesley,
a flower’s finest virtue is its smell. “I’ve got to put
my nose in it,” she says. The aroma, ethereal with
a woody undertone, encapsulates a summer’s
day, but it also reminds Lesley of the early days
countryliving.com/uk
ARTISAN BUSINESS
of Essence + Alchemy, her home fragrance
business. “This is the first scent I captured in a
candle,” she says. “It was a nuanced process that
involved science, intuition, and trial and error.”
FLAME ACADEMY
For years, Lesley worked as an environmental
consultant. Life was busy. She spent a lot of time
on the road for work and was also in the process
of renovating her home. She found calm by
“cooking” scented candles in an old gas oven,
before deciding to set up her candle-making
business in 2015. “It was a distraction that
became a full-time job,” she recalls.
It might seem a dramatic change of direction,
but Lesley’s interest in the natural world has been
a common thread throughout her life. Even as a
child, growing up in Seaham, on the north-east
coast of England, she had an interest in nature
and the environment. She remembers seeing
woods out of her bedroom window and, beyond
AUGUST 2023 81

THIS PAGE Every Essence
+ Alchemy product is
100 per cent natural and
synthetic-free. Candles are
infused with essential oils
and feature a handmade
wooden wick
that, the sea: “I was always outside, getting my
hands dirty in the soil, pressing flowers and
going to the beach. It made me so happy.”
It was her mum, Yvonne, an amateur
botanist, who introduced her to scent through
aromatherapy. “I’ve used essential oils for years
and have become a bit obsessed with them,” Lesley
says. “Peppermint makes me more energetic,
lavender reduces any anxiety, while rosemary and
basil improve my memory and concentration.”
Now, she uses essential oils, sourced from ethical
and sustainable producers, in her candles. It’s
the essence that creates the alchemy.
MAKING SCENTS
Carrying her freshly cut spoils inside, Lesley
divides the flowers and foliage into arrangements,
setting some aside to dry them later for potpourri.
Her workshop, bright and functional, has a
Scandinavian feel. Tealights from her handmade
collection, giving off a smoky bouquet, kindle
a sense of hygge, even though it’s the height of
summer. “It’s not just in the winter that I want to
feel cosiness,” Lesley says. “Burning perfumed
candles brings a warmth to a room that’s good for
your wellbeing. Different scents might be suited
to different seasons, but fragrance matters all year
round.” Lesley’s Aestas candle, with its perfume of
rose petals, French lavender leaves, cypress wood
and Benjamin tree resin, is especially summery.
She describes it as “enchanting and mystical”.
Lesley’s range features candles infused with
essential oils, with occasional batches of oil-infused
incense sticks and bath salts. The candles, which
are made to order to avoid waste, each comprise
a simple mix of rapeseed wax (a by-product of
British-grown and pesticide-free crops) and
essential oils. Aether is a blend of juniper and herbs
with a hint of lemon to inspire creativity. Arcana
is an elixir of wood, lemongrass and camomile
to soothe the soul. They are all free from paraffin
or synthetic fragrances, as well as colouring or
additives, making them completely natural, plus
they have wooden wicks, which are handmade.
SLOWLY DOES IT
The candle-making process is simple, but slow.
First, Lesley must melt the rapeseed wax, which
she buys in 25-kilo slabs, in metal bains-marie. “I
top them up and switch them on first thing in the
morning,” she says. A few hours later, once the
wax is molten, she then ‘tends’ it. “I tap off the
 ARTISAN BUSINESS

“I can’t just walk past

a rose. I’ve got to put
my nose in it”

countryliving.com/uk AUGUST 2023 83

ARTISAN BUSINESS

84 AUGUST 2023 countryliving.com/uk

wax into a glass jug and leave it to cool until it
reaches 55°C,” she explains. “This stops the scents
being unnecessarily burnt off as I stir them in.”
For her largest candle, a 290g beaker candle
with a burn time of more than 60 hours, Lesley
adds around 20ml of essential oils. The exact
amount is key, she says, with each batch having
its own subtle differences in scent, depending
on the growing environment of the origin plant.
To account for this, Lesley revises each recipe
when a new batch of essential oils arrives. She is
happy to use scents such as cedarwood that she
doesn’t much like, but avoids materials that are
over-harvested like frankincense.
The crucial thing about her craft, she says, is
that it cannot be rushed: “I like to take my time
because I want to make sure that each one is
perfectly poured. My candles take 48 hours to cure
and they need to be kept warm while they are
solidifying to prevent bubbles or imperfections.”
They come in different sizes and are made of
different types of wax – harder for the refills,
softer for those in glass containers. She pours
her largest candles, in beakers, two at a time. At
“I love thinking about the
journey one of my candles
might take someone on”
a push, she says, she could pour up to 20 a day
around other tasks. This slow, sustainable ethos
is embedded at every stage of the production
process. “I look at every element, from the raw
materials to the glass containers handblown
in Britain to the recycled packaging,” she says.
“I can tell you where everything is from.”
Lesley’s customers, who buy her products
online, via subscriptions or through UK
stockists, appreciate the care she takes over her
work and, if her sales are anything to go by, are
equally eco-conscious. Refills are one of her
most popular items. “I love thinking about the
journey one of my candles might take someone
on,” Lesley says, breathing in the fragrance
from a recent creation. “It could be into a garden
after the rain, the warm mist rising from the OPPOSITE AND THIS
wet earth or back to a happy memory from PAGE Lesley can make
childhood. Scent is so powerful.” up to 20 candles a day in
her bright, Scandi-style
TO FIND OUT MORE about Lesley’s products, visit studio. Provenance is key
essenceandalchemy.co.uk. Her book Fragrance Your
– from the hedgerow-
Home (Quadrille, £15) is out now. Country Living
readers can get ten per off Essence + Alchemy foraged ingredients to
products using the code COUNTRYLIVING when the glass containers
ordering online until 31 August. hand-blown in Britain
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RURAL BUSINESS

NEXT-GEN

WORDS BY RACHAEL OAKDEN

PHOTOGRAPHS BY ALUN CALLENDER

88 AUGUST 2023
 At Redwoods Farm in mid Devon, a parent-and-
daughter team is pioneering ways of producing eggs and
meat that are kinder to their animals, soil and planet

countryliving.com/uk
 n most cases, it’s not wise to pick up a
piglet. “They’ll squeal and squeal until
you put them down,” says Amy Chapple.
She’s making an exception, though, for
a particular four-week-old residing in a
woodland next to her family’s farm. “He
was a runty little chap,” she says of the
Gloucester Old Spot and Large Black
cross. “I’m giving him some extra TLC.”
Amy, 22, has been keeping pigs since she was
in sixth form. “They really like a good scratch,”
she says, kneeling to rub the backs of a dozing
Old Spot sow and her litter of black-patched piglets. “It
relaxes them and gets them used to me being around.”
This group of piglets will stay in the woods with their
mother for another four weeks before being released into
a six-acre field at the family farm. “They just love digging,”
says Amy, explaining why hungry, inquisitive pigs are such
a boon for an eco-conscious farmer. “As they root around,
they turn over the soil with their snouts. It’s like using a
plough, but less damaging. They also fertilise the soil with
their droppings and eat pests, such as leatherjackets,
which would otherwise damage growing plants.”
NEW WAYS OF WORKING
In return for their free-range life, the pigs provide Amy with
flavourful slow-grown pork, which she sells locally alongside
the pasture-raised eggs, soy-free chicken and grass-fed lamb
and beef she and her parents, Mark and Pauline, produce at
Redwoods Farm. Here, on 300 acres near Tiverton, Devon,
the Chapples practise regenerative farming. “We aim to
90 JULY 2023
improve the whole ecosystem,” Amy says.
“We consider soil health, carbon storage,
animal welfare and wildlife diversity.”
Her foraging pigs exemplify the idea. Amy
moves them every few days to a different part
of the field. This allows each patch of pasture
to recover and regenerate, its diversity boosted
by the seed Amy scatters for the pigs to trample
in. “My mix contains 30 species of herbs,
grasses, legumes and wild flowers,” she says.
“After three months, the pasture will be
waist-high and full of plants.”
As well as providing a varied diet for the pigs when they
return, the diversity of species, with their different root
lengths, helps to prevent soil erosion and boosts the soil’s
capacity to absorb water and sequester carbon. The
gradation in sward height across the field also provides
a patchwork of wildlife habitats: “When I walk across the
field, I see birds flying out of the grass, mice scuttling
around and dung beetles doing their thing.”
Amy was just 13 when she started farming commercially.
Taking part in a school project inviting students to found
a business with £10, she bought a few retired laying hens
and sold eggs to her neighbours and classmates. She kept the
flock throughout her school years, also buying a few calves to
rear. Then when she reached sixth-form college, she asked
THIS PAGE AND OPPOSITE farming approach. Frequently
All the livestock – including moving them onto fresh grazing
Amy’s pigs and hens – are part provides a longer recovery
of the Chapples’ regenerative period for the pasture
countryliving.com/uk
 RURAL BUSINESS

“Regenerative systems can play

a part in solving the climate crisis”
AUGUST 2023 91
Amy founded
the farm’s online
shop, and also
sells produce at
local farmers’
markets
 RURAL BUSINESS

“My sow seemed depressed shut

in a barn. Pigs have active minds
– they need something to do”

countryliving.com/uk AUGUST 2023 93

RURAL BUSINESS
“My hens forage on fields
where Mum and Dad’s
beef cattle have been”
her parents if she could get a pig. “I started with a sow and her
litter, putting them in a barn as that’s how I thought it was
done,” Amy says. “But the mum seemed a bit depressed. Pigs
have such active minds and they needed something to do.”
Amy moved them outdoors, rotating them around the pasture.
“I wanted them to roam on the grass without ruining the
fields – if they’re on a patch of ground for too long, it gets
compacted, which isn’t good for the soil.”
Inspired by regenerative farmers such as Joel Salatin in
the US, Amy shifted her free-range laying hens into a rotation
system, too. “They go on the fields where Mum and Dad’s
beef cattle have been,” she says, explaining how she tows their
mobile hen house, fashioned by her dad out of an old trailer,
to a new patch every three days and encloses them in an open
run using electric wire fencing. “Their droppings are high in
nitrogen – we haven’t used bought-in fertilisers for five years.”
The chickens, which now number 150 and include Speckled
Marans, French Copper Marans and Light Sussexes, also love
to scratch around in the cattle dung. By gobbling up fly and
other larvae, they reduce the pest burden for the next cohort
of cattle. And the best bit? “They eat a lot of grass, which is full
of carotene,” says Amy, who has a weekly egg round and sells
at farmers’ markets. “It turns the yolks deep orange and gives
them a richer flavour.”
Mark had experimented several years earlier with mob-
grazing – when cattle are moved daily to new strips of pasture
that are then left to recover and grow tall – and while his
daughter was experimenting with rotational grazing, he
94 AUGUST 2023
continued to immerse himself in books, videos
and online forums about regenerative farming.
A turning point came in 2019, when he met Glen
Burrows and Farshad Kazemian, founders of
the online meat retailer The Ethical Butcher, at
Groundswell, a regenerative agriculture festival.
“They were looking for someone to raise
soy-free chicken,” Mark remembers. Almost all
commercial chickens are fed on soy, the cheapest
source of the amino acids they need. Most soy
is grown in the Americas, often genetically
modified, sprayed with glyphosate and linked
to rainforest deforestation. “People said it couldn’t
be done cost-effectively, but I was convinced it
could work on a pastured system,” Mark says.
His chickens get their protein by scratching
around in cattle dung for bugs. (They also get a
ration of cereals, seeds and legumes from local
suppliers – similar to the soy-free mix that Amy
blends for her pigs.) Like Amy’s laying hens,
the soy-free chickens forage on grassland
recently vacated by mob-grazing livestock. Mark moves his
suckler herd of Stabiliser cattle – a modern breed that
thrives on a grass-only diet – to new strips of pasture every
day, introducing the chickens three days later to munch on
pests and fertilise the soil.
The chickens are enclosed beneath large polytunnels,
which Mark tows to new ground every day. While the
polytunnels have mesh sides with roll-up-roll-down covers
to let in sunlight and fresh air, they don’t protect young birds
from the coldest weather. That’s why Redwoods’ chicken
is available May-December only.
RICHER FLAVOUR
“We get rave reviews for the flavour,” Mark says, explaining
that these slow-growing birds live for three times as long as
the average supermarket chicken. “Some people say it’s a
bit more gamey. To me, it just tastes like chicken should.”
Soy-free chicken has given Mark back his appetite for
the whole enterprise of farming. “All I ever wanted to do
was farm,” he says (he was a farm contractor for many years
until he and Pauline were able to buy their own farm in
2007). “But I was beginning to feel disheartened at the way
livestock farming was being blamed for climate change.”
Now, Mark says, he and Pauline are “chuffed to bits” to be
farming alongside Amy – the middle of their three children
– and reinvigorated by the changes they have embraced.
“I believe livestock farming, when integrated into
regenerative systems, can play a part in solving the climate
crisis. It gives me hope for the next generation of farmers.”
FIND Redwoods’ eggs, soy-free chicken, pork, beef and lamb at
Tiverton and Frome farmers’ markets or visit redwoodsfarm.co.uk
for local delivery. For nationwide delivery of chicken (May-
December) and pork, visit ethicalbutcher.co.uk or ruxstons.co.uk.
ABOVE Mark has adapted an the farm’s rotation system, Amy
old trailer to serve as a mobile uses it to tow her hens to a new
hen house. In keeping with patch of land every three days
countryliving.com/uk
 THE
COUNTRY
LIVING
PAVILION

BURGHLEY
HORSE TRIALS
Defender Burghley Horse Trials is a heady mix of top-class equestrian sport, excellent shopping and
superb entertainment at Burghley Park in Stamford, Lincolnshire. Each day offers something special,
from dressage to cross-country. Don’t forget to visit the Country Living Pavilion to discover an array
of artisans, then stop by the CL Café for a delicious cup of coffee. Make a weekend of it and enjoy the
ultimate glamping experience at the Burghley Boutique – dogs are welcome, too (burghleyboutique.co.uk)!

GET YOUR TICKETS NOW

Thurs 31 Aug/Fri 1 Sept/Sun 3 Sept: £25 until
16 July, £27 thereafter (£30 on gate);
car pass £15* (£18 on gate)
Sat 2 Sept: £43 until 16 July,
PHOTOGRAPHS BY PETE AXFORD AND PETER NIXON

£48 thereafter (£50 on gate);

31 Aug-3 Sept car pass £15 (£18 on gate)
2023 Season entry: (four days; must be
purchased by 20 August) £93 until
16 July; £102 thereafter; car pass £50
Membership: £313 until 16 July, £350 thereafter; must
be purchased by 20 August (four days’ car pass;
two season admission tickets; two members’ badges;
admittance to the members’ enclosure and
north grandstand on Thurs/Fri)
Book online now at burghley-horse.co.uk

*Online tickets are available up to midnight the night before attendance, after which the gate price applies.
Box office number: 01780 752131 (burghley-horse.co.uk)
For when your heart
is in the country
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THIS MONTH
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 THE DETAILS
WHAT’S THE STYLE?
One of a pair of
Edwardian brick-built
farmworker’s cottages

WHERE IS IT?
In the East Sussex village of
Burwash, which has views out
over the High Weald

WHO LIVES HERE?

Caroline and Jonathan Zoob,
plus their cat Humbug

98 AUGUST 2023 countryliving.com/uk

 HOME INSPIRATION

Embroiderer Caroline Zoob has used her design

flair and imagination to maximise every inch of
space in her former farmworker’s cottage
WORDS BY PAULA MCWATERS PHOTOGRAPHS BY BRENT DARBY
PRODUCTION BY BEN KENDRICK
 ove doesn’t always come at first
sight when you buy a new home,
and after ten years as the tenants
of Monk’s House, Virginia Woolf’s
16th-century country retreat in
Rodmell, East Sussex, it was always
going to be hard for Caroline
and Jonathan Zoob to find and
purchase a worthy successor. However, with the luxury of being
able to gut and remodel this Edwardian farmworker’s cottage
– and the added attraction of a large garden behind it that they
could make their own – they have succeeded in imbuing it with
both personality and period charm.
The house is small and Caroline, an embroiderer and
designer, is neat and tidy at heart, so imagination was needed
to maximise space and shoehorn their possessions into it. With
the front and back rooms knocked through into one, Caroline
approached her friend John Taylor (@jatdecorative) to panel the
walls with tongue-and-groove boarding to make it feel cosy and
characterful, and to build in tall cupboards that would swallow
up the essentials of everyday living. One cupboard now hides the
television away and another has made use of an antique Swedish
glazed door – one of Caroline’s first purchases for the cottage.
“John trained as an architect and has a great eye. The trick is to
find antique pieces and convert them into workable, practical
things that can then have a new life. He creates very subtle paint
finishes, too, so they look the part,” she says.
Having bought and sold homeware herself (she was a regular
– and highly popular – exhibitor at the Country Living Fairs for
years), Caroline is adept at nosing out “just right” vintage pieces,
from chests to salvaged filing boxes that are functional and
decorative: “I like to have beautiful things around me, so I need
places where the mundanities of life – washing-up liquid and
spare lightbulbs – can all be squirrelled away.” Her colour schemes
are tranquil: soft greys with flashes of green in vases and paintings
that bring it all to life: “The light here is so lovely, it travels around
the house through the day and the rooms never look cold. I haven’t
ever had a house before where greys worked, but they do here.”
Caroline adores the texture of worn paint, which shows on mirror
frames, chests and accessories, and provides a sympathetic

PREVIOUS PAGE Flights of drawers and filing boxes hide the

essentials of everyday living and help keep the small house
tidy. Caroline has a thing for paintings of boats RIGHT In
the kitchen, painted units from Ikea have been paired with
a custom-altered glass-fronted vintage dresser. The antique
painted sign above the sink came from Weathered & Worn

100 AUGUST 2023

 H O M E S & D E C O R AT I N G

‘I haven’t ever had a

house before where
greys worked, but
they do here”
H O M E S & D E C O R AT I N G

ABOVE AND BELOW The dividing wall was knocked down between the two downstairs rooms to make an open-plan
living/dining area. Tongue-and-groove boarding suits the simple farmworker style of the cottage and makes it feel cosy and
characterful. The mirrors above the sofa are made from window frames from an old brownstone building in New York

102 AUGUST 2023 countryliving.com/uk

ABOVE A sash window in the back wall of the dining area has been replaced with a door to give direct access to the garden.
One of Caroline’s first purchases for the cottage was a vintage Swedish glazed door, which has been given a new life as a
cupboard front BELOW Caroline’s workroom in Ticehurst, where she sews and develops new ideas for her embroidery kits

AUGUST 2023 103

H O M E S & D E C O R AT I N G

backdrop for her collections: “I love decoy ducks and paintings

of boats, plus I have a white ceramic paste/jam pot habit, so
these tend to be recurring themes.” Some items have been with
her for years while others are more recent finds: “I have two
favourite sources: a lovely shop called Weathered & Worn in
Hadlow, Kent, and my friend Tara Franklin (@tara.franklin_
antiques), who arrives with lots of French textiles she knows
I will fall for.” Paintings come and go; all are vintage, winkled
out in antiques shops and fairs, but as wall space is at a
premium, Caroline tries to discipline herself to a “one in,
one out” policy by selling something if she buys a new one.
One favourite feature from their previous home at Monk’s
House was re-created for Caroline in the kitchen here: deep
profile windowsills that give the room architectural gravitas and
charm: “They were very expensive to have built but absolutely
worth it and I am very fussy about what goes onto them.” Much
of the couple’s renovation budget went on essentials such as
electrics and a new roof, so money for the kitchen was extremely
tight. Caroline was stumped at first but a friend’s practical,
imaginative young daughter came to the rescue, drawing up a
plan and marching Caroline off to Ikea to choose units and a sink.
Coupled with a glass-fronted dresser, remodelled and expertly
painted for her by John Taylor, they look good and function well.
Upstairs, a dedicated dressing room enables Caroline and
Jonathan to keep their bedroom relatively furniture-free.
“We’ve always had a small bedroom. I’m fine with that,”
Caroline says. “I like it to remain uncluttered so that it feels
like a calm space.” Behind the bed, John has fitted painted
tongue-and-groove panelling with free-floating bedside tables
and wall lights to give a sense of space.
On the second floor, a guest room and shower room make
good use of the roof space, with light flooding in from a rooflight
window. As an embroiderer, Caroline finds a good working light
essential and this makes a useful room in which to sew when she
isn’t at her workroom in Ticehurst, designing embroidery kits,
teaching – which she loves – and dreaming up editorial plans for
her quarterly, The Stitcher’s Journal. Continually surrounding
herself with beautiful things provides all the inspiration she needs.
FOR MORE DETAILS on Caroline’s business, see carolinezoob.co.uk.
A new edition of her book, Virginia Woolf’s Garden (Quarto, £30), will
be published in September 2023.

THIS PAGE, ABOVE Caroline loves subtle textures and colours;

Sweet Violets (top right) – from her selection of embroidery kits
to buy – is one of her favourite designs LEFT The long garden has
a number of seating areas to enjoy OPPOSITE Light floods into
the attic bedroom, making it a useful space for Caroline to sew
in when not at Ticehurst. The quilt was made by Jonathan’s mother

VINTAGE HOME 5
This house also appears in the latest
edition of Vintage Home, published by
Country Living, which is on sale from 4 July.
Visit hearstmagazines.co.uk/cl-specials
or selected retailers to buy your copy.

104 AUGUST 2023 countryliving.com/uk

How to MAKE A SMALL
HOUSE FEEL BIGGER
MAKE FURNITURE EARN ITS KEEP by
selecting pieces that function as
storage as well as looking good.
PICK A CALMING PAINT PALETTE to
make rooms feel tranquil and uncluttered.
BUILD IN SHALLOW CUPBOARDS from
floor to ceiling to swallow up belongings.
MAKE ROOM TO DISPLAY TREASURES
by identifying odd corners where you
can fit a small shelf high up on the wall.
LOOK OUT FOR VINTAGE pigeon-hole
units to neatly store bits and pieces.
DISGUISE YOUR TELEVISION by
hiding it away in a built-in cupboard.
DRESS WINDOWS WITH SHUTTERS
as they take up less space than
curtains and feel airy.
FIT A NARROW SHELF above a door
to hold a few books and curios.
This 1.4-acre plot has been designed to
be undemanding for the gardener and
welcoming for the local wildlife
WORDS BY STEPHANIE DONALDSON PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARIANNE MAJERUS

THE
 GA R D E N S

THE DETAILS

STYLE
Prairie planting inspired by
designer Piet Oudolf
SEASONS OF INTEREST
June through to late autumn, then
frosty seed heads in winter
SIZE
1.4 acres of cultivated garden
plus 1 acre of meadow
SOIL
Heavy clay – mulching is essential
for it to be workable

AUGUST 2023 107

GA R D E N S
onia Steinmetz’s garden sits like
a glowing jewel within the gently
rolling countryside of eastern
Luxembourg. Vibrant planting
surrounds the central wildlife pond,
skilfully blending native plants with
tough perennials and grasses chosen
to cope well with the extremes of the
climate. Six years ago, it looked very
different. There was a tumbledown farmhouse surrounded
by cattle-grazed pasture and three mature trees – a walnut,
an apple and a pear. There was everything to do, but Sonia
knew exactly what she wanted: “A garden I could maintain
myself with a focus on attracting wildlife. My aim was to
create an overall harmonious picture using uncomplicated
plants, none of which would require special care, and avoid
fancy and demanding plant collections.” With this in mind,
she enlisted the help of garden designer Michele Gillen to
draw up the original design.
The first step was to stop the grazing and mow the entire
site to start the process of impoverishing the soil. Early
in 2016, a pond was dug and the spoil was used to make
hillocks. Hedges were planted, then the paths were laid out
and boardwalks constructed, weaving around and across
the pond. The completion of the hard landscaping was
followed by planting a selection of undemanding and
colourful perennials that included echinacea, persicaria,
108 AUGUST 2023
helenium, rudbeckia and ligularia, interwoven with
ornamental grasses. Trees were chosen for leaf colour in
autumn as well as fruit value for birds, including pleached
limes and sorbus, and winter interest was added with
conifers. By that September, it looked like a garden.
Beyond the garden there is a buffer zone, a rewilded
meadow, where over the years plants have appeared
spontaneously. Occasionally, too, wild-flower seed has spread,
including campion, knapweed, yarrow, meadowsweet, wild
carrot and bugle. A native hedge surrounds both the garden
and the field beyond, featuring blackthorn, cornus, elderflower
and field maple. This is valuable for insects and also provides
protective cover for birds. Fortunately, Sonia’s neighbour adopts
a similarly benign attitude and the stands of nettles that have
been left to grow have resulted in masses of glow worms.
Sonia is her own head gardener: “I gain pleasure from
weeding and working in the garden. I find being completely
focused on one activity relaxing and meditative.” In summer,
she is in the garden all day, often with her family, and will
extend her time outdoors by having dinner on the lawn or on
the terrace: “My son helps occasionally, particularly in July
when he makes hay in the meadow. The area that is cut is
THIS PAGE, ABOVE LEFT ground cover OPPOSITE
Persicaria amplexicaulis Echinacea purpurea and a
‘Orange Field’ ABOVE RIGHT dwarf mountain pine, Pinus
Stepping stones across mugo ‘Mughus’, in the shade
fragrant Thymus praecox of Platanus x acerifolia
countryliving.com/uk
Vibrant planting
surrounds the
central wildlife
pond, blending
native plants with
tough grasses
and perennials
 “There are lots of insects – the
swallows swooping to catch flies
is a charming spectacle”

110 AUGUST 2023 countryliving.com/uk

 GA R D E N S

Grasses, pollinator-friendly
purple loosestrife (Lythrum
salicaria) and water mint
(Mentha aquatica) line the
edge of the pond
GA R D E N S

rotated each year, and because the entire meadow is not

mown annually, there is an enormous amount of insect life.”
There are many wildlife-friendly features within the
garden, too. Despite its inviting appearance, the pond, with
its fringe of grasses and pollinator-friendly purple loosestrife
and water mint, is not for swimming, although occasionally
Sonia’s son or the dog will go in. “There are no fish,” Sonia
says. “We wanted to keep the water clear and consequently
there are lots of insects – dragonflies, water boatmen – frogs
and snails. And the swallows swooping to catch flies is a
charming spectacle.” Throughout the garden, nest boxes are
occupied by great tits, blue tits, treecreepers and sparrows,
although the owl box has yet to find a tenant. Badgers, foxes,
weasels and red squirrels are regular visitors, with only voles
and box moth causing problems, and Sonia is dealing with
the latter by replacing box plants with yew. The voles come
in from the surrounding fields and damage everything from
bulbs to young trees and have proved surprisingly adept at
avoiding humane traps, so she’s hoping that installing raptor
perches for their natural predators will get the balance right.
Sonia has help from professional gardeners twice a
year – in June and autumn – for clipping the hedges and

THIS PAGE, FROM TOP acerifolia; Allium senescens

Wooden boardwalks weave and Stipa tenuissima
around and across the pond; OPPOSITE, FROM TOP Mentha
Sorbus domestica, Lythrum aquatica; Dianthus deltoides
salicaria and Platanus x by the stepping stone path

112 AUGUST 2023 countryliving.com/uk

 Sonia’s tips
FOR A WILDLIFE-
FRIENDLY GARDEN
DON’T BE TEMPTED TO ADD FISH TO YOUR POND as
they muddy the water and reduce the number of wildlife
species that take up residence.
PLANT NATIVE AND POLLINATOR-FRIENDLY PERENNIALS
and grasses that will do well in your garden’s micro-climate.
ADD A BUG HOTEL AND DEAD HEDGES (upright
structures made from branches and prunings) to
provide valuable overwintering habitats for insects.

“My aim was to create PUT UP NEST BOXES in different sizes to attract a variety
of garden birds.

an overall harmonious DELAY CUTTING BACK any perennials that will add winter
interest: they’ll also shelter hibernating invertebrates.
AVOID FANCY AND DEMANDING PLANTS as they take up
picture using time that can be spent more productively in the garden.
USE MULCHES TO PROTECT PLANTS from extremes of

uncomplicated plants” temperature, suppress weeds and retain moisture.

pleached limes. The rest she does herself. She cuts back
any unstructured or collapsed perennials in autumn, while
more structural ones, such as phlomis, miscanthus and
calamagrostis, are left over winter so that she can enjoy
the frosted seed heads. The beds are mulched with all the
shredded clippings along with bought-in bark mulch to
provide protection from extremes of heat and cold – and,
importantly, to retain moisture during the hottest months.
(A less welcome effect is that the mulch provides an ideal
breeding habitat for the voles.)
As well as routine garden maintenance, Sonia is
involved with a native seed project for threatened species,
particularly Sanguisorba officinalis and Dianthus
deltoides. “I grow the dianthus in the garden for seed,
which we harvest so it can be used in rewilding projects.
My son helps, as it’s a two-person job: one to hold the
plants and one to do the cutting, to avoid the seed
falling on the ground,” she says.
Sonia loves the garden she has made but nevertheless
reflects: “If I had known about the recent hot summers when
I started this project, I would have made a smaller garden
with a bigger pond and chosen more drought-resistant
plants.” However, on the rare occasions she sits down and
surveys the wildlife-filled garden she has created, it is with
a mixture of satisfaction, happiness and joy – especially,
she says, when she looks towards the willows and watches
the wind ruffling the grasses. Even the busiest gardener
needs time to stop and stare.
 HOME INSPIRATION

DRAWN
FROM THE

Botanical patterns and bohemian paintwork shine out in a house

that celebrates the Devon landscape surrounding it
WORDS BY CAROLINE ATKINS PHOTOGRAPHS BY BRENT DARBY PRODUCTION BY BEN KENDRICK
 THE DETAILS
WHAT’S THE STYLE?
A five-bedroom Georgian
vicarage-turned-guesthouse and
restaurant mixing family treasures
with contemporary furnishings

WHERE IS IT?
Deep in the East Devon hills
near Colyton

WHO LIVES HERE?

Artist Olive Guest, her husband Hugo
and their sons Rufus and Robin

countryliving.com/uk AUGUST 2023 115

H O M E S & D E C O R AT I N G

The house has

always had an
eclectic, slightly
bohemian feel, full
of creative touches
and accumulated
family treasures

countryliving.com/uk

he loveliest thing about Glebe House, says
Olive Guest, is the uninterrupted view
across the Coly Valley. Planted in the East
Devon hills near Colyton, it’s surrounded
by nature, including 15 acres of its own
land, where Olive and her husband Hugo
grow flowers and vegetables as well as
keeping chickens (and the occasional pig).
And it’s the landscape that has inspired
the furnishings of the house, from William Morris fabrics to
strawberry-patterned wallpaper. A grapevine has even been
trained inside, where it clambers around the ceiling of the
garden room that provides an entrance to the house. Wallpapers,
fabrics, paint colours – and the paintings on the walls – all reflect
the beauty of the garden and the countryside beyond.
Hugo’s family have owned the Georgian house, originally built
as a vicarage, for 40 years, and had run it as a B&B for about 18
of those when Hugo, a trained chef, and Olive, an artist, moved
back here to take over the business in 2020. It has always had
an eclectic, slightly bohemian feel, full of creative touches and
accumulated family treasures (Hugo’s aunt is a ceramicist; his
parents spent their early married life living and working on
sailing boats all over the world). Hugo and Olive wanted to
maintain that informal spirit, while
casting a fresh eye over the decorative
style: “We wanted a bit less clutter and
to give each room a distinctive character.”
Pattern was key, especially for Olive, whose
own paintings hang on the walls, and
whose inspirations include Charleston,
the Sussex base of the Bloomsbury artists
Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant: “Their
liberal use of pattern, the freehand murals
– it’s just so joyful.” Pattern at Glebe House
isn’t quite so exuberant, but has the same
sense of energy. Wallpapers are strewn with
flowers and foliage, chairs upholstered in
tapestry-print fabrics, resulting in areas
of bold colour in small doses or contained
within borders of plain paintwork.
Apart from making a couple of bathrooms bigger, Olive and
Hugo made few structural changes and enlisted the help of
interior designers Studio Alexandra. And whenever possible,
they reused furnishings to retain the house’s connection with
the past. The kitchen was redesigned around the original Aga
(now converted to electricity). They kept the Greek tiles behind
it (brought home by Hugo’s parents in the 1970s) and the
terracotta floor to maintain the homely farmhouse feel, while
making it practical enough to cater for guests by updating the
layout with tall stools at a breakfast bar, refreshing the colours
and adding contemporary black metal lights.
In the sitting room, the old Glebe House grandfather clock
and a couple of blue velvet chairs are set against the rich pink
of Farrow & Ball’s Fruit Fool and paired with sofas upholstered
in pink stripes and bright gold linen. Bright patterned rugs and
wallhangings, a boldly upholstered armchair from a Somerset
PREVIOUS PAGE The antique French bedhead in the guest bedroom
is upholstered in Birodo Mimosa velvet by Zoffany OPPOSITE The
kitchen woodwork is painted in Farrow & Ball’s Babouche yellow THIS
PAGE, ABOVE LEFT Hugo and a chef friend in the farmhouse-style
kitchen, designed with a breakfast bar and industrial-style heat lamps
ABOVE RIGHT In the living room, an Impressionist-style painting and
Art Deco cabinet are set against walls in Fruit Fool by Farrow & Ball
AUGUST 2023 117
H O M E S & D E C O R AT I N G

“It’s so inspiring to be entrenched

in nature – as we are here – and we
wanted the house to celebrate that”

118 AUGUST 2023 countryliving.com/uk

OPPOSITE Olive and two-year-old
Rufus stroll through the garden
THIS PAGE Deep teal curtains in
a William Morris print, a bamboo
screen, a brightly upholstered
chair from Kingsettle Antiques in
Somerset and one of Olive’s own
abstract paintings make for an
eclectic mix in the living room
H O M E S & D E C O R AT I N G

How to UPDATE
A FAMILY HOME
1 CELEBRATE ORIGINAL FURNITURE Use
a favourite chair or bookcase as a focal
point around which to build a scheme, then
incorporate newer pieces and fresher colours.

2 ENLIVEN THE SPACE WITH PATTERN

Wallpaper, fabrics, paintings and
prints will catch the eye and bring faded
or gloomy rooms back to life.

3 COMBINE TRADITION WITH

PRACTICALITY Wood panelling will
disguise uneven walls or provide a warmer
alternative to tiles in a bathroom.

4 TAKE INSPIRATION FROM THE

LANDSCAPE A view of the garden or
natural surroundings can be the starting
point for a colour scheme.

5 KEEP ORIGINAL FLOORS WHERE

POSSIBLE The mellow tones of old oak
boards or quarry tiles will look even more
distinctive if brightened with colourful rugs.
OPPOSITE Walls are painted in Desert
Rose from Paint & Paper Library to
pick out shades from the floral
bedhead fabric by Zoffany and quilt
THIS PAGE, FROM BELOW Olive grows
fruit and vegetables in the garden;
Honor Addington’s Wild Strawberries
wallpaper sits above white panelling
in the bathroom; a blind in Wilhelmina
Moss by Morris & Co contrasts with a
boldly upholstered antique chair and
rug in one of the bedrooms

antiques shop, accessories in turquoise

and emerald and an abstract painting
of Olive’s all contribute to the
Bloomsbury feel.
In the main reception room, original
oak floorboards are enlivened by the
green and pink paintwork of the old
mantelpiece and its ornamental
mirror. A subtle shift of green links the
colour of the downstairs walls and the
staircase woodwork. A multicoloured
runner on the stairs and green painted stripes visible through the
dining room door lead the eye further into the house. It means
that you catch intriguing glimpses from one room to another,
with views incorporating a palette of contrasting colours, always
sympathetically sequenced.
Bedrooms have each been given a fresh identity: one papered
in Ottoline de Vries’s lively Tulip design, another with a joyful
yellow ceiling reflecting the morning sun, a third inspired by
the copper beech tree outside its window, with soft green walls
and a blind in a William Morris print of scrolling acanthus and
honeysuckle. The pattern continues in the bathrooms: one papered
in a wild strawberry design by Honor Addington, a local artist
inspired by Devon hedgerows; another is hung with framed
Redouté prints of the Guests’ favourite flowers – tulips, sweet peas,
anemones and hydrangeas. And several of the rooms have flower-
patterned washbasins – some vintage, others modern replicas.
Each room is distinctively different, yet each contributes
to the unifying theme of the outdoor world. “It’s so inspiring
to be entrenched in nature, as we are here,” Olive says, “and
we wanted the house to celebrate that.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION visit glebehousedevon.co.uk. Find out
more about Studio Alexandra at studioalexandra.co.uk.

AUGUST 2023 121

GA R D E N I N G

How do you create a vegetable bed in a day without the

back-breaking groundwork? Over to Charles Dowding,
pioneer of no-dig gardening
ILLUSTRATIONS BY JONATHAN GIBBS

122 AUGUST 2023 countryliving.com/uk

 D
O
W
N
DIGGING
As a gardener, I’m a bit of a rebel.
For four decades, I have flouted
many of the “rules” that are
taught at horticultural colleges
and recommended generally.
I always search for a reason before
doing something. And there are
remarkably few good reasons to
invest time and effort in digging.
There is a common misconception that
plant roots need soil to be loose and fluffy
to grow. In fact, they actually do better when
the soil structure is firm. Digging breaks the
existing structure of tiny channels within
the soil and damages the networks of fungal
growth, such as mycorrhizae, which help
plant roots to access water and nutrients.
Soil that’s been damaged by digging
becomes dense, with little space for air
between soil particles. And
there’s another downside to
digging: it only reaches a certain
depth, creating two layers of soil
of different density. Water cannot
flow freely from the crumbly
surface soil to the denser soil
below, resulting in poor drainage.
The alternative is to set aside
your spade. No-dig gardening is a highly
practical, effective and economic way of
creating and maintaining a healthy and
productive plot. You can make a no-dig
bed anywhere, on any size site or soil type,
transforming weedy ground in just a few
hours. What follows is my four-step method
to get you started. Follow the first three
steps and you can be harvesting homegrown
vegetables in as little as three weeks.
AUGUST 2023 123
GA R D E N I N G

IT UP
Ironically, digging stimulates weed growth
by bringing buried weed seeds to the surface,
where they quickly germinate. Ground can
be cleared of most weeds by covering it with
a light-excluding mulch such as cardboard,
making sure that individual pieces overlap by
at least 10cm. Thick cardboard – with a layer
of compost on top to plant into – is enough to
kill annual grasses and weeds and to weaken
buttercups and dandelions. Tough perennial
weeds such as brambles and dock are best
removed with a sharp spade beforehand,
otherwise their strong growth can push up
the mulch. The cardboard will eventually
decompose in anything from eight to 12 weeks.

IT UP
Once the cardboard is in place, add a layer
of compost at least 15cm deep. You can use
your own homemade garden compost, animal
manure that has been stacked for six months or
more, municipal or spent mushroom compost,
leaf mould, even potting compost – though that’s
an expensive way of doing it. Whichever you
choose, spread the compost out evenly with a
rake and tread the surface of the bed lightly. You
can use temporary wooden planks to keep the
compost in place while the bed establishes.

IT UP
If the compost you used has a coarse texture, add a layer of peat-free multipurpose compost with a fine texture suitable
for transplanting and sowing. Level the compost using the back of your rake, water thoroughly using a watering can with
a rose, and your bed is ready for seeds and plants. For summer planting and sowing, try courgettes, lettuce, beans, carrots
and salad leaves such as mustard and rocket. Dib holes for seedlings and push them in firmly so that they sit a little below
surface level. Or sow seeds into drills made with your fingers or the back of a rake. Water the bed again after planting.

124 AUGUST 2023

 I LEARNT
‘NO-DIG’
IN A DAY
WORDS BY SHARON AMOS

Nothing beats getting your

hands dirty to back up the
information you’ve just soaked
up. At the Raymond Blanc
Gardening School at Le Manoir
aux Quat’Saisons in
Oxfordshire, the kitchen
gardens have been entirely
turned over to no-dig
methods, and head gardener
and enthusiastic tutor August
Bernstein holds day courses
for beginners with Charles
Dowding. From inspecting
the beds – impressively weed-
free, apart from the odd blade
of grass sneaking in from the
path – to running our hands
through the mulch and
dibbing holes to plant radish
seedlings, the practical
elements back up Charles’s
ARTWORK © JONATHAN GIBBS, 2022. PHOTOGRAPHS BY ALAMY; JONATHAN BUCKLEY.

informative PowerPoint. All

followed by a fabulous lunch,
of course, and, if you’re lucky,
a cheery endorsement from

IT UP Monsieur Blanc himself.

FOR MORE DETAILS see
raymondblanc.com.
LE MANOIR PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF BELMOND

After removing the last of your crops and any weeds – a few new weeds will
always germinate from seeds blowing in – it’s time to top up your no-dig bed.
Adding a layer of well-decomposed organic matter once a year feeds the
diverse range of organisms that live out of sight in the soil. They come up to
eat the surface compost and excrete organic matter in forms more available
to plant roots. In moving through soil, these organisms build a structure
of larger soil particles and air pockets, which improve both
drainage and water retention. In forests and pastures, this
process happens through leaf fall and decay: in vegetable
gardens, we harvest much of the surface growth, so that’s
why we need to add a mulch in late autumn or early winter.
ADAPTED FROM No Dig by Charles Dowding (Dorling Kindersley, £25).

countryliving.com/uk AUGUST 2023 125

 HOME INSPIRATION

PUTTING

HER

126 AUGUST 2023 countryliving.com/uk

 WORDS AND PRODUCTION BY ALI HEATH PHOTOGRAPHS BY ALUN CALLENDER

Award-winning designer Bee Osborn

contrasts old rustic charm with sleek
contemporary finishes in this
16th-century former village post office

THE DETAILS
WHAT’S THE STYLE?
A thatched stone cottage dating from
1530, with a barn from 1700, which
has been remodelled and linked
to the house

WHERE IS IT?
In an Oxfordshire village

WHO LIVES HERE?

Interior designer Bee Osborn and her
three children, Lara, 16, Tatiana, 30,
and Hettie, 32

THE EXTERIOR The house is often mistaken for the

picture-perfect cottage used as a location in the 2006 film
The Holiday with Kate Winslet. In the garden, clipped box
balls and lollipops accord with the refreshed modern
country interiors inside
H O M E S & D E C O R AT I N G

THE CONVERTED BARN

By altering the proportions and turning
the crumbling barn into a connecting
vaulted kitchen and dining room, Bee
transformed bijoux and boxy into
rambling and lofty – seamlessly bringing
the 16th-century cottage into the present.
Keen to preserve the rustic integrity of the
building, she restored the original stone
wall and clad the vaulted area with
reclaimed schoolhouse timbers, which
softens and cocoons the space. This
contrasts with sleeker finishes, such as
the clean-lined, handmade kitchen, an
oversized artisan pendant (from Hadeda)
and Crittall-style windows and doors
that lead to the garden
 “The stone barn was derelict but had
enormous potential to connect to the house”

THE NEW LINKING SPACE (top left) Windows and sightlines have been carefully considered, connecting areas and features both internally and
out. The pared-back rooms have been decorated throughout in a calming palette of chalky whites and soft green-greys – bespoke colours
designed in collaboration with Fenwick & Tilbrook THE EXTERIOR (top right) The original cottage has thick stone walls and a beautifully
maintained thatched roof THE SNUG (above) Bee has transformed the former kitchen into a family snug and designed the sofa to include
valuable underseat storage. Abstract paintings and Hugo Guinness prints add a modern feel

countryliving.com/uk AUGUST 2023 129

H O M E S & D E C O R AT I N G

THE MAIN SITTING ROOM

The original living room balances
classic, textural furniture from Osborn
Interiors (Bee’s shop in Chipping
Norton) with contemporary artwork
from Art Untamed (art-untamed.com).
The relaxed decoration pivots around
creating atmosphere, with lived-in
textural layers of sisal, wool, velvet,
linen and leather mixed with
statement art walls

130 AUGUST 2023 countryliving.com/uk

5
WAYS TO
UNITE
DIFFERENT
SPACES

1 STICK TO ONE TYPE

OF FLOORING
One of the easiest ways to
connect a variety of spaces
is by keeping a continuity of
flooring. If this isn’t possible,
aim for a single tone. Bee has
linked the pale washed original
wooden boards in the older
areas of the cottage with new
and reclaimed flooring in the
same shade in the revamped
barn and linking area.

2 CARRY A PALETTE
OF COLOURS
THROUGHOUT
Once you’ve decided on a
selection of colours for your
home, play these out across
all the rooms, making subtle
shifts depending on the aspect
perhaps, or the mood you
wish to create, but ensure the
shades you use are consistent
and all work together.

3 USE COMPLEMENTARY
ACCESSORIES
The eyecatching elements in
a room – pictures, cushions,
throws and lighting – should
all have a consistent style,
colour or even texture. These
are the easiest and most
flexible ways to achieve unity.

4 USE EXTERIOR FEATURES TO

HELP LINK THE BUILDINGS
Bee has created a classic style
with a modern twist for the
garden that surrounds the
different buildings. Furniture
in natural woven materials,
hard landscaped elements of
stone and clipped evergreens
surround all the different
buildings and create a
consistent flow.

5 ECHO THE STYLE TO

JOIN OLD AND NEW
Use new materials to subtly
reference older features.
Ancient beams in the old part
of Bee’s cottage have been
painted white to lift the ceiling
and ‘lighten’ the spaces,
while newer wood-clad
ceilings in the restored areas
lend a sense of cosiness.
H O M E S & D E C O R AT I N G

The wooden panelling

adds an earthy warmth
to the lofty proportions
THE BATHROOM The bateau bath was an Ebay find and brings
sophisticated elegance to the modern rustic main bedroom ensuite.
The Huck wall lights came from portaromana.com

132 AUGUST 2023 countryliving.com/uk

 THE MAIN BEDROOM
A mix of soft wool (from The White
Company), linen, cotton and raffia
cushions creates subtle textural
contrasts. The cohesive wooden
panelling adds an earthy warmth
to the lofty proportions

ADAPTED FROM Create: At Home

with Old & New by Ali Heath
(Mitchell Beazley, £30).
Photographs by Alun Callender
 WELLBEING

Concoct a spritz to soothe

sunburn or stir up a salve
to relieve itchy bites using
ingredients from the
kitchen cupboard
WORDS BY LIZZIE KING

For
SUMMER ALLERGIES
HAY FEVER NOSE BALM

This balm traps pollen before it enters the nose.

It’s free from side effects and makes skin softer, too.
Makes about 30ml
1 TBSP COCONUT OIL
1 TBSP BEESWAX PELLETS
4 DROPS OF LEMON ESSENTIAL OIL
3 DROPS OF LAVENDER ESSENTIAL OIL
In a heatproof bowl over boiling water, melt the
coconut oil and beeswax pellets. Remove from
the heat and stir in the oils. Pour into a jar while
still warm. Leave to cool and add the lid once
hardened. Apply to the nostrils when needed.
Storage Keep in an airtight jar for up to
three months.
Dose Use enough to rub onto the outside of
the nostrils as often as needed.

countryliving.com/uk AUGUST 2023 135

WELLBEING

For
SUNBURN &
HEAT RELIEF
AFTER-SUN SOOTHING SPRITZ

This hydrating mist includes aloe vera

and camomile to reduce redness and ease
inflammation of sunburnt and thirsty skin.
Makes about 250ml

2 TSP DRIED CAMOMILE

200ML BOILING WATER
3 TBSP ALOE VERA GEL
5 DROPS OF LAVENDER ESSENTIAL OIL

Add the camomile to the boiling water

and leave to steep for ten minutes. Drain
and reserve the liquid, leaving it to cool fully.
Combine all the ingredients and use a spray
bottle to mist over the skin as needed.
Storage Keeps fresh for up to one month.
Dose Apply liberally.

For
BRUISES &
GRAZES
VINEGAR AND BROWN PAPER POULTICE
BRUISE AND SPRAIN RELIEF

This is a great alternative to ice or arnica. The

acidic vinegar increases the blood supply to
the surface of the skin, bringing down swellings
and helping bruises dissipate.
Makes about 350ml
120ML APPLE CIDER VINEGAR
250ML WARM WATER
STRIPS OF STURDY BROWN PAPER OR CLOTH,
SIZED ACCORDING TO THE WOUND
Mix the apple cider vinegar and warm water
together in a large bowl or bucket and soak each
strip of paper or cloth in it. Apply to the wounded
area, then wrap with a dry cloth. Leave on for
30 minutes, then wipe the area with clean water.
Storage Make fresh as required.
Dose Repeat twice a day until the swelling
and bruising have gone down.

136 AUGUST 2023 countryliving.com/uk

WELLBEING

For
If itchy HYDRATION &
RELAXATION
insect bites AVOCADO CREAM HYDRATION MASK

spoil your Rich and nourishing, this calming face mask

is suitable for all. The vitamin A (retinol) in the

holidays, avocado can clear pores and reduce redness,

while lecithin, a fatty acid, restores hydration.
Makes 1 application
lemon balm 1 RIPE AVOCADO

salve is a 1 TSP RAW HONEY

1 TSP LEMON JUICE
1 TBSP AVOCADO OIL (OPTIONAL)
saviour 1 TBSP PLAIN YOGURT (OPTIONAL)

Scoop the avocado flesh into a bowl and mix

until smooth. Mix in the other ingredients,
including avocado oil for particularly thirsty
skin or yogurt for extra calming. Smooth onto
the face and neck and leave for ten minutes.
Rinse off with water and pat dry with a towel.
Storage Use fresh as required.
Dose Use once a week as required.

For
BITES & MITES

WHILE THESE RECIPES HAVE BEEN EXHAUSTIVELY TESTED, PEOPLE WITH SKIN ALLERGIES OR VERY SENSITIVE
LEMON BALM SALVE

SKIN SHOULD PATCH-TEST PRODUCTS TO CHECK FOR A REACTION. PHOTOGRAPHS BY GETTY IMAGES
If itchy insect bites spoil your holidays, this
lotion is a saviour. Lemon balm, a natural
antihistamine, should relieve any discomfort.
Makes about 300ml in three batches

3 TBSP FINELY CHOPPED LEMON BALM LEAVES

300ML WITCH HAZEL (OR CLEAR ALCOHOL)
6 DROPS OF LAVENDER ESSENTIAL OIL
6 DROPS OF CITRONELLA ESSENTIAL OIL WATER

Place the lemon balm leaves in a glass jar and

pour over the witch hazel. Screw on the lid
tightly and leave in a dark place for 1-2 weeks.
Drain off and discard the leaves. Pour 100ml
of the witch hazel into a 200ml spray bottle,
then add two drops of each of the essential oils
EXTRACTED and fill up the bottle with water. Shake well to
FROM Restore: mix. Reserve the remaining lemon balm-infused
Ancient Remedies witch hazel and the remaining oils to make
from the Modern two more batches.
Kitchen by Lizzie
King (OH Editions, Storage Stays fresh for up to three months.
£16.99). Dose Spray as needed.

138 AUGUST 2023 countryliving.com/uk

Prima is like sitting down for a chat with your best friend and every issue is packed with tricks and clever
ideas. With a subscription to Prima, you can enjoy dozens of delicious recipes, gorgeous fashion and
beauty tips, craft inspiration and family advice. Get your first six issues for just £6 in our exclusive hot
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PER ISSUE
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+ SIX FREE Wonder of Nature

PRIMA Your bucket list of

PATTERNS! BRITAIN’S
NATURAL Ms Lyon – Prima subscriber
WONDERS
David Attenborough’s recent series
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travel far to see amazing wildlife.
Here are five must-see National Trust
destinations

EASY WAYS TO SUBSCRIBE

Visit hearstmagazines.co.uk/pr-mag
Call 01858 438419 ‡ and quote 1PR12438
Scan the QR code on the right
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 GLOBAL SUPERSTARS At this time of
The sculptural buds of globe artichokes are looking their best in veg year, it seems as if
patches and farmers’ markets right now, but it’s the leaves that are the most of Scotland
star ingredient in this bodycare range by L’Occitane. Artichoke extract
is covered in
promotes circulation in the skin, keeping it supple and smooth. I can’t
get enough of the L’Occitane Artichoke Warming Body Scrub (£42, purplish-pink
uk.loccitane.com) and Artichoke Massage Cream (£49). flowers. Jo
Malone London
Highland
Heather Cologne
takes this plant
as its inspiration
for a wonderfully
F O R M I N D & B O DY fresh, woody scent
Feelgood tips and advice from our health (£58/30ml,
and beauty editor Kate Langrish jomalone.co.uk).

Hands up for happiness

PHOTOGRAPHS BY GETTY IMAGES. *RESEARCH BY THE UK CENTRE FOR ECOLOGY & HYDROLOGY, THE UNIVERSITY OF DERBY

I’ll be keeping a close eye on the buddleia for 15 minutes this

AND THE BRITISH SCIENCE ASSOCIATION, FEBRUARY 2023. **REPORTED BY ANGLIA RUSKIN UNIVERSITY, MARCH 2023

month as I take part in the Big Butterfly Count (14 July-6 August,
bigbutterflycount.butterfly-conservation.org). I hope, of course,
to do my bit for science, but a new study suggests it could also
make me happier*. Researchers found that all 500 volunteers
involved in the project felt better and more connected to nature
after taking part in a citizen science project. Some reported that
it allowed them to slow down. Others said that it showed them
that even small things can really improve their mood.

Shelf help
Balmy summer evenings are perfect for
‘moonbathing’ – taking a moonlit walk
to calm the mind before bed, according
to Danielle North, author of Walking
Meditations (Aster, £12.99). It’s one of
many meditations in this book, each
bringing mindfulness to your walks.
There are meditations for short strolls
or longer hikes, as well as for particular
intentions, from tranquillity to strength.

Watch a local cricket match. Going to a live sports

event – whether it’s at Lords or on the village green
– can reduce feelings of loneliness**.
countryliving.com/uk AUGUST 2023 141
FOOD & DRINK

PHOTOGRAPHS BY KRISTIN PERERS

From her coastal kitchens in Cornwall,

Emily Scott has cooked for royalty and
world leaders. Here, the celebrated
chef and restaurateur shares recipes
inspired by the fruits of the sea

142 AUGUST 2023 countryliving.com/uk

CORNISH CRAB SANDWICH
Just thinking about this iconic sandwich immediately SALTED BUTTER, SOFTENED CORNISH SEA SALT AND
transports me to a bench in Port Isaac, looking out to the A HANDFUL OF ROCKET FRESHLY GROUND BLACK
open water through the harbour wall, with the scents of the JUICE OF 1 LEMON PEPPER
sea in the air, lobster and crab pots stacked high and seagulls
screaming overhead. I think a crab sandwich should be kept 1 Check for any bits of shell by sorting through the crab meat
simple – let the fresh crab do the talking. No brown meat for by hand.
me, simple white meat with mayonnaise to bring it together. 2 Place the picked white crab meat and mayonnaise in a bowl,
add a pinch of sea salt and a grind or two of black pepper, and
MAKES 2 mix together.
3 Butter the bread and add the rocket, then spoon on the crab
100G CORNISH WHITE 2 TBSP MAYONNAISE
mixture. Add a squeeze of lemon juice and sandwich together.
CRAB MEAT 4 SLICES OF GRANARY LOAF
POTTED SHRIMP
A very civilised thing, potted shrimps are in my view
a one-pot snack. Perfect as a quick lunch on the go or
for a picnic by the sea. All that’s needed is some good
bread and a knife to spread. Delicious.
Serves 4
200G UNSALTED BUTTER
350G BROWN SHRIMPS (MINIATURE SHRIMP)
JUICE OF 1 LEMON
A GRATING OF FRESH NUTMEG
1 TSP CAYENNE PEPPER
1 LARGE BAY LEAF, PLUS 4 SMALL BAY LEAVES TO GARNISH
1 Melt half of the butter in a medium pan, then stir in the
shrimps, lemon juice, nutmeg, cayenne pepper and the large
bay leaf and allow to cool.
2 Remove and discard the bay leaf. Divide the shrimp mixture
among four small ramekins and press down gently, ensuring an
equal measure of butter just submerges the shrimps.
3 Melt the remaining butter and clarify. Spoon the clarified
butter over the top of each ramekin to create a seal on top of
the shrimps and gently place a small bay leaf on the top of
each. Place in the refrigerator to cool and set. Remove 10-15
minutes before serving.
CORNISH MUSSELS, SMOKED BACON, CIDER, CLOTTED CREAM AND WILD GARLIC
For me, cooking with the ebb and flow of nature makes sense. CIABATTA, THICKLY SLICED, WILD GARLIC FLOWERS, TO
Cooking seasonally brings me such joy – new ingredients FOR TOASTING GARNISH (OPTIONAL)
appear and I am always so happy to see them. Wild garlic 1 GARLIC CLOVE, PEELED
is one of my favourites – so versatile and pungent, it appears
for a short time from early April and can be found in shady 1 Make sure the mussels are well cleaned, running the shells
woodlands (baby spinach is a perfect substitute here when under cold water. Discard any that are open. Heat the oil in a
wild garlic is not in season). Beautiful mussels, plump, sweet large, deep pan that has a lid over a medium heat. Fry the lardons
and salty, are particularly good in the months that contain until crispy, then remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
the letter R – September to April – although they are 2 Pour the cider into the pan, add the shallot, bay, thyme and
available all year round. peppercorns, and bring to a simmer. Tip in the mussels and
cook, with the lid on, for 4-5 minutes, giving the pan a good
Serves 4 shake to wake the mussels up and allow them to open.
3 Remove the lid and tip the mussels into a colander set over
1KG LIVE MUSSELS, CLEANED 227G CLOTTED CREAM
AND DEBEARDED (I USE RODDA’S)
a bowl to catch the delicious cider stock. Discard any mussels
that remain closed. Wipe out the pan and add the butter.
3 TBSP OLIVE OIL 4 TBSP CHOPPED TARRAGON
When melted, add the leek and sauté gently until softened.
6 RASHERS OF SMOKED 4 TBSP CHOPPED FLAT-LEAF
BACON, CUT INTO LARDONS PARSLEY
4 Strain the cooking liquor and add to the pan, then cook until
reduced by half. Add the clotted cream and simmer for 1-2
200ML CORNISH CIDER 150G WILD GARLIC OR
BABY SPINACH
minutes, then add half of the cooked lardons and half of the
1 SHALLOT, HALVED
tarragon and parsley. Stir gently and check for seasoning.
1 BAY LEAF CORNISH SEA SALT AND
FRESHLY GROUND BLACK
Add the mussels back to the pan, along with the wild garlic
1 SMALL BUNCH OF THYME
PEPPER, TO TASTE or spinach, and allow to wilt. Meanwhile, toast the bread
4 BLACK PEPPERCORNS
and rub each slice with the garlic clove.
30G UNSALTED BUTTER
5 Ladle the mussels into warm bowls or one big serving bowl.
1 MEDIUM LEEK, TRIMMED TO SERVE
AND THINLY SLICED
Finish off with the remaining bacon lardons, tarragon, parsley
SOURDOUGH LOAF OR
and wild garlic flowers (if using). Eat!

countryliving.com/uk AUGUST 2023 145

FOOD & DRINK

ANYA POTATO, HALLOUMI,

TOMATO, CHILLI & HONEY
ROSEMARY SKEWERS
In my first book, Sea & Shore, I had a
monkfish version of this recipe – the best
stack of flavours cooked over fire. Anya
potatoes are my favourite to use in this
vegetable-based variation, but any waxy
small new potato will do. The rosemary
skewers add a lovely depth of flavour.

Serves 6

750G ANYA POTATOES (OR OTHER

SMALL NEW POTATOES), HALVED
200G CHERRY TOMATOES,
HALVED CROSSWAYS
2 X 250G PACKS OF HALLOUMI,
CUT INTO 2CM SQUARES
4 TBSP RUNNY HONEY
4 TBSP GOOD OLIVE OIL, PLUS
EXTRA FOR DRIZZLING
2½ TSP CHILLI (HOT PEPPER) FLAKES
ZEST AND JUICE OF 1 LEMON
12 LONG WOODY STALKS OF FRESH
ROSEMARY, PLUS EXTRA LEAVES TO SERVE
CORNISH SEA SALT AND FRESHLY GROUND
BLACK PEPPER
LEMON WEDGES, TO SERVE

1 Fire up the barbecue while you prepare

your ingredients. Parboil the potatoes in a
pan of boiling water until partially cooked
and still holding their shape, then drain well.
2 Place the part-cooked new potatoes,
tomatoes, halloumi, honey, olive oil, chilli
flakes, lemon zest and juice, and a good
pinch each of sea salt and black pepper in
a large bowl. Toss to combine and leave
to marinate for 10-15 minutes.
3 Thread the marinated ingredients
alternately onto the woody rosemary
skewers, allowing 2-3 pieces of each
ingredient on each skewer (depending
on the length of your skewers). Barbecue
the skewers on all sides, keeping them
moving for 5-6 minutes, until caramelised.
4 Drizzle with more olive oil and any
remaining marinade, and sprinkle with
sea salt and extra rosemary leaves. Lay the
halloumi skewers on a warm serving dish
and serve with the lemon wedges. I also
like this with miso-buttered corn on the
cob (see recipe opposite).

146 AUGUST 2023 countryliving.com/uk

CORN ON THE COB, CHILLI, MISO BUTTER
I love corn on the cob. Here, I keep the husk on and rub the 1 Fire up the barbecue or preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan
corn with olive oil and sea salt, cook it over coals and then oven) gas mark 6 while you prepare your ingredients. Place the
drown it in a delicious butter of white miso, chilli, lime juice corn into a deep baking tray, pull back some of the husks to
and zest, finishing with fresh coriander. The miso butter is expose the corn and rub with the olive oil, then season well
so delicious and totally life-enhancing. with sea salt. Replace the husks.
2 Cook over the coals for 15 minutes or in the hot oven, until
Serves 4 gently charred and cooked through. Meanwhile, place the butter,
miso paste, chilli flakes, lime zest and juice, and a pinch each of
4 WHOLE CORN ON THE COB, ZEST AND JUICE OF 2 LIMES
HUSKS ON
sea salt and black pepper in a food processor; blitz until smooth.
CORNISH SEA SALT
3 Fold in most of the roughly chopped coriander, reserving
4 TBSP OLIVE OIL AND FRESHLY GROUND
BLACK PEPPER
a little for garnish. Melt the miso butter gently in a pan, pull
250G UNSALTED BUTTER,
SOFTENED
back the husks once again, then pour the hot butter over the
1 SMALL BUNCH OF FRESH
1 TBSP WHITE MISO PASTE CORIANDER, LEAVES
cooked corn. Serve sprinkled with extra chilli flakes and the
ROUGHLY CHOPPED reserved coriander.
2 TSP CHILLI (HOT PEPPER)
FLAKES, PLUS EXTRA
FOOD & DRINK

CORNISH WRECKER
This is the cocktail we served at the G7 summit in the 2 HANDFULS OF GORSE 2 DROPS OF NATURAL
summer of 2021, at the Eden Project, to Her Majesty FLOWERS COCONUT FLAVOURING
Queen Elizabeth and distinguished guests. Cornwall
in a glass. What an adventure. 1 First, make the gorse-flower syrup. In a saucepan, heat
the water, sugar, gorse flowers and coconut flavouring over
Makes 1 a very low heat for about 30 minutes until the sugar has
dissolved, the flowers have wilted and the syrup has
50ML WRECKING COAST TO FINISH
CLOTTED CREAM GIN (OR
changed to a gentle yellow colour.
SODA WATER
YOUR FAVOURITE GIN)
2 Remove from the heat and leave to infuse and cool for at
1 LEMON TWIST (OR SLICE)
EDIBLE FLOWERS
least 6 hours or overnight. Use as required. To make the
12.5ML COCONUT RUM
(I USE BORAGE)
cocktail, shake all the ingredients, except the soda water and
1½ TBSP LEMON JUICE
garnish, together in an ice-filled cocktail shaker until cold.
1½ TBSP GORSE FLOWER GORSE-FLOWER SYRUP
3 Pour over ice and top up with soda water. Add a lemon
SYRUP (SEE RIGHT) 100ML WATER
twist and a borage flower to garnish.
ICE CUBES 200G CASTER SUGAR

EXTRACTED FROM Time & Tide by

Emily Scott (Hardie Grant, £28).

148 AUGUST 2023 countryliving.com/uk

 TREASURES FROM

TWO MAGPIES
In the seaside town of Southwold, the award-winning
Two Magpies Bakery creates next-level breads, cakes and
pastries. Here are some of the bakers’ favourite recipes
PHOTOGRAPHS BY INDIA HOBSON
 FOOD & DRINK

earching for somewhere to open a bakery, Rebecca Bishop came across

an Edwardian glass-fronted shop that had seen better days in Suffolk’s
Southwold. This was just the beginning for the much-loved Two Magpies
Bakery, which has since expanded to include a bakery and bake school
in Darsham and cafés in Aldeburgh, Norwich, Blakeney, Holt, Woodbridge
and Beccles. And as it has grown, so has the nation’s appetite for food
crafted with provenance in mind. “Baking from scratch and working
with local suppliers who share our ethos is key to our success,” Rebecca says. “We buy most
of our flour from Marriage’s Millers in Essex, buttermilk for our soda bread from Fen Farm
Dairy and organic rye flour from Maple Farm, Kelsale. We’re proud of what we do and want
to share our recipes so the world can see how we do it.” To misquote the nursery rhyme, the
story of Two Magpies is a secret that definitely should be told.

CARDAMOM BUNS WITH REDCURRANTS, RASPBERRY, ROSE AND PISTACHIO

These tasty morning buns use our cardamom dough base 4 Once the buns are cool, mix the icing sugar with rose water and
recipe. Source the greenest pistachios you can find – their enough cold water to make a thick water icing. Use a teaspoon to
colour looks stunning with juicy red summer berries. drip the icing around the rim of each bun, then sprinkle with the
pistachios and the remaining raspberries.
Preparation 1 hour plus proving Baking 12-15 minutes Makes 10
TO MAKE THE CARDAMOM 8G FINE SEA SALT
1 X CARDAMOM DOUGH EGG WASH DOUGH 75G COLD UNSALTED
(SEE RIGHT) 200G ICING SUGAR 450G STRONG WHITE BUTTER, CUBED
380ML VANILLA CUSTARD 1 TBSP ROSE WATER BREAD FLOUR 260G FULL-FAT MILK
250G RASPBERRIES 100G PISTACHIO NUTS, 80G ICING SUGAR 7G ACTIVE DRIED YEAST
125G REDCURRANTS FINELY CHOPPED 12G GROUND CARDAMOM

1 Make the cardamom dough and prove for 1 hour with stretch
and folds at 20 and 40 minutes. Divide into 10 x 50g pieces. Shape
each piece of dough into a loose boule and place it onto a baking
tray lined with baking parchment, leaving space for the buns to
expand as they prove.
2 Prove the buns for 1-2 hours until light and puffy. Preheat the
oven to 195°C (175°C fan oven) gas mark 5-6. Just before baking,
use two fingers to depress the dough in the centre of each bun,
creating a flat area about 5cm in diameter. Fill with cold custard,
then top with half the raspberries and all the redcurrants.
3 Egg wash the edges of the dough and bake the buns for 12-15
minutes until golden brown, turning the tray after 10 minutes.
1 Weigh the flour, icing sugar, cardamom and salt into a large
bowl and mix to combine. Rub the cubed butter into the flour
mix until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Warm the milk to
26°C, add the yeast and stir to dissolve.
2 Add this liquid to the dry mix and bring the dough together
using your scraper until all the dry matter is incorporated.
3 Allow the dough to rest in the bowl, covered, for 20 minutes,
then turn out onto the counter and knead for 5 minutes until
you have a smooth, elastic dough. Place the dough back in the
bowl, cover and prove for 1 hour, stretching and folding after
20 and 40 minutes. Maintain the dough temperature at 26°C
until ready to use.

countryliving.com/uk AUGUST 2023 151

RASPBERRY ROSE LOVEHEARTS
Drizzled with chocolate and decorated with rose petals, of lined baking trays with space in between. Re-roll any offcuts,
these jam-filled cookies will make beautiful gifts for removing excess flour and gently pressing the dough together
your loved ones. (over-kneading makes them tough). Bake for 8-10 minutes,
checking the cookies and turning the trays after 7 minutes. The
Preparation 30 minutes Cooking 8-10 minutes Makes 14 colour should still be pale and move slightly if pushed with your
finger. Allow to cool completely on the trays, then turn half over.
340G UNSALTED BUTTER 1 TBSP WATER 4 Place the jam in a small pan with the water. Bring to the boil
270G CASTER SUGAR 1 TBSP ROSE WATER and simmer for a few minutes until thick, then stir in the rose
½ TSP FINE TABLE SALT 100G WHITE CHOCOLATE, water. Remove from the heat and place a dollop on the turned-
1 TSP VANILLA ESSENCE ROUGHLY CHOPPED over cookies. Leave to cool for 2 minutes, then press the other
2 EGGS 10 FREEZE-DRIED RASPBERRIES cookies on top.
670G PLAIN FLOUR, SIEVED 10 DRIED ROSE PETALS 5 Place the chocolate in a small heatproof bowl that will fit over
200G RASPBERRY VANILLA JAM the top of a saucepan. Fill the pan with a small amount of water
(SEE OVERLEAF) (making sure it won’t touch the bottom of the bowl) and place
the bowl of chocolate on top. Bring the water to a gentle simmer,
1 Preheat the oven to 190°C (170°C fan oven) gas mark 5. allowing the chocolate to gradually melt, stirring every few
2 Place the butter, sugar, salt and vanilla in a bowl or a stand minutes. White chocolate can go grainy easily, so make sure there
mixer. Gently beat until creamed but not airy. Crack the eggs is no contact with water or steam. Remove from the heat while
into a bowl and whisk lightly with a fork before gradually there are still some unmelted pieces and continue to stir.
adding, taking care not to incorporate too much air. Lastly, add 6 Use a piping bag or piece of baking parchment to make a small
the flour in three additions, gently beating until a dough forms. piping bag. Pipe lines of chocolate onto the cookies (or use a
3 Tip the dough onto the counter and knead very briefly to make teaspoon to drizzle), then sprinkle on the raspberries and petals
a block. Flour the counter and your rolling pin and take the dough while the chocolate is still melted. Set before serving. The cookies
down to 3mm thick. Cut out the heart shapes and lay on a couple will keep in an airtight tin for up to 3 days.

152 AUGUST 2023

 FOOD & DRINK

CHOCOLATE AMARETTO TART

The perfect bake-ahead dessert, this is ideal
served with a dollop of crème fraîche and
a small glass of amaretto.

Preparation 1 hour plus chilling and setting

Cooking 30-35 minutes Serves 6-10

½ RECIPE (APPROX 380G) 120G UNSALTED BUTTER

CHOCOLATE SWEET PASTRY 35G CASTER SUGAR
(SEE PAGE 156): REPLACE 20G 1 EGG
OF THE FLOUR WITH 20G 1 EGG YOLK
COCOA POWDER 80ML AMARETTO LIQUEUR
1 EGG ½ TSP ALMOND ESSENCE
FOR THE FILLING TO DECORATE
180G DARK CHOCOLATE, 30G FLAKED ALMONDS
CHOPPED ICING SUGAR

1 Grease a tart tin and line the base with a disc of baking
parchment. Lightly flour the counter and your rolling pin
and roll the chilled pastry out to approximately 3-5mm thick,
making quarter turns as you roll, until it’s about 5cm wider
than the base of the tin. Using your rolling pin, lift and gently
lay the pastry over the tin with an even overhang. Working your
way round, use one hand to lift and support the pastry while
pressing downwards on the inner edge with your other hand.
This ensures the pastry isn’t stretched and won’t shrink back
when you bake. Use a rolling pin across the edge of the tin to
cut off excess pastry, prick the base with a fork and refrigerate
for at least 30 minutes (or 10 minutes in the freezer).
2 Preheat the oven to 210°C (190°C fan oven) gas mark 6-7.
3 Line the pastry case with cling film or baking paper, draping it
over the edges. Fill with baking beans and bake for 25 minutes,
then remove from the oven. Lift out the plastic/paper and beans
and allow to cool slightly. Beat the egg, brush over the pastry
base, then place back in the oven for 5 minutes until crisp.
4 Reduce the oven temperature to 190°C (170°C fan oven)
gas mark 5.
5 Make a bain-marie with a heatproof bowl slightly larger
than the saucepan. Fill the pan with an inch of water and place
over a medium heat. Place the chocolate and butter in the bowl
and set on top of the saucepan, so it doesn’t touch the water.
Alternatively, use a microwave on full power in 30-second
bursts. Remove before the chocolate is fully melted, then stir.
6 In a stand mixer or using electric beaters, whisk the sugar,
egg and yolk together until pale and thick, then fold the
chocolate mix into the egg mix, followed by the amaretto
and almond essence.
7 Fill the case with the batter and sprinkle the almonds over
the surface. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the tart has risen
very slightly with a firm wobble. Cool, then chill the tart
before serving with a sprinkle of icing sugar.

countryliving.com/uk AUGUST 2023 153

SUMMER BERRY FRIANDS
These fruity little almond cakes with a dollop of homemade
jam in the centre are a great afternoon pick-me-up and a
long-standing favourite with our customers. Choose seasonal
fruit such as sharp summer berries, juicy plums or autumnal
figs and blackberries. This recipe also works well with gluten-
free flour. Make the friand mix a couple of hours ahead (or even
the day before) to allow the ground almonds to absorb the liquid
egg white and melted butter – the firm batter will rise more evenly.
Preparation 30 minutes, plus resting Cooking 20-25 minutes
Makes 10
5 Bake for 20-25 minutes, turning the moulds after 15 minutes.
Use a skewer to check the cakes – it should come out clean. Cool
for 5 minutes before removing from the moulds and cooling.
6 Warm the sieved apricot jam and brush over the top of each
cake, then sprinkle with the chopped pistachio nuts.
TO MAKE THE RASPBERRY VANILLA JAM
500G RASPBERRIES
1 VANILLA POD
400G GRANULATED SUGAR
JUICE OF ½ LEMON

130G UNSALTED BUTTER 1 Pick over the raspberries to check for quality, but don’t wash
160G CASTER SUGAR them. Use a sharp knife to split the vanilla pod in half lengthways
80G GROUND ALMONDS and scrape out the seeds into a heavy-based pan.
50G PLAIN (OR GLUTEN-FREE) FLOUR 2 Add the raspberries, sugar and lemon juice. Chop the scraped
130G EGG WHITES vanilla pod into quarters and add these. Bring this mixture to
150G SEASONAL BERRIES (OR STONE FRUITS, FIGS, a brief simmer, then remove from the heat, cover and leave to
RHUBARB, CHOPPED) macerate overnight.
100G RASPBERRY VANILLA JAM (SEE RIGHT) 3 The next day, place a small plate in your fridge to chill. Bring the
50G APRICOT JAM, SIEVED fruit to the boil, stirring regularly to eliminate hot spots. Skim the
50G PISTACHIOS, ROUGHLY CHOPPED surface as required with a slotted spoon and continue to boil for
5-10 minutes until the temperature reaches 105°C. Check the set
1 Brown the butter by bringing it to the boil in a pan. Allow it to using the wrinkle test, then remove from the heat and ladle into
bubble fiercely for 5-8 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan warmed sterilised jam jars, adding a piece of vanilla pod to each
with a spatula regularly. When the butter starts to smell sweet jar and tapping them slightly on the counter to ensure there are
and nutty, and the boiling foam rises up in the pan, pour the no air gaps, then seal and lid.
hot liquid (including the brown flecks and scrapings from the
bottom of the pan) into a heatproof bowl. Allow the butter to
cool, stirring occasionally as it firms up.
2 Weigh the sugar, almonds and flour into a bowl and whisk until
combined. Still using the whisk, gradually add the egg whites,
then the cooled browned butter in three stages until absorbed
and no longer oily-looking. Cover the mix and leave to rest for
a couple of hours or in the fridge overnight.
3 Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan) gas mark 4.
4 Grease a mini cake moulds or muffin tin. Place half the
fruit at the bottom of the moulds, then pipe or scoop your friand
mix to come a third of the way up the sides. Use a small spoon
to place the jam into the middle of each cake before topping
with a dollop of the remaining batter. Your moulds will be
about two-thirds full. Decorate with more fruit on top.
 FOOD & DRINK

PEAR, SAGE AND ALMOND CAKE

This recipe is endlessly adaptable. Choose whatever fruit 1 Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan oven) gas mark 6. Grease
looks irresistible in your greengrocers and pair it with fresh and line a 23cm x 23cm x 5cm square baking tin.
herbs or spices. We love shocking pink rhubarb with ginger 2 For the base, beat the butter and sugar on slow speed until
in springtime and peaches, raspberries and fennel in summer. softened but not aerated. Add the flour, semolina and salt, then
It would also be great with gooseberries and elderflower, continue beating on slow until it comes together. Don’t over mix.
plums, blackberries and star anise… I could go on. Folding Press the shortbread into the tin, smoothing down, then prick
pastry cream into frangipane keeps everything light and all over with a fork. Bake for 20-25 minutes until pale golden
moist, while the shortbread base gives structure to each slice. brown and dry to the touch. Cool.
3 Make the frangipane by beating the sugar and butter together
Preparation 30 minutes Cooking 45-55 minutes Serves 12 until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until
fully incorporated. Add the vanilla. Weigh the plain flour,
FOR THE BASE LAYER ½ TSP BAKING POWDER almonds and baking powder into a bowl and whisk to combine,
150G SOFT UNSALTED BUTTER 10G FRESH SAGE, CHOPPED then add to the egg mix and beat briefly on slow speed to
75G LIGHT BROWN SUGAR 190G VANILLA CUSTARD, combine. Add the sage, then fold the chilled custard into the
150G PLAIN FLOUR CHILLED frangipane in three additions.
50G SEMOLINA OR RICE FOR THE FRUIT LAYER 4 Spread the frangipane over the shortbread base. Slice the pears
FLOUR, FINELY GROUND 3 CONFERENCE PEARS, PEELED in half from tip to base, then again into quarters. Remove the core
¼ TSP FINE SEA SALT UNSALTED BUTTER, FOR and slice into eighths. Lay the pears onto the frangipane, brush
FOR THE FRANGIPANE LAYER BRUSHING lightly with a little melted butter, then sprinkle over a little icing
135G LIGHT BROWN SUGAR ICING SUGAR, FOR SPRINKLING sugar and the salt. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the pears are
135G SOFT UNSALTED BUTTER ¼ TSP FLAKY SEA SALT lightly caramelised and the frangipane is golden brown, turning
2 EGGS TO FINISH the tin after 15 minutes.
1 TSP VANILLA PASTE 2 TBSP SALTED CARAMEL SAUCE 5 Leave to cool in the tin before removing, then warm the caramel
50G PLAIN FLOUR FRESH SAGE LEAVES sauce and drizzle over. Sprinkle with the sage leaves, lightly fried
135G GROUND ALMONDS 10G UNSALTED BUTTER in the butter to crisp up. Serve with a dollop of crème fraîche.

countryliving.com/uk AUGUST 2023 155

FOOD & DRINK
LUSCIOUS LEMON TART
Finished with luscious berries, this popular option from
our celebration cake range makes a lovely centrepiece
on a summer table.
Preparation 1 hour plus chilling and setting
Cooking 30 minutes Serves 6-10
½ RECIPE SWEET PASTRY 3 SMALL GELATINE LEAVES
(SEE RIGHT) OR 1 TSP AGAR AGAR
4 EGGS POWDER (VEGETARIAN)
190ML LEMON JUICE TO DECORATE
190G CASTER SUGAR MERINGUE KISSES
3 EGG YOLKS CANDIED LEMON PEEL
190G UNSALTED BUTTER, FRESH BERRIES AND
CUBED REDCURRANTS
1 Grease the tart tin and line the base with baking
parchment. Lightly flour the counter and your rolling pin
and roll the chilled pastry out to 3-5mm thick, making
quarter turns as you roll, until it’s about 5cm wider than
the base of the tin. Using your rolling pin, lift and gently
lay the pastry over the tin with an even overhang. Working
your way round, use one hand to lift and support the pastry
while pressing downwards on the inner edge with your
other hand. This ensures it won’t shrink back when baked.
Use a rolling pin across the edge of the tin to cut off excess
pastry, prick the base with a fork and refrigerate for at
least 30 minutes (or 10 minutes in the freezer).
2 Preheat the oven to 210°C (190°C fan oven) gas mark 6-7.
3 Line the chilled pastry case with cling film or baking
parchment, draping it over the edges of the tin. Fill with
baking beans and bake for 25 minutes, then remove from
the oven. Lift out the plastic/paper and beans and allow
to cool slightly. Beat one egg lightly, brush over the pastry
base, then place back in the oven for 5 minutes until crisp.
156 AUGUST 2023
4 Make a bain-marie by selecting a heatproof bowl slightly
larger than your saucepan. Fill the pan with an inch of
water and place over a medium heat. Place the lemon juice,
sugar, remaining whole eggs, egg yolks and cubed butter
in the bowl and set it on top of the pan, so that it doesn’t
touch the water.
5 If you’re using the agar agar powder, add that now, too.
Heat gently, stirring, until the curd is thick enough to
coat the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat.
6 If using gelatine, soak in cold water for 5 minutes, then
wring out to remove excess water. Stir the gelatine into
the hot lemon mix until dissolved.
7 Pour the lemon curd into the case and refrigerate for
2 hours to set. Decorate with meringue kisses, candied
peel and berries.
TO MAKE THE SWEET 180G COLD UNSALTED
PASTRY BUTTER
380G PLAIN FLOUR 40G WATER
120G ICING SUGAR 2 EGG YOLKS
1 Sieve the flour into a bowl or onto a counter with the
sugar and a pinch of fine sea salt. Chop the cold butter
into 1cm cubes and add. Use your fingertips or a dough
scraper to rub the butter into the flour mix until it
resembles fine breadcrumbs.
2 In a small bowl, whisk the water and the egg yolks
together, then add this gradually to the flour mix. Bring
it all together with your hands and stop mixing as soon
as it starts to form a ball.
3 Briefly knead the dough and push it into
a block no more than 2cm deep. Wrap it
and chill in the fridge before using.
EXTRACTED FROM Two Magpies Bakery by
Rebecca Bishop (Headline Home, £26).
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 SAIL FROM
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Island hop in the YOUR ITINERARY

UNTOUCHED HEBRIDES DAY 1 Glasgow, board MS Spitsbergen
DAY 2 Isle of Arran DAY 3 Islay
DAY 4 Isle of Gigha DAY 5 Isle of Iona
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DAY 7 Stornoway and Shiant Isles
including the ‘whisky island’ of Islay and
DAY 8 Loch Scavaig and Isle
the famous Isle of Mull of Eigg DAY 9 Sound of Mull
DAY 10 Isle of Colonsay
Meet St Kilda’s DAY 11 Glasgow, disembark
feathered
residents
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THE BEST OF THE HEBRIDES YOU’LL GET THE CHANCE TO…
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You’ll also learn the history of ancient with breakfast, ŒExplore the
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lochs and Viking settlements. beverages with Isle of Gigha

F
rom deserted beaches to
dramatic lochs and lofty
mountains, the wild beauty of
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is incredible to experience. On
this 11-day cruise of the Scottish islands,
you will take in the fantastic scenery as
you hop from isle to isle.
Starting in Glasgow, you will board the
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you to the Isle of Mull, and the capital
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haven Arran, the ‘whisky island’ Islay,
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a UNESCO World Heritage Site, you
might get the chance to see minke
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MS Spitsbergen has a range of island scenery and on St Kilda and the
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On Islay, once the seat of the MacDonald ŒVisit Loch Coruisk, excursions
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TO BOOK Call 020 8131 8421,
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For more details and the full
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*From price is per person, based on two people sharing a lead-in
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Price and itinerary correct at time of print but may be subject to
change. Single supplement applies. Deposit 20%. Local charges
such as tourist tax may apply. Travel insurance is not included but
required for most of our trips, and should be taken out at time of
booking. This holiday may be sold through other selected brands.
Images used may not reflect your actual tour experience. Tour is
operated by and subject to the booking conditions of Hurtigruten
(ABTA-bonded and all trips are ATOL-protected) and TS Travel Ltd
(ATOL bonded).

DISCOVER MORE exceptional tours and cruises

 AUTUMN
DATES ADDED
FOR THIS HOLIDAYS
POPULAR
BREAK E XC LU S I V E TO U R
The Winnock Hotel is
a special place to stay

Visit Inveraray
Castle on the shores
of Loch Fyne

Enjoy Scotland’s
GREATEST RAIL JOURNEY YOUR ITINERARY
DAY 1 Arrive in Edinburgh; the Falkirk

with CAROL KIRKWOOD Wheel; Carol Kirkwood talk DAY 2

Journey on The Jacobite with Carol
DAY 3 Northern Highlights Cruise on
Loch Lomond and Inveraray Castle
Steam through the Highlands on the DAY 4 Cruise on Loch Katrine
famous Jacobite train on this exclusive YOU’LL GET THE CHANCE TO…
break with the popular weather presenter ŒTravel on The fascinating
Jacobite from Northern
Fort William to Highlights Cruise
MEET YOUR SPECIAL GUEST Mallaig with Carol ŒVisit Inveraray
Joining you in her native Scotland will be meteorologist ŒTake part in an Castle
and weather presenter Carol Kirkwood, who trained exclusive talk ŒEnjoy comfortable
with the Met Office, and has been presenting weather and Q&A session coach travel
forecasts for more than 20 years. with Carol ALSO INCLUDED

T
here’s nowhere more
atmospheric for romantic
steam train travel than the
Scottish Highlands. On this
four-day break, you’ll ride
The Jacobite with proud Scotswoman
Carol Kirkwood.
Your 42-mile journey starts near
Britain’s highest mountain, Ben Nevis,
passes its deepest freshwater loch,
Loch Morar, and travels over the 21-arch
viaduct to arrive on the Atlantic shore
beside Loch Nevis. It’s no surprise that
Harry Potter was filmed using The
Jacobite as the Hogwarts Express.
You’ll pass through Morar, where Carol
grew up, and she’ll tell stories of the
Loch Morar monster, as well as her train
journey to school in Fort William. The
itinerary also includes three unique boat
rides: one on the Falkirk Wheel, another
on the tranquil waters of Loch Katrine,
and finally a cruise that follows the trail
of Rob Roy on Loch Lomond.
OUR TRAVEL PARTNER BRIGHTWATER HOLIDAYS is an award-winning tour
operator specialising in garden and special-interest escorted tours worldwide.
ŒStay for three Welcome drink
THE HIGHLIGHTS nights at the on arrival, return
three-star flights from London
MEET CAROL KIRKWOOD
Carol will talk about her career, love Winnock Hotel, Stansted to
of Scotland, Strictly Come Dancing Drymen on a Edinburgh,
experience and growing up in Morar. DB&B basis porterage, services
ŒRide on the of a Brightwater
THE FALKIRK WHEEL
The world’s first rotating boat lift will take Falkirk Wheel Holidays tour
you from the water at New Port Downie ŒGo on a manager
to the Union Canal 35 metres above. In THE PRICE From £1,495pp*
the 1930s, the Forth & Clyde and Union THE DATES 20-23 October 2023
Canals were linked by 11 locks that took TO BOOK Call 01334 441980,
almost a day for a boat to pass through. quoting CL SCOTLAND
Nowadays, the remarkable Falkirk Wheel, KIRKWOOD
opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 2002, For more details and the full
does the job in four minutes. itinerary, go to countryliving.
DISCOVER THE LOCHS com/uk/carolkirkwood
Enjoy a beautiful cruise on Loch Lomond CL recommends readers
and hear the story of Scotland’s CARBON OFFSET all flights.
celebrated outlaw, Rob Roy. You’ll also Find info at climatecare.org
sail the waters of Loch Katrine on the
*From price is per person, based on two people sharing a room,
Lady of the Lake. subject to availability. Price and itinerary correct at time of print but
may be subject to change. Single supplement £150. Deposit £250pp.
SCOTTISH HISTORY Local charges such as tourist tax may apply. £100pp discount without
You’ll visit Inveraray Castle, home of the flights. Flights from other airports and/or overnight accommodation
before/after the tour available on request and at a supplement. In
Duke of Argyll, chief of the Clan Campbell. the case of unforeseen circumstances, expert(s) may be substituted,
and any expert-led events may be subject to change. Expert(s) will
not join you for your full trip duration unless otherwise stated. Travel
insurance is not included but required for most of our overseas trips,
and should be taken out at time of booking. Images used may not
reflect your actual tour experience. This holiday may be sold through
other selected brands. Tour is operated by and subject to the booking
conditions of Brightwater Holidays (ATOL 4498).

to beautiful locations at countrylivingholidays.com

 Take a look around the Knot
Garden at Sudeley Castle
MEET OUR
FAVOURITE
TV FARMER HOLIDAYS
E XC LU S I V E TO U R

YOUR ITINERARY
DAY 1 Arrive in the Cotswolds
DAY 2 Sezincote and Batsford
Arboretum DAY 3 Cotswolds Farm
Park DAY 4 Painswick Rococo
Explore the Garden DAY 5 Sudeley Castle
and Gardens and depart

STUNNING COTSWOLDS YOU’LL GET THE CHANCE TO…

ŒVisit honey- Tour several of
Œ
stone villages the Cotswolds’
with ADAM HENSON such as
Broadway
glorious gardens,
including
and Chipping Sezincote
Tour quintessential English gardens and learn about Campden Gardens
Meet Adam
ΠTuck into a
Œ
farm life from the Countryfile presenter Henson at his quintessential

T
he tranquil rolling countryside
of Gloucestershire in the
Cotswolds is among the finest
in the UK. Well-loved for its
honey-stone houses, limestone
hills and ancient pubs, the Cotswolds
is a perfect example of picturesque
English countryside. On this exclusive
tour, you’ll explore this beautiful region
in all its glory.
You’ll enjoy visits to Batsford
Arboretum, Sezincote House and
Gardens and Painswick Rococo Garden.
There are also visits to two charming
properties on the itinerary, Sudeley Castle
and Gardens and Chedworth Roman Villa.
The highlight will be a special
welcome to the Cotswold Farm Park
from its charismatic owner, Adam
Henson. Adam was born on the
MEET YOUR SPECIAL GUEST
Adam Henson is possibly
the UK’s best-known farmer,
often presenting Countryfile
from his Cotswold Farm
Park. Adam took over from
his father in 1999 and
now welcomes more than
100,000 visitors a year to his farm, which
is home to herds of British rare breeds.
OUR TRAVEL PARTNER TS TOURS LTD specialises in bespoke and expert-led tours
and is working in partnership with Travel Editions, which was set up 28 years ago to
offer cultural short breaks and extended tours.
Cotswolds Farm afternoon tea in
650-hectare farm, which belonged to
Park, where Broadway at one
his father Joe Henson, and he now runs
you’ll enjoy of Britain’s most
it with his business partner Duncan.
a lunch with historic inns
Adam will join you for a private lunch
a private talk, Stay four nights
Œ
and give a talk about his conservation
a Q&A and an at Hilton Puckrup
work and sustainable farming as well
opportunity to Hall, Tewkesbury
as his role as a TV presenter. This trip
get your copy of ALSO INCLUDED
will also include an indulgent afternoon
his book signed Four breakfasts,
tea at the historic Lygon Arms Hotel
(book not two dinners,
in Broadway and free time to enjoy
included) one lunch and
Chipping Campden, one of the area’s
Explore Batsford an afternoon tea,
Œ
most delightful market towns.
Arboretum, room upgrades
home to one and additional
THE HIGHLIGHTS of the largest nights available
VISIT ADAM’S FARM private tree on request,
You’ll meet Adam Henson at his farm,
collections in coach transfers
where he’ll give a talk and answer your
the country and tour manager
questions about farm life.
BEAUTIFUL BATSFORD ARBORETUM THE PRICE From £1,095pp*
You’ll explore the magical Batsford THE DATES 20-24 September
Arboretum, which is home to trees 2023
and shrubs from all over the world. TO BOOK Call 0330 818 8895,
AFTERNOON TEA IN BROADWAY quoting CL HENSON AUG23
Enjoy a traditional afternoon tea in the For more details, the full itinerary
idyllic town of Broadway at one of the and TO BOOK ONLINE, go to
area’s most historic pubs. countryliving.com/uk/
THE COTSWOLDS’ BEST GARDENS adamhenson
Visit several of the Cotswolds’ most
*From price is per person, based on two people sharing a room,
beautiful gardens, including Painswick subject to availability. Price and itinerary correct at time of print
Rococo Garden, the Knot Garden at but may be subject to change. Single supplement £275. Deposit
£75pp. Local charges such as tourist tax may apply. In the case
Sudeley Castle and Sezincote. of unforeseen circumstances, expert(s) may be substituted and
any expert-led events may be subject to change. Expert(s) will
not join you for your full trip duration unless otherwise stated.
Travel insurance is not included. This holiday may be sold
through other selected brands. Images used may not reflect
your actual tour experience. Tour is operated by and subject
to the booking conditions of TS Travel Ltd and Travel Editions
Group Ltd (ABTA V3120).

DISCOVER MORE exceptional tours and cruises


Witness the breathtaking
beauty of the DOLOMITES
Stay in a charming lakeside hotel, ride magical
mountain railways and visit enchanting Lake Garda
Ride the Mendola
Mountain Funicular, one
of the steepest in Europe
W
ith their craggy peaks,
sheer cliffs and stunning
valleys, the Dolomites
are considered one of
Italy’s best-kept
secrets. Explore the magnificent
PHOTOGRAPHS BY ALAMY; GETTY IMAGES; SHUTTERSTOCK
mountains by train, cable car and
funicular railway on this nine-day tour.
You’ll stay on the shores of Lake
Molveno for seven nights at the
family-run Hotel Miralago – the ideal
base for historic rail journeys, castle
tours, guided walks and opportunities
to taste the region’s delicious wines.
Railways are the stars of this trip. You’ll
take one of the steepest funicular
railways in Europe to explore the
Mendola mountain ridge, as well as two
other memorable rail journeys. You’ll
also enjoy a boat trip across Lake Garda.
OUR TRAVEL PARTNER TS TOURS LTD specialises in bespoke and
expert-led tours and acts as agent for Leger Holidays Ltd.
to beautiful locations at countrylivingholidays.com
HOLIDAYS
READER OFFER
Visit Limone on the
shore of Lake Garda
THE HIGHLIGHTS
UNFORGETTABLE TRAIN TRIPS
Take in the scenery of the Dolomites
by train, including the Castle Train
and the historic Renon Railway.
INCREDIBLE VIEWS
Travel the Brenner Pass over the Alps to
Innsbruck and see scenic lakes between
Mezzolombardo and Caldes.
HISTORIC CASTLES
Glimpse the region’s iconic castles
from railway carriages, then explore
them further on guided tours.
FASCINATING LOCAL TOURS
Visit charming Italian cities, towns and
villages, including Madonna di Campiglio,
and go on tours in Trento and Bolzano.
DELICIOUS WINE TASTING
After a guided tour, sample the local
wines from a vineyard in Mezzacorona.
DISCOVER
ITALY’S BEST-KEPT
SECRET ON THIS
NINE-DAY
RAIL BREAK
YOUR ITINERARY
DAY 1 Train from London to Munich
DAY 2 Cross the Brenner Pass to Lake
Molveno DAY 3 Bolzano and Renon
Railway DAY 4 Lake Garda
DAY 5 The Castle Train DAY 6 Madonna
di Campiglio and Mendola Mountain
Funicular DAY 7 Trento DAY 8 Lake
Molveno DAY 9 Return to London
YOU’LL GET THE CHANCE TO…
ŒStay at Hotel
Miralago,
Garda to Limone
ŒSample local
Molveno, for wines in
seven nights on a Mezzacorona
half-board basis ŒExplore historic
ŒEnjoy one night castles, including
in a Munich hotel Buonconsiglio
on a B&B basis Castle
ŒAscend Renon ALSO INCLUDED
mountain by cable Eurostar to Paris,
car and a narrow- connecting rail
gauge railway journeys to Munich
ŒBoard the steep and Molveno,
Mendola Mountain coach transfers
Funicular railway throughout,
to the Mendola services of an
Pass experienced
ŒTake a boat trip tour manager
across Lake Garda and flight from
from Riva del Verona to London
THE PRICE From £1,675pp*
THE DATES 22-30 September
2023; 17-25 May and
15-23 September 2024
TO BOOK Call 020 4579 2539,
quoting CL DOLOMITES
AUG23
For more details and the full
itinerary, go to countryliving.
com/uk/dolomites
CL recommends readers
CARBON OFFSET all flights.
Find info at climatecare.org
*From price is per person, based on two people sharing a double
room, subject to availability and based on 22 September 2023
departure. Price and itinerary correct at time of print, subject to
change. Single supplement £220. Deposit £350. Local charges,
such as tourist tax, may apply. Travel insurance is not included.
Images used may not reflect your actual tour experience. This
holiday may be sold through other selected brands. Tour is
operated by and subject to the booking conditions of Leger
Holidays Limited and Leger Air Holidays Limited (ABTA V3582
& ATOL 3880) and TS Travel Ltd (ATOL-bonded).
 O U R S E P T E M B E R I S S U E I S O N S A L E F R O M 2 7 J U LY

Crafty projects
inspired by
autumn’s bounty
Bringing colour and
character into a
country home
Recipes to celebrate
the season’s hedgerow
harvest

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AUGUST 2023 163
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WILVERLEY
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 House & Garden

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 DISCOVER HOW TO GET A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP
AND IMPROVE YOUR HEALTH
DISCOVER HOW WOOL IS BETTER FOR YOU, AND BETTER FOR THE PLANET
Wool is far better than polyester, feather, silk or even the most expensive duck down because:
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 SUMMER SALE

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 OVER 30% OFF
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CREATE THE ULTIMATE

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 SANDRA JORDAN
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 A month in the life of…
A DRAMA QUEEN
Come rain or shine,
the show must go on
at Cornwall’s Minack
Theatre, says its executive
director Zoë Curnow
There’s no place like the Minack Theatre on a summer’s day.
The open-air venue, perched on a Cornish clifftop, overlooks
picturesque Porthcurno Beach on the south coast. Occasionally,
you can see dolphins and whales in the ocean.
My job is full of variety. I might be putting together a team for
a production or meeting structural engineers to make sure the
cliff face is safe. I also organise accommodation for the theatre
troupes – a challenge in a tourism hotspot.
We welcome more than 200,000 visitors a year. July and
August are the busiest months as families flock to Cornwall
on holiday. During the summer, we’re open 14 hours a day,
seven days a week.
Some visitors come just to marvel at the site. They might
wander round our subtropical gardens, where flowerbeds are
named after Shakespearean characters, or have a cream tea
in the café. Others, of course, come to see a show.
The Minack holds 250 performances every season. I watch
every production at least once. This summer’s programme includes
Twelfth Night, Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, Everybody’s Talking
About Jamie and performances by the folk singer Seth Lakeman.
178 AUGUST 2023
Putting together the schedule is like doing a jigsaw. We plan
more than a year ahead, asking directors which shows they’d like
to stage, and then juggle everything around to create the right mix.
A couple of years ago, we hosted an event for the G7 Summit.
Jill Biden, Brigitte Macron and Carrie Johnson watched local
children in Ocean World, a musical about a humpback whale.
It was a blazing hot day and one that I’ll never forget.
INTERVIEW BY SARAH BARRATT PHOTOGRAPHS BY ALAMY; MINACK THEATRE; TOBY WELLER
Sunshine is brilliant, but heatwaves are a risk. It isn’t unheard
of for people to faint during matinees as there isn’t any shade.
Fortunately, we have first aiders among the staff.
A radar helps us forecast the weather. We only call off a
performance if it looks like there will be thunder and lightning.
Last summer, we lost nine shows to storms.
Standard showers never stop us. Performers carry on with the
water funnelling around the audience. We ban umbrellas as they
impair people’s views, so we advise full waterproofs. We also have
a close relationship with the coastguard. Few venues can say that.
We use the same sound equipment found on ships. It’s waterproof
and robust enough to take strong direct sunlight. The sound engineers
constantly adjust the volume depending on the conditions at sea.
During music events, we ask people to dance sitting down. It
avoids ‘audience dominoes’. Everyone wiggles from the waist up!
I’ve performed at the Minack myself. I play the double bass
professionally and am sometimes called on by a local band. It’s
strange looking out at the audience instead of looking towards the
stage – and difficult to resist turning around to take in the view.
FOR TOURS AND TICKETS head to minack.com.
countryliving.com/uk