Country Life

Britain is full of architectural talent and ideas. So why is our affordable housing in such a state? 'We need to think of unusual sites and then do something special with them,' says the architecture critic and writer Jonathan Glancey, who joins James Fisher on this week's Country Life Podcast.Making housing better for all of us — not just the privileged few — is at the heart of the discussion between James and Jonathan, just as it's one of the key issues in Jonathan's latest book, Where We Live: The Fractured Art of British Housebuilding and How to Build the Homes We Need, which is out in June 2026.Jonathan's years of experience and expertise — from his first job at the The Architectural Review to his many years as The Guardian's architecture and design editor — shines through as he talks about everything from the model villages built by the great railway companies of Victorian Britain through to the huge mistakes made in social housing between 1945 and 1990. He illuminates the topic in fascinating detail, in a talk which is by turns inspiring, depressing and forward-looking. We hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it.Where We Live: The Fractured Art of British Housebuilding and How to Build the Homes We Need is published by Icon Books on June 20, 2026 — you can order a copy now from all good bookshops.Episode creditsHost: James FisherGuest: Jonathan GlanceyEditor and producer: Toby KeelMusic: JuliusH via Pixabay

Bethany Handley was always an outdoorsy kid. Climbing mountains, crossing rivers or surfing in the sea near her home in South Wales, she lived and worked in the wild, with a job as an outdoor activity instructor.All that changed in the matter of a few months as illness left her in a wheelchair. Instead of being out and about, she found herself in a rural home where all the paths she once walked were blocked off to her by stiles whose existence she'd once barely noticed.Yet she has been determined not to let that stop her enjoying nature, doing everything she can to get out in the great outdoors — from surfing on a special board adapted for her by her brother, to getting her partner's help to climb ridges in the Black Mountains.We're absolutely delighted that Bethany joined James Fisher for this week's instalment of the Country Life Podcast. She tells her story with grace, honesty and humour — a story she's also shared in a new book, My Body is a Meadow: Finding Freedom in the Outdoors, published on May 7, 2026.Bethany talks about everything from the thoughts that ran through her head as she lay in her hospital bed to the efforts she makes today to campaign for better access to the countryside for the huge number of people in Britain who face problems getting around. It's a fascinating and salutary glimpse into a different life; you'll never take your legs for granted again.My Body is a Meadow: Finding Freedom in the Outdoors by Bethany Handley is published by Headline — you can order a copy here.Episode creditsHost: James FisherGuest: Bethany HandleyProducer and Editor: Toby KeelMusic: JuliusH via Pixabay

Your grandmother was right: going for a walk really does do you a power of good.Just how much, though, is something that we're only just beginning to discover — a point made beautifully by the writer and researcher Annabel Streets, who joins James Fisher on this week's Country Life Podcast.Annabel's book The Walking Cure has been hugely successful, and she spoke to us on the eve of its paperback publication. It's a fascinating talk, ranging from psychological impact of getting up off the sofa to the very real difference that where you walk can make. A walk along the sea front brings a completely different feel to a walk through the woods — and scientists are also discovering that a walk through a city, though stressful in terms of dealing with traffic, can be enormously stimulating in an entirely different way, something which new scientific techniques are beginning to show for the first time. Annabel also talks about her own walking journeys across the world, and how they've changed her. It's a fascinating talk — and the ideal thing to listen to as you get out and about for a walk near where you live.Annabel's book The Walking Cure is out now in paperback — see more details. Annabel Streets also writes, and posts on Instagram, as Annabel Abbs — you can follow her here. Episode creditsHost: James FisherGuest: Annabel StreetsEditor and producer: Toby KeelMusic: JuliusH via Pixabay

A wise man once said to me, about buying a house, that you ‘have to remember that this is the most money you will spend on anything, ever, so you want to make sure you get it right’. It’s probably best, therefore, to make sure that the people advising you know a thing or two about the market and property, and come loaded with bags of experience about the finer workings of buying and selling your home.This week, on the Country Life Podcast, I sat down with Oli Custance Baker, head of Strutt & Parker’s National Country House Department, and Sarah Brown, director of Strutt & Parker’s south west region, to chat about houses. Considering this is Country Life, the time felt right.Boasting decades of experience between them on buying and selling the finest homes in the country, they seemed like the obvious choice to break through the noise and getsome answers on the finer workings of property.We discussed their careers to date, chuckled at anecdotes on some of the stranger things that have happened during sales, put some myths to the test about the best ways to buy and sell a house, and locked in on why, exactly, having an expert in your corner is the most important thing when it comes to moving home.This episode of the Country Life Podcast is sponsored by Strutt & Parker. It is produced, as normal, by Country Life and Future. You can watch the video version of the podcast at countrylife.co.uk/podcast

Depending on who you ask, the food and drink scene in London is either in a state of despair or it's never been in better health. As always, when there is this much noise, it's best to get an expert on to cut a path through the metaphorical fog. Who could be better than Leonie Cooper, food and drink editor at Time Out London, and co-host of Messy Lunch with Gizzi Erskine.Where can you meet a man called Otto, wear a viking hat, and grind up a pigeon into a sauce? Where was ground zero for the natural wine movement? Where are the best pubs in our capital? You'll agree, all very important questions, and thankfully Leonie has all the answers. Somehow, we even get into the contents of her fridge, which will no doubt impress plenty of our regular listeners.Subscribe to the Country Life podcast on Apple PodcastsSubscribe to the Country Life podcast on SpotifySubscribe to the Country Life podcast on AudibleWe also talk about messy lunches (should we be having more of them? Are they allowed? Why were they ever allowed?) and her new show Messy Lunch, which she co-hosts with Gizzi Erskine. Messy Lunch sees Leonie and Gizzi take the great and the good from the world of music and interview them over a slap-up meal, greasing the wheels of gossip and drawing out the best stories from some of the nation's most famous musicians. Not only will it make you hungry, it will also make you wonder why you ever took a job in accounting.I don't say this often, but Leonie has been one of the best guests we've ever had on the podcast, so make sure to tune in and listen. And then go and book a decent restaurant afterwards. Or become a rockstar. Or both.Episode creditsHost: James FisherGuest: Leonie CooperEditor and producer: Toby KeelMusic: JuliusH via Pixabay

Each year, the Country Life Top 100 names the very finest country house architects, interior designers, landscapers, garden designers and craftspeople in Britain. It's one of the magazine's undisputed highlights of the year, with our interiors expert Giles Kime spending months alongside experts from across the country to produce the final list.We're delighted, then, that Giles joins James Fisher on the Country Life Podcast this week to talk about the 2026 list, to explain how it's evolved and developed for its latest iteration.Subscribe to the Country Life podcast on Apple PodcastsSubscribe to the Country Life podcast on SpotifySubscribe to the Country Life podcast on AudibleThis year, the most striking change is in the number of artists, craftspeople and artisans who've earned recognition. Giles explains to James why that is, why craft is so important and becoming ever more so, and highlighting some of the wonderful people who are in this year's Top 100.You can see the full Country Life Top 100 here; and to see Giles in person you can book a ticket for his conversation with Kit Kemp — a designer on the Top 100 list — at the Winchester Book Festival in April. Episode creditsHost: James FisherGuest: Giles KimeEditor and producer: Toby KeelMusic: JuliusH via Pixabay

The River Tamar that forms the Devon-Cornwall border comes within four miles of making Cornwall an island. In and around the Scottish Borders, many people define themselves as Bordermen first, and Scottish or English second. And the the great medieval border created in the years of Danelaw both split Britain, and lives on today as one of the biggest roads in the country. These are just a few of the fascinating tales woven together by Richard Collett as he talks to James Fisher in this utterly fascinating episode of the Country Life Podcast. Yes, a border is a line on a map — but it's also a state of mind, with many of the lines that divide us, define us and even unite us taking on very different meanings depending on where you live. Richard Collett has spent years travelling Britain and talking to people throughout the land about our borders, where they come from, and what they mean — and the result is a fascinating book, Along the Borders: In search of what divides and unites the British Isles. Subscribe to the Country Life podcast on Apple PodcastsSubscribe to the Country Life podcast on SpotifySubscribe to the Country Life podcast on AudibleThe book is published in April 2026 by Penguin — you can pre-order a copy here — and we can't recommend it enough, if only to read the tale of the English sailor who got shipwrecked on Shetland, and has now spent decades fighting for its recognition as an independent country.Episode creditsHost: James FisherGuest: Richard CollettEditor and producer: Toby KeelMusic: JuliusH via Pixabay

The more things change, the more they stay the same. As the Formula One season kicked off on Sunday, we saw the advent of full hybrid racing at the top level for the first time. A full 50/50 split between internal combustion and electrical power at the pinnacle of motorsport. Quite the change. And then Mercedes ran off into the distance. More of the same (mostly).The world of cars is changing, slowly but definitively. Although the ban on fully petrol and diesel powered cars seems to be the can that will be endlessly kicked down the road, more and more people are turning to hybrid and electric cars with each passing month. It’s not always easy to make sense of it all, especially in the luxury world, so naturally I made a few phone calls and got Country Life’s car aficionado, Adam Hay-Nicholls, to come on and so some explaining.Subscribe to the Country Life podcast on Apple PodcastsSubscribe to the Country Life podcast on SpotifySubscribe to the Country Life podcast on AudibleWe talked about growing up in the age of internal combustion, and what the transition to electric means for both the consumer and the professional car journalist. We chatted about the upcoming Formula One season, and whether anyone will really notice the difference (the answer is no, but also yes, a bit). And then of course we segued.Why did Adam once meet a sheikh in Dubai who owned Saddam Hussein’s watch? Why did Adam once land a helicopter outside of a biker bar in Revelstoke, Canada? And why is he writing a new book on all things Bugatti, which means he must simply go and drive the new £4 million Tourbillon? All essential in a day’s work, and you’ll have to tune in to find out the answers.Episode creditsHost: James FisherGuest: Adam Hay-NichollsEditor and producer: Toby KeelMusic: JuliusH via Pixabay