Toby Keel

4 days ago | countrylife.co.uk | Toby Keel

Poet, author, musician and Yorkshireman, Simon Armitage has been Britain's Poet Laureate since 2019 — so we're thrilled that he joined James Fisher on the latest edition of the Country Life Podcast. Subscribe to the Country Life PodcastFrom the surprising details of what he does — or, more accurately, doesn't — have to do as part of his role, to the primary school teacher who didn't even put his Christmas poem in his class's top six, Simon shares tales of his life, his work and his inspiration.

1 week ago | countrylife.co.uk | Toby Keel

Hertfordshire — £975,000 Looking like it's been pulled from the canvas of a Constable painting, this gorgeous 17th century home has been beautifully and sensitively renovated. For sale via Michael Graham — see more details. Dorset — £3,750,000Dreamy architecture, a beautiful setting, plus tennis court, stables, woodland and more amid the seven acres. For sale via Knight Frank — see more details and pictures.

2 weeks ago | countrylife.co.uk | Ben Lerwill |Toby Keel

The Cornish coastline stretches for 422 miles, reaches heights of 732ft (at High Cliff, above Rusey Beach) and includes more than 300 beaches. The statistics tell just a tiny part of the tale, though, as Ben Lerwill writes in the May 21 issue of Country Life.

2 weeks ago | countrylife.co.uk | Toby Keel

On the opening day of the 2025 Chelsea Flower Show, the Country Life team at SW3 sat down to discuss the best garden of the year. 'Oh, well, it has to be the Japanese Tea Garden,' were the first words out of the mouth of our garden editor, Tiffany Daneff. It's not every year that we agree with the judges on our favourite garden at the world's greatest flower show. Quite the opposite, in fact: it's a semi-regular occurrence for our favourite designs to have been overlooked on the official criteria.

2 weeks ago | countrylife.co.uk | Toby Keel

GOLD — Cha No Niwa – Japanese Tea GardenDesigner: Kazuyuki IshiharaKazuyuki Ishihara has been creating gardens at Chelsea for several years, but this is his first full-scale show garden — and its's a triumph, described as 'perfect' by Tiffany Daneff, Country Life's gardens editor. GOLD — The Glasshouse GardenDesigner: Jo ThompsonNo garden has more beautiful planting this year than Jo Thompson's creation, where a plethora of roses create a wonderful mix of sight and scent.