Country Life

Tom Kerridge is one of Britain's best-loved chefs. In 2005, after years spent working at some of finest restaurants in London and the Cotswolds under the likes of Gary Rhodes, he took over The Hand and Flowers pub in Marlow, Buckinghamshire.

He quickly earned a Michelin star, a glowing reputation and a high profile which opened up opportunities in television, where he's been a familiar sight for many years. His latest show, Tom Kerridge's More Sunday Lunch, which appears on The Food Network from January 15, 2024.

Tom speaks to Country Life's James Fisher about his life as a chef and restauranteur, but also shares his passionate views on farming, the countryside, and the restaurant industry as a whole.

Episode credits:

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Tom Kerridge

Producer and editor: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Special thanks: Adam Wilbourn

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

'The ability to go in and specify everything for an interior might be within the powers of an interior designer,' says Giles Kime, Country Life's long-standing interiors guru. 'ButI think when we're doing on our own homes, it's really important to take your time and put a lot of thought and effort into it.'

Giles has spent 35 years writing about interiors, the last seven of which have been with Country Life magazine. During that time he has bought, refurbished and moved on from a string of characterful homes, leading to his current project: a 1630 cottage in rural Hampshire. He joined our podcast host James Fisher to share some of the tips he's picked up over the year — and to tell some of the stories behind his hugely popular article on the Country Life website, '10 things I wish I’d known about doing up old houses before I started.'

You can see more of Giles Kime's articles at the Country Life website, or can follow him on Instagram @giles.kime where you'll be able to see details of his upcoming talks and publications.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Giles Kime

Producer & Editor: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Special thanks: Adam Wilbourn

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The journalist and author Patrick Galbraith spent a week on the uninhabited island of Scarba, a speck on the map in the Inner Hebrides.

In the course of his adventure, Patrick fished and foraged, walked and wondered, and went from moments of joy and beauty to pure misery. He came to the Country Life Podcast to tell us all about it, share some of the highs and lows, and explain what motivated him to give it a go in the first place.

You can read Patrick's article about his time on Scarba on the Country Life website. You can find Patrick's book, In Search of One Last Song: Britain's Disappearing Birds and the People Trying to Save Them, from all good bookshops.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Patrick Galbraith

Producer and editor: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH

Special thanks: Adam Wilbourn

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rosamund Young, the best-selling author of The Secret Life of Cows, has been a farmer for almost half a century. She joined us at the Country Life podcast to talk about her animals, the farms she's known, how the Cotswolds has changed in the years she's called it home, and her beautiful new book, The Wisdom of Sheep.

You can read an exclusive extract from The Wisdom of Sheep on the Country Life website, you can read the full series of articles she wrote for Country Life here.

The Wisdom of Sheep & Other Animals: Observations from a Family Farm by Rosamund Young is published by Faber (£14.99 hardback).

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Interviewer: Toby Keel

Produced and edited by: Toby Keel

Music by: JuliusH

Special thanks: Adam Wilbourn

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week's podcast features Country Life's long-standing property correspondent Penny Churchill, who looks back on three decades of writing about Britain's finest houses.

From the ups and of the market in the past three decades to the quirkiest agents and owners, Penny speaks to host James Fisher to share her insights on the country houses that have been at the heart of her career.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Producer and Editor: Toby Keel

Guest: John Goodall

Music: ‘Summertime’ by JuliusH

Special thanks: Adam Wilbourn

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Britain's landscape is dotted with quite incredible castles, from towering and imposing masterpieces to crumbling, romantic ruins.

In this week's podcast, we speak to Country Life magazine's Architectural Editor, John Goodall — the man who didn't so much write the book on castles as write a whole bookshelf's worth — to find out which five are his favourites.

John picks out five wonderful examples which show the full range of Britain's architectural legacy: Headingham, Knaresborough, Lancaster, Belvoir (pronounced 'Beaver') and Castle Drogo. And then he throws in a very special extra bonus castle at the end — arguably the greatest castle on the face of the planet, whose fate has been intertwined with that of the Royal Family for 1,000 years.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Producer and Editor: Toby Keel

Guest: John Goodall

Music: 'Summertime' by JuliusH

Special thanks: Adam Wilbourn

Find out more about the podcast and see the episode notes at countrylife.co.uk/podcast

Follow Country Life on Instagram @countrylifemagazine

On Facebook @countrylifemagazine

And on Twitter @countrylifemag

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Country Life's first ever podcast sees us speak to the magazine’s Editor-in-Chief, Mark Hedges. Mark has been in charge of the magazine for 17 years, presiding over circulation which has risen year after year, bucking the trend of the publishing industry, and winning every award possible in the process. He’s done everything from writing about fishing to hob-nobbing with members of the Royal Family — several of whom he’s persuaded to guest edit the magazine, not least King Charles himself.

Episode credits:

Host: James Fisher

Producer and Editor: Toby Keel

Guest: Mark Hedges

Music: 'Summertime' by JuliusH

Special thanks: Adam Wilbourn

Find out more about the podcast and see the episode notes at countrylife.co.uk/podcast

Follow Country Life on Instagram @countrylifemagazine

On Facebook @countrylifemagazine

And on Twitter @countrylifemag

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.