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SEPTEMBER 2022 HOMES DECORATING CRAFTS GARDENS FOOD TRAVEL HEALTH Last days of BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL Why dahlias are back in fashion Decorate with JUST SAY crochet and lace CHEESE Style your home The artisans with garden fruit breaking the mould and foliage A GALLERY OWNER’S HOME Savour the season’s IN HAY-ON-WYE late-blooming flowers with creative tips for curating your space GOING AGAINST THE GRAIN SWIMMING The fresh trend for botanical spirits UNDERTHE STARS Why a moonlight dip is good for you WHO’S TOP DOG? HOW TO BRING UP A HAPPY BORDER COLLIE countryliving.com/uk £5.99 BEN FOGLE • MARIELLA FROSTRUP • JARVIS COCKER



SEPTEMBER 2022 ISSUE 441 Contents 106 96 51 Houses & gardens 59 23 17 EMPORIUM New ways to introduce elements of Features country style into your home 23 LIVING THE GOOD LIFE Saving your 38 THE GOLDEN HOUR Let the delicate patterns own seeds to grow: tried-and-tested tips from our expert Sally Coulthard of lace and crochet inspire a celebration of the last hazy days of summer 29 GOING GREENER Our guide to a 51 HOMEGROWN STYLE Bring a bounty of fruit, sustainable life flowers and vegetables into your home for a bright 31 VIEW FROM HERE Susy Smith on the and beautiful decorating scheme welcome resurgence of dahlias 106 TRAVELLER’S REST Ben and Marina Fogle’s 34 “I WAS ALWAYS DESTINED FOR THE Oxfordshire home is both a relaxed family retreat and a homage to a life of adventure SLOW LANE” Undercovering the green and mellow side of musician Jarvis Cocker 114 ALL IN THE DETAIL Designing a Cheshire garden 46 10 QUESTIONS WITH… MARIELLA FROSTRUP doesn’t always go to plan when nature takes its course The Somerset-based broadcaster on keeping hens, 120 PLAYING TO THE GALLERY Val Harris’s 17th-century outdoor yoga and letting her children go feral apartment is a showcase for her art and craft collection 128 A NATURAL BALANCE How a Northumberland garden has evolved into a harmonious haven

68 128 SEPTEMBER 2022 ISSUE 441 Contents 59 THE RUFF GUIDE TO… BORDER COLLIES In our 146 ON THE COVER series for dog-lovers, we celebrate another favourite breed Last days of summer News, views & events pages 38, 51, 114 and 68 HEAVEN ON EARTH Jane Scotter harnesses the 128 Bold and beautiful 9 A MONTH IN THE COUNTRY Places to go, things page 33 Just say cheese power of the moon when growing her fruit and page 154 A gallery vegetables revered by gastronomic stars to do and ideas to try in September, plus our guide owner’s home page 120 to weekending on the Pembrokeshire coast Going against the grain 76 FADED GLORY Artist Katie Lenegan captures the fragile page 88 Swimming 32 THE COUNTRY LIVING COLLECTION AT DFS under the stars page 139 beauty of nature in decay from her Warwickshire studio 58 MODERN RUSTIC How to buy our latest bookazine Who’s top dog? page 59 66 THE COUNTRY LIVING COLLECTION AT Ben Fogle page 106 82 ALL ROADS LEAD TO ROAM Nick Hayes makes an Mariella Frostrup page 46 CARPETRIGHT Add country charm to any home Jarvis Cocker page 34 impassioned plea for greater access to the countryside 81 ORDER YOUR CL 2023 DIARY & CALENDAR COUNTRY LIVING HOME 88 START-UP SUCCESS: JUST THE TONIC Pentire Drinks 87 ALL THE FUN OF THE FAIR Meet the craftspeople DELIVERY Subscribe to Country Living and delight makes alcoholic-free spirits distilled from botanicals in our CL Pavilions at country shows in the British countryside from the comfort of your 94 OVER THE RAINBOW Beenchantedbythisopticalillusion 104 SUBSCRIBE TO THE MAGAZINE home. Details on page 104 96 ALL KIDDING ASIDE Life took a favourable turn for two 136 THE COUNTRY LIVING COLLECTION AT DREAMS COVER CREDIT 167 WHERE TO BUY Stockists in the magazine Photograph by Sussie Bell. smallholders, who make velvety ice cream using goats’ 162 COUNTRY LIVING HOLIDAYS Exclusive trips Styling by Jo Rigg. For milk from their happy herd in the Trossachs details, see page 38 178 A MONTH IN THE LIFE OF… the Mikron Theatre countryliving.com/uk Company, which tours the UK by narrowboat Wellbeing 139 BY THE LIGHT OF THE SILVERY MOON How taking a midnight dip could help you recapture your youth 145 WELLBEING FOR MIND & BODY Natural tips and remedies to help you feel your best Food & drink 146 TAKE IT WITH A PINCH OF SALT Recipes with the magic ingredient that makes other flavours sing 154 BLESSED ARE THE CHEESEMAKERS Angus D Birditt shares his passion for Britain’s artisan cheeses 04 SEPTEMBER 2022



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A note from the editor One of the things I love most about working at Country Living is that it keeps me connected to nature and the seasons. At this time of the year, we are drifting from the last glorious days of summer into the ‘season of mists and mellow fruitfulness’ (no one says it better than Keats), and this issue, our very own ode to the approaching autumn, offers an abundance of stories that beautifully conjure up the spirit of the season. On page 23, CL friend and smallholder Sally Coulthard (below right) shares nifty tips on how to save seeds for next year’s crop of homegrown produce, while on page 31, our columnist Susy Smith champions the dahlia, a late-blooming flower that adds vibrancy to gardens and table displays long after other plants have peaked. Perhaps no one is more connected to the seasons and the outdoors than adventurer Ben Fogle, whose Oxfordshire home we feature on page 106 (below left). His Edwardian house, full of antiques and nautical art, pays homage to a life exploring, while providing a sanctuary for him to relax with his family – including Storm and Swift, his loyal Labradors. His space offers plenty of inspiration for ways you can add individuality to your home. Yet you can only plan so much when it comes to garden design, as Ken Roscoe discovers in his Cheshire plot, where, despite a grand vision, nature had its own ideas. On page 114, we find out how he worked in harmony with the landscape to stunning effect. I am taking my cue from this approach by paying attention to the shifting seasons, neither hurrying one along nor pining for the one just gone. With the help of the offerings in this month’s issue, I hope you can do the same. Let us enjoy what we have and savour what’s around us. PHOTOGRAPHS BY BRENT DARBY; MATTHEW MONFREDI; ANDREW MONTGOMERY FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM FOR PHOTOS AND VIDEOS FIND RECIPES AND DECORATING IDEAS SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE WEEKLY NEWSLETTER COUNTRYLIVINGUK COUNTRYLIVING.COM/UK WWW.COUNTRYLIVING.COM/UK/NEWSLETTER DISCOVER THE LATEST COUNTRY LIVING NEWS ON TWITTER CHOOSE FROM A RANGE OF COUNTRY LIVING BREAKS OUR DATING SITE FOR COUNTRY-LOVERS TWITTER.COM/COUNTRYLIVINGUK COUNTRYLIVINGHOLIDAYS.COM COUNTRY-LOVING.CO.UK FOLLOW OUR BOARDS ON PINTEREST FOR MORE INSPIRATION JOIN US ON FACEBOOK FOR REGULAR UPDATES NEXT ISSUE ON SALE 31 AUGUST PINTEREST.COM/UKCOUNTRYLIVING FACEBOOK.COM/COUNTRYLIVINGUK



A MONTH IN THE COUNTRY PLACES TO GO, THINGS TO DO, IDEAS TO TRY September “September is the month of maturity, the heaped basket and the garnered sheaf. It is the month of climax and completion. It has warmth, depth and colour. It glows like old amber” Patience Strong, The Glory of the Garden SEPTEMBER 2022 09

SeptemberA MONTH IN THE COUNTRY TAKE YOUR TIME TO… try a wellbeing walk Don’t miss Get moving with a little support POLINATIONS and gentle encouragement on a IN BIRMINGHAM Ramblers Wellbeing Walk. These (2-18 SEPTEMBER short group walks, between ten and 90 minutes long, are designed for Did you know that more than three-quarters of all plants in city all fitness levels, with many also gardens are non-native species? PoliNations is a celebration wheelchair accessible. The small of natural diversity in green spaces, held at Victoria Square in groups are led by wellbeing leaders Birmingham. The square will host a forest of architectural ‘super trees’ 12 metres tall, along with thousands of plants. Join in forest along tried-and-tested routes tours and audio baths or attend a light show, talks and performances. accessible on foot or by public Events, which are all free, culminate in a four-day ‘seed party’, when transport. These are sociable strolls the trees will burst into a cloud of colour, combining the spirit of at a steady pace over easy terrain, carnival and the Hindu celebration Holi. polinations.com allowing everyone to soak up the mood-boosting benefits of the great A SENSE OF THE SEASON… HONKING GEESE outdoors. ramblers.org.uk Autumn migration is in full swing by mid- September and the air is riven with the calls of geese heading here from Greenland, Scotland, the US and Siberia. Seven species of these vocal visitors, including Canada, brent and barnacle geese, descend to feed on seeds, grass and small invertebrates, adding their waddling swagger to the UK’s estuaries, marshes and wetlands. OF THE BEST... treehouses Surrender to the lullaby of softly swishing leaves LOST MEADOW TREEPOD, CORNWALL Camp out in this wooden sphere (right), suspended in woodland on the edge of Bodmin Moor (canopyandstars.co.uk). SKY DEN, NORTHUMBERLAND This extraordinary structure has a roof that opens to the stars (visitkielder.com). TAWNY OWL TREEHOUSE, SUSSEX This shelter is built around a mature oak in a rewilded wood (kneppsafaris.co.uk). TEMPLAR TREEHOUSE, PEMBROKESHIRE Set in its own mill garden, with hot tub and firepit (melinmabes.com). FERNIE CASTLE TREEHOUSE, FIFE Turrets and spires peek through the canopies of six lofty sycamores supporting this fairy-tale fantasy (ferniecastle.co.uk). 10 SEPTEMBER 2022



SeptemberA MONTH IN THE COUNTRY TRY YOUR HAND AT… SMITHING Tap into your elemental self over the clang of hammer on anvil and fierce heat of the forge. Learn to make pendants, pokers, coat hooks and knives in sessions ranging from a half-hour taster to a day course at Sacrewell Heritage Farm and Country Centre in Cambridgeshire. If the first strikes spark a desire for more, learn how to make your own smithing tools on the five-day course. sacrewell.org.uk EAT THE QUAINT AND CURIOUS… SEASONS Native oysters Clipping the church SUCCULENT AND BRINY, WILD Hug a church at a clipping, an ancient English custom NATIVE OYSTERS ARE READY that involves parishioners encircling holy buildings by TO ENJOY IN SEPTEMBER, holding hands while singing or dancing. Its origins are THEIR PROTECTED SPAWNING said to date back to the pagan festival Lupercalia. The SEASON LARGELY FINISHED. historical dog sacrifice is, thankfully, no more, although ONE OF THE UK’S THREE some clippings serve parishioners ‘puppy-dog pie’ with a OYSTER SPECIES, NATIVES china dog inside. At Wirksworth in Derbyshire, clipping ARE AN EXPENSIVE DELICACY. happens this year on 11 September. Attend the morning GRILL AU GRATIN IF YOU MUST, BUT A SQUEEZE service, then join the congregation as it surrounds the OF LEMON OR VINEGAR IS ENOUGH ADORNMENT building, singing and blessing the church for the year FOR THIS BIVALVE’S RAW BEAUTY. IF SUMMER HAS BEEN WARM, HOLD OUT UNTIL THE END OF THE ahead. wirksworthteamministry.co.uk MONTH FOR PEAK FLAVOUR. 3 Thespeedinmphatwhichamigranthawker(oneof thelast dragonfliesof theyeartoemerge)canfly–backwardsorforwards SPOTTER’S GUIDE Late bloomers Look for flashes of colour in hedges, Old man’s fields and verges beard Creeping thistle CREEPING THISTLE No mere weed, these Tansy determined tufty lilac flowers, guarded by spiny bracts and prickly leaves, provide an important countryliving.com/uk food source for farmland birds. OLD MAN’S BEARD This member of the clematis genus can grow to 12 metres. Find the feathery flowers scrambling over hedgerow tops, trees, bushes or scrub. TANSY Also known as ‘golden buttons’, this fragrant yellow flower is the main food plant for the iridescent tansy beetle. 12 SEPTEMBER 2022

discover… At Sango Bay, emerald waters lap onto icing sugar-soft sand. It might look like a tropical spot, but this is Sutherland, a county at the tip of Scotland and Britain’s least-populated place. From this secluded cove, you can look beyond rocky outcrops towards the North Minch – a Scottish strait said to be home to the mythological Blue Men of the Minch – or take a short stroll to Smoo Cave, the largest sea cave in the country (visitscotland.com).

SeptemberA MONTH IN THE COUNTRY WEEKENDERS Pembrokeshire Coast Where to stay WORDS BY ANNA MELVILLE-JAMES AND LAURAN ELSDEN. 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; CRISTIAN BARNETT; JACQUES BOISSEVAIN; KAV DADFAR; CRAIG FORDHAM; GETTY IMAGES; BONNIE GOUGH; PenallyAbbey (left) is set POLLINATIONS ARTWORK: THISS, CARL ROBERTSHAW, BRONIA HOUSEMAN, TRIGGER COLLECTION. ILLUSTRATION BY ALLIRA TEE above Tenby – 12 sumptuous suitesfeature super-king- size beds and vistasof CaldeyIsland(from £155; penally-abbey.com). Want to sleep under the stars? TheDomeinHaverfordwest is a wood-and-canvas structure featuring multiple mod-cons – most importantly, a double bed so you canslumbersanssleepingbag(from£80per night; preseliglamping.co.uk). Or head to Number 1 St Ann’s near Dale, a former lighthouse keeper’s cottage (from £872 per week; holidaycottages.co.uk). Britain’s only coastal national park, Pembrokeshire combines craggy cliffs, Where to shop pretty harbours and spectacular sea stacks jutting out of the ocean. It’s a walker’s wonderland, so lace up your boots and explore 600 miles of public Melin Tregwynt is a whitewashed mill footpath. Summer crowds might have scarpered, but abundant wildlife famous for wonderful Welsh woollens remains – so watch out for seabirds, sharks and seals in the surf. (above left). Stop by Castlemorris to find simple but stylish fabrics, bags and blankets WHAT TO SEE AND DO Make a pilgrimage to St Govan’s Chapel (above), a (melintregwynt.co.uk). For contemporary clothing, jewellery and homeware, head centuries-old church chiselled into the cliffs at St Govan’s Head. Accessed by a set to Jago (above right), an award-winning of stone stairs, legend has it the number of steps changes between ascending and boutique with branches in Narberth and descending, so be sure to keep count (visitpembrokeshire.com). A wee way away Tenby (jagotenby.co.uk). Just down the – one-and-a-half miles via Broadhaven Beach – Bosherston is best known for its road, Bazaar is an Aladdin’s cave of antique freshwater lily ponds. Comprising three flooded limestone valleys, this wildlife ephemera (bazaarhomeandgarden.com). haven is home to booming bitterns, bats and otters that feast on perch, pike and eels (nationaltrust.org.uk). To swim while the water’s still warm(ish), set a course countryliving.com/uk for Barafundle Bay (top right). Backed by pine trees and tussocky dunes, this sweep of golden sand is often voted Britain’s most beautiful beach (visitwales.com). WHERE TO EAT Tucked away in Tenby, Plantagenet House is a cosy, candlelit restaurant specialising in seafood. Sample sea bass, halibut or hake cooked with cockles or push the boat out and order a whole local lobster (plantagenettenby.co.uk). For award-winning street food, go to Cafe Môr in Angle. The short but tantalising menu includes crab rolls smothered in Welsh sea black butter and its veggie Green Green Grass Burger, made with seaweed (beachfood.co.uk). FOLLOW US… FACEBOOK.COM/ TWITTER.COM/ COUNTRYLIVING COUNTRYLIVINGUK INSTAGRAM.COM/ COUNTRYLIVINGUK





Add artisanal flair to SHOP SMALL wardrobe or drawer Studio Atkinson has reinterpreted classic handles with a borders to create a colourful new collection, hand-printed all made in the UK using traditional surface- plywood hanging blackbird, £22, by print techniques. Edith border, £64/roll printmaker Kate Millbank This pear-shaped storage basket, £48.50, by Judit of WonderWeaver Design can be wall-mounted in a child’s bedroom Country Living’s paint collection at Homebase features nature-inspired hues that are also air purifying. This Farmhouse Green matt emulsion is £38 for 2.5 litres emporiumOurhandpickedselectionoffavourite pieces from individual makers, the high street and small businesses The crisp stripes of Nic Hole blends Iliv’s Vermont Willow stoneware clay with cotton, £50.40/m, moss- and storm- would make coloured glazes to smart kitchen or create stylish yet bathroom blinds functional tableware. Mugs start at £30 Ceramicist John Wheeldon was inspired by 18th- century creamware to create his Georgiana collection, available at The New Craftsmen. Bramley green butter dish, £85 Oliver Milne of Hew handcrafts sustainable furniture, such as this mottled oak sideboard, £3,200, from his Chichester workshop SEPTEMBER 2022 17

SHOP SMALL Editor’s choice “With a magical patterning of light and shade, these beautiful lampshades are in fact made of sustainable waste cardboard.” Home and crafts editor Alaina Binks C series cardboard PHOTOGRAPH BY NATO WELTON lampshades, from £99 each, by Tabitha Bargh countryliving.com/uk



SHOP SMALL The Zaha bolster cushion, £110 by Daughters of Gaea, is made from hand block-printed silk with a reversible, russet-toned floral design Little Cotton Clothes creates The Newt in childrenswear Somerset’s Yarlington Mill inspired by the English Cyder, countryside. This £9.50/750ml, linen Isadora is made using dress, £69, is local apples available from September known for their rich, sweet flavour Nkuku’s acacia and woven jute emporium Hand-woven from Amhara bench, £295, will add warmth Hogla seagrass, Maison Bengal’s and texture to a hallway fruit-picking basket, £42, will turn apple Ruby Bender of Arby and pear gathering COMPILED BY CARA LASKARIS. PRICES AND AVAILABILITY CORRECT AT TIME OF GOING TO PRESS handmakes wooden trays into a stylish affair and embellishes them with varnished paper collages Home County Candle Co hand- of fruit and vegetables. Pear tray, £85 pours scented candles with scents that evoke British counties. The Somerset, £20, has notes of crisp apple, fig and woody amber The cane headboard gives the Tollymore bed an antique feel, £899 for a double from the Country Living Collection at Dreams Follow @CLArtisans on Instagram to see more unique products from talented makers 20 SEPTEMBER 2022 FOR STOCKISTS see Where to Buy countryliving.com/uk





Living the 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 Saving seeds countryliving.com/uk SEPTEMBER 2022 23

Author and seasoned cross-pollinate with similar members of the plant family, smallholder Sally producing seeds that can grow into strange offspring. Pumpkins, shares her Yorkshire marrows, courgettes and other squashes, for example, can plot with sheep, produce some amazingly knobbly, Frankenstein-esque monsters horses, hens, ducks, an if grown too close to each other. orchard, a vegetable garden and a pond However, there are plenty of plants that are perfect candidates for seed collection. Personal favourites are tomatoes, peas, beans, t’s September and the vegetables are firing on all cylinders. peppers and herbs (just make sure you pick non-F1 varieties). When It’s a bittersweet moment – my enjoyment of the garden’s I plant these, I keep track of them by tying a ribbon around their base. bounty is tempered by the knowledge that summer is almost through. To stave off any panic that autumn is around the To harvest tomato seeds, you need to wait until the fruit is corner, I start thinking about saving seeds. It’s a task that very ripe, then scoop out the pulp and place it in a jar of water. not only lets me daydream about next year’s garden but Gently swirl this every day, and by the third day the seeds should also saves me money – always a bonus for a Yorkshire have sunk to the bottom. Rinse and leave on a paper towel until woman with short arms and deep pockets. fully dry, then store in an envelope in a cool, dry place. Peppers Growing certain vegetables can be really thrifty – one packet are similar: allow them to ripen and start to wrinkle on the of ‘cut and come again’ lettuce seeds, for example, will give you stem before removing the seeds and leaving them on a paper bowlfuls of mixed salad for weeks. Then there’s the superior towel to dry before storing. flavour of homegrown produce and the joy of getting to see your own crop flourish. But there are moments when I tot up the cost of Peas and beans are slightly different. You need to leave the pods seeds, compost and plant protection and wonder if shop-bought on the plant until they are dry and begin to change colour. Bring might sometimes be cheaper. That’s why it’s unbelievably them inside, spread on a tray and leave to dry for another couple satisfying to save seeds from your plot and use them again next of weeks, after which you can pop the dried peas and beans in an year. Many people get so proficient at this that they barely buy envelope, ready to be planted next year. any seeds at all, especially those who form ‘seed exchanges’, where they can swap varieties and fill in any gaps in their planting list. Finally, for herbs, you need to allow them to flower, then harvest I don’t claim to be one of these experts. My plot is grown from the flower heads once they’ve turned papery and brown. Shake a mixture of saved and bought seeds. There’s good reason for or rub the seeds into a paper bag before transferring them to an this: for some crops I tend to use F1 or hybrid varieties. These are envelope. (Some herbs need freezing or covering with boiling strains that have been specifically bred to have characteristics water to germinate, so check before replanting the following spring.) such as disease resistance or a longer fruiting period, leading to a great harvest. The downside? Their seeds are sterile, so can’t Don’t forget that not all seed saving will be a roaring success be planted. Another problem is that some vegetables freely (it’s nature’s way of telling smallholders not to get over-confident), but the first time you harvest a ‘cost-free crop’ is a monumental moment. Who said there was no such thing as a free lunch…? 24 SEPTEMBER 2022

Saving seedsTHE GOOD LIFE Best herbs FOR SEEDS CORIANDER These small star-shaped flowers are easy to dry and store (and also make a pretty garnish). BASIL It’s a task that saves me money and lets me A favourite veg-plot herb of mine. Seeds are easy to harvest from their daydream about next year’s garden purple or white flower spires. GET THE KIT CHIVES Their robust purple pompoms dry well on the plant, so seeds won’t blow away in the wind. CAMOMILE BOOK SEED STORAGE TIN SEED ENVELOPES Keep this year’s seeds The dried flower heads are wonderful Starting & Saving Seeds This Eden Project super organised by using for tea as well as replanting next year. by Julie Thompson-Adolf Bluebell Bird seed these manila packets storage tin is a stylish countryliving.com/uk (Cool Springs Press, way to keep your by Willow & Stone. £18.99) has everything seeds over the winter. £4.95 (pack of 20), £15, argos.co.uk willowandstone.co.uk you need to know. blackwells.co.uk SEPTEMBER 2022 25

Saving seedsTHE GOOD LIFE HOW TO MAKE 7questions PHOTOGRAPHS BY ALAMY; GETTY IMAGES; GARDEN COLLECTION/FLORA PRESS; VICTORIA HARLEY; LOUPE/LUCINDA SYMONDS; ANDREW MONTGOMERY. ILLUSTRATION BY ENYA TODD. *ALWAYS GET THE PERMISSION OF LANDOWNERS BEFORE GATHERING SEEDS Wild-flower seed bombs …with a seed seller Homemade ‘seed bombs’ make great gifts for loved ones, even if the Kate McEvoy is co- recipients are not particularly green-fingered. Making them is also owner of Real Seeds a great way to entertain children and get them thinking about the in Pembrokeshire, planting and growing process. And, if you chuck a few in the wilder specialising in corners of your garden, you’ll be amazed how many pollinators the seeds for kitchen flowers will attract next spring and summer. gardens WHAT YOU NEED 3 Roll into golf-balls. 1What are your roots? 500G SOIL 4 Fill a tray with the seeds and In the 1990s, my partner Ben Gabel and I were 50G PLAIN FLOUR roll the wet and sticky mud balls keen allotment growers, but found that fruit and 200ML WATER around until covered in them. veg seeds sold through catalogues were often aimed WILD-FLOWER SEEDS COLLECTED 5 Leave to dry for a day or two. at large farms and depended on chemical fertilisers FROM YOUR GARDEN OR NEARBY and pesticides. We wanted to grow great-tasting FIELDS OR HEDGEROWS*: EXPERT TIP varieties organically on our less-than-perfect plots. BULBOUS BUTTERCUP, CAMOMILE, COMMON KNAPWEED, LADY’S If you’d like to give seed bombs as 2So you collected your own? BEDSTRAW, RED CLOVER AND WILD a gift (or add some to your garden) Exactly. We tracked down non-hybrid THYME ARE ALL GREAT OPTIONS but don’t fancy getting your hands varieties that grow really well in home dirty, go to seedball.co.uk. This non- gardens and taste great. We tested them in our METHOD profit organisation is on a mission own plots and then offered seeds to customers. to tackle the decline of pollinators 1 Mix the soil and flour together in and other wildlife by encouraging 3How many varieties do you sell? a mixing bowl. people to add wild flowers to their More than 400. We focus on vegetables but 2 Slowly add water to the mixture, balcony, patio or windowbox. Choose have a fair number of herbs and flowers, working it with your hands until from tins of seedballs with names too. All our varieties are open pollinated, so once it becomes sticky and dough-like. like ‘Artist’s Meadow’, £6.50 each. you’ve grown a plant, you can gather the seeds and plant them the following year. 4Is saving seeds worth it? It’s incredibly satisfying to create a crop out of almost nothing. A lot of rare fruit and veg varieties also rely on seed saving to survive. 5Any unusual stock? Tomatillos are popular. They’re like small tomatoes that grow in a papery husk. 6Favourite seed to plant? I love an Indian vegetable called Kerala Red Amaranth. Everything about it is beautiful, from the dark red leaves to the black shiny seeds. 7Best for first-timers? I’d suggest peas. They don’t cross-pollinate and they’re really easy to save on a small scale. Growing and saving your own pea seeds is a great thing to do with children. They often love eating freshly picked peas and the seeds are a nice size for little hands to plant. BROWSE THE RANGE at realseeds.co.uk. 26 SEPTEMBER 2022





Going GREENER Our quick and easy guide to sustainable living REAP THE harvest Shop for local, organic and free-range produce from your sofa through Farms to Doors, an online food service linking farmers, fishmongers and growers to customers across the UK. The collective was set up by four producers after the closure of online grocer Farmdrop late last year. Delivery is £9 when spending up to £75, and free over £75. farmstodoors.co.uk COMPILED BY SARAH BARRATT. PHOTOGRAPH BY ALAMY. IMAGE OF GEORGE THE POET BIRDS OF A “It starts with BY ENVIRAL AS PART OF AN EARTH DAY CAMPAIGN FOR ECOLOGI. *THE WILDLIFE TRUSTS FEATHER… recognising we’re Birdwatchers in the South part of it all. West can flock to a new Nature’s reaching out. Let’s answer super national nature reserve, encompassing the call.” landmarks including Steart Marshes and Catcott Lows. Spoken word performer The Somerset Wetlands George the Poet, National Nature Reserve is made up of six smaller ones The Natural World linked by saltmarshes, heath and mudflats, creating a 15,000-acre habitat. The site is home to a third of the UK’s bittern population, as well as avocets and great white egrets. somersetwildlife.org DID YOU KNOW… ONE CHANGE TO MAKE ...that no one in Britain lives further than 80 miles from the sea*? From Switch up your socks 16-25 September, head to the coast to take part in the Great British Beach Clean to clear litter from your local area and record your findings (mcsuk.org). Reduce your carbon footprint in more And look out for the Country Living team brandishing litter pickers at Margate ways than one by choosing eco-friendly Main Sands on 5 August. Follow our progress on Instagram @countrylivinguk. socks. Many socks are made with plastic, but pairs from Social Socks are crafted in Tyne and Wear from combed cotton. Prices start at £13.95, with ten per cent of each purchase going to WWF UK. socialsocks.co.uk 1,500 The number of teeth in a basking shark’s mouth. { {Fear not, they only eat plankton. Look out for them around the UK this month as they move to warmer waters. SEPTEMBER 2022 29



COLUMN View from here Susy Smith once thought dahlias rather garish, but unusual varieties have turned things around. Here, she celebrates their unlikely revival ILLUSTRATION BY MAY VAN MILLINGEN ashions change in gardening just as they do in every for judging in competitions, trials and village shows around the other aspect of our lives. The movers and shakers in country. My father loved dahlias. Whenever we visited a garden horticulture influence us in our landscape styles, our where they were growing, he would point to the gaudiest blooms plants, flower colours and combinations, telling us and say, “Aren’t they wonderful?” I never had the heart to tell him what is ‘in’ and what has become passé. Think back to what a rose I thought they were ghastly. For years, along with chrysanthemums, garden used to look like, with its blocks of hybrid teas in lurid dahlias were despised by the horticultural cognoscente and rarely hues all planted side by side with nothing beneath them but their seen in the plot of any fashion-conscious gardener. bare stems. My parents’ generation loved rockeries, heathers, bedding plants and crazy paving. In the 1980s, exponents of Then, out of the blue, one woman became their champion. the formal look championed statues, box parterres and yew Sarah Raven’s first book, The Cutting Garden, which I mentioned hedging to divide the space up into ‘rooms’. Then, in the Nineties, in my June column about cut flowers, was published in 1996. shockwaves reverberated through the ranks of traditional Here, suddenly, was someone taking a very different view of what gardeners when Dutchman Piet Oudolf broke the mould by plants were attractive. She was not only putting bright, clashing introducing us to the very outré prairie style and designing with colours – oranges, pinks, lime greens – together and making them ornamental grasses. A new style of perennial planting was born. work, she was suggesting we view very ordinary bedding plants My gardening years have been very much influenced by such as cosmos and zinnias through new eyes. Strangest of all, she the superb herbaceous planting and colour combinations of was promoting the idea of growing huge dinner-plate dahlias. Back legendary gardeners such as Penelope Hobhouse at Tintinhull, then, I thought, ‘It’ll never catch on.’ How wrong I was. Order your Nori and Sandra Pope at Hadspen and, of course, Vita Sackville- dahlias late from any of the nurseries these days and you are likely West’s vision at Sissinghurst, which continues to inspire new to find the most popular varieties sold out. Sarah has said that generations of gardeners. When David Austin introduced when she first saw dahlias in their trial grounds, most buyers his English shrub roses, allowing us to achieve were choosing the same garish shades they’d always grown. She the romantic look of old-fashioned blooms but with repeat flowering, this, combined with deep sought out, instead, the more unusual rich purples and herbaceous borders, came to epitomise the black-reds, the palest peaches and gentle creams that English country garden style that is admired all no one else seemed to want and they began to appear in over the world. Garden designers say it is often what they are asked for when they work with her catalogues. Now, dahlias are part of gardening for clients abroad. The challenge is that many a whole new cohort of gardeners and are considered countries do not have the right conditions for the height of fashion. what we do so successfully in Britain – they The National Dahlia Society was formed in don’t have the right temperate climate and 1881 and there are still many dahlia “nutters” sufficient rain! (as they describe themselves) who grow To change things, it takes someone to to show. If, like me, you just want to go out on a limb and make a stand for plant them for late-summer colour, a specific style. And, as with most there’s plenty of choice. Every year, aspects of style, what goes around I order more than I can possibly comes around. But I have to say, accommodate and then try to one plant I never thought would work out where I might put them. come back into fashion is the It’s fascinating that one person dahlia. For years, they were seen can change hearts and minds so as the preserve of old men with profoundly and I find myself wondering allotments, who grew the blooms what’s going to be the next big thing for to be bigger and bolder than those gardening. I’ve heard that carnations are of their neighbours and entered them coming back into fashion. Unlikely, I thought. But then I’ve been wrong before… NEXT MONTH Susy’s ode to autumn walks. countryliving.com/uk SEPTEMBER 2022 31

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PROFILE “I WAS ALWAYS DESTINED FOR THE slow lane” He was a Nineties Britpop icon. Now, he is singing about the climate in a cave and philosophising about nature. LauraSilverman uncovers the green and mellow side of Jarvis Cocker ne weekend when Jarvis Cocker was 11, Faber & Faber and, this year, published Good Pop, Bad Pop, the he had “an epiphany” on a windy slope. story of his early life told through objects he found clearing his loft. He was on a school orienteering trip in He has also championed environmental projects, returning to that the Peak District. He hadn’t wanted to go. orienteering epiphany, when he felt “the beginnings of this inkling “I didn’t like going into the countryside,” that I would want to spend time in the countryside voluntarily”. he says with candour. “My grandfather would take me and my sister on walks to ALL ABOARD the Peak District [near where they grew up in Sheffield], which I really resented at the time.” What didn’t he like about it? “Hills,” Jarvis latches on to some of the formative moments that made he deadpans. On that trip, something changed. “That’s where I him think about the environment. The Disko Bay expedition in had a bit of an epiphany because I realised that I enjoyed it… That 2008, part of the Cape Farewell project by artist David Buckland, feeling of achievement when you hold the map the right way up stands out. (Disko Bay was the destination in Greenland.) Off and work out the coordinates… Eventually, you stop moaning Jarvis sailed in his khaki windcheater and furry trapper to the about being outside and realise you are in this crazy landscape.” Arctic, with 30 artists, musicians and scientists. “It was done in “Crazy” it might have been, but epiphany number two was on a very generous spirit,” he says, sipping his green tea, “because the way. One day in economics, Jarvis, now 15, spotted the words it wasn’t like you had to write about it. [David’s] belief was that “arabicus pulp” [sic] in the Financial Times. What a great name if people came along, it couldn’t help but feed into their work.” for a band, he thought; what a shame I don’t have one. Jarvis had (Ian McEwan, a passenger on an earlier trip, would write Solar, longed to be in a band since he was seven, the year his dad Mac, a satire about renewable energy.) a musician, left the family home. Now he had a name. Songs followed. Then, 15 years later, success with Pulp. “I was always There was one particular hold-on-to-your-hat moment. “We destined for the slow lane,” he says. were going through a rocky strait and the sun was going down,” Pulp peaked in the mid-Nineties, when Di erent Class, Jarvis says in his mellifluous baritone. “It was quite beautiful, their album featuring the anthemic Common People, topped but in that kind of austere way, with no sign of human or animal the charts. To date, it has sold two million copies. Since or vegetable life… I had a strong feeling that here was something Pulp disbanded in 2002, Jarvis has recorded solo albums, ineffable, something impossible to know.” He has a tendency to hosted a BBC Radio 6 Music show, dabbled as an editor at philosophise. “The idea of all those forces that keep the world together… They’re beyond anyone’s comprehension because there are so many natural processes going on, all at the same time, countryliving.com/uk SEPTEMBER 2022 35

PROFILE and somehow they make this thing “WHAT IF WE to be.” Conservation projects could be that is an inhabitable sphere.” the answer. “In the film, we showed clips But a point is being made. “I got ALLOWED THE of people working in factories with big a strong feeling that we shouldn’t hammers and then these [other] guys tamper with it… There’s sometimes hitting things with big hammers, but this arrogance of human PLANET A YEAR they were making dams,” he says. “The exceptionalism that things might be physicality of doing something has its a bit ****ed up, but if things get really OFF EVERY SO benefits… It creates a community.” He bad, we’ll be able to fix it.” He shakes pauses. “I know it is a pipe dream, but his head. “This is part of the problem: it is also a beautiful dream.” this idea that we’re cleverer than OFTEN?” PASTORAL MUSIC nature… You have to let nature do its thing and be happy that it’s there.” Not everyone will want to toil away on a This was the inkling of another hillside, but there will be other ways of epiphany. Jarvis didn’t immediately overhaul his lifestyle on his getting involved. Jarvis, who “would have lasted one day in a steel return, but his attitude to the landscape shifted gradually. A couple factory”, is likely to stick to music. But over the past few years, he’s of years later, he recorded an album for the National Trust, featuring combined the two. He’s allowed Extinction Rebellion (XR) stalls ducks flapping on the water and waves lapping on the shore. in the foyer at gigs and, in 2019, invited XR activists to join him MAIN PHOTOGRAPHS BY TOM JAMIESON/NEW YORK TIMES/REDUX/EYEVINE. ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHS BY ALAMY; ASADOUR GUZELIAN A NEW TRACK RECORD on the red carpet at the Q Awards. They held up a banner reading ‘No music on a dead planet’. Jarvis had an XR logo poking out of Today, he roams between a cottage in the Peak District, near the breast pocket of his suit. XR fits with his early sympathy for the his mum Christine and sister Saskia, and a house in London ideas behind punk – anti-capitalism, non-conformity, originality. belonging to his partner Kim. (He also occasionally pops over Sometimes “green” ideas make their way directly into Jarvis’s to Paris, where his teenage son Albert lives with Jarvis’s ex-wife, music. Last year, he collaborated with Gucci Soundsystem, the Camille.) Yet it’s the landscape of the Peak District, with its dance music project, on Let’s Stick Around, “the world’s first “magic and beauty”, that has moved him over the past few years, sustainable banger”, released to coincide with COP26. especially since lockdown walks, when he would frequently Yet not everything is about taking a stand. Other projects hear the call of a hen harrier. They usually live on remote moors. have an environmental strand just because he is caught up in Being Jarvis, he did not merely lose himself in his the wonder of the landscape. “I am a little obsessed with caves,” surroundings, nor philosophise about the life of a bird of prey. he says at one point, waving his hands about. The obsession Instead, he thought about ‘Turnip’ Townshend, the politician started just over ten years ago, when he took Albert to the Creswell who popularised four-field crop rotation in the 18th century. Crags, on the border between Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. What if we allowed the planet a year off every so often, just as The caves, which go back to Palaeolithic times, contain some farmers allow a field to be fallow in crop rotation, thought Jarvis. of the only cave art in the country. There they were, looking at We would drive less and fly less, as we did during the pandemic, an engraving of a horse’s head, perhaps 12,000 years old, when to allow nature to thrive. People could work on renewable Jarvis became “quite emotional”. In the gift shop, he bought energy or conservation projects in their free time. a book, The Mind in the Cave by David Lewis-Williams, and Conservation projects have been on Jarvis’s mind since creating got carried away by the idea that the cave was the birthplace of an art trail in 2019 with Turner Prize winner Jeremy Deller. The man’s creativity, “something that’s central to being a human”. trail marks the Kinder Scout mass trespass in 1932, when walkers Big themes, from evolution to extinction, not so much crept tramped across the Peak District to the high plateau to secure but leapt into his songs. He would collect them together for access to the countryside for all. Jarvis put together “a little film” an album, Beyond the Pale, which came out in 2020. to show in a barn. The National Trust, which was overseeing the Lockdown prevented a tour, so Jarvis and his band made trail as part of The People’s Landscapes Project, asked him to a video performing in another cave, Peak Cavern, cheerfully include footage of how they were rewilding the area. lugging equipment deeper and deeper underground. Jarvis Did Jarvis jump at this request? “At first, I was like, ‘Hey, don’t laughs. “It was the best thing… This cave is famous for having infringe on my art with your advert,’” he says in a mock petulant great acoustics. Queen Victoria visited and was treated to an tone. “But then it was quite interesting because seeing people doing orchestral recital there… We hadn’t been able to rehearse, but this physical work made me think of the industry that once kept it all came together. The cave felt very welcoming. It made it this area alive… That city I was brought up in, the cradle of my sound really great as well.” Could caves be the new Glastonbury development, was an industrial city. I’ve seen what’s happened to it for a different class of band? “I have this fantasy that we will do since the industry disappeared. You’ve got a city that’s lost its reason a tour of the world’s caves,” Jarvis says. “Maybe next year.” 36 SEPTEMBER 2022 countryliving.com/uk

Jarvis’s GREATEST HITS 1963 Born in Sheffield. Dad, a musician, leaves when Jarvis is seven. Mum becomes a Tory councillor Late 1970s Forms Pulp at school 1980s Defers university to focus on music. Releases three albums, attracting little attention 1988-1991 Studies film-making at Central St Martin’s 1994 Success with album His ’n’ Hers 1995 Di erent Class charts at No 1. Wins the Mercury Music Prize in 1996 (bottom left) 2002 Marries stylist Camille Bidault- Waddington. They have a son, Albert 2006 Releases a solo album, Jarvis 2008 Joins 40 artists and scientists on a Cape Farewell trip to Greenland to raise awareness of the climate crisis  2010-2017 Hosts a show on BBC Radio 6 Music 2014 Dabbles in publishing as editor-at-large for Faber & Faber 2017-present Records and tours with JARV IS… 2018 Campaigns against tree felling (near left) 2019 Creates Be Kinder with the National Trust, a Peak District art trail 2021 Collaborates with Gucci Soundsystem, a dance music project, for “sustainable banger” Let’s Stick Around 2022 Releases Good Pop Bad Pop, a memoir told through objects he has found clearing the loft

38 SEPTEMBER 2022

SEASONAL INSPIRATION Setting the MOOD At the edge of a meadow, create an impromptu dining area and dress with a delicate vintage lace cloth to echo the pretty forms of grasses and wild carrot. A selection of glimmering candles will mirror the glow of sundown. White bistro chair, £110 (pair), Garden Trading. Crocheted cloth (over white chair), from a selection; square crochet throw, from a selection: both Ebay. Vintage table, £40; bentwood chair, £12; wooden chair, £15: all RG Scott. Victorian glass candle holders, £5-£10 each, Hungerford Antiques Arcade. White jug (holding flowers), glass jug and glasses: all from a selection, Ebay. Vintage transferware plates, charity shop find. Bamboo battery lanterns, £27.99 each, Lights4fun. Bamboo canes, £7 (ten), B&Q. Lace bunting, from a selection, Etsy. Similar solar pagoda lights, £12.95 each, Sarah Raven The golden HOUR Let the delicate patterns of lace and crochet inspire a celebration of the last hazy days of summer WORDS AND STYLING BY JO RIGG PHOTOGRAPHS BY SUSSIE BELL countryliving.com/uk SEPTEMBER 2022 39

SEASONAL INSPIRATION Just in CASE Vintage baskets and hampers evoke a sense of nostalgia. Large, lidded wicker ones will store picnic items and double up as an impromptu table. Throw in a few blankets on which to lounge or wrap up in as the sun sets. Baskets, £20 (top), £35 (middle), £60 (bottom), all Ebay. Open basket, £3, Haynes of Challow. Vintage coffee pot and mugs, from a selection, Etsy. Crocheted tablecloth, £19, Ebay. Hat, from a selection, Zara

DOILY DELIGHTS Large stones make perfect weights to hold down napkins or cloths on a breezy day. Lay a small crochet doily or coaster on a flat surface and place a smooth stone in the middle. Thread a needle with matching-colour cotton. Pull opposite edges of the doily up towards the centre of the stone and stitch them together to hold. Continue stitching round the doily. For neatness, gently pull the fabric to tighten as you work. Trim the thread to finish – any excess fabric can be cut away. Crocheted tablecloth, as before. Vintage transferware plates, charity shop find. Crochet mats and coasters, car-boot sale. Natural muslin, £2.10/m, Cheap Fabrics. Vintage knives and forks, £3 each, Hungerford Antiques Arcade. Portmore tumbler, £20 (four), Garden Trading POT OF GOLD Transform a humble jar of honey or jam into a thing of beauty with a small lace doily. Simply place it on top of the lid and use a fine elastic band to hold in position. You could cover the band with a length of fine ribbon or string for a prettier effect. Basket, £20; crocheted tablecloth, £19: both Ebay. Open basket, £3, Haynes of Challow. Vintage coffee pot, from a selection, Etsy DECORATIVE DETAILS Natural motifs, such as the wheat in this breadboard’s decorative border, are evocative of harvest time and add to the whimsical charm of an alfresco meal. Vintage breadboard, car-boot sale. Crocheted tablecloth, as before. Vintage palette knife, £18, Ebay SEPTEMBER 2022 41

SEASONAL INSPIRATION COMFORT & JOY *ALWAYS FOLLOW THE MANUFACTURER’S INSTRUCTIONS WHEN USING SPRAY PAINT Transform a plain cushion with crochet and lace doilies. Find six to seven lightweight fabric doilies with an open pattern in round or oval designs. Iron them carefully so they are flat and smooth. Position and pin them in place on both sides of a cushion cover, folding them neatly at the edges and corners. Sew on using small stitches (taking care not to sew the sides together). Square crochet throw, £25; doilies, from a selection: both Ebay. Yellow cushion cover, £7.99; dark-green cushion cover, £10.99: both H&M Home. Other cushions, from a selection, Beyond France CRATE IDEA Give an old wooden crate a new lease of life with a pretty design using spray paint and a stencil or section of decorative net fabric. First brush away any dust and cobwebs and place upside down in a well-ventilated area. Keeping the can at least 30cm away from the net, apply a light coat of white spray paint with a sweeping motion (helping to ensure an even coverage with no drips or runs). Remove the net only once the paint has dried*. Apple crate, £10, Ebay. White matt spray paint, £9, Hobbycraft. Wicker bottle holder basket, £25, Grand Designs Antiques. Cushion, similar from H&M Home. Glasses, £4.99 each, Zara Home. Vintage enamel bowl, from a selection, Ebay BRING OUT THE BUNTING To make a length of bunting, cut several crochet and lace mats in half. Pin them on to a length of long ribbon and stitch in place by hand or machine. Doilies, from 20p each, car-boot sale. Alternatively, you can buy a lace bunting bundle, from a selection, Etsy. Similar solar pagoda lights, £12.95 each, Sarah Raven FOR STOCKISTS see Where to Buy 42 SEPTEMBER 2022

Fired UP Use an old bucket to make a firepit or barbecue to cook on or simply for warmth, and upturn a rustic wooden crate for a makeshift table. Wooden apple crate, £10; vintage enamel bowl, from a selection: both Ebay. White enamel bucket, £25, Antiques at Wendover. Glasses, £4.99 each, Zara Home. Wicker bottle holder basket, £25, Grand Designs Antiques. Cushions, similar from H&M Home countryliving.com/uk





INTERVIEW The Somerset-based 5 And the children love it? broadcaster on keeping hens, We moved to the countryside partly because outdoor yoga and her I didn’t know how to raise kids in a city. Mollie is now 18 and Dan is 16, but I didn’t know what to do with them when I could no longer wheel them out of the house in the buggy five times a day. I wanted to give them the same opportunity to go feral as I’d had in Ireland. difficult relationship MARIELLA 6 Do you have any pets? with her ‘mother’ FROSTRUP I would love to have a cat, but Dan is allergic to them, so it’s dogs for us. Our lovely Yorkiepoo [a mix of Yorkshire terrier and poodle], Katyusha, 1 What’s your first countryside memory? named after a Soviet rocket launcher because of her speed as a puppy, passed away last year. We moved to Ireland from Oslo when I was six and lived in a converted But we have her son, Bomb, who is also lovely, although he’s as stable block in the grounds of a former hotel in County Wicklow. thick as two short planks. Last year, we also took on Pooky, a It had these Victorian gardens that had been abandoned when the Jackapoo [a cross between a Jack Russell and a poodle] from hotel burned down a couple of years before. There were dozens of a Devon farm. She chews everything but she’s very sweet. rhododendrons and a river, and I’d spend hours exploring with my 7 And your brood includes hens? brother and sister. We only lived there for two years until my parents split up, but it made such an impression that it feels like most of my We got our first chickens a couple of years ago. Maxine was the leader. childhood. Then, as I got older, I couldn’t wait to escape to London. She was like a character from Prisoner Cell Block H – strident, 2 Did you still manage to get a rural fix? no-nonsense. But gradually, the badgers got them, one by one. We were real lockdown stereotypes. I also started making sourdough, Even at my most ‘urban’, I’ve had a corridor to the countryside. In although I think my ‘mother’ [the starter culture] is, frankly, past it. my early twenties, I was a music PR in London, but rented a place with friends in Sussex. Then, at 25, I sold my London flat and bought 8 You’ve ruffled a few feathers as president of CPRE Somerset… a house in the Cotswolds with my then-boyfriend. A weekend in the I’m very proud to champion and help protect the Somerset city is okay once in a blue moon, but you spend a fortune in coffee bars. countryside, but the role does have the odd challenge. We recently 3 What made you settle in Somerset? lost an appeal to stop 200 houses being built on a beautiful field by INTERVIEW BY RUTH CHANDLER. PHOTOGRAPH BY KATE MARTIN PHOTOGRAPHY Castle Cary train station. I mentioned it on social media and was Before we moved here, I would often come to stay up the road criticised for being a privileged person trying to stop young people with my friend Catherine McCullin and her husband Don [the from being able to buy a home. It’s difficult. Locals objected. We do photographer]. Whenever we went for a walk, I would peer over a wall need to build homes, but we also need to treat green space better. to get a glimpse of one particular cottage. I could only see the edge of The government needs to produce a joined-up policy. it, but it kept calling me back. My husband Jason and I had a place 9 Best beauty spots nearby? in Ayrshire at the time, but the weather was bleak and we wanted to move south. I asked Catherine to stick a note through the door of I love walking in the triangle of countryside between Shepton Mallet, the cottage, saying that I loved it and to ask, jokingly, whether they Bruton and Frome, and try to get out most days. Walking is my might be moving. The house was about to be put up for sale… meditation. I always feel better after it and love being in nature. 4 What a romantic story. Has it been happy ever after? 10 How else do you wind down? It has! It felt like home as soon as we moved in 11 years ago. We have I try to ring-fence my weekends from work [presenting a Times Radio these big iron gates and an impressive drive, which leads to a fairly show four times a week], although I’m always reading a book or watching modest house. Our home used to be three gardeners’ cottages serving a film to review. I’m really into yoga – it’s been helping me through the a big country pile that exploded in the 1940s because of a gas leak. menopause – and, when the weather’s warm enough, I do it outside. Parts of the building date back to the late 17th century. There’s a huge fireplace and beautiful beams. We’re barely in London these days. CRACKING THE MENOPAUSE: While Keeping Yourself Together by Mariella Frostrup and Alice Smellie (Bluebird, £9.99). 46 SEPTEMBER 2022 countryliving.com/uk

“I wanted to give my kids the opportunity to go feral”

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