BBC Countryfile Magazine

Countryfile Magazine inspires you to explore forgotten corners of the great British countryside and provides knowledge of the people and wildlife that inhabit it. We want to tempt you into trying new things, seek out new places and make the most of Britain’s beautiful landscapes.

Seize the May

THIS MONTH’S CONTRIBUTORS

HOW TO CONTACT US

MAY IN THE COUNTRY • THE BIG PICTURE

TANTALISING TULIPS • It’s all go this month in Britain’s gardens, and one of the stars of the show is the cheery tulip. So dazzling are these spring bloomers that a host of festivals have been dedicated specifically to them. Here are a few to look out for…

No Mow May

World Bee Day

This month on the Plodcast • GET ACTIVE

LATE-SPRING SALAD • New potatoes, eggs and asparagus – is there a holier trinity? If you’re making this gorgeous salad for a picnic, try to bring it together at the last minute, as it will always taste better if it has escaped the icy clasp of the fridge. You can finish the salad at your lunch spot by adding the eggs, a scattering of fresh herbs and the remaining dressing.

Stonehenge of the North

HOW TO CLEAN WALKING BOOTS • May is National Walking Month so this is the perfect time to learn how to care for your boots

Countryfile on TV • BBC ONE, SUNDAYS

WARBLERS OF BRITAIN • Spring would not be the same without our warblers. Dominic Couzens reveals how to tell these often restless, delightful-sounding songsters apart

OUR NEW KING IS DEVOTED TO THE BRITISH COUNTRYSIDE

Nicola Chester • Wandering cows, potholes and unnamed lanes can turn rural roads into a test of patience

SOUTH PEMBROKESHIRE • From the peaceful, tree-banked waterways of the Cleddau Estuary to the spectacular sea stacks, castles and villages of the coast, south Pembrokeshire is the perfect place to while away a spring or summer holiday, promises Julie Brominicks

WHAT IS THE CLEDDAU?

WELSH PLACE NAMES • If you don’t speak Welsh, get to know the Welsh names of these featured locations.

NOW GO TO SOUTH PEMBROKESHIRE • Where to stay, visit, eat and drink by Julie Brominicks

Choose your welcome gift • Great reasons to subscribe…

Rainforests on our doorstep • When we think of rainforests, the Amazon or the Congo spring to mind, but Britain has its own share, full of wild character, thronging with life and in desperate need of protection. Guy Shrubsole tells the story of these secret forgotten habitats

FIVE GREAT BRITISH RAINFORESTS TO DISCOVER

TO PLANT MORE TREES, WE NEED MORE FORESTERS

THE TEESSIDE MARINE DISASTER • The Teesside marine disaster is a wide-scale death of crustaceans, devastating local fishing communities. But has a recent investigation discovered the cause? Mark Rowe reports

What are freeports?

Art of a dale • The trees, lanes and green pastures of Wensleydale have inspired Yorkshire artist Simon Palmer for 40 years. Susie White talks to the watercolourist about his spiritual connection with the landscape

YORKSHIRE SCULPTURE PARK

Doctor nature • TV doctor Amir Khan has recently become president of the RSPB, but what does the role entail? Annabel Ross meets him to find out – and discovers how closely our health is related to time spent in nature

Crake expectations • How could a farmland bird with an extraordinary call, which was once as familiar as the blackbird, have been driven from all but the outer fringes of the British Isles? James Fair investigates the case of the vanishing corncrake

MACHAIR, A RARE GRASSLAND HABITAT

WHERE TO SEE CORNCRAKES

TOP 10 ROYAL GARDENS • To celebrate the coronation of King Charles III, we visit gorgeous green spaces with connections to the monarchy

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