The Italian Lakes are renowned for being the playground of the rich and famous, so it’s no surprise that the scenery is stunning, the climate good and there is beauty all around in the form of histori

Twenty six years ago, Italian writer and gardener Umberto Pasti fell asleep beneath a remote fig tree on a stony hillside facing the Atlantic Ocean, 40 miles south of Tangier. When he awoke, he knew t

As the sun sinks over the moat encircling Columbine Hall, reflections of the manor house stretch and soften on the still surface of the water. This is a profoundly romantic setting and, along with the

The borders in Jānis Raubiška and Martin Paley’s garden look as though they are having a party. Planting designer Jānis says he doesn’t have any time for pastels – he finds them boring. Fireworks are

Modest, alluring and versatile, Viola odorata, or sweet violet, is a small, hardy, herbaceous perennial that tumbles and scrambles close to the ground, forming dense clumps of dainty, heart-shaped, gr

COUNTRY LIFE writers reveal the hotels that stood out to them in 2025