From a milliner inspired by topiary to a model-turned-ecological gardener and a couple who swapped jobs in telecommunications for growing vegetables, Sir David Beckham’s rural heroes tell Julie Harding why craft and the countryside are key

Cushnie House, Cushnie, Alford, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. This B-listed former Laird’s house comes with grounds that include five ponds and a vegetable garden. An additional 28 acres of land is availab

Marian Boswall defends the building of lakes, which bring both beauty and biodiversity

It’s been a long mile, trudging uphill in the rain, across uninspiring fields, past rickety ruins of long-abandoned farm buildings, mud slowly working its way up my waterproof trousers. Sometimes walk

Parish churches need the same campaigning energy that saved the great country houses 50 years ago

THINGS ARE very quiet here at the moment. It’s weird - I am used to a life overfull of things to do. For the first time in 20 years I have no building project on the go, and general maintenance, fenci