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

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

A LOCAL’S GUIDE

Vivienne Crow was staying at Newfield Hall as a guest of HF Holidays, which organises walking holidays in the Yorkshire Dales and other UK and European destinations. Self-guided, three-night breaks at

Middleland: Dispatches from the Borders Rory Stewart (Jonathan ...

Green-fingered Wakefield lad Jamie Butterworth is one of the country’s leading plant experts, a gardening broadcaster and author. Jamie’s book, What Grows Together , was published in September. His passion for horticulture can be seen on Gardeners’ World , and he also delivered Monty Don’s RHS and BBC Radio 2 Dog Garden at the Chelsea Flower Show this year. Jamie spends as much time as he can in Yorkshire where his family all still live