BY SEAN WALSH Traditions exist for the preservation of the truths, practices, and things which comfort us, so that we can pass these gifts on to people not yet alive. Modernism exists to disrupt all this via energetic historical revisionism and a continuous recreation of Year Zero. To the modernist, the inheritance rights of future generations are no more than useful fictions intended to serve … Continue reading Norcross Knows Cricket’s Soul
BY ALLISON LEE Whilst we are all well aware of the rapid damage our planet is suffering, not everyone knows how they can help minimise environmental harm and social exploitation. Yet each of us can make a significant difference simply by considering where we buy our clothing. Fast fashion brands enable rapid production and target fashion-conscious consumers seeking trendy, low-cost clothes. This inherently drives environmental … Continue reading Aspiga
BY NIALL McRAE The 1960s moderniser tried to improve Britain’s transport (unlike current policies) Six decades have passed since the last train left West Bexhill. The ornate Edwardian building has survived, now used for auctions, with a café in the former ladies’ waiting room. The spur of the London to Hastings line closed in the Sixties by the ‘Beeching cuts’, the town being served by … Continue reading In Defence of Doctor Beeching
BY NIGEL MANN Reform UK is making a determined pitch to rural Britain, positioning itself as the champion of a countryside it claims has been neglected and “scapegoated” by Westminster elites. Its platform, focused on backing farmers, cutting red tape, and scrapping “net zero” targets, directly targets a constituency that feels increasingly invisible. However, this strategy is fraught with internal contradictions, exemplified by the recent … Continue reading Reform UK’s Countryside Dilemma
BY ALEX STORY The August Bank Holiday weekend fills the good people of Notting Hill with dread. Those who can flee do; those who can’t board themselves up inside their houses. Their front gardens, if they have one, front doors and outside walls will be used by the throngs as municipal facilities. A couple of years ago, after two fatalities, eight stabbings and over sixty … Continue reading The Carnival
BY DOMINIC WIGHTMAN The first herald of oblivion was not a sound, but a scent. It crept into the sanctum of Chandrakant Deshmukh’s slumber like the ghost of a forgotten epoch, a primordial musk of sun-scorched earth and overripe fruit, an olfactory violation of his whitewashed walls and the sterile geometry of his meticulously ordered existence. He surfaced from the depths of an afternoon nap … Continue reading The Unsealed Window
VICAR Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, as the Editor wrote this week, the countryside does not rush. It has its rhythms, its seasons, its own unhurried pace. The oak tree does not try to grow faster than the oak tree next to it. The river does not hurry to reach the sea. They simply are, and in their being, they teach us to be still, … Continue reading A Prayer for the Turning Seasons
BY ALLISON LEE Organised by the International Sheep Dog Society (ISDS), the International Supreme Sheepdog Trial is a prestigious annual event that brings together top handlers and their dogs from England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland to compete for the title of Supreme Champion. The competition showcases the dogs’ natural instincts and abilities, as well as the strength of their partnership with their handlers. Using only … Continue reading The International Supreme Sheepdog Trial 2026
BY NICHOLAS ENGERT In a world of over abundance and hence over consumption, we increasingly fail to discern between what is truly beautiful and yet functional and the cheap or vulgar alternative. Consider three simple objects we use around our homes, namely a pencil, a flower pot and a tea towel. So pedestrian and mundane are these articles we fail to appreciate that their elegance … Continue reading Simple, Elegant & Functional
BY DOMINIC WIGHTMAN The English countryside does not shout. It simply is. Consider the hedge. Not the clipped suburban thing, but the ancient wall of hawthorn and bramble, wild rose and blackthorn, woven against wind and time. The hedge-layer knows what we have forgotten. He bends the long whips nearly to the ground, wounds them so they send up thicker shoots. Strength lies not in … Continue reading The Wisdom of Entanglement
BY ALEC SWAN There comes a time, usually when the first frost bites hard and the last curlew’s call fades across a barren moor, when one must ask serious questions of those entrusted with the guardianship of our natural world. Are they merely incompetent, or have they, in the words of a more cynical age, simply come to see the public as an endless cash … Continue reading Hoarding, Hypocrisy, Hollow Promises
BY ROGER WATSON One of the joys and privileges of private club membership is that most clubs have reciprocal arrangements with other clubs around the world. My club in the UK is The Royals Scots Club in Edinburgh (Country Squire Magazine passim) which has reciprocal arrangements with a wide variety of clubs in the UK and on every continent. I rarely have time to explore … Continue reading The Brisbane Club
BY JACK WATSON Getting a part-time job at Dunkin’—the American fast-food chain famous for its donuts and coffee—was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Instead of spending my summer holidays as a nocturnal teenager glued to video games or parties, I took advice from my grandma and the editor of this magazine to create a CV and apply online (everything’s digital these days). … Continue reading One Application Changed Everything
VICAR Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I have been thinking, this week, about the quiet rebellion of doing nothing. In a world that constantly demands more—more productivity, more output, more engagement—the act of simply stopping feels almost dangerous. We have forgotten how to rest. We treat our Sundays like any other day, filling them with chores and errands and the endless scrolling of screens. The … Continue reading A Prayer for the Gift of Rest
BY ALLISON LEE The Ryedale Show is held annually on the last Tuesday in July; this year, it fell on the 28th. Established in 1855, it is a traditional agricultural show run for the farming and local communities, and it truly has something to offer everyone. Though much smaller than the Great Yorkshire Show in Harrogate, Ryedale remains highly popular. Set against the picturesque Duncombe Park … Continue reading The Ryedale Show
BY STEPHEN PAX LEONARD The Arday scandal is a chance to ‘restore’ academia in Britain Following the tragic death of Jason Arday, the Prime Minister has called for a period of reflection. I agree. We need to reflect on how we can avoid such a tragedy happening again and how we can restore the intellectual rigour of academia in Britain. Instead of removing the systemic … Continue reading From DEI to Dystopia: Reclaiming the University’s True Purpose
BY NIALL MCCRAE Passing Port Talbot en route to Pembrokeshire for a family holiday, I gazed across the vast complex of furnaces, chimneys and warehouses, all lying silent since the Net Zero axe was wielded by Ed Miliband (until recently Keir Starmer’s minister for energy rationing). Most of the heavy industry of South Wales has disappeared, leaving rundown towns with high streets occupied by vape … Continue reading Who Rules Best? Lords of the Manor or Marxist Milibands?
BY CALUM CAMPBELL Let’s cut straight to it. The Cairngorms National Park is shouting from the rooftops about a 30% increase in capercaillie numbers this year. They’re claiming their £12-13m Emergency Plan is working. But scratch beneath the surface and you’ll find something rather inconvenient. Kinveachy Estate – which is part of Seafield and Strathspey estates – saw their capercaillie numbers leap from 25 to … Continue reading Greenwashing Lek Counts?
BY SEAN WALSH Just to be clear, it is not the people who brought the truth to the Arday situation who are responsible for his death. That is an absurd, back-to-front claim. It is like blaming the specialist who spots the cancer for not saving the patient, even though he is the only one who tried. But precisely because it is an absurd and back-to-front … Continue reading The Cruel Mercy of Truth
BY ALLISON LEE To many people, bees and wasps are nothing more than annoying stingers that ruin summer barbecues and seem intent on causing pain. But in reality, these insects are environmental powerhouses. Most are vital pollinators or highly effective pest controllers, so before you reach for the swatter, it’s worth pausing to consider their value. We all know the importance of the honey bee, … Continue reading Beyond the Sting
