Countryside
My neighbour has kidnapped my beavers
My beavers have been kidnapped. A few months ago there were five of them living on my family’s farm on…
The National Trust took the knee
In a recent interview, Hilary McGrady, the director-general of the National Trust, complains that ‘The culture wars we’re trying to…
The Christian case for hunting
When I was a teenager, my closest friend, Henry, would vanish into the Shropshire Hills over the hunting season’s weekends.…
Labour’s war on the countryside
Two miles from where I am writing, the neighbouring village is plastered with posters demanding ‘Say No to Pylons’. The…
It may be too late to save trail hunting
There’s a grumble, often repeated among country folk, that ‘hunting people got hunting banned’. What they mean (I think) is…
Starmer’s double standards
Sir Keir Starmer’s readiness to do ‘whatever it takes’ to support Ukraine seems to be qualified by his fear of…
The science behind Olivia Colman’s left-wing face
The new hunting year formally began last week. Should I resubscribe? Politically, the outlook is bleak. In February, Steve Reed,…
The covert campaign against field sports
The renewed war on rural pursuits
The trouble with wild campers
The trouble with wild campers
Red kites should never have been reintroduced to Britain
Red kites should never have been reintroduced to Britain
Why Liz Truss shouldn’t be PM
Two and a half years ago I joined the Tory party to vote for Boris, then unjoined as soon as…
The house names of Surrey tell a sad story
If you want to understand Surrey, look at the house names. Keepers’ Copse, Meadow View, Weavers, Highfields… What do all…
Farmers vs rewilders: can they find their common ground?
Farmers and rewilders must discover their shared purpose
There is a new and deadly threat to the countryside
Surprise, surprise. The person who had the shield taken out of the street light so it shone back into my…
The lost dogs of Surrey
The woman pulled up in her flashy 4×4 which was meandering along the farm track in that way people have…