Country Life

Depending on who you ask, the food and drink scene in London is either in a state of despair or it's never been in better health. As always, when there is this much noise, it's best to get an expert on to cut a path through the metaphorical fog. Who could be better than Leonie Cooper, food and drink editor at Time Out London, and co-host of Messy Lunch with Gizzi Erskine.

Where can you meet a man called Otto, wear a viking hat, and grind up a pigeon into a sauce? Where was ground zero for the natural wine movement? Where are the best pubs in our capital? You'll agree, all very important questions, and thankfully Leonie has all the answers. Somehow, we even get into the contents of her fridge, which will no doubt impress plenty of our regular listeners.

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We also talk about messy lunches (should we be having more of them? Are they allowed? Why were they ever allowed?) and her new show Messy Lunch, which she co-hosts with Gizzi Erskine. Messy Lunch sees Leonie and Gizzi take the great and the good from the world of music and interview them over a slap-up meal, greasing the wheels of gossip and drawing out the best stories from some of the nation's most famous musicians. Not only will it make you hungry, it will also make you wonder why you ever took a job in accounting.

I don't say this often, but Leonie has been one of the best guests we've ever had on the podcast, so make sure to tune in and listen. And then go and book a decent restaurant afterwards. Or become a rockstar. Or both.

Episode credits
Host: James Fisher
Guest: Leonie Cooper
Editor and producer: Toby Keel
Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Each year, the Country Life Top 100 names the very finest country house architects, interior designers, landscapers, garden designers and craftspeople in Britain. It's one of the magazine's undisputed highlights of the year, with our interiors expert Giles Kime spending months alongside experts from across the country to produce the final list.

We're delighted, then, that Giles joins James Fisher on the Country Life Podcast this week to talk about the 2026 list, to explain how it's evolved and developed for its latest iteration.

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This year, the most striking change is in the number of artists, craftspeople and artisans who've earned recognition. Giles explains to James why that is, why craft is so important and becoming ever more so, and highlighting some of the wonderful people who are in this year's Top 100.

You can see the full Country Life Top 100 here; and to see Giles in person you can book a ticket for his conversation with Kit Kemp — a designer on the Top 100 list — at the Winchester Book Festival in April.

Episode credits
Host: James Fisher
Guest: Giles Kime
Editor and producer: Toby Keel
Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On March 26, it will have been precisely 300 years since the death of Sir John Vanbrugh, the visionary architect behind buildings such as Blenheim Palace, Castle Howard, and Seaton Delaval. He is, without a doubt, one of the most influential ‘surveyors’ (as they were known back then) in British history.

To talk about John, we needed the help of another man called John. The one and only Dr John Goodall, Architectural Editor of Country Life and co-host of the Your Places or Mine Podcast, is among the most qualified minds to talk about all things brick, stone, and mortar, and he’s also just a fun guy to hang out with.

We explored the story of Vanbrugh, from his beginnings in Cheshire, his life as a minor revolutionary, political prisoner, playwright, Kit-Cat Club member and architect. To put it simply, he was one of those annoying kids at school who was just quite good at everything.

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As well as the fascinating story of Vanbrugh, we also discuss the restoration of Castle Howard, which Dr Goodall has recently written about in the magazine and online. How can you restore a building of that size after it was almost totally destroyed by fire? The answer is quite slowly, and extremely carefully. But, as you can see from the glorious images by Paul Highnam in the article on the Country Life website, they have done an exquisite job.

And no conversation about rebuilding a fire-damaged building can exclude a discussion about the future of Clandon Park in Surrey. As the legal, historical and architectural debate about its use rumbles on, Dr Goodall offers a few thoughts on what the National Trust’s decision to leave the interiors mostly unrestored means for conservation.

Episode credits
Host: James Fisher
Guest: John Goodall
Editor and producer: Toby Keel
Music: JuliusH via Pixabay
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The River Tamar that forms the Devon-Cornwall border comes within four miles of making Cornwall an island. In and around the Scottish Borders, many people define themselves as Bordermen first, and Scottish or English second. And the the great medieval border created in the years of Danelaw both split Britain, and lives on today as one of the biggest roads in the country.

These are just a few of the fascinating tales woven together by Richard Collett as he talks to James Fisher in this utterly fascinating episode of the Country Life Podcast.

Yes, a border is a line on a map — but it's also a state of mind, with many of the lines that divide us, define us and even unite us taking on very different meanings depending on where you live. Richard Collett has spent years travelling Britain and talking to people throughout the land about our borders, where they come from, and what they mean — and the result is a fascinating book, Along the Borders: In search of what divides and unites the British Isles.

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The book is published in April 2026 by Penguin — you can pre-order a copy here — and we can't recommend it enough, if only to read the tale of the English sailor who got shipwrecked on Shetland, and has now spent decades fighting for its recognition as an independent country.

Episode credits
Host: James Fisher
Guest: Richard Collett
Editor and producer: Toby Keel
Music: JuliusH via Pixabay
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. As the Formula One season kicked off on Sunday, we saw the advent of full hybrid racing at the top level for the first time. A full 50/50 split between internal combustion and electrical power at the pinnacle of motorsport. Quite the change. And then Mercedes ran off into the distance. More of the same (mostly).

The world of cars is changing, slowly but definitively. Although the ban on fully petrol and diesel powered cars seems to be the can that will be endlessly kicked down the road, more and more people are turning to hybrid and electric cars with each passing month. It’s not always easy to make sense of it all, especially in the luxury world, so naturally I made a few phone calls and got Country Life’s car aficionado, Adam Hay-Nicholls, to come on and so some explaining.

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We talked about growing up in the age of internal combustion, and what the transition to electric means for both the consumer and the professional car journalist. We chatted about the upcoming Formula One season, and whether anyone will really notice the difference (the answer is no, but also yes, a bit). And then of course we segued.

Why did Adam once meet a sheikh in Dubai who owned Saddam Hussein’s watch? Why did Adam once land a helicopter outside of a biker bar in Revelstoke, Canada? And why is he writing a new book on all things Bugatti, which means he must simply go and drive the new £4 million Tourbillon? All essential in a day’s work, and you’ll have to tune in to find out the answers.

Episode credits
Host: James Fisher
Guest: Adam Hay-Nicholls
Editor and producer: Toby Keel
Music: JuliusH via Pixabay
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.