BBC Countryfile Magazine

Countryfile Magazine inspires you to explore forgotten corners of the great British countryside and provides knowledge of the people and wildlife that inhabit it. We want to tempt you into trying new things, seek out new places and make the most of Britain’s beautiful landscapes.

Ancestral connections

COUNTRYFILE on TV • What to watch on Countryfile this month*

OUR COLUMNISTS

BBC Countryfile Magazine

Light up the night • Grab your sparklers and celebrate the season with a subscription to BBC Countryfile Magazine

November • NATURE l TRAVEL l NEWS l VIEWS

British rural beliefs and superstitions • A host of long-cherished customs survive across our islands – some widespread, others distinctly local. Alexandra Chidley-Uttley explores the most curious and persistent British traditions

BRONZE AGE BRITONS TRAVELLED FOR LARGE PARTIES, SHOW NEW FINDINGS • Communal feasts were trending 2,900 years ago, according to a new analysis of animal bones

RICH MARINE LIFE FOUND OFF THE ISLES OF SCILLY • Nearly 12,000 animals are filmed near the Isles of Scilly, suggesting its seas are among the healthiest in the UK

SEWAGE SPILLS IN NATIONAL PARKS AT “SCANDALOUS” LEVELS • Campaigners describe the situation as “madness”, as water companies put water quality in our protected countryside at risk, shows a new report

HOLLY WOOTTEN SMASHES MOUNTAIN RACE RECORD • Wales’ Dragon’s Back Race 2025 delivered dramatic storms, thrilling competition and a historic women’s record

The Plodcast • Tune your ears into our podcast this month

FUELLING THE FLAMES • Once a year, in a thrilling spectacle, the Devon town of Ottery St Mary is set aglow by flaming tar barrels carried through the streets. Pat Kinsella joins the fiery festivities

OTHER EVENTS IN NOVEMBER

THE FREEDOM OF ANIMALS • Winner of 2025’s Wainwright Prize for Raising Hare, Chloe Dalton says caring for the leveret changed her life

MAKE November

Infrastructure gaps put rural residents at a major disadvantage

Suits, insulation, coffins… wool’s secret weapon is its versatility

The perfect present

DISCOVER Pendle Hill’s witch country • Eerie rock formations, vanishing streams, sinister twists… Vivienne Crow experiences all and more on a fantastical three-day tour in the Forest of Bowland and Yorkshire Dales

NOW GO THERE • Where to stay, eat and what to do in the Dales and Bowland, by Vivienne Crow

Nature’s remedy? • Is it time to reconsider the role of psychoactive fungi? Joe Pontin explores the history, cultural impact and possible future of liberty cap or ‘magic’ mushrooms

HALLUCINOGENIC HARVEST • A quartet of mind-bending plants and preparations

FUNGAL INSPIRATIONS • From Alice in Wonderland to Stranger Things, here are five mushroom-influenced landmarks in popular culture

TOP 10 NEOLITHIC STRUCTURES • Stone circles, long barrows and sacred sites – Ellie Tennant picks remarkable Stone Age creations to visit in Britain and Ireland

In search of monsters • Britain is a land populated by dragons, giants, selkies and supernatural beings – or so the legends go. Kevin Parr meets Monsterland author Nicholas Jubber to hunt for otherworldly creatures

MONSTER MYTHS • Five frightful stories from around Britain

The king and I • It has its own king, a population of three and was once the landing place for an invasion of England. Dixe Wills ventures to England’s most unusual tiny isle

NOW GO THERE • Dixe Wills on where to stay, eat and drink on and around Piel Island

Secrets from the deep • Venture into the bowels of London’s Natural History Museum and you’ll discover a realm of deep-sea monsters and...