Pictures should ‘fill a man’s soul with admiration and sheer joy’, Sir Alfred Munnings famously said. Octavia Pollock charts his eventful life and argues that he perhaps does not receive the credit he deserves for the enjoyment his varied and vivid work has brought.
Octavia Pollock checks into Rothay Manor in Ambleside, Cumbria.
Our capital city is more inviting for walkers than you might expect, with meadows, towpaths, unexpected sculpture and great houses to draw the eye. Octavia Pollock sets off to explore London on foot.
Keen sailors ahoy! Octavia Pollock shares tips for those looking to enjoy a watery getaway in Charlestown, on Cornwall's south coast.
Country Life's Octavia Pollock rode in the Magnolia Cup at Glorious Goodwood, the charity race for female amateur jockeys which is one of the highlights of the meeting. She tells the tale of what it's been like to take on this gruelling but hugely-rewarding physical and mental challenge.
Raymond Blanc's cookery school is running online cookery classes, with live advice beamed to your kitchen from Le Manoir aux Quat-Saisons. Octavia Pollock gave it a try.
The High Weald AONB's rolling landscape is the archetypal image many of us have of rural England. Octavia Pollock takes a look.
Cannock Chase is the smallest Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Britain. Octavia Pollock takes a closer look.
Octavia Pollock takes a look at the Lincolnshire Wolds AONB, a landscape where the hands of Man and Nature have worked together for centuries.
Octavia Pollock takes a look at the magnificent Welsh coastal landscape of The Gower Peninsula, whose tales are as eye-opening as its beauty.
Adare Manor is no-expense-spared labour of love created by a billionaire owner — and it makes a wonderful weekend away, as Octavia Pollock discovered.
'Once, the BBC was filming here and the penguins would take apart the equipment and run away with it, always the most expensive bits.'
‘They know we’d never take them anywhere dangerous. They trust us so much.'
‘The louder people cheer, the faster they go. It gets faster and faster all week – or my nerves get worse!’
‘In my left-leaning youth, they would attend meetings, but my comrades voted to remove them. That was when I realised my time there was up – the chickens were very concerned about the Albanian question!’
Adrian Graham is passionate about his pets, which can live for up to 250 years and grow to the size of a rather tall man.
If you're looking to get into shooting, a series of lessons is the place to start —as Octavia Pollock has been finding out at the Cowdray Estate's Hownhall shooting school.
Octavia Pollock had never so much as held a gun before she decided to try clay pigeon shooting — she headed down to the Cowdray Estate's Hownhall Shooting School to give it a go.
Affectionate and loving he may be, but small-clawed otter Rudi has a purpose.
