The magazine, which has been guest edited by The Prince of Wales, and is renowned for its access to Royalty in times of national celebration, and also to the grandest country estates and to the British establishment, is the focus of the new BBC TV series. Through the eyes of editor Mark Hedges, his writers and the pages of the 119-year-old magazine, the film follows the lives of people who live and work in the countryside, from landowners, its famous girls in pearls and to those whose livelihoods depend on the rural economy.
With stunning photography capturing wide open skies and golden landscapes, the series, Land of Hope and Glory – British Country Life, records the pure beauty of the countryside and the centuries of traditions and people who live there. Yet, as the programmes reveal, there are shadows falling on the sunlit uplands as political interference and a lack of understanding of countryside issues threaten the very future of the British rural way of life, says Country Life. The impact of bovine TB on the dairy farming industry, the result of opposition to badger culling, is highlighted through the experiences of a West Country farmer and his family.
The future of the country house is also examined, following the efforts of a couple who are battling to save their Oxfordshire manor. In sharp contrast, the film also features the £13 million restoration of a Scottish country house.
Mark Hedges, editor of the magazine for almost 10 years during which its circulation has risen for the sixth year in succession, bucking the general downward trend of print sales, said: “The series is a unique snapshot of the magazine and all it stands for – safeguarding the future of the countryside from political interference by people who do not understand the importance of the rural economy. Country Life is considered to be a magazine of record and is regarded as a national institution. It is as much part of our heritage as the glorious houses and landscapes it seeks to preserve - for the benefit of everyone.”
The first episode of Land of Hope and Glory – British Country Life will be broadcast on March 4 on BBC2 at 9 pm. The three-part series is directed by Jane Treays, who also directed Inside Claridge’s.
