Wishing you a Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year

Christmas walks
Make the best of the crisp weather and explore a magical frozen wonderland this season

Top 5 festive walks
Stuck for ideas entertaining your guests this Christmas? Forget board games – take them on a bracing winter walk instead.

The Winter Garden Walk. Lanhydrock, Cornwall
Revive yourself from the after-effects of the Christmas holiday with a winter walk at this Cornish country house and estate.

Discover the Peak District at Christmas
Roly Smith reveals how Britain’s oldest national park celebrates the festive season

Britain’s winter beaches
Our British beaches are stunning and dramatic places to visit in winter. Read on for the best places to leave footprints this winter.

Winter wildlife & gardening

Don’t neglect your garden and its inhabitants over the winter months. Embrace everything alfresco and appreciate what mothernature has to offer..

Red kites. Elan Valley, Powys
From near extinction, the spectacular red kite is back and sighted in its hundreds on the run up to Christmas

Top 8 winter gardening tips
We asked some gardening and wildlife experts for their tips on how to maintain your garden and look after your local wildlife in the cold months...

Five Days to the Weekend: The Roost, Gretna Green
Most people think of marriage when you mention Gretna Green. This small town just inside Scotland holds another secret. Every evening at sun down throughout winter you can see one of the best starling roosts in the world.

Top five starling roost
Avoid missing out on this year's stunning starling spectacle with Rosie Daniel's guide to the top five roosts (above).
 

Festive events & days out

Take this holiday season to discover and explore our countrys best bits in full Christmas glory 

Boxing Day Walk. Attingham Park, Shropshire
Burn off any Christmas excesses with a walk across the beautiful parkland of the Attingham Estate

Britain’s best places to ski
Embrace the cold this Christmas and cut your carbon footprint with a skiing holiday in the UK

Top Five Festive Family Days Out
Countryfile goes in search of some seasonal family fun

Five best Christmas displays
Lantern processions, enchanted forests and Elizabethan lights; here are some of Britain’s best Christmas displays

Acton Scott historic working farm, Shropshire
Journey back to the Victorian era to witness the birth of the modern Christmas

Haworth, West Yorkshire
Walk through a landscape made famous by the Bronte sisters before exploring a village that celebrates Christmas like no other

Singing, Storytelling & Sparkling Lanterns. The Eden Project, Cornwall
Lantern parades, live music, ice-skating, festive food and crafts make up a fabulous Christmas at Cornwall's Eden Project right through to the end of December.

Christmas Ghost Stories by Lantern, Falstaff Experience. Stratford-on-Avon
24/12/2011
On Christmas Eve there will be Christmas ghost stories by lantern light where mulled wine and mince pies will be served. Santa will also be in his grotto.

Winter Wassail. Sulgrave Manor, Banbury, Oxfordshire
27/12/2011
Sing, dance and generally make a lot of noise in the orchard to wassail the apple trees to ensure a good crop next year. Hear stories of the twelve days of Christmas and discover the ancient customs of the Lord of Misrule and Plough Monday.

Castle Combe, Wiltshire
Celebrate a traditional Christmas in this Cotswold village of cosy log fires and infectious community spirit

Atholl Estates, Perthshire
Discover a giant Christmas tree and a magical white castle this Christmas in the Atholl Estates’ winter wonderland.

Food & home

Experiment this Christmas with fruitful recipes and treats, perfect for indulging the family

Christmas foraging
How to decorate your house this season, in harmony with nature and on the cheap

Regional food: Bara brith
Bara brith is as Welsh as leeks, rugby and Snowdon. Try a festive version of this sweet bread as a replacement for Christmas cake

Food hero: meet oyster farmer Richard Haward
December is peak season for oysters. Farmed off the coast of Essex, do as the French and treat yourself on Christmas Eve

Food hero: meet chocolatier David Golubows
Meet the Derbyshire chocolatier who is blending foraged foods with luxury handmade chocolates this Christmas

Food hero: A goose farmer
Christmas is coming, and according to Worcestershire farmer Judy Goodman, geese are a delicious alternative to turkey on the festive dinner plate

Britain’s winter warmer cheeses
A hearty platter with local cheeses, crackers and chutneys is as much a festive tradition as turkey and cranberry sauce. Warm your cockles this Christmas with a bite of your favourite British cheese

The evolution of the country Christmas dinner
A dish of larks, roast cygnet and a kaleidoscope of spiced mincemeat pies: food historian Ivan Day traces our modern Christmas meal through the excesses of yesteryear

Christmas shopping & gift ideas

Ok, so it's too late to order by Christmas.. but there's always the sales to consider! 

12 Days of Christmas – day 1: Gifts for wildlife lovers
Enjoy browsing our list of special gifts for lovers of wildlife, in the 12 Days of Christmas Gift Guide

12 Days of Christmas – day 2: Gifts for walkers
Our second day of Christmas Gift Guide brings a range of present ideas for walkers, ramblers and hikers

12 Days of Christmas – day 3: Hampers
The third day of your 12 days of Christmas gift guide introduces a selection of hampers celebrating regional produces and British delicacies

12 Days of Christmas – day 4: Gifts for gardeners
The fourth day of our Christmas Gift Guide contains varied present ideas for your green-fingered friends

12 Days of Christmas – day 5: Gifts for food lovers
The fifth day of our Christmas Gift Guide contains delicious flavours and fun accessories for food lovers

12 Days of Christmas – day 6: Gadgets
For the sixth of your Christmas Gift Guide we introduce gadget present ideas

12 Days of Christmas – day 7: Books
Wild flowers with Sarah Raven, how to make pies with the Hairy Bikers and dog friendly holiday ideas – for the seventh day of our gift guide we flick through the pages of inspiring books in search of the perfect Christmas present

12 Days of Christmas – day 8: Gifts for Families
For the eight day of our Christmas Gift Guide we show you some great gift ideas for families

12 Days of Christmas – day 9: Experience Gifts
Why not do something a bit different this Christmas and give an experience as a gift? From white water rafting through to glass-blowing we find should of the best

12 Days of Christmas – day 10-: Handmade gifts
For a taste of local excellence this Christmas why not buy a handmade gift from one of the wonderful people listed in day 1- of our Christmas Gift Guide?

12 Days of Christmas – day 11: gifts for photographers
For day 11 of our Christmas Gift Guide we suggest great gifts for your snap-happy friends

12 Days of Christmas- day 12: gifts for pet owners
For the final day of our Christmas Gift Guide we introduce a selection of the best gifts for pet owners

Ideas for New Year

...and finally, welcome 2012 in with style and splendour and get involved in some of Britain’s best New Year celebrations

Defeat those winter blues
The winter months after Christmas can be a lacklustre and drab time of year, there are many ways to defeat those post-Christmas blues

Top 10 New Year’s Day Detox and Bootcamps
Post Christmas it can be a struggle to get those energy levels back up as well, not to mention zipping up those jeans. Get your heat pupping and sweat beads rolling with these invigorating ways to get fit in the New Year

New Year’s Resolutions: a 21st century good life in Bristol
How editor Fergus tried to grow more, spend less and enjoy life in 2011

Top 10 New Year’s Eve celebrations
Shrk the disco this New Year’s Eve and discover some of the more fabulous and traditional celebrations going on across the UK with our ten of the best places to be for the countdown…

Protecting our own
While the rest of us are stowing the Christmas decorations into the loft come January, a strange time-honoured ritual is taking place on a Wakefield farm