WE ARE 10

We are having a little celebration this issue – we are 10 years old! BBC Countryfile Magazine was launched in the autumn of 2007 to tie into the TV show and offer practical ideas for getting out and enjoying the countryside. In those far-off days, Countryfile itself was a Sunday morning TV show and was not the household name it is now – so launching the magazine was a big risk. We are all indebted to launch editor Cavan Scott and his team for their bravery and magazine craft – and the current team for their continued brilliance.

So for this special issue, we’ve asked some familiar friends of the magazine to write about their favourite great escapes – a unique collectors’ issue of wise words, great photography and rural celebration. My highlights are John Craven taking to the water in a narrowboat on the magical Llangollen Canal

(page 30); Kate Humble walking the River Wye (page 16); Bill Bailey tackling the ancient Ridgeway (page 40); while Sean Fletcher returns to his beloved Gower (page 56). Plus Adam Henson (54), Matt Baker (46), Naomi Wilkinson

(38) and Steve Brown (48). And as if this isn’t enough insight and passion for you, do not miss our interview with Ellie Harrison on page 114.

Lastly, it was wonderful to meet so many readers at BBC Countryfile Live back in August. What a show! If you didn’t make it this year, do come in 2018 – it’s a fabulous opportunity to meet the stars in a truly great day out. Plus you can tell us what you’d like in your magazine over the next 10 years.