Harry Pearson

The writer's father discusses funeral arrangements

Cyclo-cross is sometimes described as the bastard son of classic cycling, a test of mud-caked endurance, powered by beer and Barbra Streisand.
Belgian Wout Van Aert in action. All images credit: Belga
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Travel writers take a salty, summer saunter through old-fashioned seaside towns that have ‘not yet been Airbnb-brushed out of existence’

Harry Pearson gives a moving account on the impact dementia is having on those closest to him

All eyes will be on Germany’s industrial heartland next month as Euro 2024 kicks off. We explore the region’s heritage, renewal and sporting history

The lovely bumblebee may look a little sozzled and slow compared to many species, yet one bumblebee is all it takes to make a prairie and its buzz is the soundtrack of a thriving world. Harry Pearson takes a look, and explains how to identify bumblebees you'll spot in a British garden this spring and summer. Illustrations by Fiona Osbaldstone for Country Life.

Perhaps the most impressive fortification ever undertaken by the Roman Empire, Hadrian's Wall — a 73-mile collar across the throat of Britain — is an extravagant, almost theatrical construction, separating conquered England from the wild tribes north of the Border, built at a time when the Roman Empire covered most of the known world from the north of England to what is now Iraq.

Graceful peafowl have never been shy about coming forward, although most of us admire the males’ flamboyant tail feathers — long a vibrant and striking motif — far more than their grating cries, says Harry Pearson.

Burning barrels, hare-pie scrambles, bottle kicking and horn dances: no one does eccentric quite like the English. Harry Pearson explores our weird, wonderful and sometimes distinctly dangerous folk festivals.

Always adorned with eyes, often female and sometimes in a compromising pose, carved figureheads were cherished by their crews. But why? Harry Pearson investigates, and looks at some of the most famous and beautiful figureheads ever to grace the ships of Britain.

This 'beautiful, natural, heritage material deserves to be reassessed' and is slowly regaining popularity. Harry Pearson talks to the makers still working with this ancient gemstone.

Britain's Agricultural Shows

Owning a dovecote was once a status symbol for Britain's elite—but what's that got to do with pigeon guano? We trace the pigeon's fall from prized bird to city pest
In the 16th century, it was not unusual to see armed men standing guard outside Britain’s dovecotes. They were not there to protect the pigeons roosting inside, but rather to prevent thieves from breaking in and stealing something far more valuable—the birds’ dung.
"For several decades pigeon droppings were almost as valuable as s...

Many of our most beloved museums started as private collections of wonders ranging from whale bones to human teeth. Harry Pearson explores cabinets of curiosities from times gone by
In the summer of 1634 an exhibition was held in a large house in Lambeth, London. It would have a major impact on the cultural life of England, and on cities far beyond our shores. It would set a fashion, in time becoming an institution. It would open up education to the masses in much the same way the invention o...

The locomotive roared through European art for more than a century, inspiring English Romantics, French Impressionists, Italian Futurists and Belgian Surrealists. Harry Pearson tracks its epic journey
In the autumn of 1825, a wheezing, panting, cast-iron contraption designed by George and Robert Stephenson chugged out of the County Durham town of Shildon in the north of England. Named Locomotion No 1, the steam engine was hauling 20 coal wagons and an experimental passenger coach containing c...