Harry Pearson

Taking over the world might not seem the most festive of activities, but a game of Risk will see you through from First Night to the last of the leftovers.

You might not know their names but you’ll miss those familiar faces on the terraces once they’re gone

The strange sports of Belgium from vertical archery to jeu de crosse via chirruping linnets

Harry Pearson is a former sports columnist for the Guardian. A former travel feature writer for Conde Naste Traveller and Contributing Editor of GQ, his book The Far Corner: A Hazy Dribble Through North-East Football was the runner-up in the 1995 Sports Book of the Year awards
January 2025
Guardian Sport Network
The characters in the crowd who bring life to non-league football
You might not know their names but you’ll miss those familiar faces on the terraces once they’re gone
Jan 3 2025 06.1...

A look at the habits and history of the Eider Duck, Northumberland's county bird.

A look at the history of skating in Britain from King Charles II to the great Fen speed skaters of the Victorian era.

A look at the bizarre and colourful history of snuff.

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.