BBC Good Food

About BBC Good Food

BBC Countryfile Magazine is a British monthly magazine celebrating the countryside, published by Our Media from Bristol under licence from BBC Studios. Complementary to the BBC One television programme Countryfile, it was first published in 2007 and thirteen issues are published each year — one per month plus a Christmas special. Each issue celebrates rural Britain with countryside walks, wildlife, heritage, seasonal food and stories of the people who live and work in the countryside. The magazine's ABC circulation was reported at 40,226 for 2019, and its official website is countryfile.com. A companion podcast, The Plodcast, has been published since February 2010.

Origins and the Countryfile brand

Countryfile began life as a BBC One television programme, first broadcast in 1988, which grew into one of Britain's most-watched factual shows — a Sunday-evening institution celebrating the countryside, farming and rural life. The magazine, first published in 2007, was conceived as the ultimate companion to the programme: the same celebration of rural Britain, translated into print. Published initially by BBC Magazines Bristol — a trading name of Bristol Magazines Ltd., a subsidiary of BBC Worldwide, the BBC's commercial arm — it joined a stable of BBC-branded titles produced in the city. The early issues established the formula: beautiful photography of the British landscape, practical walking routes, wildlife features, seasonal recipes and interviews with the programme's presenters. In 2010 the magazine was redesigned under editor Fergus Collins, who had joined from BBC Wildlife Magazine in November 2009, with publisher Jemima Ransome spearheading a new look based on the magazine's biggest research project to date — confident, she said, that the new-look title would appeal to the show's growing legion of viewers and capitalise on growth in UK tourism and local food.

Ownership and publishing

The magazine is owned by BBC Studios and published under licence, moving with the BBC's magazine portfolio through successive publishers. After the BBC Magazines Bristol era, Immediate Media Company became the publisher in 2012, publishing the title from Bristol; a 2020 survey of the magazine noted it as published monthly by Immediate Media Co in Bristol, with a July 2020 issue running to 116 pages at a £4.75 cover price. In 2023 Our Media became the publisher of the BBC's magazine portfolio, including BBC Countryfile alongside BBC Music, BBC Wildlife and BBC Science Focus. Our Media, which joined the Ozone digital advertising platform in May 2023, describes a thirty-year heritage of publishing craft, cycling, science and nature, homes and music titles across print, video and online, reaching 2.3 million readers a month across its online portfolio. The magazine joined the Audit Bureau of Circulations on 12 May 2009 and remains ABC-registered under owner Our Media Ltd, reporting in the consumer magazines standards within leisure interests. Thirteen issues a year — twelve monthlies plus a Christmas special — keep the title in front of readers throughout the seasons it celebrates.

Editorial content

Each issue of BBC Countryfile Magazine celebrates the British countryside in all its aspects. Countryside walks are a cornerstone: detailed routes with maps, taking readers from the Norfolk Broads to the Hebrides, from Pembrokeshire's puffin islands to the Lake District fells. Wildlife features cover everything from spring migrants to winter garden birds, often with identification guides and photography tips. Heritage pieces explore the history embedded in the landscape — ancient woodlands, historic houses, industrial archaeology, the stories of the people who shaped the land. Seasonal food is another pillar, with recipes built around British produce at its best, from spring lamb to autumn game, reflecting the programme's long-standing interest in farming and food provenance. And running through it all are the stories of the people who live and work in the countryside: farmers, foresters, fishermen, craftspeople, conservationists. The magazine's contents are typically divided into sections such as "month in the country", features, regulars and great days out — a mix of quick reads and longer, immersive features, such as a ten-page exploration of the Broads noted in a 2020 review.

The presenters and the BBC connection

The magazine's connection to the television programme gives it privileged access to the Countryfile presenting team. Sunday-evening regulars such as Adam Henson, John Craven, Matt Baker and Ellie Harrison have a presence in its pages, bringing the familiarity and trust viewers feel for the programme into print. Yet the BBC connection is, as one reviewer noted, mercifully low-key: the magazine stands on its own as a countryside title rather than reading as a programme listings spin-off. This balance is deliberate — the brand lends authority and recognition, while the editorial team pursues stories for their own sake. The relationship works both ways: the magazine's campaigns and features feed back into the wider Countryfile conversation about the countryside, from farming issues to conservation debates. For readers, the combination is potent: the presenters they welcome into their living rooms on Sunday evenings, guiding them through the countryside in print all month long.

The Plodcast

A companion podcast, The Plodcast, began in February 2010 and discusses subjects featured in the magazine and on the TV show. The name captures the magazine's ethos — the pleasure of walking, of plodding through the countryside with time to look and listen. The podcast extends the brand into audio, allowing the team to explore stories in conversation and to reach listeners who may never pick up the print edition. Like the magazine, it ranges across wildlife, walking, food, farming and rural life, with the presenters' familiar voices giving it the warmth of the television programme. The Plodcast was an early example of a magazine brand moving into podcasting, and it has remained a valued part of the Countryfile offering for well over a decade.

Campaigns and community

BBC Countryfile Magazine has used its platform for campaigns on behalf of the countryside and its readers. Its website has run topical campaigns aiming to encourage children to build a lasting connection with the natural world — reflecting a wider concern about nature disconnection among young people. The magazine's photography competitions invite readers to share their images of the British countryside, building a community of contributors whose work appears in print and online. Reader walks, seasonal guides and "great days out" features turn the audience from passive readers into active explorers of the landscape. The brand's social media presence — with tens of thousands of followers on Facebook and Twitter — extends this community online, sharing the magazine's photography, features and campaigns. This sense of a shared endeavour, of readers and editors together celebrating and defending the countryside, is central to the magazine's identity.

Digital presence

The magazine's website, countryfile.com, is described as a confident romp through the magazine content plus an engaging "How to" section — offering walking routes, wildlife guides, recipes and countryside advice to a large online audience. Digital editions of the magazine are available on the usual platforms, though covermount gifts and supplements are print-only. The brand's social channels share photography, features and campaign material, and the magazine is available through subscription with home delivery. Under Our Media ownership, the title benefits from the group's digital expertise and its Ozone platform partnership, bringing programmatic advertising revenues that support the journalism. The combination of a strong print product and a lively digital presence gives BBC Countryfile Magazine reach across generations of countryside lovers — from the Sunday-evening television audience to younger readers discovering the outdoors online.

Circulation and readership

BBC Countryfile Magazine's ABC circulation was 27,833 for July–December 2009, rising to 40,226 for January–December 2019 — growth that reflected both the enduring popularity of the television programme and the magazine's successful editorial development. Readership surveys have shown a monthly brand reach of 457,000 adults across print and digital platforms. Its readers are lovers of the British countryside: walkers, wildlife-watchers, gardeners, food enthusiasts and those who dream of rural life. They are typically affluent, engaged and loyal — the audience that books countryside holidays, buys outdoor equipment, visits National Trust properties and cares about provenance in food. For advertisers in travel, outdoor gear, motoring, food and drink, gardening and rural property, the magazine offers a uniquely concentrated audience of countryside enthusiasts. The title's ABC registration since 2009 provides the audited reassurance that media buyers require.

Photography and design

The visual identity of BBC Countryfile Magazine is one of its greatest strengths. Covers feature big, beautiful images of the British landscape and its wildlife — a puffin for a Hebrides feature, a windmill, seasonal panoramas — with coverlines promising destinations, wildlife encounters and practical inspiration. Inside, the photography is equally rich: landscape photography of the highest quality, intimate wildlife portraits, and food photography that makes seasonal British produce look irresistible. A 2020 survey noted the July issue's 116 pages on matt paper with a heavyweight gloss cover, perfect bound — a premium physical product. The design balances the practical (route maps, identification guides, recipe layouts) with the inspirational (full-bleed landscapes, photo essays). This visual celebration of Britain is fundamental to the magazine's appeal: it sells not just information but a vision of the countryside at its most beautiful.

Legacy and influence

Since 2007, BBC Countryfile Magazine has become the definitive print celebration of rural Britain — the magazine incarnation of one of the BBC's best-loved programmes. It has ridden and contributed to the great British rediscovery of the countryside: the boom in walking, the local-food movement, the surge of interest in wildlife and rewilding, the staycation trend. Its campaigns for children's connection with nature, its celebration of the people who work the land, and its sheer visual delight in the British landscape have made it far more than a television tie-in. Published monthly from Bristol by Our Media under licence from BBC Studios, with its companion Plodcast and its thriving digital presence, the magazine continues to do what it has always done: explore the British countryside, celebrate its wildlife and heritage, champion its food, and tell the stories of its people — the ultimate companion to the great British countryside.