A 12-month public consultation on reintroducing beavers to Wales has opened, 824 years after the last native beaver was recorded in the wild there. The Wildlife Trusts in Wales hope for a controlled introduction similar to that at Knapdale, Argyllshire, which was welcomed by Scottish tourism, but greeted with less enthusiasm by some landowners. Euphemistically described as ‘nature's lumberjacks', beavers can dramatically alter a landscape in a short time, and they tend to escape, but they're also natural enhancers of wetlands and water systems.
The fishing industry seems to be in favour: ‘The beaver is a native species and deserves to be part of Wales again,' says Lynn Hughes of the Welsh Salmon and Trout Angling Association. ‘A managed beaver reintroduction has the potential to greatly improve our river and wetland systems for wildlife, including for fish such as sea trout and Atlantic salmon.'
The six potential sites for beavers are the Dee (Flintshire), Glaslyn (Gwynedd), Rheidol (Ceredigion), Teifi (Carmarthenshire border) and Eastern and Western Cleddau (Pembrokeshire). To contribute to the consultation (www.welshbeaverproject.org), write to Welsh Beaver Project, 376, High Street, Bangor, LL57 1YE, telephone 01248 351541 or email beaver.afanc@wildlifetrustswales.org
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Brockfield Hall, the great Yorkshire house that's gone from Regency mansion to modern family homeBrockfield Hall in North Yorkshire is the family home of Charlie Wood and Hatta Byng, editor of House & Garden, who have transformed it since they came here in 2020, winning multiple awards in the process. John Martin Robinson reports on the restoration project that revived this compact Regency house as a modern family home. Photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
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Barbour’s heritage jackets get a floral makeover courtesy of ErdemUtilitarian outwear has taken the fashion world by storm and now Britain's world-famous wax jackets are getting in on the act, inspired by some of our greatest countryside icons.
