There might be almost three months of 2019 still left to come, but judging from the conversations around the Country Life offices of late, the year is pretty much over. 'Where has 2019 gone?' we've been asking ourselves, unable to fathom how it seemed like we blinked around Easter and have re-opened our eyes to discover that it's time to put the heating on.
With 2020 hurtling towards us, many of us will have started looking for diaries to start booking out the appointments and trips which will no doubt make next year feel like it whizzes by even more quickly.
Will a diary filled with beautiful pictures of wildlife help stop us in our tracks and appreciate life a little more, allowing us to feel as if the passage of time is on a more sedate schedule? Probably not, but the John Muir Trust's Wild Nature Diary seems like it's worth a try anyway, if only to help keep your spirits up as you hurtle towards the ever-after at increasing velocity.
The man behind the calendar, John Beatty, also hopes it'll prove a regular source of inspiration: 'Britain is full of wild places and wildlife wonders that we can often take for granted,' he says. 'I hope to inspire people to make the most of 2020 by making a new year’s resolution to get outside and explore.'
The desk diary costs £15, the wall calendar £12 — you can order both via www.wild-nature.co.uk — with a proportion of the proceeds going to the John Muir Trust. Here are some of our favourites from the pictures you'll enjoy through the year:
Wildlife Photographer of the Year: 13 magnificent pictures and the stories behind them
The stories behind these shortlist pictures from the Natural History Museum's much-loved Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition are as
Credit: OPOTY/Anya Burnell
Eight breathtaking photographs from the Outdoor Photographer of the Year award
12 breathtaking images to inspire you to enter the International Garden Photographer of the Year
The Wildlife Photographer of the Year winners are inspiring, funny, uplifting – and shocking
The winning images from the Natural History Museum's 53rd Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition will make you laugh and
11 breathtaking photographs from the 2018 Landscape Photographer of the Year competition
We've picked out eleven of our favourite landscapes from the 2018 Landscape Photographer of the Year award.
Credit: ©Scottish Landscape Photographer of the Year/Craig McDearmid
The 19 best landscape photographs of Scotland taken in the last year
Take a look at the 19 best photographs of Scotland taken in 2017.
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The real name of a 'ghost' rainbow, the first ever omnishambles, and golf on the moon: Country Life Quiz of the Day 20 February 2025Some real brainteasers for you in our Quiz of the Day. Good luck!
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Tom Parker Bowles's favourite recipe: French onion soupThis dish is no mere Gallic broth, rather pure bonhomie in a bowl — a boozy, beefy, allium-scented masterpiece that cries out for the chill depths of winter
