The king penguin who swam to Cape Town
An intriguing sight at Buffels Bay, this king penguin caused quite a stir when he emerged from the South African surf. Standing at almost a metre tall and unused to human contact, the well-dressed visitor proved comfortable with tourists and even keen to take selfies with them.
The penguin, who swam 1,700 miles from his nearest colony, has been moved to a secret location to avoid tourists and bird watchers out of concerns that he would become too tame to return to the wild.
Full story ( The Times - subscription required)
New wildlife hub for London
The Lee Valley Regional Park — the largest park in greater London — is getting a new state-of-the-art wildlife and birdwatching centre. Opening in June 2020, the new hide will overlook the Seventy Acres Lake and will come complete with live nature CCTV, living roof and a 360-degree viewing tower to take in all the surroundings.
Visitors will be able to watch the antics of bitterns, terns, herons and kingfishers, as well as enjoy footage from nest-box cameras. The project also encompasses habitat improvements, such as the creation of a new kingfisher nest bank.
Full story (The Epping Forest Guardian)
Horse-drawn tramcar gets a new lease on life
The Ipswich Transport Museum has brought a horse-drawn tramcar back to its former glory after it was used as a shed for more than 70 years. The Number 7 vehicle had always had a troubled life. Initially built to be used in Bath, it struggled to cope with the steep local streets, so it was moved to Bradford, where it was pulled by a steam engine. But that didn’t work out either and the tramcar eventually wound up in Cambridge in 1894, where it remained in use until 1914.
Sold off after being withdrawn from service, the vehicle ended up as a shed and was only rediscovered in Ely in 1988 — by which time it had been turned into a cobbler’s workshop. It’s thought to be the only remaining East Anglian horse-drawn car and it took the Ipswich Transport Museum more than 10,000 hours of work to restore it. Now painstakingly renovated, the vehicle will go on display next year.
Isle of Skye reacts angrily to fake stone circles
Residents of the Isle of Skye have been dismayed to discover that visitors have marred the landscape at the scenic Fairy Glen by building stone circles to ‘impress their social media followers’.
Some of the stones used in the spiral stacks appear to have been taken from local walls, while others might have come from an area that’s prone to slippage. This has sparked an outcry among local people, who are worried about the damage tourists are causing to the land.
On this day...
...in 1605, the Gunpowder Plot, which intended to blow up the House of Lords (and James I with it), was foiled. To celebrate the King's survival, people lit bonfires all around London and started the tradition of Bonfire Night. Nowadays, we burn doll effigies of lead plotter Guy Fawkes and celebrate with intricate firework displays all around the country.
Listed building demolition sparks anger in Staffordshire
A Staffordshire landmark has partly been taken down despite a vocal campaign to save it. The former Price and Kensington teapot factory, in Longport, near Stoke-on-Trent, was partially bulldozed at the weekend.
The 18th-century building, which is listed Grade II*, had long been on Heritage England's At Risk register. Despite extensive search, no developer stepped in to regenerate the site and, after that survey revealed the structure was unsound, the council took the decision of taking it down. Protesters gathered outside the factory in a last attempt to prevent it being demolished, but the work went ahead anyway.
And finally...
The latest in country music, coming to a farm near you.
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Dawn Chorus: A Blue Plaque for Marc Bolan, holidaying in the Caribbean with Francis Ford Coppola and a history of the National Gallery in 25 picturesPlus the best of the property pages, and how the railways will save the countryside.
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Game, set, match: 12 of the world’s most beautiful tennis courtsFrom Italy to Indonesia, when it comes to hotel amenities, a picturesque tennis court will always trump a 24-hour gym. So, before you book your next holiday, take a look at our pick of the 12 best.
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The brilliant tractor tribute to the NHS from a group of Warwickshire farmersPeople around Britain have been paying tribute to the efforts of our NHS workers at the time of the coronavirus pandemic — but few have been as creative and clever as this one.
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London's iconic red bus at risk and 6,000 year old chewing gum gives clues into our DNA historyCuts to industry subsidies and an increase in fares has left bus use at its lowest point ever, while DNA extracted from ancient 'chewing gum' allows scientists to decipher the genetic code of a Stone Age woman.
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90-million-year-old 'swimming dinosaur' skeleton found by dogs out walking in Somerset, and the nonchalant moths who don't bother fleeing enemiesA superbly intact dinosaur skeleton — described as being 'museum quality' — has been discovered on a beach in Somerset.
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Battle to ban 4x4s from the idyllic Lake District spot bequeathed by Beatrix Potter, eagle fights octopus and the 'snail's pace' climate talksThis morning we look at Little Langdale's fight for peace, reflect on the climate change talks in Madrid and discover the soundtrack for Brexit.
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Country Life Today: How Greta Thunberg shifted the dial on climate change — and the backlash shows just how muchThis morning we ponder whether Greta Thunberg is the Joan of Arc for the environmental movement, look at a key election — one from 19 years ago — and ponder the marvel of 'dad tidying'.
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Country Life Today: Great news for those who love our great country pubs — the years of decline are overThere is a great sign of health in the pub industry, we look back at Edward VIII's abdication message and fret about Greenland's melting ice.
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Country Life Today: Spain accused of being 'a deplorable choice' for UN climate conferenceA no-holds-barred assault on the Spanish fishing industry, Banksy raising awareness of the homeless and the woes of the Christmas jumper are in today's news round-up.
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Country Life Today: 'This is perhaps the ultimate wake-up call from the uncontrolled experiment humanity is unleashing on the world’s oceans'In today's round up, we examine why oxygen loss is putting oceans at risk, discover that action to cut air pollution brings almost immediate benefits to human health and find out which bird's arrival marks the start of winter in Gloucestershire.
