Withering heights: Moorland heather faces climate-change threat
England’s ‘dun and purple moors’ could just turn dun if climate change is not stopped.
The National Trust says that a deadly combination of last year’s drought and this year’s heather beetle explosion, which, in turn, is linked to milder winters, has severely damaged heather plants, with many unlikely to flower.
Solving the mystery of Britain’s Big Cats
Are there big cats in Britain? Young film-maker Mike Coggan thought he had spotted one a few years ago, so he set out to discover the truth.
After a hugely successful documentary, he now intends to launch ‘a full investigation’ and try and track down the cats using a thermal drone.
Aragog on the loose
This is arachnid season but motorists who pulled at the BP petrol station on the A3 in Wisley, Surrey, certainly weren't expecting to find a spider the size of a hand crawling across the car park.
The hairy creature turned out to be a Mexican red-knee tarantula. Named Aragog, after the Harry Potter spider, it has now been rescued by the RSPCA. Full story (Surrey Live)
Bee aware of killer hornets
Aggressive Asian hornets have been spotted across different locations in England. They are no more dangerous to people than a normal hornet but they spell disaster for honey bees — they can eat up to 50 a day.
Beekeepers and the Government are asking the public to report any sighting so they can eradicate the invasive pest before it gets established.
On this day...
On September 6, 1642, Parliament banned public-stage plays on the grounds that they were 'Spectacles of Pleasure, too commonly expressing lascivious Mirth and Levity’.
Instead, it recommended ‘to the People of this Land the profitable and seasonable considerations of Repentance, Reconciliation, and Peace with God’.
Desperate appeal for missing puppies
Heartless thieves stole seven springer puppies (six of which were only five-week old) from a farm in Devon earlier this week.
https://www.facebook.com/aimee.foster.90/posts/10156190566151262
In a bid to retrieve them, their distraught owner has posted an appeal on social media. Dog theft is on the rise, with criminals selling them on or breeding them in puppy farms.
And finally...a French rooster has won the right to keep crowing in the morning
The cockerel, named Maurice, had become embroiled in a legal battle after his neighbours called it a nuisance and lodged a noise pollution complaint. The case quickly made international headlines, with the bird gaining support from across the world.
A judge has now ruled in favour of Maurice's owner, Madame Corinne Fesseau, and the rooster can once again look forward to his early morning cock-a-doodle-doos.
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A well-connected rural playground with 23 acres on the edge of the South Downs National ParkOld House Farm is an impressive family home with a wealth of amenities that would inspire any rural passion.
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The UK gets its first ‘European stork village’ — and it's in West SussexAlthough the mortality rate among white storks can be up to 90%, the future looks rosy for breeding pairs in southern England.
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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.
