A scorching bank holiday is on the cards
If you thought the hot weather was over, it appears not. The UK is on course for a heatwave this weekend, with Monday looking to set a new bank holiday record.
Temperatures are expected to rise to 29C on Saturday and Sunday and 27C on Monday in southeast England.
2017 holds the current bank holiday record, with a temperature of 28.2C recorded at Holbeach in Lincolnshire.
Black kite set to breed in UK
The black kite, a brown bird of prey with five-foot wing span and acrobatic flying skills is set to breed in the UK for the first time.
The close cousin to the red kite is abundant in Europe but has never lived in Britain. However, the warming climate is believed to be leading the bird to expand its territory to the north and the raptor has recently been spotted over the UK’s southern shores.
The sightings are backed up by research from the British Trust of Ornithology, which states that black kites are one of 10 birds likely to colonise the UK in the coming years as average temperatures increase.
Plastic pebbles’ litter UK beaches
Researchers from the University of Plymouth have analysed a hidden form of plastic pollution which is littering the UK’s shoreline.
The lumps of waste, known as pyroplastic, are believed to form when plastic is melted or burnt into chunks, which are then weathered by the sea. The lumps appear like rocks and pebbles when washed up on beaches.
A study published in Science Direct explored 165 of these plastic ‘pebbles’ collected from Whitsand Bay in Cornwall by the Cornish Plastic Pollution Coalition.
On this day...
British collector of clothes Emily Tinne was born on 21 August (1886-1966). Her collection, which has been donated to the National Museums of Liverpool, contains over 700 items. It is the largest collection from an individual owned by a museum in the United Kingdom.
Forests celebrated in stunning collection
Scotland’s Glen Affric, Wales’ Coed y Brenin and Northern Ireland’s Glenariff Forest are among the beautiful sites featured in a new stamp collection.
Royal Mail has released the nature-themed set to mark 100 years of the Forestry Commission, the department responsible for management of publicly owned forests across the UK.
The collection features six of the UK’s most stunning forests, including Gloucestershire’s Westonbirt Arboretum, Nottinghamshire’s Sherwood Forest, and Northumberland’s Kielder Forest.
Ramblers butt heads with cyclists and riders
Campaigns for mountain bikers and horse riders to be allowed on public trails and footpaths has faced stiff opposition from ramblers’ groups.
Organisations including British Cycling, Cycling UK and Open MTB want the government to allow cyclists and horse riders to have ‘responsible access’ to rights of way that are only open to walkers.
Gemma Cantelo, head of policy and advocacy for the Ramblers, said some paths were not suitable as multi-use routes.
Stone Age Britons were master carpenters
The world's oldest boatyard, discovered off the coast of the Isle of Wight, has shown that Mesolithic man was an advanced carpenter.
Its craftsmanship suggests communities had advanced woodworking skills thousands of years earlier than previously understood.
And finally... A moo-ving rescue
https://www.facebook.com/rnli/videos/385368732167276/
The good folk at Kinsale RNLI have rescued a cow called Ghost, who had fallen from a field in Cork.
The Lifeboats team were assisted by farmer Brian Hayes, who donned a lifejacket to join in the rescue effort.
This is the second animal rescue for the Kinsale crew this year. In February, they rescued a horse who had become trapped in oyster trestles.
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