Rural affairs

Country diary: Make hay while the sun shines? That can be tricky in Cumbria
Tebay, Cumbria: Getting the grass cut, baled and stored in the barn is one of the biggest and most important jobs of the year
Andrea Meanwell
01, Jul, 2022 @4:30 AM

Burning ban failing to protect England’s peatlands, say conservation groups
Ministers urged to toughen law to help restore carbon sinks, as figures point to illegal burning
Helena Horton Environment reporter
30, Jun, 2022 @1:10 PM

Country diary: Hermit crab is a rare find on West Country rockpool safari
Wembury, Devon: These crustaceans disappeared after the Torrey Canyon oil spill, only to be rediscovered six years ago
Charlie Elder
30, Jun, 2022 @4:30 AM

Country diary: Why I let nature take its course in my ever-changing garden
Welburn, North Yorkshire: Different flowers and plants surge every year, but none reigns for long in this patch
Amy-Jane Beer
29, Jun, 2022 @4:30 AM

Country diary: Dawn light gilds the fells as a lone ring ouzel sings
Great End, Cumbria: Disturbance, predation, grazing patterns and climate change all pose a threat to the ‘mountain blackbird’
Carey Davies
28, Jun, 2022 @4:30 AM

Country diary: Reaching out to the starlings on the wire
Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire: They are angry and agitated. As they shout this to the world, they bring me out of my four walls
Josie George
27, Jun, 2022 @4:30 AM

Country diary: Avian flu is devastating the seabirds of the Northern Isles
Birsay, Orkney: This catastrophe has global significance – at this time of year, Scotland hosts 46% of the world’s northern gannets
Cal Flyn
25, Jun, 2022 @4:30 AM

Suspected foot and mouth outbreak being investigated in Norfolk
10km control zone enforced to prevent movement of any susceptible animal out of the area
Tom Levitt
24, Jun, 2022 @11:47 AM

Country diary: Not every group of ladybirds is a loveliness
Langstone, Hampshire: Harlequin larvae have arrived in my garden, and the reception is mixed
Claire Stares
24, Jun, 2022 @4:30 AM

Country diary: The fight for life here will carry on without us
Wenlock Edge, Shropshire: A defiantly shabby peacock butterfly and an annual visit by the abbey’s bees send us on our way
Paul Evans
23, Jun, 2022 @4:30 AM

Country diary: From one view, fully five counties
Sandy, Bedfordshire: This is what passes for a ‘pinnacle’ in my part of England, but the panorama keeps me coming back
Derek Niemann
22, Jun, 2022 @4:30 AM

Country diary: In a sea of green, this strange orchid has none
Great Shacklow Wood, Derbyshire: The bird’s nest orchid is virtually colourless, but nevertheless is an extraordinary plant
Mark Cocker
21, Jun, 2022 @4:30 AM
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