BBC Countryfile Magazine

Perhaps you can be the first to pass these wild isles on to the next generation in better shape than you found it.” This is Sir David Attenborough’s rallying call in the BBC’s flagship spring series Wild Isles. The series is a celebration of the asto

Dense clumps of wild garlic and the deep-violet flowers of bluebells create enchanting kaleidescopes of fragrance and colour in a Cornish woodland in spring. The two plants flower at the same time in late April and thrive in the dappled light of anci

Gallinula chloropus Long toes and unwebbed feet give the moorhen a laboured swimming style. Its orange, yellow-tipped bill distinguishes it from the coot. Listen out for the explosive ‘curruck’ call. 30–38cm; 240,000 breeding pairs (320,000 in winter

Lavender and hogget (a yearling sheep) are absolutely lovely together. On special occasions I like to roast a whole leg of hogget surrounded by freshly cut lavender – the lavender fragrances the meat in such a delicious way. These kebabs play on that

“Books are a wonderful portal into the countryside, as well as a view from inside it. As a reader, writer and a school librarian who dreamt of being a farmer, a vet, a wildlife warden, the power of fiction to bring a world into vivid life, to place o

It’s a warm day in August and I’m underwater in Port Erin Bay. Snorkelling round the kelp-fringed edges, I drift above wary ballan wrasse and grapefruit-sized urchins and watch a school of pale mullet loom out of the blue. I pop my head up and scan a

It was the ears that told me. I am under surveillance as I walk a gentle Norfolk footpath on a crisp March morning – so say those black-tipped periscopes that rise from the bright spring green of an arable field mapped by humans, planted with sugar b

The silence is palpable. We sit motionless in the dark, goosebumps on our arms, listening intently to every rustle, creak and far-off snap of twig, waiting for a tweet, a call, anything that will tell us there is a nightingale somewhere in the vicini

Forest camping is a wonderful way to spend time in nature. There’s the chance to spot bats at dusk, take night walks and bed down to hear the hoots and shrieks of native owls. However, you can’t simply pitch up in any forest. Although legal in most o

Wild camping is the act of camping overnight in remote rural areas without facilities, thus camping ‘wild’ rather than on campsites. A camper should be able to carry all their kit in a backpack, and camp responsibly by arriving late, departing early,

There is a nation of snow-capped mountains that contains more golden eagles and red deer than any other in Europe. It’s also a haven for nearly half the entire continent’s population of seabirds. Another part of this archipelago boasts most of the wo

Listening to Cerys Matthews, BBC radio broadcaster, musician and author, read from Under Milk Wood is thrilling, enlivening and soothing all at the same time. Her eyes sparkle with mischief and the sheer joy of reading aloud as her silken musical voi

Tom Hynes shoulders his toolbag and sets off from his Devon farmhouse. On the winding country lane, he pauses and points out a tiny plant growing in the hedgerow bank. Dog’s mercury, at first glance, seems quite unremarkable, until Tom explains that

1 Cut through at the base of the ‘steeper’ or stem so it’s thick enough to stay alive, yet thin enough to bend without breaking. Once it feels ready to ‘give’ and release, gently bring the trunk down towards the centre of the hedge with any messy bru

In a quiet corner of Oxfordshire, just outside the English market town of Wallingford, battle commences. In a fierce competition, 100 hedge-layers from all over the country go chainsaw to chainsaw to see who will be crowned the 2022 National Hedge-la

From the seabird colonies of Hermaness in Shetland’s most northernly island to the unique geology and rare plants of the Lizard at the tip of Cornwall, there are hundreds of highly prized National Nature Reserves (NNRs) in the UK. Enshrined in the Co

London Wetland Centre is the embodiment of what you can achieve through urban rewilding. It is a remarkable achievement of naturalised landscaping, featuring that all important giver of life: water. In the UK, we have lost over 90% of our wetlands du

Who would have thought that in the shadow of Port Talbot Steelworks’ belching chimneys lies a unique and astonishingly beautiful wonder of nature? Kenfig National Nature Reserve is one of Europe’s most important wildlife sites – all that remains of a

It’s not every day you get to climb a nature trail through ancient forest and over bare rock to enter an exposed, windswept lunar-like landscape of ice-scraped quartzite slabs. It’s not every day you get to walk in the company of golden eagles, white

By: Nick Coggins Where: Upper Teesdale, County Durham “I’m a retired farmer and tend to know where to look to find such wildlife. On this particular day, it was quite windy and damp and the hare just seemed to be happy sheltering from the drizzle, al

Visit WWT Slimbridge on a spring day and it’s easy to see why founder Sir Peter Scott referred to this place as the “avian Serengeti”. Son of Antarctic explorer Captain Robert Falcon Scott, Sir Peter created a patchwork of wetland habitats on this va

Four small children standing at the edge of the jetty are watching some 20 seals in the water below watching them. The children howl gently. The seals glide closer. The curiosity between them is mutual, the communion palpable. Known in English as Bar

You can smell and hear the seabird colony at Flamborough Cliffs long before you get your first sighting. A cacophony of sound accompanied by that unmistakable smell of huge quantities of seabird droppings draws you along to the brilliant white chalk

BY NICK ACHESON, CHELSEA GREEN, £18.99 (HB) The clamour of wild geese is a constant, thrilling presence in this heartfelt account of a winter devoted to following great gatherings of these enigmatic birds around the muddy marshes and sugar beet field

You’ve worked with Sir David Attenborough on other wildlife series; how was your experience working with him on home turf? David was very enthusiastic and excited to be filming in Britain and seemed to enjoy it just as much, if not more than some of

Share your views and opinions by writing to us at: Have your say: BBC Countryfile Magazine, Eagle House, Bristol BS1 4ST; or email editor@countryfile.com, tweet us @CountryfileMag or via Facebook facebook.com/countryfilemagazine *We reserve the right

“At last, a mountain hare in full winter ermine, stark against the Munro and in the middle of our frame. Near the top of the peak at Coignashie, part-driven, part-hiked, with whipping late-January winds, this beautiful mammal sat perfectly broadside,

Perhaps you can be the first to pass these wild isles on to the next generation in better shape than you found it.” This is Sir David Attenborough’s rallying call in the BBC’s flagship spring series Wild Isles. The series is a celebration of the asto

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Late spring sees tens of thousands of swifts arrive on UK shores to breed, having travelled 3,400 miles from Africa. However, in just the last two decades, more than half of the population has vanished. According to the RSPB, this may be due in part

Dense clumps of wild garlic and the deep-violet flowers of bluebells create enchanting kaleidescopes of fragrance and colour in a Cornish woodland in spring. The two plants flower at the same time in late April and thrive in the dappled light of anci

7 April is Walk to Work Day and a chance to break the humdrum routine of hopping in the car or on the bus when walking is a viable option. Wake up a little earlier, don stout shoes and enjoy a slower commute to work. You can pick the most direct rout

Gallinula chloropus Long toes and unwebbed feet give the moorhen a laboured swimming style. Its orange, yellow-tipped bill distinguishes it from the coot. Listen out for the explosive ‘curruck’ call. 30–38cm; 240,000 breeding pairs (320,000 in winter

You will need: soap and water mix; sponge; towel; liquid adhesive; repair patch 1 Inflate the mat until it’s firm. Dip the sponge in soapy water then use it to cover the surface of the mat around where you think the hole might be. 2 Using your finger

Lavender and hogget (a yearling sheep) are absolutely lovely together. On special occasions I like to roast a whole leg of hogget surrounded by freshly cut lavender – the lavender fragrances the meat in such a delicious way. These kebabs play on that

“Books are a wonderful portal into the countryside, as well as a view from inside it. As a reader, writer and a school librarian who dreamt of being a farmer, a vet, a wildlife warden, the power of fiction to bring a world into vivid life, to place o

It’s a warm day in August and I’m underwater in Port Erin Bay. Snorkelling round the kelp-fringed edges, I drift above wary ballan wrasse and grapefruit-sized urchins and watch a school of pale mullet loom out of the blue. I pop my head up and scan a

Great reasons to subscribe… Subscribe online or call us www.buysubscriptions.com/CFP201 03330 162 112† Quote code CFP201 †UK calls will cost the same as other standard fixed line numbers (starting 01 or 02) and are included as part of any inclusive o

It was the ears that told me. I am under surveillance as I walk a gentle Norfolk footpath on a crisp March morning – so say those black-tipped periscopes that rise from the bright spring green of an arable field mapped by humans, planted with sugar b

Forest camping is a wonderful way to spend time in nature. There’s the chance to spot bats at dusk, take night walks and bed down to hear the hoots and shrieks of native owls. However, you can’t simply pitch up in any forest. Although legal in most o

Once a royal hunting ground (above), it’s now home to wood warblers, woodpeckers and the rapidly diminishing turtle doves. Ancient woodland with a healthy population of dormice, reptiles and fritillary butterflies. Listen out, too, for the cuckoo at

The silence is palpable. We sit motionless in the dark, goosebumps on our arms, listening intently to every rustle, creak and far-off snap of twig, waiting for a tweet, a call, anything that will tell us there is a nightingale somewhere in the vicini

There is a nation of snow-capped mountains that contains more golden eagles and red deer than any other in Europe. It’s also a haven for nearly half the entire continent’s population of seabirds. Another part of this archipelago boasts most of the wo

Listening to Cerys Matthews, BBC radio broadcaster, musician and author, read from Under Milk Wood is thrilling, enlivening and soothing all at the same time. Her eyes sparkle with mischief and the sheer joy of reading aloud as her silken musical voi

Tom Hynes shoulders his toolbag and sets off from his Devon farmhouse. On the winding country lane, he pauses and points out a tiny plant growing in the hedgerow bank. Dog’s mercury, at first glance, seems quite unremarkable, until Tom explains that

1 Cut through at the base of the ‘steeper’ or stem so it’s thick enough to stay alive, yet thin enough to bend without breaking. Once it feels ready to ‘give’ and release, gently bring the trunk down towards the centre of the hedge with any messy bru

In a quiet corner of Oxfordshire, just outside the English market town of Wallingford, battle commences. In a fierce competition, 100 hedge-layers from all over the country go chainsaw to chainsaw to see who will be crowned the 2022 National Hedge-la

OS map images: © Crown copyright Ordnance Survey Photo: naturepl.com ■

Wild camping is the act of camping overnight in remote rural areas without facilities, thus camping ‘wild’ rather than on campsites. A camper should be able to carry all their kit in a backpack, and camp responsibly by arriving late, departing early,

SCAN HERE to access this route on your mobile device ■

From the seabird colonies of Hermaness in Shetland’s most northernly island to the unique geology and rare plants of the Lizard at the tip of Cornwall, there are hundreds of highly prized National Nature Reserves (NNRs) in the UK. Enshrined in the Co

Wyming Brook South Yorkshire, p82 London Wetland Centre Barnes, London, p87 Kenfig NNR Glamorgan, p88 Binevenagh Londonderry, p90 Woodwalton Fen NNR Cambridgeshire, p90 Ynys Enlli Gwynedd, p91 Beinn Eighe Highland, p92 Slimbridge Wetland Centre Glouc

Everyone has heard of Northern Ireland’s Giant’s Causeway, while the mountain of Binevenagh remains relatively unknown. Yet both are impressive volcanic landscapes, created by the same lava flows that poured over the Antrim Plateau some 60 million ye

It’s not every day you get to climb a nature trail through ancient forest and over bare rock to enter an exposed, windswept lunar-like landscape of ice-scraped quartzite slabs. It’s not every day you get to walk in the company of golden eagles, white

Who would have thought that in the shadow of Port Talbot Steelworks’ belching chimneys lies a unique and astonishingly beautiful wonder of nature? Kenfig National Nature Reserve is one of Europe’s most important wildlife sites – all that remains of a

London Wetland Centre is the embodiment of what you can achieve through urban rewilding. It is a remarkable achievement of naturalised landscaping, featuring that all important giver of life: water. In the UK, we have lost over 90% of our wetlands du

Visit WWT Slimbridge on a spring day and it’s easy to see why founder Sir Peter Scott referred to this place as the “avian Serengeti”. Son of Antarctic explorer Captain Robert Falcon Scott, Sir Peter created a patchwork of wetland habitats on this va

You can smell and hear the seabird colony at Flamborough Cliffs long before you get your first sighting. A cacophony of sound accompanied by that unmistakable smell of huge quantities of seabird droppings draws you along to the brilliant white chalk

One of only four surviving fragments of east-English fenland that once extended over 344,000 hectares, Woodwalton Fen has been a wildlife refuge since it was purchased in 1910 by banker-cum-entomologist Charles Rothschild. The reserve, established in

Four small children standing at the edge of the jetty are watching some 20 seals in the water below watching them. The children howl gently. The seals glide closer. The curiosity between them is mutual, the communion palpable. Known in English as Bar

GOBLIN THEATRE, TOURING SHOW A girl with no name finds a magical book of spells that conjures up a compelling wild world in this boisterous, toe-tapping new musical for children based on the ever-inspiring best-selling book by Robert Macfarlane and J

By: Nick Coggins Where: Upper Teesdale, County Durham “I’m a retired farmer and tend to know where to look to find such wildlife. On this particular day, it was quite windy and damp and the hare just seemed to be happy sheltering from the drizzle, al