Common gorse
Windy, open moors covered in bright yellow, spiky common gorse bushes and purple heathers are synonymous with what we call 'wild' landscapes, but it can be seen in many habitats, from…
Windy, open moors covered in bright yellow, spiky common gorse bushes and purple heathers are synonymous with what we call 'wild' landscapes, but it can be seen in many habitats, from…
I've always been a fan of nature, so when I had the opportunity to stay at Oak Tree Cottage on the Teifi Marshes, I jumped at the chance. This charming cottage is located in the heart of the…
Once a rare visitor to the UK, this striking gull is now found nesting here in large colonies.
Gnarled veteran oaks are interspersed with groves of pale, elegant birches, while swathes of bracken and soft tussocks of wavy hair-grass cover ground from which autumn fungi sprout.…
Limited in distribution, this sweetly-scented, short-cropped, springy grassland is famed for its abundance of rare and scarce species.
This wildflower meadow has always been managed traditionally with grazing by cattle or ponies from spring to autumn. This kind of rough, damp grassland is known in Wales as Rhos pasture and is…
Beautiful demoiselle’s are, well, beautiful! Often confused for a dragonfly, these giants of the damselfly world are hard to miss with their metallic blue and green colours.
The stately Grass-of-parnassus displays pretty, white flowers with green stripes. Once widespread, it is now declining as its wetland habitats are disappearing.
A rare habitat remarkable for its colourful diversity of wildflowers and abundant birdlife, machair grassland is a feast for the ears and eyes.
The marsh hair moss is the largest moss in the UK. Look out for it in damp woodland and on boggy heathlands where it forms large, green and spikey 'cushions'.
This elegant wading bird is a rare visitor to the UK, though occasionally one or two of pairs will nest here.
John has worked in fisheries management for over 25 years. He has seen our waterways at their best – and their worst. He knows firsthand how devastating unhealthy rivers can be for wildlife and…