There’s more wildlife on industrial estates than in the countryside
Last April I took a cycle ride with my son. We went up some of the toughest hills in the area, and …
A Fulmar at the skeleton house
A Fulmar from summer, sitting pretty on the top of a wall in the skeleton house. Its beached carcass and exposed ribs …
2020 highlights of a wilder Italian life
I spent most of 2020 on my own. The two trips I had booked to Italy were cancelled and I clearly wasn’t …
2020 highlights of a wilder Devon life – part 2
In July I went walking with my son on Dartmoor and he took a rare portrait of me Walking the Hunters’ Path: …
2020 highlights of a wilder Devon life
2020 is a year which will be difficult to forget for those of us lucky enough to still be alive. For me, …
Scottish Primroses
In August we went looking for the Scottish Primrose, Primula scotica. It’s one of the few plants which grows in Scotland and …
2020 highlights of a wilder Orkney life
In 2020 I managed two trips to Orkney. I did it by self-isolating for two weeks before travelling and then taking all …
Life, clinging on
There was a solitary flower of what looked like Sea Mayweed on the rocks on the exposed coast of Westray this summer. …
Wild Strawberries
One of the gifts of summer was finding wild strawberry plants growing in the lane at the back of my house. They …
Eyebright
In this time of darkness it’s pleasant to think back to the summer when, on glorious days, we would walk the coast …
The riches of Dartmoor dung
There’s something about dung which should worry you. In my childhood the local fields of animals had rich dung pats, full of …
Porca vacca!
“Porca vacca!” is an Italian exclamation meaning “Holy cow!” Its literal translation is “Piggy cow!” Under the pine trees are the small, …
A world within a world
What type of organism has 20,000 species, covers between 6 to 8% of the Earth’s land surface and has some of the …
Blackening Waxcaps
There’s a Blackening Waxcap, Hygrocybe conica, on the moist, shady roadside verges of the industrial estate. It’s a beautiful colour. I’ve seen …
Maybe a tawny Torn Fibrecap
This fungus has a very distinctive fibrous cap. It’s probably a Fibrecap, an Inocybe. They’re often poisonous. I suspect it’s Inocybe rimosa. …
Saffron Milk Caps
It’s a fungus which exudes carrot-coloured milk. It bruises a strange colour of green. It’s orange becoming white towards the centre of …
A Parasol in the field
This is a Parasol, Macrolepiota procera. I’ve seen Parasols before with a clear faerie ring over 60m wide in a high mountain …
Chanterelles and Winter Chanterelles
There are Chanterelles in abundance in the woods. These are Cantharellus cibarius, and a beautiful eggy yellow. They’ll be perfect with scrambled …
Flystool
There’s a fabulous ink cap on chipped wood on the edge of the field. It’s Coprinopsis lagopus var. lagopus, the Hare’s Foot …
Grey Knights under the pines
There is a beautiful group of Grey Knight fungi under the pines. Their scientific name is Tricholoma terreum. They are growing on …
Scattered Sickeners
There are bright red fungi all over the floor of this beech wood. They are Russulas, commonly known as Brittlegills, and they …
Turkey Tails
This Birch tree is gradually decomposing. It’s covered in Turkey Tail fungus, Trametes versicolor. It’s one I remember from my childhood, although …
Coal black
When did you last see a piece of coal? How many people under the age of 30 have ever seen a piece? …
Spangle Galls
This fallen oak leaf is covered in galls. They look like they’re caused by Neuroterus quercusbaccarum, which has injected eggs and produced …
Birch
Birch trees are spectacular. These have fallen and this one has begun to break apart, with the cut bark beginning to give …
Laurel fungus in Madeira
Here’s a find from when it was possible to travel There’s a fungus on this laurel tree: It’s Laurobasidium lauri, which grows …
A pig stretching its legs
We arrive at Challacombe Farm to a piggy greeting. It’s clearly pleased to see us and trots alongside us for ten minutes …
Since when was the Cotswolds in Mesopotamia?
Sheep. They’re fascinating animals. There are 23 million sheep in the UK. That’s a lot of sheep. Sheep are frequently described as …
Rock Pipits
There’s a noisy young pipit on the rocks. It’s the perfect colour for these lichen covered rocks. It has a lovely delicate …
The child within
There are the remains of a small tree on Bovey Heath. It’s started to disintegrate and the trunk has shattered. Deep within …