The pier’s story begins in the early 1860s, when Blackpool was rapidly transforming from a modest bathing resort into a booming destination for industrial workers seeking fresh air and entertainmen…

Large-scale construction projects in the countryside bring heavy machinery, thousands of lorry movements, and years of activity. Vibration damage to old buildings is a well-known concern, and const…

A fast-growing annual that typically reaches 30 to 60 cm (sometimes up to 1 metre) in height Borage’s stems and leaves are covered in stiff, white hairs that can feel prickly to the touch, a trait …

Like many wetland plants, I. pseudacorus plays an important role in its ecosystem. Its dense clumps provide cover and nesting sites for birds such as Moorhen and Reed Warbler, while the rhizomes he…

The Inn at Whitewell is a venerable old building with a long and storied history. It began its life in the late 14th century as a small manor-house overlooking the River Hodder and served as the re…

Shining Cranesbill (Geranium lucidum), sometimes known as ‘gentleman’s buttons’, is a charming, glossy-leaved annual wildflower that brightens walls, banks, and rocky spots throughout the British i…

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Sexton beetles, also known as burying beetles, are nature’s undertakers and very good at their job. They belong to the genus Nicrophorus within the family Silphidae (carrion beetles) and play a vit…

With a total land area of approximately 13 million hectares, this small but densely populated country supports over 58 million souls, making it one of the most tightly packed nations in Europe. Yet…

The Manchester Terrier is one of our oldest identifiable terrier breeds, with a lineage that can be traced back centuries. Sleek, black-and-tan, and combining the speed of a sighthound with the ten…

Ragged Robin (Silene flos-cuculi, formerly Lychnis flos-cuculi) is a plant of many names, these include: Cuckoo Flower (because it flowers as the Cuckoo arrives,) Thunder flower (in some parts of Y…

Perched dramatically on its rocky headland, overlooking the wild expanse of Morecambe Bay, the ruins of St Patrick’s Chapel are one of the most evocative early medieval sites in the British Isles.…

Adult Brimstones are typically on the wing from April to October. In southern regions, there are often two or even three overlapping generations, while in our cooler northern parts this may reduce …

The pink flower spikes of Common Bistort, towering over other wildflowers on their tall, straight stems, are a familiar sight to many of us who have walked the highways and byways of Northwest Engl…

In the shadow of Clitheroe Castle, standing alone on its Limestone mount watching over the Ribble Valley, stands a rather unlikely monument: a tall, ornate gothic spire that once graced a very diff…

Lancashire cheese is one of Britain’s most traditional cow’s-milk cheeses and renowned for its distinctive creamy-to-crumbly texture and a mild, buttery flavour that develops complexity with age. H…

Mute swans (Cygnus olor), with their snowy white plumage, elegant S-curved neck, and bright orange bill topped with a black knob, are one of Britain’s most iconic waterbirds and particularly fond o…

The prevailing view in British politics and media holds that the country suffers from a severe housing shortage, necessitating the construction of hundreds of thousands of new homes each year, ofte…

A creeping, mat-forming plant Purple Saxifrage possesses small, opposite, overlapping leaves (hence the latin epithet oppositifolia) that are fleshy with a tiny pore at the tip which can exude lime…

For the Upland Gamekeeper spring is a season of intense activity, a critical time of fast change at the fulcrum between the wild & windy months of winter and the more benign months of summer, w…

Tucked away on the outskirts of the quiet village of Read, in Lancashire’s Ribble Valley, sits Read Park, a 450 acre estate surrounding Read Hall, a Grade II listed manor house that has been a loca…

Adults are very smart and distinguished in their breeding plumage, sporting a silvery-grey back and upperwings, a clean white underbody, and a distinctive black cap. Their bill is long and orangey-…

This request is made - without any party political affiliation - by and on behalf of residents of 'the area East of Cambridge' which is currently the target of developers* seeking to concrete over a v...

St Leonard’s Church stands proudly in the heart of Padiham, Lancashire, and is a striking example of Victorian Gothic Revival architecture that continues to serve its original purpose. While its cu…

Thrift is a member of the Plumbaginaceae (aka Leadwort) tribe, a small and tough family that specialises in harsh habitats, having evolved ‘chalk glands’ that excrete salts, allowing it to flourish…

In December 2023, the Forest of Bowland National Landscape (formerly the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) published its Nature Recovery Plan, a 71-page roadmap with the stated aims of reversing …