Each of these seats is a carefully laid trap. It’s a system which has evolved to take €18 off each tourist who is tempted by them in exchange for a small cup of coffee. To be fair, you do get a view of Piazza San Marco in Venice while you …
As a child I never understood why people said an octopus had tentacles. Surely they’re octacles? An octopus’s tentacles are multi-function. Just …
‘Trilobite con pista’, it says. No, it’s not an item on the Italian menu in the restaurant at lunch time, but the …
You may know Peter Tatchell best for his views on reducing the age of consent and on sexual relationships with children. He’s …
Six floors, eighty steps, 28 metres and €9. That’s the spiral staircase named after snails, ‘del Bovolo’, in Venice. The Palazzo was …
Gondoliers in Venice appear to earn a top salary of €100,000. For that I’d expect some adherence to uniform standards. We saw …
I’m astonished every time I see detail in fossils. Their age, the heat and the pressure they have been subjected to, and …
A visit to the natural history museum in Venice can be a bit of a shock for those unprepared for a full-on …
A tale of two bridges. One is the Ponte dei Sospiri, the Bridge of Sighs, built in 1600. It’s the bridge between …
It’s a foggy early morning in Venezia and the low cloud gives an eerie feel to the place as we wander around …
A trip to Venice isn’t complete without at least two hours visiting the Museo de la historia naturale. As well as dinosaur …
On a recent trip to Venezia (Venice) I was fascinated to see that gondolas lean. They all have one side much larger …
From the age of five I was taught how to torture, mutilate and kill. I was instructed how to inflict the maximum …
It’s a dull day in Somerset but it’s enlivened by the sound of Linnets in the air. There’s a mobile flock exploring …
Seeing an original Paul Nash painting is always a revelation. His Totes Meer is a wonderful moonlit seascape of ruined German planes. …
A trip in dull weather with Birds of Poole Harbour gave me the chance to see a very distant Marsh Harrier while …
Herring Gulls love a good chase. If there’s a chance of kleptoparasitism, they’ll take it. This one seems to have been just …
There’s a Cycad in Kew. I love them. Just like conifers and the Gingko tree, Cycads are gymnosperms, which means their unfertilised …
They’re noisy, tiny, green and yellow, and at the top of a tree. The Siskins, Carduelis spinus, are here. There’s a large …
It’s spring and the Black-Headed Gulls are showing us just how unobservant the person who named them was. This one at RSPB …
The Venus Flytrap, Dionaea muscipula, is a fascinating plant. I’ve kept one as a pot plant in the past, but was excited to …
A highlight of my trips to RSPB Lodmoor is the sight of Marsh Harriers flying over the reeds. Their languid flight, interspersed …
I was attempting to get my ducks in a row at RSPB Ham Wall as these Northern Shovelers had an energetic flypast. …
The white spot in the centre of the Robin’s breast is so intense, it’s often blown-out in photographs. If it’s brightly lit, …
There’s a tinkling I recognise in the trees. I see it as it flies down to a barbed wire fence. It’s a …
There’s a small brown object in the distance doing what Treecreepers do. It’s too far away for me to see any details, …
The trees surrounding us are full of noise. At first we can’t see what’s making the high-pitched sound, but we persist. High …
I spot a group of Mallard Ducks taking off from the water at RSPB Radipole. They’re a hundred metres away, but it’s …
A trip to RSPB Lodmoor in Weymouth revealed scrubby field edges, hedgerows and brambles full of Chiffchaffs. They were active in the …
I love to see winter Thrushes in the UK. They seem so wild and unrestrained and when I see them I feel …