Owner receives word that officials will not try to enforce warrant before 5pm on FridayGeronimo, the condemned alpaca, has been granted another 24-hour reprieve, with its owner claiming the UK government hopes she will carry out its “dirty work” and pu…
Three hours wait for an ambulance? Cumbrian town fights to keep its service
Pennines residents fear plans to axe paramedics will endanger livesLiving in one of the remotest communities in England, the residents of Alston Moor in Cumbria count themselves lucky to be surrounded by the breathtaking peaks of the Pennines.But livin…
Young country diary: welcome to the world of mini-beasts!
Cambridgeshire: At normal size I can see a beetle below, but what if I am beetle-sized?Imagine you are shrinking, becoming so small that the grass towers over you. Welcome to the territory … of mini-beasts! Wandering down my garden, I feel the summer s…
UK launches £4m fund to run fibre optic cables through water pipes
Project that could bring fibre broadband to remote areas while monitoring pipes for water leaksThe government has launched a £4m fund to back projects trialling running fibre optic broadband cables through water pipes to help connect hard-to-reach home…
Vets say law is clear and Geronimo the alpaca must be put down
Specialists including Defra bovine tuberculosis expert say positive tests indicate danger to public healthThe row over his fate has captured the public’s imagination – with a petition to save him gathering nearly 100,000 signatures and his friendly, fu…
George Eustice defends decision to cull alpaca Geronimo as ‘arduous but necessary’
Environment secretary says bovine tuberculosis test used on animal ‘over 99% accurate’Environment secretary George Eustice said it is an “arduous but necessary endeavour” to cull animals that test positive for bovine tuberculosis (bTB), as he defended …
Young country diary: it’s ‘Mary Berry’ picking season again
South Wales: It’s summer time and our gooseberry bush is full of fruit (and thorns)The gooseberries are growing again. In Welsh they are called eirin Mair, berries of Mary, or “Mary berry” as my dad says. This year we collected about 200 of them from t…
Young country diary: what’s up with the ladybird?
West Essex: I spot a ladybird in the bush in our garden. But wait! there’s something strange about itIt’s a mild, sunny day and I’m helping in the garden – which means keeping everyone company and chatting away, like the pretty robin that always comes …
‘We were once alive’: 100-year-old portraits from rural Sweden – in pictures
A new book showcases self-taught photographer John Alinder’s extraordinary and compelling portraits, discovered in the 1980s, of his Swedish neighbours – revealing their humanity and his artistic brilliance Continue reading…
The pandemic property boom is pricing locals out of the British countryside | Jade Angeles Fitton
Rural areas suffer from an undersupply of affordable housing. Cracking down on second homes is one part of the solutionDevon, where I grew up and have lived on and off my whole life, always had a surplus of affordable places to live. Even a couple of y…