GARDENERS Question Time regular Matthew Biggs brings his gardening expertise to Brimsmore Gardens at Yeovil on Saturday 26th October at 7pm, when he will talk about the history and work of the Royal Horticultural Society. The evening is part of this year’s Yeovil Literary Festival, which runs from Thursday 31st October to Monday 4th November….
CRUISES on the Fleet and around Portland Harbour, talks on butterflies, a photography workshop on Brownsea Island – there is plenty for all interests in Dorset Wildlife Trust’s October programme. For details of volunteering opportunities, visit www.dorsetwildifetrust.org.uk/volunteering Tuesday 1st – Seashore safari, soup and sandwich, 1– 4pm. Guided seashore safari followed by soup and sandwich…
BROWNSEA Island in Poole Harbour is one of the few places where you can see red squirrels in England and autumn is one of the best times of year to spot them. The National Trust is running free guided red squirrel walks daily until Friday 25th October, from 11.30am-12.30pm and 2-3pm; no booking is necessary,…
A PAIR of Amur tiger cubs – the world’s largest big cats and one of the most endangered of the tiger families – have ventured outside for the first time at Longleat Safari Park. Although initially cautious, the cubs, a male called Rusty and a female called Yuki, soon overcame their nerves and began exploring…
FROM storytelling to pressing pears, the National Trust’s Dyrham Park, just north of Bath, will be celebrating the harvest, starting on Saturday 28th September with stories to illustrate the seasonal cycle of life on the land, from wassail and Plough Monday to midsummer’s night, hay time and harvest. The storytelling will take place in the…
JUST when you think the world (and some world leaders) are waking up to the existential threat of climate change, along comes another fossil fuel company trying to exploit the unique marine environment of the Dorset coast. Corallion, a private oil company, reported in March that it had found “potentially substantial” reserves in Poole Harbour….
THE bohemian group of artists and writers who settled on the wild Purbeck coast around Lulworth in the early 20th century included not only several of the Powys family but also the lesbian poet Valentine Ackland and her partner, the writer Sylvia Townsend Warner. Her story is featured as part of an exhibition opening at…
VISITORS to the National Trust’s Shell Bay and Knoll Beach at Studland on Sunday 15th September can take part in two art projects celebrating the natural elements of land and sky – Katie Paterson’s First There is a Mountain, and Lorna Rees’s Cloudscapes. Katie Paterson, who has been touring coastal art venues, puts a new…
THE long school holidays are over and you have (just about) survived them. But it’s probably been exhausting – all the planning, the packing, the endless traffic jams on the M5 or the A303, the hours spent unpacking, battling with the tent … and then seven or 14 days later going through the whole process…
HAS anyone got an old bike (or even two) that they could lend to Dorchester’s New Hardy Players. The bikes are needed for the next Tea With Mr Hardy events at Max Gate on 18th and 20th September. Andy Worth of the Players says: “I need to borrow two old bicycles that would look reasonably…