Beavers to return to west London after 400 years

A Eurasian beaver in Devon

(Image credit: Nick Upton/Alamy Stock Photo )

published 23 March 2023

Beavers are to return to west London for the first time in 400 years, as part of a rewilding project. A breeding pair of Eurasian beavers, which are expected to come from Tayside in Scotland, could arrive at their new home in a wetland in Ealing as soon as this autumn. Once the beavers have settled in, Londoners will be able to go on “beaver safaris” to observe the animals in their habitat. It is hoped that the beavers – which were once common across Britain, until they were hunted to extinction in the 16th century – will help to manage vegetation and reduce flood risk.

A starry night in North Yorkshire

A village in North Yorkshire is to dim its streetlights and dozens of other outdoor lights to allow residents and visitors to have a better view of the stars. Hawnby is located in the North York Moors National Park, which is one of just 21 officially recognised international “dark sky reserves”. The measures, which have widespread local support, have given better views of the Milky Way, planets and meteors – and, when conditions are right, the Northern Lights.

A former soldier whose Norfolk bungalow had been teetering on the edge of a crumbling cliff has managed to drag the entire building to safety. When Lance Martin, 65, bought the house in 2017, he was assured that the nearby cliffs wouldn’t erode for decades – but they soon did, and the council told him that unless he could move his home out of harm’s way, it would have to be demolished. Helped by friends, and using canvas straps and a 13-tonne digger, he pulled the wooden house to safety hours before the council’s deadline last Thursday.