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House mouse or field mouse? Easy guide to types of UK mice, voles, rats and shrews

Are you curious about what mouse or vole you saw in your garden or out on a walk? Or did your cat bring one in and you wondered what it was? Here's a quick guide to the more common mice, voles, rats and shrews of the UK.

Helen Keating  •  28 Mar 2022

Visiting woods

Spring's Vital Signs 

Have you spotted frogspawn, seen blackthorn bloom or heard a song thrush singing? Let us know so we can check the health of the planet.

Blog

What is a fairy ring and what causes them?

Find out why fungi grow in circular shapes and where you can see them, plus discover more about fairy ring folklore.

Hannah Vickers  •  26 Aug 2019

Blog

Best woods near 10 UK cities

Here's our pick of great woods in and around the UK's busiest cities for sanctuary seekers, wildlife watchers, fitness fans and history hounds alike.

Charlie Mellor  •  04 Nov 2021

Trees woods and wildlife

Birch, downy

Soft on the outside. Tough on the inside. On a global scale, this tree, with its fuzzy leaf stalks, shoots and twigs, grows further north than any other broadleaf species.

Trees woods and wildlife

Horse chestnut

Spiky cases, gleaming seeds, celebrated by children. Horse chestnuts, with their mahogany-bright conkers, are the very essence of autumn.

Trees woods and wildlife

Common striated feather-moss

Cushions of feathery green moss strewn nonchalantly over the woodland floor, common striated feather-moss is one cool customer. It brings colour to shady places and it is a characteristic of old ash woodlands in particular.