The Coaster: rain, rain go away

Lately it has rained so much that I feel as if I’m imprisoned in Norman Garstin’s bedraggled but beautiful The Rain it Raineth Every Day

Feather report Guess who’s coming to dinner?

There are still wild turkeys in the world, though they are not in Turkey. They never were

The Coaster

Lately it has rained so much that I feel as if I’m imprisoned in Norman Garstin’s bedraggled but beautiful The Rain it Raineth Every Day

How to... get hold of ‘sold out’ tickets

There is always a way to get tickets if you persevere. When a venue claims that an event is sold out, this doesn’t necessarily mean all the...

Out there: Family seeing in the new year

How to . . . write a thank-you letter

Getting gratitude right matters, so the secret of a really good, enduring thank-you letter is authenticity

The hottest New Year’s Eve nights

Feather report: the eider

These birds have given their name to eiderdowns — and that is because they have given their down to them, too

Coaster: step back in time in an idyllic Cornish cove

Cottages, cliffs — and relics of the Industrial Revolution

Feather report: jackdaws

These birds can now be seen doing acrobatics in flocks, and they seem to enjoy their games in windy weather

How to... sing like an angel

Out there: pick of the carol services

How to dress the Christmas tree with children

Christmas trees not only have a season, they also have trends

The Coaster: the hierarchy of surfing

From the big-wave elite to “kooks” and “spongers” and goat-boaters, riders of the ocean waves come in all shapes and forms

Pitch and pint: top 10 pubs near campsites

Taking to a tent this winter? Camping website Pitchup.com suggests the top ten pubs to warm up in over a pint

Feather report: glimpse of the velvet runner

Water rails are usually only heard rather than seen ... but I could hardly have had a more splendid view

Feather report: wintering brent geese

The Crouch estuary in Essex is home to these birds, which fly from Russia for the winter

The Coaster: literature and the sea

From Moby-Dick to Remembrance of Things Past, the ocean has loomed large in writers’ imaginations

The return of the beaver to Britain

Despite teething troubles, a scheme to return these mammals to our forests is on course

A rutting nuisance...

Stags are being put off rituals by army of nature lovers

The Coaster: Surfers Against Sewage

Feather report: sparrowhawks and their prey

The Coaster: on the Scillonian island of Bryher

Hell Bay Hotel is a vision of beauty

My eight acres of woodland manage very well without me

The trees may be getting bare, the birds may have gone, but there is plenty to enjoy in my little patch of Essex forest, says Mackenzie Crook