Safari Britain: Forget Africa, a wealth of wildlife lies right here on our doorsteps
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You don't need to go to the African savannahs or the Amazonian rainforests to find wild life — Newcastle on a Friday will do perfectly well.
But if it's real wild life you're after, then a British safari is extraordinarily rewarding.
So here are a few suggestions. They're all easy to reach, require no deep knowledge, and the wildlife is as reliable as a wild thing can be.
The miracle of a dolphin-sighting hits us humans profoundly. No one can see one and remain unchanged
Dolphins
Where: New Quay, Cardigan Bay, Wales.
Time to visit: All year.
This is the dolphin capital of Britain. You can sometimes see them in the harbour while you eat an ice cream. But book a boat trip out into the bay and you'll seldom be disappointed. The miracle of a dolphin-sighting hits us humans at a profound level. No one can see one and remain unchanged. Mother and young travel together, large groups are frequent, and on occasions they swim in their hundreds. Synchronised swimming on a different level.
01545 560800, newquayboattrips.co.uk
Ospreys fly over the water and plunge in from a great height, usually carrying off an unfeasibly large fish
Ospreys
Where: Rutland Water, near Oakham, Rutland.
Time to visit: April to September.
This is a vast reservoir, but it's also been made wild. It's full of fish and 18 years ago ospreys were reintroduced, the first English ospreys for 150 years. These great raptors fly over the water and plunge in, talons first, from a great height, usually carrying off an unfeasibly large fish. They have reclaimed their place in Britain with a flourish.
01572 737378, ospreys.org.uk
Seals were lying at their ease on the rocky beaches at Stroma or swimming with impossible grace
Seals
Where: John O'Groats, Scotland.
Time to visit: June 20-August 31.
Britain doesn't stop at John O'Groats. A boat trip north will take you to the island of Stroma, now uninhabited. You can cruise all around it and return in not much more than an hour — and you will have a breathtaking experience of seals in astonishing abundance. I counted getting on for 1,000 on my last visit. They were lying at their ease on the rocky beaches or swimming with a grace that looks impossible for creatures of such bulk.
01955 611353, jogferry.co.uk
Creatures of ridicuolous charm, the red squirrels at National Trust Formby have hung on against all the odds
Red Squirrels
Where: Formby, Lancashire.
Time to visit: All year.
National Trust Formby, just outside Liverpool, offers the gentlest of woodland walks. And in the course of it you'll meet red squirrels, a population that has hung on against all the odds. They are creatures of ridiculous charm with their large fluffy tufts on the ears.
01704 878591, http://ift.tt/1DwhQPT
The white-tailed eagle was reintroduced to Scotland after it became extinct in the UK
Eagles
Where: Mull, Scotland.
Time to vist: All year.
This lovely island is the best spot in Britain for eagles. The warmer months are best and the eagle hide opens in April. The white-tailed eagle was reintroduced to Scotland after it became extinct in the UK due to illegal killing and has flourished on Mull. There are eagle boat trips, and a public viewpoint with attendant experts. It's also the easiest place in Scotland to see golden eagles.
in autumn, the shy and secretive red deer come out in the open, mad for sex
Red Deer
Where: Minsmere, Suffolk.
Time to visit: October.
Minsmere reserve is famous for birds, especially avocets, but in autumn, the shy and secretive red deer come out in the open, mad for sex. The RSPB sets up viewpoints, often with experts on hand. You can see the deer, often in large numbers, and it is hard to believe so many animals of such size can exist in lowland Britain. It feels more like Africa.
The undisputed starsof the colony at Bempton Cliffs are the puffins, clown-like birds that attract so much love
Puffins
Where: Bempton, Yorkshire.
Time to visit: Spring, early summer.
The birds assemble every year on the lofty cliffs around Flamborough Head. You can hear the colony for miles. The undisputed stars are the puffins, the clown-like birds that attract so much love. The bright coloured bills looks daft, but they're wonderfully effective tools for catching and holding large numbers of sand eels and bringing them back to a cliff-top nest.
Swallowtail butterflies are vast flying slabs of colour the size of bats
Butterflies
Where: Hickling Broad, Norfolk.
Time to visit: Late May to mid-July.
These are not like the cabbage whites you see in your garden. Swallowtail butterflies are vast flying slabs of colour the size of bats. In Britain you can only find them in the Norfolk Broads. Make sure you pick a sunny day for your visit. At Hickling Broad, there are boardwalks through the reeds and in season these lovely butterflies are mating. They're easy to see as they hurry across the top of the reeds.
You can see wild wonders without leaving London, like these Black Necked Swans and their cygnets
Waterbirds
Where: London Wetland Centre, Barnes, London
Time to visit: All year.
You can see wild wonders without leaving London. The Wildfowl and Wetland Trust took on a disused reservoir on the banks of the Thames near Hammersmith Bridge and by 2000 had turned it into a kind of wild Tardis, larger inside than it is out. It's teeming with ducks and waders. The top of the Peacock Tower affords the best view in London.
020 8409 4400, wwt.org.uk
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