THE CHRONICLE

Step into the library…

For this blog, we’ve captured the feeling of stepping into a beautiful, tranquil library, looking out onto the rolling English countryside as you browse through our posts.

We’ve created a labyrinthine collection for everyone, whether you are an interested adult learner, dreaming of donning a velvet smoking jacket and immersing yourself in a fireside expedition through canonical scholarship or a budding researcher, eager to equip yourself for exciting fieldwork. For university and A level students, your studies should not be just a matter of cramming knowledge into your head: here, you can relax, immerse yourself in your specialism and enjoy it!

Browse blog categories below, or scroll down to see our latest posts.

Classics

Religious Studies

Anthropology

History and Art History

People and Wildlife in South Asia

All Posts

Woodland Animals in Autumn: the Polecat Returns!

As autumn gets underway, meet the animals who use the woodland for hunting, foraging and homes—including our star bandit, the polecat! A polecat explores the holes under the fallen willow A huge willow tree blew down in our historic Victorian spinney in the spring storms this year. After clearing the path, we left a lot of the remaining tree as deadwood in the spinney because of its value to wildlife. Since then, lots of animals have been caught on our wildlife camera using

Oct 7

The Bounty of a Fallen Tree!

A huge willow tree blew down in our historic Victorian spinney in the spring storms this year. It also brought down and uprooted several smaller trees and blocked one of our paths. This was not a disaster, but an opportunity! Dr. Orton explains how a fallen tree can be a treasure trove for humans and wildlife. Deadwood for the Forest The big trunks can be used as deadwood (dead and decaying wood that stays in our woodlands). Deadwood is important for nutrient recycling, for

Jul 1

An Otter Stops By!

We set up a wildlife camera in our historic Victorian spinney and it recently captured one visitor we weren’t expecting—a beautiful wild otter! This came as a surprise, because, although we do have a wildlife pond next to our woodland, we have never seen an otter there before. Otters are semiaquatic, meaning that they hunt, feed and mate in water, but shelter, sleep and birth on land. They tend to prefer running water, such as rivers and streams, but they can also be fo

Feb 20

Pioneers of the Ancient Wildwood

I n 2022, we planted our own native woodland from scratch on one of our fields. This year, we’ve identified a few sparse areas that need a little help, so we’ve planted some silver birch and rowan—two “pioneer species” that create ideal conditions for a new wood! Dr. Orton investigates… Around eleven thousand years ago, as the ice sheets retreated, trees arrived in Britain’s arctic grassland. These trees— birch, pine, aspen and hazel—were the pioneers that would create Brita

Feb 17

Meet the Badgers who Live in Our Victorian Woodland

We’ve set up a wildlife camera next to a badger latrine in our spinney and the results have been delightful! Dr. Orton introduces our stripy, stocky mustelids… We’ve set up a wildlife camera in our historic Victorian spinney to spy on our native British wildlife and more recent arrivals. Our camera recently captured footage of Britain’s largest land predator having a good old scratch to get rid of those pesky fleas! Those pesky fleas! Badgers are unmistakable mustelids wit

Feb 11

Highlights from a British Woodland

Dr. Orton reflects on some of the most special moments from our woodland animals in 2025! All of the animals in our woodlands are special, but some of the highlights this year have included our foxes, polecats, tawny owls and their owlets! Fantastic Foxes Foxes are one of my favourite animals and one of the most exciting things this year was watching our family of foxes grow up. Our wildlife camera often captured the pair play-fighting in the spinney during the longer

Dec 29, 2025

We Have Polecats! Meet our Beautiful Bandits

For the first time, we’ve captured polecats on our wildlife camera! Dr. Orton introduces our beautiful woodland bandits… Imagine my...

Oct 3, 2025

Pine Martens: Acrobats Of the Ancient Wildwood

Iconic, elusive and lithe, pine martens are one of Britain’s rarest native mammals. They scale trees effortlessly and if they fall, they...

Sep 1, 2025

Polecats are Back! The Return of Britain’s Beautiful Bandits

Polecats are a bit bigger than stoats, and are recognisable by their dark “bandit mask” across their eyes. Once confined to Wales, they...

Aug 25, 2025

Red Squirrels: Britain’s Uncommon Acrobats

Acrobatic, agile and double jointed, red squirrels are Britain’s native squirrel. Dr. Orton investigates the nimble little rodents and...

Aug 18, 2025

Meet the Owlets! Baby Tawny Owls Caught on Our Wildlife Camera

Last autumn, we introduced you to our resident pair of tawny owls , Mayweather and Dempsey. The exciting news is that they are breeding, and produced two chicks this spring! With pictures from our wildlife camera, meet our new owlets! Tawny owls usually mate for life and lay two or three eggs in the spring. This March, our contact from the Barn Owl Trust checked our owl box and found that Dempsey was sitting on two eggs. By April, there were two chicks! Photo credit: Michae

Jun 3, 2025

Hazel: A Native British Tree

Hazel trees are a feature of European folklore, a haven for wildlife, and a food source for humans. Dr. Orton introduces one of Britain’s most fascinating native trees! Also known by its Latin name corylus avellana , hazel is one of Britain’s most iconic native trees: one of the first to colonise Britain after the last ice age! Hazel is easily recognisable even in winter, as trees often have multiple trunks growing in clusters. You’ll see that the bark is smooth and grey-brow

Mar 31, 2025