THE BIG PICTURE
FROSTY SPIRES
Sparkling frost cloaks a water meadow in Malmesbury, Wiltshire. Although the days are shorter in winter, walking in a cold landscape is deeply refreshing, as the earth crunches beneath your boots and cool air kisses your cheeks. Malmesbury is an ancient town – in fact, Britain’s oldest borough – boasting a majestic 12th-century abbey. The spire you see is all that remains of the 13th-century parish church of St Paul’s. However, at 36.5 metres, it couldn’t compete with Malmesbury Abbey’s spire, once the tallest in England at 131 metres – until it collapsed during a storm in 1500.
CROUCHING TIGER
Looking every inch the ‘Highland tiger’, as it’s known, a wildcat peers from behind a tree in the Cairngorms National Park. In 2023, 19 wildcats were released into this rugged landscape in a bid to prevent the extinction of this endangered species. Over the next two years, 60 further individuals will be released as part of the Saving Wildcats project, led by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland. With mottled markings, the Scottish wildcat looks similar to the domest
