On being told that they had been bitten by a venomous snake, most eight-year-olds would panic. Not Nicholas Jubber; he was not terrified but disappointed by a diagnosis that contradicted his own. Nich

Tennyson’s embrace of science and catastrophe theory

Britain’s neglect of its maritime heritage has led to shuttered shipyards, ailing fishing fleets and impoverished coastal towns

Marian Boswall defends the building of lakes, which bring both beauty and biodiversity

Fossilised dinosaur prints, volcanic craters, ice-carved corries – there are places in Britain where the landscape is a portal to the past. Hanna Lindon takes a stroll through 4 billion years of British history

Brian Morton