Tales of Nature

The rather ordinary-looking bocage landscape has an extraordinary tale to tell. This familiar landscape is man-made, created centuries ago and maintained ever since. Yet it teems with wildlife.

The ancient upland forests of Western Europe are living monuments. They are home to a wealth of plant and animal species: large mammals and microscopic insects live side by side beneath the tall trees.

The point where the English Channel meets the North Sea is a huge migratory hub. Numerous bird species come to this section of the west coast of Europe to rest, feed and bring up their young.

Breakers have been crashing onto the Atlantic coast for thousands of years. It is a mineral world of earth, rock and water, swept by raging winds.

The giant mineral monument of Mont Blanc has soared into the sky for millions of years. It subjects living organisms to extreme conditions − violent winds, sheer rock faces, polar temperatures and raging avalanches.

From the city centre to the outermost fringes of the conurbation, a two-way invasion is taking place: while urban sprawl eats into the countryside, nature is moving into the city.

Inland lakes and fens harbour a wide variety of birds and mammals. These mysterious, ancient landscapes are home to some highly unusual wildlife.

The Loire is one of Europe's last free-flowing rivers − one of the few whose banks have not been developed and confined by man. As the seasons change, its water level rises and falls and the morphology of the river-bed alters.

Corsica is a treasure island. Its beaches are lapped by the Mediterranean; its sea-bed harbours strange and wonderful creatures, some of them found nowhere else in the world.