Berkshire is an affluent county just outside London, home to Windsor Castle and Slough (where TV comedy The Office was filmed – the actor who played ‘geeky Gareth’ is now an ardent environmentalist who recently bought a wood in Essex so nobody could build on it!) One of the most wooded areas of England, the North Wessex Downs is one of England’s Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Covering Berkshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire, this has rich chalk habitats.
Eton (home to England’s main swan sanctuary)
Eton College is known as the ‘posh school’ where actors (Damian Lewis & Dominic West), politicians (David Cameron & Boris Johnson), royals (Princes William & Harry) and writers (Ian Fleming who created James Bond) all went. But Eton itself is a small town and home to our national Swan Sanctuary. It almost went under financially until a certain George Michael (who had swans at the bottom of his garden) gave a huge (only found out after he died) donation to save it.
an innovative low-cost zero waste supermarket
Despite its ‘posh image’, obviously some people in Berkshire struggle financially. A great idea here is True Food Co-op, an ethically-run zero waste supermarket, where members pay a one-off £5 fee for exclusive discounts (volunteers also earn up to 15% discount off food).
Windsor Long Walk (nicer than lego?)
The historic town of Windsor features the weekend castle home of the monarchy, with the tree-line 2-mile Long Walk in Windsor Great Park known the world over. The Savill Garden is also England’s finest ornamental garden, with beech woodlands that lead down to the River Thames).
Contrast this with Windsor’s other famous tourist attraction: Legoland is as far away from taking children on a nature walk as you can get. Not only has the company reverted back to using oil to make the plastic bricks (only flirting briefly with recycled plastic bottles – one company makes bamboo bricks showing there are alternatives). But reviews are not hot either, with complaints of hugely over-inflated prices for junk food, and lots of litter.
reasons not to bet on horse-racing
Royal Ascot may be a famous racecourse but ‘Ladies Day’ is not so fun for the female horses that are often sent for slaughter, when no longer of use. Actress & animal welfare campaigner Anneka Svenska recently attended Ascot, wearing the largest hat ever-worn (with 1000 blood roses, to symbolise each horse killed in the horse-racing industry).
League Against Cruel Sports wants races of 4 miles or more (with fences) to be banned. Others want a government body responsible for racehorse welfare (and £12 million of prize money directed to racehorse aftercare).
