The first ever orbital space launch from the UK is expected to take place on the night of Wednesday 14 December from Cornwall. Entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit company will run the mission out of Newquay, on the north Cornwall coast. It will see a repurposed 747, nicknamed ‘Cosmic Girl’, release a rocket over […]

The world is changing, and we need to change with it. The impacts of climate change are already being felt all over the world. In the last few years, here in Cornwall, we have experienced unprecedented weather. We have had back-to-back named storms, heatwaves, flash floods and unseasonable weather. This more extreme weather poses a […]

As expert map readers will know, when you’re out and about navigating with a compass, there is a difference between magnetic north (where the compass points) and grid north (the vertical blue grid lines shown on OS maps). The difference between magnetic north and grid north is often referred to as ‘grid magnetic angle’ and […]

What is a temperate rainforest? Temperate rainforests occur in mid-latitude, temperate zones, in places which receive heavy rainfall due to an ‘oceanic’ climate – where it is both very wet and sufficiently mild. There are not very many places on the planet where temperate rainforest can flourish. It has to be wet, with about 1,400mm […]

The massive planet Jupiter, will make its closest pass to Earth in 59 years on Monday, September 26, becoming easily visible in the night sky. The largest planet in the Solar System, it will be especially large and bright as it rises in the east at sunset. People will be able to clearly see the […]

Stargazers of the UK, it’s time for the main meteor shower of the year – the annual Perseids Meteor Shower!  Of all the meteor showers that take place, the Perseids is the most famous and is widely seen as being the most spectacular too. The shower takes place over a period of a few weeks […]

So many recycling logos, but what do they all mean? We’re here to break them down to help you understand what waste items can be recycled. Mobius loop This one is commonly used and simply means that the packaging is recyclable. Sometimes there’ll be a % in the centre – this indicates the percentage of […]

There are few Cornish women who changed the world like forgotten heroine Emily Hobhouse. The most controversial woman of her time, she changed the game for those in impoverished concentration camps run by the British government – and was referred to as “that bloody woman” for doing so. The tenacious woman was born in St […]

For dog owners there are few places nicer to take your four-legged friend for a stroll than a good beach. A number of beaches in Cornwall have restrictions in the summer months for when dogs are welcome, but there are even more which have no restrictions at all year round. There are more than 100 […]

The longest day of the year is known as the summer solstice, and has been celebrated across the world in some form since prehistory. This year, the solstice falls on Tuesday 21 June in the northern hemisphere, with large groups of revellers set to watch the sunrise at Stonehenge as per tradition. Here’s how long the longest day of the year […]