Following the update from the Transport Secretary on Friday 17th September, we welcome the simplified rules for travel which come into effect on 4th October, and we keep a close eye on which countries appear on the Government’s Red list.

Many thanks to all of you who sent in photos from your Naturetrek holidays for our 2019 Photography Competition. We have thoroughly enjoyed looking at them and are pleased to announce that Luke O'Brien's beautiful image of a Ground Pangolin is our ‘Image of the Year’ winner. Congratulations to Luke who wins our £100 first prize!

Few places in Europe combine scenery, wildlife and geology quite so spectacularly as the Carnic Alps. A century of depopulation and abandonment has created unprecedented space for nature to thrive here, while the mountains’ dramatic rock formations bear record to hundreds of millions of years of natural and geological history.

Many thanks to everyone who entered our 2019 Writing Competition. The writing was of an extremely high standard and we thoroughly enjoyed reading your articles about experiences on Naturetrek holidays.

Atlantic Puffins are one of those characterful birds that many people love to watch, and we are often asked which of our UK tours they can be seen on. Nicknamed ‘Sea Parrots’ or ‘Clowns of the Sea’ due to their colourful face markings, these small seabirds are only around 25cm (9.5 inches) high and the smallest of the four puffin species.