SAFARI BRITAIN!

Forget the African bush, a wealth of wildlife is right here on your doorstep...

You don’t need to go to the African savannahs or the Amazonian rainforests to find wildlife — Newcastle on a Friday will do perfectly well. But if it’s real wildlife you’re after, then a British safari is extraordinarily rewarding.

So here are a few suggestions. They’re all easy to reach, require no deep knowledge, and the wildlife is as reliable as a wild thing can be.

DOLPHINS

WHERE: New Quay, Cardigan Bay, Wales. TIME TO VISIT: All year. THIS is the dolphin capital of Britain. You can sometimes see them in the harbour while you eat an ice cream, but book a boat trip out into the bay and you’ll seldom be disappointed.

The miracle of a dolphin-sighting hits us humans at a profound level. No one can see one and remain unchanged. Mother and young travel together, large groups are frequent, and on occasions they swim in their hundreds. Synchronised swimming on a different level. (01545 560800, newquayboattrips.co.uk)

OSPREYS

WHERE: Rutland Water, near Oakham, Rutland. TIME TO VISIT: April to September. THIS is a vast reservoir, but it’s also been made wild. it’s full of fish and 18 years ago ospreys were reintroduced, the first English ospreys for 150 years. These great raptors fly over the water and plunge in, talons first, from a great height,, usually carrying off ann unfeasibly large fish. They’ve e reclaimed their place in Britain n with a flourish. (01572 737378,8, ospreys.org.uk)

SEALS

WHERE: John o’ Groats, Scotland.

TIME TO VISIT: June 20-August 31. BRITAIN doesn’t stop at John o’ Groats. A boat trip north will take you to the island of Stroma, now uninhabited.

You can cruise all around it and return in not much more than an hour — and you will have a breathtaking experience of seals in astonishing abundance. i counted getting on for 1,000 on my last visit.

They were lying at their ease on the rocky beaches or swimming with a grace that looks impossible for creatures of such bulk. (01955 611353, jogferry.co.uk)

RED SQUIRRELS

WHERE: Formby, Lancashire.

TIME TO VISIT: All year. NATIONAL Trust Formby, just outside liverpool, offers the gentlest of woodland walks. And in the course of it you’ll meet red squirrels, a population that has hung on against the odds. With fluffy tufts on the ears, they are creatures of ridiculous charm. (01704 878591, nationaltrust.org.uk/formby)

EAGLES

WHERE: Mull, Scotland.

TIME TO VISIT: All year. This lovely island is the best spot in Britain for eagles. The warmer months are best and the eagle hide opens in April.

The white-tailed eagle was reintroduced to scotland and has flourished on Mull. There are eagle boat trips, and a public viewpoint with attendant experts. it’s also the easiest place in scotland to see golden eagles. ( holidaymull.co.uk)

RED DEER

WHERE: Minsmere,

Suffolk. TIME TO VISIT: October. MINSMERE reserve is famous for birds, especially avocets, but in autumn, the shy and secretive red deer come out in the open, mad for sex. The RSPB sets up viewpoints, often with experts on hand.

You can see the deer, often in large numbers, and its hard to believe so many animals of such size can exist in lowland Britain. it feels more like Africa. ( rspb. org.uk)

PUFFINS

WHERE: Bempton, Yorkshire. TIME TO VISIT: Spring, early summer.

The birds assemble every year on the lofty cliffs around Flamborough head. You can hear the colony for miles. The undisputed stars are the puffins, the clown-like birds that attract so much love.

The bright coloured bills looks daft, but they’re wonderfully effective tools for catching and holding large numbers of sand eels and bringing them back to a cliff-top nest. ( rspb.org.uk)

BUTTERFLIES

WHERE: Hickling Broad, Norfolk.

TIME TO VISIT: Late May to mid-July. These are not like the cabbage whites you see in your garden, swallowtail butterflies (main picture) are vast flying slabs of colour. in Britain you can only find them in the norfolk Broads. Make sure you pick a sunny day for your visit.

At hickling Broad, there are boardwalks and you should be able to spot the butterflies getting on with the urgent business of making more swallowtails. They’re easy to see, as they hurry across the top of the reeds. ( norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk)

WATERBIRDS

WHERE: London Wetland Centre, Barnes, London. TIME TO VISIT: All year. You can see wild wonders even in the heart of London. The Wildfowl and Wetland Trust took on a disused reservoir on the banks of the Thames near hammersmith Bridge and by 2000 had turned it into a kind of wild Tardis, larger inside than it is out.

it’s teeming with ducks and wadersw. The top of the Peacock Tower affords the best view in London. (020 8409 4400, wwt.org.uk)