Rabbit warren

BBC's The Burrowers Animals Underground project required us to fill a rabbit warren and mole fortress with cement to reveal a fascinating tunnel network.

Tom Fox casts a critical eye over housing co-operatives. Originally published in January 2012.

European rabbits are sociable creatures. They form colonies in burrows called warrens. Most of the passages are interconnected and have side pockets in which individual families live. The main warren has two or more entrances. If an enemy comes in one door, the rabbits can run out through another. Usually the entrances are behind the concealing protection of a bush or rock.

All along the path are dozens of rabbit holes.

[Rabbits in a Wood] signed Samuel J Carter / 89 l.l. oil on canvas 15.5 x 11" . 1835 - 1892. http://www.artnet.com/artist/658836/samuel-john-carter.html http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ArtistWorks?cgroupid=999999961&artistid=86&page=1

Rabbit warren.

Visit the only restored Dutch-style water garden in the country. Wander among canals, clipped hedges, working 17th-century vegetable plots and fruit trees.