'It wasn't just cats on the prowl. There were other animals that seemed too exotic or dangerous to go unnoticed and some were not simply surviving but thriving. Mammals such as the wild boar, once driven to extinction but now reestablished following escapes and illegal releases; a colony of yellow-tailed scorpions that have scuttled since Victorian times; wallabies, as far away from their native range as they could possibly get, bouncing around dale and moor … How exciting would it be to go and try to see some of them for myself?'

Many are unaware that scorpions, Aesculapian snakes, eagle owls, wallabies and many more unusual non-native species are living and breeding in the British Isles – but here they are.

In An Unnatural History of Britain nature writer Kevin Parr travels the length and breadth of the country seeking out these rare creatures and exploring the myths and folklore that have emerged around them along the way.