THE adventures of two brothers from Taunton have inspired the Museum of Somerset’s latest exhibition.

Andrew and David Neal have been fascinated by nature since childhood, and during the 1940s the pair explored the Somerset countryside on family walks and cycle adventures.

Their father was Dr Ernest Neal, head of biology at Taunton School and first chairman of the Somerset Wildlife Trust.

Favourite family destina- tions included the Quantock and Blackdown Hills, and Exmoor.

The boys collected plants, butterflies and other specimens for their own mini-museum in the attic of the family home.

David started to build canoes, and kept logbooks of his adventures on the rivers Tone, Parrett and Isle.

Led by eldest brother Keith the boys formed The Natural History of Living Things club.

Keith said: “By 1949 the attic room had become transformed and housed aquaria, butterfly collections, plants and an array of natural history specimens. Mum and Dad were very relaxed about what we did.

“They allowed us to go off on our bicycles to collect specimens.”

The club members, aged six to twelve, meticulously minuted their many meetings, produced magazines, held exhibitions, and kept detailed logbooks of their expeditions.

Some of these wonderful items from the family archive will be on display at an exhibition of art work by the brothers, to be held at the Museum of Somerset this month.

David added: “My logbooks are full of encounters with swans and other river birds and we became expert in their behaviour. There are numerous pencil sketches, including of picnic places, camp sites and wild flowers alongside weirs, mills and bridges.”

David went on to pursue careers in engineering and teaching. The sculpture and paintings that will be on display in the exhibition reflect his fascination with structure, form and the natural world.

Andrew became enthused by his father’s pioneering photography and film-making, and this led to a career in television production, including a period as head of the BBC Natural History Unit.

“Nature became a game of hide and seek, an endless source of fascination,”said Andrew.

“I hope our ‘Wild Art’ collection will inspire others to take a closer look at their natural surroundings.”

The Wild Art exhibition opened at the Museum of Somerset on Saturday, October 8.

The museum is open Tuesday to Saturday 10am-5pm, Taunton, TA1 4AA. The exhibition is free to enter and runs until December 31. Visit museumofsomerset.org.uk