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AnimalsCorby, United Kingdom

Six swans took a car ride home from a Corby garden

Two adults and four cygnets were sunning in a front garden on Hazelwood Road. Volunteers bagged them gently and drove them about a mile to Pen Green lakes.

Verified · Source: BBCOct 27, 2026 · 1 min read
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Two adult mute swans swimming with a cluster of grey cygnets between them
Illustrative photo of mute swans and cygnets. This is not the family moved in Corby, which had four cygnets. Charles J. Sharp / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

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A family of swans that wandered into Corby went back to a lake by car. The BBC reported on October 27, 2026, that two adults and four cygnets were first seen near a bowling green on Occupation Road on Saturday. The next day, volunteers from The Waterfowl Sanctuary in Godmanchester found them sunning in a front garden on Hazelwood Road, as if they were waiting for a taxi.

Graham Porter and a colleague settled the birds into big blue bags and drove them. A boating lake about two miles away was ruled out because people there do not usually have a swan family. Pen Green lakes, about a mile away, fit. Someone at the water had been wondering where the swans had gone and helped carry the six from the car. Porter said the cygnets slept while he drove.

The birds were lost in town, not injured. The ride put them back on water that looked like home.

For the classroom

A swan family took a wrong turn in Corby, England. The BBC reported on October 27, 2026, that two adults and four young swans, called cygnets, were seen near a bowling green on Saturday. The next day, volunteers found them resting in a front garden, as if they were waiting for a taxi. They wrapped the birds in big soft bags and drove them about a mile to Pen Green lakes. Someone at the lake helped carry them from the car. The young swans slept on the ride. They were lost, not hurt, and people helped them back to the water.

  1. How did the volunteers move the swans without hurting them?
  2. Why do you think the swans ended up in a garden instead of on a lake?
  3. What is one safe way to help a wild animal, and when should you call an expert?

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