FROM MRS Patmore to Lady Sybil, these barking mad illustrations show the WOOF-er side of some of our most loved Downton characters. The art works entitled 'Houndton Tabby', were designed by illustrator and artist Kim Parkhurst, 39, after she combined her love of drawing and Downton Abbey. 'I've been painting portraits of animals in historical costume for some time,” explains New Yorker Kim. “I've taken some familiar and beloved characters whose demeanour, personality, and appearance seemed to translate to certain breeds of dog or cat. 'I got to thinking about Mr Bates' character and storyline, and Brendan Coyle's facial structure, and how he could look hard but also had the warmest, kindest eyes.
Suspended FIFTY metres in the air, this is the last place that you would expect to find a fine dining experience .
This longhorn beetle demon-strates a dark side as it looks just like the devil .
A KITTEN'S teaparty and rat's playing dominoes are the bizarre creations by one of Britain's great eccentrics pictured in an incredible new book .
A diving guide leaves a shark completely docile and balanced in the palm of his hand .
A brave praying mantis makes an unusual friend in an Oriental garden lizard .
At least three people have been killed and more than 100 injured, some seriously, in two explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon .
HUDDLING under a leaf, a pair of adorable Javan scops owls take shelter from the rain .
This is the moment a nimble red fox and a lumbering Alaskan brown bear were locked in a tense stand-off .
This brave Hyena finally catches his pray among the thousands of flamingos, Lake Nakuru, Kenya - OUTNUMBERED among thousands of flamingos, this bold hyena is not put off from hunting for a morning snack .
SAILING peacefully across a river in the early morning light, a fisherman in China keeps a 1000 year old tradition alive .
SOARING at 112 miles per hour through the air, this petite blonde certainly lives up to her title as the fastest flying woman in the world .