BBC Countryfile 08.2022_downmagaz.net

Wildflower wonders… by bike! Monterya-vsealving tips ISSUE 193 | Summer escapes Outdoor adventures for the holiday season 19spectacular Britain’s train journeys weirdest MEET THE insects PIRATE QUEENS IDYLLIC TRAILS Romantic Exmoor + historic Sussex



Walk the Coleridge Way EDITOR’S LETTER to Porlock on the Somerset coast, a low-cost adventure HOW TO full of wonder and delight CONTACT US A free country... To subscribe or for subs enquiries: Domestic telephone: 03330 162112 The traditional six weeks of summer holidays Overseas telephone: 01604 973720 pit dreams of golden adventures further Contact: www.buysubscriptions.com/ afield against the harder reality of trying to contactus find somewhere to visit at a time when everyone with Post: BBC Countryfile Magazine, children is doing the same. Add in a steep rise in the cost PO BOX 3320, 3 Queensbridge, The Lakes, of living and the fun of the summer break can vanish. Northampton NN4 7BF One of the great joys of the British countryside is that walking, watching nature, swimming in the sea and even To talk to the editorial team: wild camping in some places are open to all and largely free. Ben Lerwill Email: editor@countryfile.com beautifully illustrates this in his magnificent Somerset stroll in the footsteps of Telephone: 0117 300 8580 (answerphone; poet ST Coleridge, page 18. These simple pleasures are immensely rewarding. please email rather than call) But what about transport and accommodation? Is there any way to keep such Post: BBC Countryfile Magazine, costs down and still have a great time? We asked two intrepid travel writers to Eagle House, Bristol BS1 4ST share their best tips for country breaks that don’t cost the Earth (page 46). Advertising enquiries: 0117 300 8815 A similarly optimistic tone imbues the whole magazine this month. I was warmed App support: by the story of the Beaumonts, a Lake District couple who have revolutionised http://apps.immediate.co.uk/support their farm by embracing nature. Their approach has regenerated their land and Syndication and licensing enquiries income (page 38). Then there’s the uplifting tale of botanist Leif Bersweden, (UK and international): cycling the country to catalogue our wildflowers and working to revive them. We [email protected] need these beautiful plants to survive, he says (page 52). So let’s kick the idea of +44 (0)207 150 5168 neatness in nature into the long grass and give the strimmer a summer break, too. Follow us on Twitter: @countryfilemag Follow us on Instagram: @Countryfilemagazine Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ countryfilemagazine Find us online for lots of bonus content: www.countryfile.com Download the official BBC Countryfile Magazine app from the Apple, Google Play or Amazon App Store. Fergus Collins, editor@countryfile.com Don’t miss our nature and countryside Plodcast – available on all podcast providers Photos: Getty; Courtesy of inov-8/James Appleton THIS MONTH’S CONTRIBUTORS Ben Lerwill, page 18 Sabrina Pace-Humphreys, page 48 Leif Bersweden, page 52 “The 51-mile Coleridge Way begins in “Trail running takes me to places “Hopping off my bike to explore small the Quantock Hills before undulating inaccessible by car, train or bus. To the roadside copses and meadows gently – and occasionally steeply – top of hills where, at the break of dawn, provided some of the best and most across Exmoor to the coast.” I feel gratitude for the body I have.” unexpected finds of the year.” www.countryfile.com 03

Contents 13 32 Tomatoes with a twist Marauding pirate queens 48 FEATURES The power of trail running Cover: Getty. Photos: Jason Ingram, Inov8, Getty, Oliver Edwards, James Ratchford, Naturepl.com, Trevor Ray Hart 18 DISCOVER THE Ocnovtehre 48 MOVING MOUNTAINS Ocnovtehre COLERIDGE WAY AUGUST IN Trail running transformed THE COUNTRY Join Ben Lerwill as he celebrates 250 Sabrina Pace-Humphreys’ life. Now she 6–13 AUGUST IN THE COUNTRY years since the birth of Samuel Taylor helps other black runners enjoy the › Three revamped walking trails to try. › Free and fun family summer events. Coleridge by exploring the trail named wonder of Britain’s wild places. › Bake a tomato and Cheddar cobbler. in the poet’s honour, a beautiful route 13 HEATHER ID GUIDE through the hills of West Somerset. 52 BOTANY BY BIKE Get to know our moorland blooms. 32 PIRATE QUEENS Ocnovtehre Leif Bersweden toured the countryside 14 ON THE FARM WITH ADAM on two wheels, seeking out wild plants to Swashbuckling outlaws Anne better understand the dangers they face. Keeping dogs under control in the countryside is crucial for our livestock. Bonny and Mary Read have finally taken ON YOUR COVER their rightful place in pirate history. 61 TEN TINY TERRORS Ocnovtehre The Jacobite steams Immortalised in sculpture, they are now Gail Ashton puts the brutal world across the spectacular Glenfinnan Viaduct on looking for a shore-bound home. of 10 of our carnivorous minibeasts the West Highland Line in Inverness-shire. under the microscope. 04 38 REGENERATION GAME 66 CONQUEROR COUNTRY Ocnovtehre On their Lakeland hill farm, Claire and Explore the idyllic 1066 Country Sam Beaumont use wildlife-friendly, Walk through Sussex countryside, once less intensive methods to raise livestock, plundered by invading Norman troops. with fantastic results. www.countryfile.com

subscribe today and save with our special offer, page 30 66 Walk the battlefields of 1066 18 61 52 Gain poetic inspiration along the Coleridge Way Tiny terrors of the countryside Meet the cycling botanist REGULARS Great days out 17 COUNTRY VIEWS 98 BOOKS, FILM AND TV RAILWAY ADVENTURES Children need the freedom and space What to read and watch this month. 78 Highland express Ocnovtehre to explore the outdoors and wander in nature, says Sara Maitland. 102 YOUR LETTERS West Highland Line, Highland 30 SUBSCRIBE NOW! Have your say on rural issues. 83 Classic Cotswolds 45 JOHN CRAVEN 104 CAMPING CHAIRS Cotswold Line, Oxfordshire/Gloucestershire Could a pioneering ecological restoration We review the best of this season’s 84 Whistle and chug project in the Lake District be the way lightweight and portable seats. forward for our uplands? Talyllyn Railway, Gwynedd 109 QUIZ & CROSSWORD 46 MONEY-SAVING Ocnovtehre 86 Sylvan Silverdale HOLIDAY TIPS Test your country knowledge. Furness Line, Lancashire As the cost of living rises, our travel 113 NEXT MONTH 88 Essex adventure writers share their cost-cutting tips for What to expect in September’s issue. Epping Ongar Railway, Essex cheaper fares and accommodation. 114 ELLIE HARRISON 88 Lothian locomotion 96 READER PHOTOS The challenge for parents this summer holidays is to put the phone away and Bo’ness and Kinneil Railway, West Lothian Your Great Days Out in pictures. enjoy some old-fashioned downtime. 89 South Downs steam www.countryfile.com Watercress Line, Hampshire 90 Snowdonia sojourn Conwy Valley Railway, Conwy 92 Riding high Riviera Line, Devon 94 Seaside railways Top seven, nationwide 05

AUGUST IN THE COUNTRY PICTURES › WILDLIFE › PEOPLE & PLACES › COUNTRY KNOW-HOW › FOOD Photo: Cleveland Pools Trust

POOLING RESOURCES Cleveland Pools in Bath is the UK’s last surviving Georgian lido, but after some 180 years of use, it was closed in 1984. Closed, that is, until this summer, when, after a 17-year campaign from the Cleveland Pools Trust, and following a grant from Bath and North East Somerset Council, this elegant open-air pool alongside the River Avon will reopen. A perfect family haven for balmy August days.

GLASSHOUSE UNFOLDING On warm days, the 10 ‘sepals’ of this astonishing new kinetic glasshouse, on the edge of the National Trust’s Woolbeding Gardens in West Sussex, gently open to reveal a collection of sub-tropical plants. Designed by Heatherwick Studios, the glasshouse sits like a jewel in the Silk Route Garden, with planting influenced by the ancient Asian trading route. Photos: APEX / Eden Project, Raquel Diniz/Heatherwick Studio, FRAGILE EDEN HOPE FOR VOLES Naturepl.com, English Heritage A bee explores bugle flowers – Water voles have been part of a new artwork recently reintroduced to Trentham unveiled at Cornwall’s Eden Estate in Staffordshire. The Project. The 55m-long Pollinator estate has removed predatory Pathmaker is a living installation mink, planted thousands of waterplants along a maze of by artist Alexandra Daisy watercourses and prohibited Ginsberg that celebrates the motorised watersports on vital role of pollinators. It aims to Trentham Lake, giving this help visitors see the world from endangered mammal a great the perspective of insects and chance to bounce back. the plants they pollinate. 08

SUMMER KNIGHTS The Legendary Joust at the end of July in the grounds of Kenilworth Castle is one of the great summer pageants put on by English Heritage to celebrate its historic sites. In 1266, this bastion endured the longest siege (172 days) in medieval English history when Henry III attempted to take the castle from rebellious barons. Today’s ruins, however, date mostly from Elizabeth I’s reign.

:DONëLVZD\\ Three newly vamped trails to explore in 2022 RIVER PARRETT TRAIL A new lease of life has been given to the much-loved River Parrett Trail, a 50-mile source-to-sea walk that slinks from the Dorset-Somerset border to Bridgewater Bay and the Bristol Channel. At the heart of the revamp was a devoted crew of 15 volunteers, whose main tasks included improving waymarking, basic maintenance on the Rights of Way and checking the route guidance. To get your hands on the trail’s brand new route guides, go to visitsouthsomerset.com. LANDPORT BOTTOM HEREFORDSHIRE TRAIL HISTORY TRAIL Developed in 2004 by the Herefordshire Ramblers, Step back 750 years to the the 154-mile Herefordshire Trail, relaunched this Battle of Lewes, an event that summer, links all five of the county’s market towns laid the foundations for and picturesque villages. New apple waymakers parliamentary democracy. The guide the route along cleared pathways. Find new South Downs National Park’s suggested itineraries, download maps and the best new Landport Bottom History places to stay at visitherefordshire.co.uk Trail guides walkers on an audio- visual journey through stunning downland and beautiful Lewes, before navigating Landport Bottom, where the battle between rebel barons and King Henry III’s forces was fought on 14 May 1264. As you walk, watch six short films on your phone, each telling the story from a different perspective. southdowns.gov.uk 10 www.countryfile.com

AUGUST IN THE COUNTRY ID guide HEATHER IN BLOOM In August, the heaths of lowland England and the moors of Wales, the north and Scotland become a shimmering sea of purple, created by billions of tiny heather flowers. There are three common species of heather, all tough, low-growing shrubs needing acid soils, each with subtly different features and habitat preferences. Words: Phil Gates On the plot HEATHER BELL HEATHER CROSS-LEAVED HEATH Jobs for the garden with Rekha Mistry Heather or ling (Calluna Bell heather (Erica cinerea) Cross-leaved heath (Erica vulgaris) is the most is often the first species to tetralix) is sometimes known Amazing August, oh how I rejoice you common species, with pale flower, from the end of May as bog-heather because it as the final colour curtain falls upon purple flowers arranged in onwards. It has intensely favours waterlogged the plot. Suddenly, it seems, every spikes. Rare, white-flowered purple, bell-shaped flowers patches in higher rainfall plant wants my attention, throwing out plants are said to bring with four teeth, larger than areas. Leaves have downy good luck. Leaves grow in those of ling, arranged in a grey hairs and grow in blooms to entice my gaze. My opposite rows, greyish and spike along the main shoot whorls of four. Rose-pink, regimented, energised movement, downy when young. Shoot and at tips of side branches. globular bells bloom at the tips are the favourite food of Its dark-green leaves with shoot tips. It is often part of ticking off tasks around the plot, red grouse, so grouse moors in-rolled margins grow in a specialised flora in wet suddenly becomes a slow-paced are systematically burned to whorls of three with clusters moorland flushes, alongside walk as I stop to admire, touch, feel, promote new soft growth, of smaller leaves at their sphagnum moss, sundew regenerating from the roots. base. Drought-tolerant. and heath spotted-orchid. smell and take photographs to Photos: Alamy, Getty, Jeff Travis Illustration: Enya Todd remember the glorious summer. Get involved August, you astound me with your daily harvests. It feels like a race to The Mammals on Roads survey gather fresh produce, with preserving collects records of mammals, tasks aplenty in the kitchen. The smell dead and alive, on the UK’s road of vinegar wafting around is a sure sign network, which in turn helps us find out crucial information about summer’s end is in sight. the status of our nation’s mammals. This month, of all the harvests, I look This year, a new app has been forward to digging out curvaceous created to help with the count. #MammalsOnRoads, ptes.org onions the most. Every bunch of onions picked is laid in the potting 11 shed to dry before storing. Onion bed cleared, I now sow an overwintering green manure (fast-growing plants sown to cover bare soil). Before I can put my feet up and bite into my chocolate courgette cake, I quickly snip off leaves around the hidden winter squashes to help start the fruits’ ripening process. Chillies continue to produce flowers, so I will continue to feed them. As August bows out, I sow cauliflower and onion seeds, with wishful thoughts that September provides us with an Indian summer. Rekha Mistry is a garden writer and recipe developer. Discover more kitchen-garden inspiration at rekhagardenkitchen.com www.countryfile.com

Tune in to FREE FAMILY FUN the Plodcast Save some pennies this summer with these exciting events A Taste of the Countryside 11 2 The Plodcast is the award-winning nature and countryside podcast 3 presented and produced by the BBC Countryfile Magazine team. 1 Nairn Highland Games, 3 Our Place in Space, nationwide, Editor Fergus Collins is your host, Highland, 20 August until 16 October so join us each week as we head Discover one of Scotland’s most This epic scale model of the solar off into the wild outdoors in search famous Highland Games on the system, designed by artist and of adventures and stories. shores of Moray Firth. Expect pipes, children’s author Oliver Jeffers, So far we have created more than the caber toss and a tug-of-war. is 10km long and incorporates an 150 episodes to help you escape into awe-inspiring three-dimensional the countryside you love. 2 Hereford River Carnival, sculpture trail. The unique Herefordshire, 26–27 August collaboration of art, science and We have recently launched a Sing, dance, make carnival costumes, technology has already wowed Belfast new season of the Plodcast – A eat great local food and have fun and Londonderry. Next on the Taste of the Countryside – which messing about on the Wye at intergalactic journey is Cambridge comprises 14 episodes celebrating Herefordshire’s biggest feel-good (30 July–29 Aug) and North Down in food and farming in the UK. We want community event. County Down (17 Sept–16 Oct). to tell the stories of how the very best producers work alongside Countryfile on TV Photos: Jason Ingram, Getty nature and the environment. The BBC One, 31 July first four episodes are ready and waiting for you to discover them: Surrounded by the rolling hills of the Grampians, Episode 1 Embark on a fishing and Blairgowrie in Perthshire, known as Berry Town, foraging expedition for wild food in is the birthplace of Scotland’s fruit-growing Assynt in northern Scotland. industry. John Craven meets Peter Thomson, a Episode 2 Explore a traditional former raspberry farmer, who recalls the annual Devon dairy farm, home of award- picking heyday; from age 10, he picked fruit on winning Cheddar cheese. the family farm to pay for his school uniform. Episode 3 Join the judges of the Meanwhile, Margherita helps to plant a living British Pie Awards in Leicestershire roof and learns of Blairgowrie’s plans to become as they search for the ultimate Scotland’s first biodiversity town. pastry-encrusted wonder. Episode 4 Explore a marvellous www.countryfile.com wildflower haven on the edge of Dartmoor and discover how vital healthy soil is to the future of farming. bbccountryfile. podlink.to/plodcast TO LISTEN NOW: Scan the QR code with your smartphone 12

AUGUST IN THE COUNTRY INGREDIENTS • 2 large shallots, or use one small onion, peeled and thinly sliced • 2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped • 30g butter • 800g tomatoes, sliced 2cm thick • 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves, or use 3 fresh sage leaves • 150g sour cream, or use crème fraîche • Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste • 180g self-raising flour • 120g butter, cold and diced • 100g Cheddar, coarsely grated • 60ml milk • 3 medium eggs, beaten • 1 tbsp Dijon mustard A taste of August METHOD 1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. TOMATO AND CHEDDAR 2. In a large ovenproof frying pan, cook CHEESE COBBLER the shallots and garlic in the butter over a moderate heat for three to four Claire Thomson August is tomato season. Add a cobbler topping, a scone minutes to soften. Add the tomatoes, is a chef and food And while many of us are by any other name, and now mixing well to coat. Cover and cook for happy slicing and adding you’re really talking. Drop the about three minutes to soften a little. writer. Discover tomatoes into salads and cobbler in haphazardly, allowing Uncover and continue to cook for two more seasonal sandwiches all summer long, the juicy, molten tomatoes to to three minutes, until the tomatoes recipe ideas at there comes a point when you peep through, the cobbler have released some of their juices. might want to turn the oven on. turning all crisp and golden. Add the thyme and sour cream, and 5oclock Heat transforms fresh tomatoes Contrast is everything when it season well with salt and freshly apron.com into something sensational. comes to a good cobbler. ground black pepper. Remove from the heat and keep to one side. 3. It’s now time to make the cobbler topping. In a food processor, pulse the flour and butter together, enough to form fine breadcrumbs. Alternatively, you can use your fingers to mix the flour into the butter. Add the cheese and pulse briefly. Tip the mix out into a bowl and make a well in the centre. 4. In a mixing jug, add the milk, eggs and mustard and beat to combine. Add the wet ingredients to the dry in the bowl, stirring swiftly to combine. Don’t overmix it, as this will toughen the cobbler topping. 5. With a dessertspoon, drop spoons of the batter on to the tomatoes in the pan. Random is good; leave a few gaps. 6. Bake in the oven for 35 minutes until the cobbler topping is crisp and golden and the tomatoes are bubbling beneath. Remove from the oven and serve immediately – add some more mustard for extra flavour. www.countryfile.com 13

$YLHZIURPëHIDUP Adam Henson WE MUST STOP DOGS ATTACKING LIVESTOCK Photo: Oliver Edwards, Jason Ingram There’s a reason why Adam and his border collie Peg. To protect livestock, dog that claims involving dog dogs are called ‘man’s owners need to take responsibilty for their pet’s behaviour attacks on livestock rose to best friend’. They are more than £1.5 million last year. companionable, “You don’t ever want to According to the business’s faithful and good for see what’s left of a ewe rural affairs specialist, Rebecca our health, reducing stress, after it’s been mauled” Davidson, it could get worse. loneliness and depression, not “There’s a new generation of to mention all those calorie- shooting would only ever be a dog owners whose pandemic burning daily walks. last resort, but I wonder how puppies are coming of age, and many pet-owners know it’s a they simply don’t know how Most farmers own at least one possibility? On one occasion, a their dog is going to behave dog and they have always been a dog that attacked our flock had around livestock.” part of my life. I’ve had working to be put down; it was a sad dogs, like my border collie Peg, outcome for all concerned, but if However, the Countryside who was such a hit with a dog harms or kills once, there’s Code offers really clear practical Countryfile viewers before we a high risk that it will do it again. advice to dog walkers and is retired the old girl earlier this available at their fingertips year, as well as house dogs, such CANINE CARNAGE (literally) in the online version. as my Hungarian wirehaired It says: vizsla, Olive, and our miniature While it’s hard to know exactly • Keep your dog under dachshund, Minnie – both how many farm animals are fabulous breeds and, in terms maimed and killed every year, effective control to make of height, opposite ends of one estimate puts fatalities at sure it stays away from the scale. more than 15,000. That doesn’t wildlife, livestock, horses include the many attacks each and other people unless But with all the joy of being a year that go unreported. What invited to approach. dog-owner comes responsibility, we can be certain about is that • Always keep your dog on and while the majority of people the cost to farm livelihoods is on a lead or in sight. are sensible with their pets, it the up. The latest figures from • Be confident your dog will breaks my heart every time I the insurers NFU Mutual reveal return on command. hear about livestock being • Make sure your dog does attacked by dogs. It’s happened not stray from the path or far too often on our own farm, area where you have right when dogs have been let off their of access. leads to run around, only to go As a reminder, we recently put after the sheep – with horrific up new signs on the two-mile consequences. Take it from me, Wildlife Walk around our farm to you don’t want to see what’s left emphasis the open-access rule, of a ewe after it’s been mauled that dogs must be on a short by a set of sharp teeth and claws. lead at all times from 1 March to It’s rarely the dog’s fault and 31 July and at any time of the more to do with owners having year when livestock are nearby. no control of their pets or If it’s enough to save one lamb believing that their animal is (and one dog), then it’s more ‘only playing’ with the sheep. than worthwhile. The law is clear, though – a Ask Adam: What topic would farmer has a legal excuse to you like to know more about? shoot a dog if their sheep need Email your suggestions to editor@ to be protected from an attack. countryfile.com No farmer wants to do that and www.countryfile.com 14

Experience the original spirit of Norway Respect for nature is in our nature The world’s most beautiful voyage is one of the greenest and most sustainable too. We’ve cut our CO2 emissions by 25% to help protect Norway’s coastline for the next generation as well as the diverse range of wildlife known to live there. From puffins and sea eagles to king crabs and whales, the coast has it all. 12-day Classic Round Voyage Scan the QR code Flight-inclusive departures: to learn more October 2023 – March 2024 £1,899ppFROM ONLY Book now Call 0208 712 0196 | Visit hurtigruten.co.uk | Contact your preferred travel agent From prices quoted are in GBP and are per person, based on full occupancy of an inside two berth cabin, on a full board basis. Single supplements may apply. Prices are subject to availability. From price of £1899 per person is based on travelling from the UK, subject to availability and subject to change. All flights and flight-inclusive holidays are financially protected by the ATOL scheme. Please note some excursions are not included in the per person price and will be an additional charge (subject to availability). Images © Hurtigruten/Olaf Heitplatz.

Nurturing PHOTO CREDIT: Laura Corbe/WTML nature When you become a Woodland Trust member, you’ll help play a part in saving the UK’s woods – and woodland wildlife, too T he last two years have restoring the ecological YOUR certainly shone a light condition of all MEMBERSHIP… on how important existing woodland. fresh air and green • Will help more than Making a difference spaces are for us. Not 1,000 woods grow and Since 1972, the Woodland Trust has thrive, keeping them only for our physical health, but also planted more than 50 million trees open for everyone to and every year it creates thousands explore all year round for our mental wellbeing. Of course, of acres of new woodland. Since 1999, it has also saved more than • Create more homes for woods aren’t just lovely spaces for 1,000 ancient woods from destruction. These are all significant endangered wildlife, relaxing walks among nature, and achievements, but there’s still much including woodpeckers more to do to save our woodland. and dormice, by trees give us so much more than just restoring their fragile By becoming a member, you can woodland habitats colour and beauty – they’re also help the Woodland Trust’s crucial efforts continue – and you’ll feel • Contribute towards the essential for the future of our planet. good knowing you’re playing your part in helping our wildlife and planting of new native Iconic British wildlife such as red creating a greener world for future trees, such as oak, generations to enjoy. So, become beech, birch and alder squirrels and dormice need healthy a part of something great. Join the Woodland Trust now and help make • Stand up for woodland woodlands if they are to survive. a world of difference. under threat from Woodland bird numbers have already development, so it can be kept safe for future dropped by 30% since 1970, while generations to enjoy woodland butterflies have decreased by 41% since 1990 and the rural hedgehog population by up to 75% in just 20 years. To halt this decline, the UK needs to drastically increase its native tree coverage and put great effort into To become a member of the Woodland Trust from just £4 a month, scan the QR code or visit woodlandtrust.org.uk/join Registered charity numbers 294344 and SC038885

OPINION Sara Maitland Children need the independence and freedom to be alone in nature Illustration: Lynn Hatzius For her fourth pornography online than to walk Sara Maitland is “cabined, cribbed, confined”, birthday, my up a largish hill unsupervised. a writer who lives and, above all, supervised. youngest sister I should add that even back then in Dumfries and We talk more and more about expressed my parents were not entirely Galloway. Her personal freedom as we a wish to climb the Merrick uncriticised for the amount of works include with her five brothers independence – I would call it A Book of Silence offer them less and less and sisters – then aged freedom – they gave us. The and Gossip from experience of it and of ways between nine and 15 – girls’ primary school that my the Forest to negotiate it. “Don’t talk and no grown-ups. sister and I attended in West to strangers” is good The Merrick, at 843m, is London was appalled that we advice on the London the highest hill between were allowed to go to and from Underground, and not the Lake District and the school on public transport, merely stupid but Scottish Highlands; it is unaccompanied by an adult. dangerous if you are lost the summit of the rather in the wild countryside. splendidly named Range of It is also worth noticing that, the Awful Hand in Galloway. even then, few families came THE VALUE OF The route up is – and was then quite as large as ours. If anyone AUTONOMY – pretty well waymarked, had fallen and sprained an involves no climbing and is not ankle up on the Merrick, there I believe all children need the ‘difficult’, but as Wikipedia says, would have been enough of us experience of being in the “at least four to five hours is for someone to stay with the natural environment without required and the walk involves sufferer while the three others adult supervision; I believe it 875 metres of ascent so a good went down to find help; in some teaches them a great deal that is level of fitness is required”. circumstances there really is hard to learn otherwise. A very On a clear day, the summit has safety in numbers. good way to train even very the distinction of being (to my small children in this skill is to knowledge) the only place in the Nonetheless, and even with take them into woods. Woods UK from which you can see all these caveats, I do worry that are magical – the realm of fairy four nations: England, Scotland, our children are increasingly tales and adventures – and they Northern Ireland and Wales. can provide even small people My father drove us to the with the sensations of being bottom of the track and packed alone-in-nature while, in fact, us off with one injunction: “She their adults can hear their every can be cajoled but not carried.” move from the other side of a We did not learn until years tree and also hear the approach later that he then sat all day in of any strangers. And there is a the car asking anyone coming lot for small people to look at down the path if they had seen and learn and love in woodlands. us and if we were okay. I don’t believe that many After the restrictions of the children nowadays will get to last couple of years, it seems experience that extraordinary particularly valuable to give and powerful glow of victory, children freedom and access to natural freedom to be beauty that we were given then. in the wild We have reached a strange this summer. cultural moment in which it’s easier for teenagers to watch Have your say What do you think about the issues raised here? www.countryfile.com Write to the address on page three or email editor@countryfile.com 17

DISCOVER THE COLERIDGE WAY It’s 250 years since the birth of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, the great poet and lover of nature and landscape. Ben Lerwill celebrates by exploring a spectacular hiking route named in the poet’s honour, through the lovely hills of West Somerset Photos: Oliver Edwards 18

The Bristol Channel glitters on the horizon as Ben walks a part of the South West Coast Path that intersects with the last leg of the Coleridge Way. This is the very scenery that inspired Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Wordsworth and, indeed, the birth of the Romantic Movement itself 19

In Xanadu did Kubla Khan TOP In 2011, a major National Trust to become not just a hugely important poet A stately pleasure dome decree: project restored Coleridge Cottage but also a critic, philosopher and theologian. Where Alph, the sacred river, ran in Nether Stowey to how it would He remains highly influential today, despite Through caverns measureless to man have looked in Coleridge’s day the fact that his 61 years were plagued by Down to a sunless sea.’ ABOVE Perhaps Coleridge sat at both anxiety and addiction. “His genius,” These words, conjured in a 1797 post- a writing desk such as this, in the wrote the 19th-century critic William opium haze by a Romantic poet and parlour at Coleridge Cottage Hazlitt, “had angelic wings.” subsequently taught to generations of inky-fingered schoolchildren, still echo with A WRITER’S LANDSCAPE the exotic strangeness of distant lands. But the poem’s roots are far closer to home. The The soft valleys and coastal meadows of lines were penned – or rather quilled – in a West Somerset and North Devon might lack squat Exmoor farmhouse overlooking the the lavish Mongolian palaces of Xanadu, but Bristol Channel, in a part of the country they clearly held enough to enchant deeply familiar to the poem’s moon-eyed Coleridge, who passed some of his most author. Jump forward to today and I’m fruitful years here. I’m finding this out in one leaning on a five-bar gate at the edge of the of the most enjoyable ways possible, by same farm, enjoying billowing views across spending three late-summer days the sea towards Wales. meandering along the 51-mile Coleridge Way. The trail begins in the Quantock Hills The writer in question, of course, was before undulating gently – and occasionally Samuel Taylor Coleridge, a man whose steeply – across Exmoor to the coast. literary reputation still ripples through the centuries. His works, such as The Rime of The walking route ostensibly links various the Ancient Mariner and Kubla Khan, will locations associated with Coleridge’s life, continue to be referenced long into the although its creators have, to their credit, future. Coleridge was born in the Devon given equal priority to the joys of a scenic town of Ottery St Mary in October 1772 – ramble. On a prosaic note, the route was almost exactly 250 years ago – and grew up opened as recently as 2005 as a means of attracting more visitors (‘In Somerset did county clerks/ A stately hiking trail decree’), but the end result, in any case, is a path that combines the sweet wilds of the West Country and the lingering ardour of the Georgian era with the steady, salty aired stomp of a long-distance walk. My journey begins in the village of Nether Stowey, above which some of the last martins of the summer, shortly bound for Africa, are flitting through blue September skies. Beyond a terrace of neat stone houses I find the stocky, cream-coloured dwelling that marks the trail’s official start point: Coleridge Cottage, where the poet lived with his wife Sara and young son Hartley for three years, from 1797. It’s closed on my LIFE OF A TROUBLED GENIUS Born on 21 October 1772, Coleridge grew up in rural long acquaintance with William Wordsworth. Coleridge Photos: Alamy, NT Images Devon. He was just eight years old when his father – a began exploring Romantic ideas in his writing and, after vicar and headmaster – died suddenly. A place for him moving to Nether Stowey, worked with Wordsworth to was arranged at Christ’s Hospital School in London, produce the hugely influential Lyrical Ballads. He spent where his love of reading blossomed. There followed time living in the Lake District, and despite long-term a scholarship to Jesus College, Cambridge, which saw drug use and financial troubles, continued to write in his him develop a deep interest in both poetry and politics. later years, drawing wide praise for Biographia Literaria, a collection of his thoughts on literature. He died in He married Sara Fricker in 1795 – despite four London on 25 July 1834, aged 61, of heart failure. children, the union was not a happy one – and started a 20 www.countryfile.com

Light filters through overarching 21 boughs on many sunken holloways along the route, some of which are ancient paths – to churches or market towns – dating from the Dark Ages www.countryfile.com

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT visit, for reasons unexplained (Romantic Within minutes of climbing out of the Drink in sweeping views of the Bristol Channel at the foot of the poets’ houses, it seems, are as capricious as village, I’m in a world of giant oaks, shining Quantock Hills, a view described by Coleridge in his poem This Romantic poets themselves), so I don’t get holly and slanting, sheep-chewed Lime-Tree Bower My Prison; Ben descends gently folding hills to see first-hand the open fireplaces and grasslands. A kestrel hangs on the breeze. in Exmoor National Park on his way into the village of Oare; wildflower garden that helped the little The Bristol Channel appears to the north, look out for kestrels in the Quantocks, hovering over open place to feel like a home. It’s known that big and glassy. Present, too, on the shoreline country searching for prey; hedgerows line the route out Coleridge’s great friend and contemporary is Hinkley Point Power Station, one of the of Nether Stowey William Wordsworth was a regular guest most glaring differences between the view 22 here with his today and that of “I trace airy hillsides,sister,Dorothy. more than 200 years The locked front ago, when Coleridge cross clear streamsdoor,however,isnot described this panorama as a major issue. Despite composing many of and meander ‘The many-steepled his best-known works sunken holloways” tract magnificent/ here in Somerset, Of hilly fields and Coleridge seldom meadows, and the wrote at home, sea/ With some fair preferring to seek inspiration beyond his bark, perhaps, whose sails light up/ The slip four walls. He was a prolific walker, not just of smooth clear blue betwixt two isles.’ here in the West Country but in Snowdonia, You can still glimpse the same twin islands the Lake District, Scotland and even the of Steep Holm and Flat Holm – the former in German highlands. It’s said that, while living England, the latter in Wales – offshore. in Nether Stowey, he would sometimes cover My first day takes me to the hamlet of 40 miles just to pick up books from Bristol Roadwater, a long but entrancing 18-mile Library. I turn, tighten my pack-straps, and journey across the Quantocks to the bulkier follow the path into the hills. contours of Exmoor National Park. I trace www.countryfile.com

airy hillsides, cross clear-running streams ABOVE Find a bed for the night house where the Wordsworths spent a year and meander through sunken holloways. in the pretty village of Roadwater, as tenants after being wooed by the Beside the path, early blackberries cluster in beside the River Washford surrounding hillscapes. frothing green hedgerows. The route is Photos: Alamy studded with sleepy villages, where Test When I finally reach my stop for the night, Match Special drifts from open windows and at the horse-brass-covered Valiant Soldier, snoozing Labradors raise their heads at my the landlord gestures me straight to a table. arrival. I pass remote Alfoxton Park, the “I expect you’ll be wanting sustenance first,” he ascertains, correctly. I’ve split the walk www.countryfile.com into three days of more or less equal lengths, although of course it’s perfectly possible – and probably advisable for the sake of your legs – to stretch it out for longer. ON INTO EXMOOR Early the next morning, breakfasted, I continue west into Exmoor proper along rollercoaster country lanes. The verges fizz with late-summer greenery, and I follow them into the towering conifers of Langridge Wood, soundtracked by brook- burble and robin-song. An hour later, the views are deeper: all buzzard-flown valleys and patchworked fields. A twittering, 20-strong charm of goldfinches materialises from nowhere. The inclines become more punishing, but the scenic rewards more than offset the hardship. 23

“I feel transported by the route’s mossy oak woods and lovely hillside- teetering paths” The mention of Porlock, for all its traditional, thatched-roof charms, can induce groans from fans of Coleridge. While writing Kubla Khan, the poet was famously interrupted by a “person on business from Porlock”, bringing his trance-like state of mind, and the poem itself, to an abrupt end. It has never been ascertained who this might have been, or indeed whether Coleridge simply fabricated the tale, but the next morning I follow what may have been the same route of this mysterious visitor, winding up through Worthy Wood to reach the open fields around Ash Farm. This is the farmhouse where the poem was created – although, some suggest it might have been written at neighbouring Parsonage Farm – and tees up a glorious final day of walking. CLOCKWISE FROM TOP About 30 miles into the trail, having REJOICING BY THE SEASHORE St Mary’s Church in Oare – where faithfully followed its quill-adorned the heroine was shot in RD waymarkers into Devon, it dawns on me that It’s a joy to ramble downhill into Oare, still Blackmore’s novel Lorna Doone I’ve passed only two other walkers, and they home to the little church where the heroine – is nestled in a beautiful Exmoor were together. This thought makes it almost is shot in RD Blackmore’s iconic novel Lorna combe; it’s said Coleridge wrote impossible not to feel transported by the Doone. Centre stage are the Exmoor clefts, his incomplete poem Kubla Khan route’s dappled slopes, mossy oak woods combes and wind-bent trees that so while staying at secluded Ash and lovely hillside-teetering paths. As attracted Coleridge, giving mile after mile Farm; the stables at Parsonage Coleridge wrote in his poem To Nature: of magnificent moorland roaming. Farm are now a charming B&B ‘So will I build my altar in the fields/ And the blue sky my fretted dome shall be/ And the The final stretch is along the wooded, sweet fragrance that the wild flower yields/ sonorous East Lyn River, which marks the Shall be the incense I will yield to Thee/ boundary between Somerset and Devon. I Thee only God!’ Samuel, I know the feeling. follow the river as it flows through boulders and deep pools into Lynmouth. The coastal In the afternoon I pass Webber’s Post, town, surrounded by soaring cliffs, would be arguably the most famous lookout along the a fine terminus for any trail, and it’s fun to be trail, as evidenced by its National Trust car finishing among a bustle of ice-cream shops park. It grants wonderful panoramas across and day-trippers. But beyond them lies the rumpled hills towards Dunkery Beacon, sea, the real endpoint. ‘Ships and waves, and although – and keep this under your hat – ceaseless motion’, as Coleridge had it, in his the views are merely on a par with other, poem On Revisiting the Sea-Shore. ‘And men quieter spots along the Exmoor sections of rejoicing on thy shore.’ And if you can’t the route. Porlock Bay is soon visible, too, rejoice after a 51-mile walk through the West and by the time I walk into Porlock village, Country, then when can you? CF where I’m overnighting at The Ship Inn, I’ve reached that delicious frame of mind Ben Lerwill is an award-winning freelance familiar to regular hikers, perhaps best travel and wildlife writer and photographer described as equal parts fatigue and bliss. who lives in Oxfordshire. His books for children include Around the World in 80 Trees and Let’s Go Outside! (Welbeck Children’s). 24 www.countryfile.com

After your day of walking, wander around the 15th-century harbour at Porlock Weir for a relaxing spot of crabbing at low tide

Find your bliss From rural walks to Make the time to walk doesn’t get much better than foraging with the family, digging out a delicious chocolatey add a little piece of This may sound like a simple one, brownie when you’ve reached your warmth to your day with but with life’s endless to-do list halfway point – especially one Werther’s Originals proving to be an easy distraction, that’s made even more indulgent getting out for a walk doesn’t and gooey with the addition of A s a countryside lover, always feel doable. Whether it’s Werther’s Creamy Toffees. Yum! you probably already a 20-minute stroll on your lunch know how spending time break or a Saturday morning amble Get snap happy around your local park, making the in nature can greatly time to walk won’t only improve Whether it’s a rare bird you haven’t your physical health, but it can seen before, a captivating sunset benefit your wellbeing. Even on be a great stressbuster too. or a loved one caught against a charming backdrop, the next time the coldest days, being able to Go foraging you’re out on a walk, take the time to immortalise your memories immerse yourself in raw natural One of the most enjoyable aspects by taking some photos. It’s nice of foraging is the way it inspires to live in the moment, but you’ll landscapes can stir all sorts of a greater awareness of your love being able to look back on surroundings – the need to slow them later down the line. warm, fuzzy feelings – and it’s the down, pause and really look. We’re blessed with an abundance of wild Make room for wildlife same story for Werther’s Originals. ingredients here in the UK. Nettles and wild garlic are great choices You don’t have to venture into the Made with real butter, fresh for early spring, while elderflowers great outdoors to marvel at the flourish in the summer months. wonderful wildlife we have here in cream and a whole lot of love, Just remember to always forage the UK. Instead, you can make small responsibly and sustainably. changes to your outside space to Werther’s are all about helping attract a whole host of animals Sweeten up your next ramble and insects. Hanging bird feeders, you find a moment to pause – adding nectar-rich plants, and Make your next walk feel extra offering a water source are just some one delicious caramel at a time. special by packing a foodie of the simple changes you can make. delight to take with you. If you’ve Between the irresistibly oozy a penchant for sweet treats, it Creamy Filling, the wonderfully chewy Creamy Toffee and the classic Butter Candy, there’s a Werther’s Original for everyone and every occasion. Of course, enjoying a Werther’s moment is just the start. Here are some other ways you can make your day feel that little bit more special… For more warmth inspiration, or to find delicious Werther’s recipes, visit bit.ly/werthers-unwind or scan the QR code

NOW WALK THE COLERIDGE WAY Where to sleep, eat and drink along the route, by Ben Lerwill FINDING YOUR WAY The Coleridge Way is marked by waymarkers with a quill The Coleridge Way Companion Guide by Ian Pearson, logo, but this signage is occasionally hard to spot, and/or (£10 plus postage) is a trail guidebook of some 155 pages, missing at crucial points, so it makes a lot of sense to travel written by one of the owners of the Old Cider House B&B in with the relevant OS maps – OS Explorer 140 (Quantocks) Nether Stowey. It includes basic route directions, although and OS Explorer OL9 (Exmoor) – and familiarise yourself with the bulk of the book recounts the author’s own travels along how to read them before your walk. Visit Exmoor’s website the trail. It’s unconventional, but valuable to have, and if you also has a full, printable route guide with mapping, and are feeling energetic, it also includes details of a return directions for walking the trail eastwards as well as walking route along the England Coast Path. westwards. See visit-exmoor.co.uk. coleridgewaywalk.co.uk Map: Liz Pepperell/www.illustrationx.com Photo: Alamy NOTABLE PUBS ALONG THE ROUTE The Ancient Mariner, Nether Stowey Notley Arms Inn, Monksilver The Rockford Inn, Brendon Valley This 16th-century pub, named for Coleridge’s A stylish, recently refurbished country pub with A remote riverside pub close to the end of the famous poem, offers cream teas and local real ales. open fires and a beer garden, around 14 miles route serving home-cooked meals using seasonal marinernetherstowey.co.uk along the trail. notleyarmsinn.co.uk produce. therockfordinn.co.uk www.countryfile.com 27

NOW WALK THE COLERIDGE WAY VISIT and where Coleridge reputedly gave his first reading of RECOMMENDED The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Today the house is a READING Coleridge Cottage Buddhist centre, with various courses on offer, from meditation retreats to permaculture courses. As well as the Home to Coleridge and his family from 1797, the cottage alfoxtonpark.org.uk works of (above) is open between late March and October, Coleridge Wednesday to Saturday, 11am–5pm. Entry is £6.50 per himself, there adult, with free entry for National Trust members. are various nationaltrust.org.uk/coleridge-cottage biographies of the poet, Alfoxton House several of which focus on The route passes Alfoxton House (inset, right), where his years in the William and Dorothy Wordsworth lived for a short while, West Country. For a starting point, try Coleridge: Early Visions by Richard Holmes (Harper Perennial, £12.99), a Whitbread Prize-winning book which focuses on the first few decades of Coleridge’s life, including the fruitful period of Kubla Khan and The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. TRAVEL TIPS Castle Street Car Park in Nether Stowey (post code TA5 1LW) has free parking. It’s not a large car park, but it works well as somewhere to leave your vehicle. To return from Lynmouth to Nether Stowey, a good option is to catch the glorious Exmoor Coaster bus back along the coast to Watchet. Tracing the area’s high sea cliffs, it’s surely one of the country’s most scenic bus rides. From Watchet, a 20-minute taxi ride will take you back to Nether Stowey. firstbus.co.uk/adventures-bus/ services/exmoor-coaster STAY The Valiant Solider, The Ship Inn, Porlock The Lyn Valley Guest Photos: Alamy Roadwater House, Lynmouth The Old Cider House B&B, A 13th-century traditional pub and Nether Stowey A straightforward but well located hotel with a lively feel and good food. This charming five-room guest house country pub. Double rooms from £80 Double rooms from £80 (singles is in the heart of the village. Double A friendly guesthouse at the (singles from £40), with breakfast. from £50), with breakfast. rooms from £90, with breakfast. trailhead. Double rooms from £85 thevaliantsoldier.co.uk shipinnporlock.co.uk lynvalleyguesthouse.com (singles from £65), with breakfast. theoldciderhouse.co.uk 28 www.countryfile.com

Crammed with countryside flavour from fresh botanicals, and rescued citrus peel. We rescue citrus peel to give our London Dry the bright burst of flavour that 9 out of 10 of you legends love*. Real gin has the countryside in. warnersdistillery.com *88.9% of 588 respondents said they preferred Warner’s London Dry recipe to their regular gin in our taste test research conducted between 26.04.21 and 07.05.21. The other 11.1% are probably no fun at parties anyway.

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Photos: Getty, Amanmda Cotton Fearsome Mary Read stalked the waters of the Caribbean with fellow female pirate Anne Bonny in 1720 Ahoy there! Enjoy buccaneering antics on the wild seas in Blackbeard the Pirate, a 1952 Technicolour film, available on BBC iPlayer.

Pirate queens Swashbuckling outlaws Anne Bonny and Mary Read are finally taking their rightful place in pirate history. Immortalised in sculpture, they are now looking for a shorebound home, says Rosanna Morris Two mysterious figures stand Born of the Sea, and the docu-drama proud, heads held high and The Lost Pirate Kingdom, released on looking out to the horizon, Netflix, also featured Anne’s character. one with hair flowing in the Then, this spring, Rebecca Simon, wind, the other composed a historian of early modern piracy, and grounded; undefined and published her book Pirate Queens, inseparable, shoulders and hips the first full-length biography of touching. The overall effect of this Anne Bonny and Mary Read. two-metre-high sculpture speaks of Richard Blakemore, associate strength and unity, of independence professor of social and maritime and an unshakeable bond. history at the University of Reading, Artist Amanda Cotton’s artwork believes their current popularity is Inexorable celebrates the rebellious part of a broader look at the treatment lives of two remarkable women, Anne ABOVE Inexorable depicts Anne Bonny and of women in history. “There’s a lot in Bonny and Mary Read, who became Mary Read, two extraordinary female pirates their story that appeals in allowing us infamous pirates together in to tell a more diverse and the Caribbean in 1720. interesting history,” he “I represented them as “Anne and Mary were says.“Many social groups have metaphors – earth and fire,” not received the attention they says Amanda. “Anne was fiery the most exceptional deserve in historical records.” and acted impulsively. Mary pirates of the Golden Inexorable was due to be was calm and calculated. installed on Burgh Island in Their appearances were Age of Piracy” Devon, a place long associated different, too, and aligned with pirates. But in spring last with their personalities.” year, Bigbury Parish Council While Anne and Mary were and Bartholomew Roberts. However, in rejected the planning the most exceptional pirates of the the past couple of years, there has been application, deeming it unsuitable for Golden Age of Piracy between 1670 a surge in interest in them. Audible the area. In contrast, when a mock-up and 1730, their names had, until produced the audio drama Hell Cats of the artwork was placed at recently, been eclipsed by their male based on their story, in 2020; in 2021, Execution Dock on the River Thames contemporaries, such as Blackbeard author Kate Castle published a novella in Wapping, a site used for centuries www.countryfile.com 33

to execute pirates, smugglers and mutineers, the public response was positive. BREAKING CHAINS Richard believes the myths Historians have long tried to unravel Photos: Getty, Alamy, Debbie Bragg, Steve Sayers surrounding these two women have the facts about Anne and Mary from “It’s not about the fact they were pirates turned their piracy into legend. the fictions. A General History of the but about what they symbolised,” says “What’s so fascinating about Anne and Pyrates, a sensational collection of Amanda. Anne and Mary may have Mary is that they are mysterious,” he pirate biographies published in 1724, been pirates, but many admire their says. “We don’t know much about them suggests both Anne and Mary were efforts to break free of the expectations that is reliably corroborated. We know illegitimate children raised as boys to of women in a male-dominated world. that they were described as braver and avoid social scandal, that Anne more violent than the men and took a escaped to the sea while Mary entered “Anne and Mary were able to escape lead role in the activities.” military life as a man. traditional gender roles, which both amazed and horrified people,” says Rebecca Simon. “There aren’t many well-known female pirates, let alone two who fought together. Over time, their story transformed into popular legends that portray them as feminist and queer icons. The most interesting facts about them are that they were some of the most active members of their crew – and they were pirates while pregnant. That’s quite a feat. They used pistols and cutlasses; Anne, in particular, managed the cannons. Supposedly they even fought with their shirts open, exposing their breasts.” 34 www.countryfile.com

PIRATE QUEENS FIVE PIRATICAL PLACES ABOVE Artist Amanda Cotton with a mock-up of Inexorable at Execution Dock, Wapping BRIXHAM, DEVON OPPOSITE, TOP Burgh Island in Devon has a rich heritage of piracy but rejected the statue Devon has a rich history of piracy and the town OPPOSITE, BOTTOM Female pirates Anne Bonny (late 1690s–1733) and Mary Read (1695–1721) of Brixham holds a pirate festival (pictured captured popular imagination, illustrated in this 18th-century engraving by Benjamin Cole above) every spring. brixhampirates.com Many historians consider some of pregnancies – “My Lord, we plead our RYE, EAST SUSSEX A General History as exaggeration, bellies” – and were granted a stay of Rye was a hotspot of piracy in the 13th century, perhaps even invention; Richard views execution. Mary died in prison in April and in the 1730s and 1740s, the Mermaid Inn was the book as an attempt to undermine 1721 of ‘gaol fever’. Anne’s fate has been a stronghold of the Hawkshurst Gang, one of them. “There is an agenda here to a mystery for 300 years, but recent Britain’s most fearsome smuggling rings. Along explain how these two women possibly research of records in St Catherine’s the coast in Hastings, there’s an annual pirate ended up as pirates, as it’s so unusual,” Parish, Jamaica, found the death of an day every summer. he says. “A lot of the story is about how ‘Ann Bonny’ listed in December 1733. they pretended to be men. As pirates, CLEW BAY, COUNTY MAYO they dressed as men in combat for Mystery also abounds about their The most significant female pirate to rule the practical reasons but, from the trial relationship, some believing they were seas before Anne Bonny and Mary Read’s reign records, we know they dressed as lovers. A General History of the Pyrates was the Irish pirate leader Grace O’Malley, who women the rest of the time.” claimed that Mary entered into piracy operated off the west coast of Ireland in the because she had fallen in love with 16th century. She based herself in Clew Bay. Rebecca says it is established fact Anne; but Rebecca asserts that a that Anne was born in Ireland and romance between them is unlikely. CASNEWYDD BACH, WALES moved to the Carolinas with her “The most obvious reason is that they The village of Casnewydd Bach in Pembrokeshire parents, and Mary was born out of were both married to men at the time is the birthplace of Captain Bartholomew wedlock and raised as a boy so her of their capture,” she says. Anne was Roberts, who would become the most successful widowed mother could claim financial still reluctantly married to James pirate of all, robbing some 470 ships in his support from her grandparents. Bonny, while in a relationship with three-year career between 1719 and 1722. Rackham, and Mary had wed another BRIEF BUT BRUTAL member of the crew. BRISTOL Blackbeard was born Edward Teach in Bristol Given the interest in their piracy, it is Whatever we believe, there is much in 1680. Teach turned to piracy after serving hard to believe Anne and Mary were that inspires. Not that they were on a British warship in the War of the Spanish only pirates for two months, between villainous miscreants – but that they Succession and became renowned for his August and October 1720. They met were revolutionaries who unshackled formidable appearance and thick black beard. on the island of New Providence in the themselves from a defined female role Join a guided Pirate Walk (below) to learn more. Bahamas and sailed with Jack in the 18th century, forming a piratewalks.co.uk Rackham (‘Calico Jack’) on board the sisterhood on the high seas. And these Revenge (formerly the William). The two outlaws are due to come out of crew seized fishing boats and merchant hiding when Amanda’s striking ships in the Bahamas and Jamaica, sculpture finds a permanent home until caught by pirate hunter Jonathan in the near future. Barnet. Put on trial in Spanish Town, Jamaica, all were sentenced to death Turn over for seven more but Anne and Mary revealed their spectacular seaside sculptures www.countryfile.com

1 SEVEN SEASIDE 2 3 ARTWORKS 4 5 7 Spectacular – and some controversial 6 – installations on the UK coast www.countryfile.com 1 ANOTHER PLACE Anthony Gormley’s installation Another Place on Crosby Beach near Liverpool consists of 100 cast-iron figures standing across 3km of sandy coastline, which he described as a poetic response to the individual and universal sentiments associated with emigration. 2 SCALLOP Maggi Hambling’s giant Scallop sculpture on the beach near Aldeburgh, Suffolk, was created in 2003 as a tribute to composer Benjamin Britten, who lived in the town and walked daily along that stretch of coastline. 3 CONVERSATION PIECE, SOUTH SHIELDS At the mouth of the River Tyne on Littlehaven beach in South Shields, 22 bronze statues by Spanish artist Juan Muñoz, called Conversation Piece, peer out over the sand dunes towards Herd Groyne Lighthouse. 4 VERITY Damien Hirst’s sculpture Verity, a 65-foot stainless steel and bronze sculpture, stands on the pier at the entrance to Ilfracombe harbour in Devon. When it was unveiled in 2012, responses were mixed – some calling it a monstrosity and an eyesore, others viewing it as beautiful and unique. 5 FOLKESTONE ARTWORKS The UK’s largest urban contemporary art exhibition is sited in and around the town and harbour in Folkestone, Kent. The changing exhibition currently consists of 74 artworks by 46 artists, including Tracey Emin and Cornelia Parker. creativefolkestone.org.uk 6 THE LANDING, HASTINGS The Landing sculpture on Hastings beach, depicting the prow of a Norman longboat, was designed by artist Leigh Dyer and commissioned by Hastings Borough Council to mark the 950th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings in 2016. 7 MARY’S SHELL Set on Cleveley Beach, Blackpool, Mary’s Shell celebrates The Sea Swallow, a 2011 children’s book about local legends. The swirling metal shell is engraved with words from the book, and almost submerged twice daily by the tide. Rosanna Morris is a freelance writer and editor Photos: Getty, Alamy who lives in Somerset. When she isn’t writing, she will usually be gardening, painting or out walking. 36

BY APPOINTMENT TO HER MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH II SWAROVSKI OPTIK SUPPLIER OF BINOCULARS NL PURE 32 ONE WITH NATURE SEE THE UNSEEN

Regeneration game Under pressure to make ends meet, many farmers drive their land hard, which can take its toll on the health of the soil. But on their Lakeland hill farm, Sam and Claire Beaumont use less intensive, wildlife-friendly methods to raise livestock – and their earnings, writes Karen Lloyd Photos: Dave Wills 38

Claire and Sam Beaumont with their baby son Ike and a herd of shorthorn cattle at Gowbarrow Hall Farm in the Lake District. The family have transformed tired land that had been intensively managed with sheep into a healthy and biodiverse habitat 39

1 1 Sitting on the shores of Ullswater in the Lake District, Gowbarrow Hall Farm includes fell land, ancient wood pasture, upland hay meadows and woodland 2 Hardy shorthorn cattle move into the hills over winter to graze in the rough 3 A small white butterfly perches on a cuckoo flower It’s a warm summer’s day in the Hill farmers are a hardworking lot, upland soils and ameliorating flooding. Lake District. I’m looking across many of whom favour continuing the Gowbarrow is at the centre of Ullswater’s blue surface at the traditional way of farming sheep in the innovative regenerative farming. “It traditionally sheep-grazed uplands. Others – including some was a hard decision,” Anne says, “but eastern fells and walking through farmers and environmentalists – are we sold the sheep on to make way for fields at Gowbarrow Hall farm with concerned that the lack of diversity of our new grazing system.” Anne Lloyd and daughter Claire grazing animals, together with heavily This gave the opportunity to rest the Beaumont. As we walk, swallows and compacted soils, means that the Winter Block from April to November, martins hawk overhead and peacock ground is unable to absorb heavy enabling flowering plants to return, butterflies flit between flowerheads rainfall. Longer grasses and improved providing food for pollinators and on patches of thistles. On this soils help the land to cope with extreme setting seed before being grazed by Lakeland farm, though, there the cows again next autumn. is not a single sheep in sight. “Mob grazing allows In just one year of change, “We are turning hill farming devil’s-bit scabious, ragged on its head,” Claire says. “It’s the ground to rest and robin, greater bird’s-foot traditional to put the animals trefoil, sneezewort, harebell on higher ground in summer grasses to set seed” and even the uncommon and bring them down to the marsh speedwell have begun in-bye land [near the farm to reappear in the sward. buildings] in winter. But we’re putting weather and to slow down heavy We pass through a gate and saunter the cattle and native fell ponies up on rainfall. Reducing sheep numbers is downhill towards a herd of shorthorn the higher land – we call it the Winter one way to reverse the pattern. cattle ruminating in the shade of a Block – to over-winter,” she says, streamside bank of sycamore, oak and pointing uphill. REFRAMING FARMING alder. Shorthorn cattle are a placid, “They graze in the rough or shelter Conservationists, the Government and hardy, native breed and have good in the woods and browse vegetation others say that the end of hill farming disease-resistance and immune from the trees. The test comes when subsidies in 2027, an outcome of Brexit, systems. The cows have calves at foot we see how they have fared come presents an opportunity to deliver and the bull – Lionel – along with spring. What we are seeing is, the greater public goods in the shape of yearling bullocks, is dozing in their animals are not losing condition.” habitats for pollinators, retention of midst. It is an English idyll; a painting 40 www.countryfile.com

2 34 5 4 Germander speedwells are now flourishing on the farm 5 “We’re pleased with the results so far,” says Anne Lloyd of the regeneration project Photos: Getty by Gainsborough, albeit with added When the family significantly HEALING THE LAND electric fence. reduced haymaking and the use of fertilisers and heavy machinery, the Restoration projects are underway in several This is mob grazing, with cattle kept farm’s carbon output was reduced. locations in Cumbria. At Lowther Estates in one group in a reduced area and near Penrith, wildflower meadows are being then moved on to a clean patch every “Everything begins with the soil,” restored, large-scale wood pasture recreation few days. Mob grazing allows the Anne says, emphasising the importance is underway and beavers have been ground to rest, allows grasses and of “building the microbial bridge”. reintroduced to build biodiversity. Wetlands wildflowers to set seed and helps to Microbes form the bridge between soil have been created and watercourses slowed. build the soil. In turn, this creates and plant, making nutrients for plants The estate is also commissioning studies to habitats for pollinators, voles and and converting atmospheric nitrogen find out which species were once endemic in birds. It was evident how the into a usable form. the landscape, such as the corncrake ecosystem was working as we watched (pictured), in order to generate ideas about swallows and martins swooping over SAVING THE SOIL future recovery projects. Elsewhere, in the the herd and sparrows foraging for valleys of Rydal and Scandale, trees and invertebrates among the cattle. Under So what do the neighbours think of this scrub have been replanted; sheep have been conventional grazing regimes, the innovative way of hill farming? “When replaced by longhorn cattle. The Restoring ground doesn’t have this capacity to we chat with them, they say things like, Hardknott Forest project is returning one of rest and repair and biodiversity is ‘that grass has gone over’. But they are Cumbria’s largest conifer plantations to native therefore greatly restricted. “They’re looking from too far away; they’re not woodland, including planting rare aspen. always happy to move on to the next lot seeing what we see.” To illustrate, Claire of fresh grass!” Claire says. pulls the grasses apart, revealing the close structure at the base of the plants. I notice the grass was strewn around the cattle like newly cut grass. Three “When we first dug holes to assess days after they first began mob soil health, we’d pour water in, but the grazing, the family were horrified by water just sat there; the earth was this. “We wondered what on Earth we compacted clay. Now when we do the had done. It looked like mown hay. Our percolation test, the water is absorbed farm worker said it was no good, but we straight away. It holds the rain.” held our nerve.” Four days later, the new growth began to come through. The family are beginning to see how different types of worms inhabit different levels in the earth. They www.countryfile.com 41

ABOVE Shrubs, trees and longer grass in the uplands reduce the impact of extreme weather KEY WILDLIFE SPECIES AT have had an ecologist survey the farm, Anne is keen on the idea of GOWBARROW FARM Photos: Getty, Alamy,Naturepl.com and can tell the pH of the soil by just reciprocity. “When the cattle graze, looking at which plants are growing. there’s a reciprocal relationship going 1 SNEEZEWORT Blooming in July and on. They eat a third, trample a third, August in damp meadows, this is a late GRASSLAND GRAZING and a third is left behind; in this way the source of nectar for pollinators after topsoil is developed and the grass is other plants have finished flowering. Its The inspiration to switch to provided with the nutrients of success.” white pom-poms attract many insects, regenerative farming came partly from especially hoverflies. Zimbabwean conservationist Allan Under current legislation, meat can Savory. Studying his work, the be labelled as ‘grass-fed’ if cattle are fed 2 BETONY This native perennial of open Beaumonts began to believe it was not on just 51% grass, the rest as grain or woods, grassland and hedgerows is an necessarily livestock grazing that soya. When the Gowbarrow cattle are important food source for bees and created problems for the environment, ready “they travel a very short distance butterflies. Red-purple flower-spikes crown but the way they are grazed. Savory to the local abattoir. The butcher there long slender stems. sees livestock management as the key says the meat is fantastic quality – all to restoring the world’s grassland soils, fed on 100% grass and forage the cows 3 WATER AVENS A reintroduced species, the major sink for sequestering find growing on the farm.” The family water avens inhabits damp places. Its atmospheric carbon and minimising now have a waiting list for the beef. pretty, nodding, multicoloured and bell- the most damaging impacts of farming shaped flowers appear late into September, on the natural world. Keeping soils “We’re still fine-tuning the process,” followed by feathery seed heads. covered with healthy green plants and Anne says. “We’re pleased with the creating a diverse set of habitats also results so far, both for the livestock and 4 BOG ASPHODEL These yellow, star-like contributes towards carbon reduction. the land, but there have been a few flowers bloom on peat bogs, damp heaths sleepless nights trying to decide which and moors in early summer, attracting a wide The family brought in agriculture is the right choice to make. We’re the range of pollinators. consultant Caroline Grindrod of only certified Pasture Fed Livestock Wilderculture – an expert in Association upland farm in the Lake 5 RED CLOVER The Beaumont family is regenerative farming – and, by aligning District, and if we can do it, then we like trialling spreading certain wildflower seeds, these processes, have shown that it is to think that more can follow.” such as red clover, selfheal and ribwort possible to farm sustainably and, plantain, to reduce the dominance of grasses importantly, to increase profitability. In the meantime, Claire tells me, in the sward. the family never tires of those I wonder how regenerative farming inspirational views. CF 6 RED SQUIRRELS In contrast to losses differs from rewilding projects like that elsewhere due to the more voracious feeding at Knepp in Sussex, subject of Isabella FURTHER INFORMATION habits of grey squirrels, reds are doing well in Tree’s bestselling 2018 book Wilding: Visit the farm’s website to find out how to buy their meat the woodland at Gowbarrow. the Return of Nature to a British Farm? and sign up to their mailing list: gowbarrow.co.uk “We don’t use the term ‘rewilding,’ 7 DUNG BEETLE Increasing numbers of where nature gets to decide,” says Karen Lloyd is writer in residence with dung beetles are playing a crucial role in Claire. “Instead, we’re taking Lancaster University’s Future Places natural and agricultural ecosystems. By considered decisions for the different Centre. Books include The Gathering burying dung, they provide an important areas of the land; already we’re seeing Tide and her latest, Abundance: Nature source of food for decomposers. considerable differences.” in Recovery (Bloomsbury, 2021) 8 BUTTERFLIES Species seen in Gowbarrow include meadow brown (pictured), ringlet, green veined white, large skipper, small skipper and orange tip. 9 VOLES AND SHREWS These are in good numbers on the farm, providing food sources for resident barn and tawny owls. 10 CURLEW Present in the breeding season, these birds have been heard alarm calling, suggesting that chicks have hatched. 42

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COUNTRYFILE ISSUES JOHN CRAVEN A THRILLING, NATURE-LED RECOVERY IN THE LAKES The way our uplands Ecological restoration project Wild Haweswater is working back to 300 breeding ewes and will look in the future alongside sustainable upland farming, with amazing results followers (30 years ago there is being hotly debated, were 10 times as many), with as the Government “Campaigners are hardy cattle and ponies brought ponders its plan to hoping sheep numbers in. The result is a more natural switch rural subsidies away will be greatly reduced” look to the fells – courser and from food production and put scrubbier with more wildlife. ‘public money for public good’ (International Union for Nature into schemes that will boost Conservation) global standard RSPB ecologist Lee Schofield, nature conservation and the for demonstrating nature-based who runs the project, tells me: environment in general. But solutions that benefit wildlife “Subsidies came in after the recent press reports say the and people. Progress so far: Second World War to massively Government wants to cut back • About 800 hectares of peat ramp up the number of sheep in on the green agenda to focus bog have been restored by the hills and that has done a lot of on the cost of living crisis. blocking off 31 miles of draining damage to nature. The amount ditches – dug last century to dry of hay we can grow in our While farmers await the final out the land for farming – with meadows basically determines details, fearing their livelihoods 50,000 trees planted. As a how much livestock we can carry. are at stake if they lose out on result, soil erosion has reduced To exceed the numbers means EU-type payments, wildlife and more carbon locked up. we have to bring in fertiliser and campaigners are hoping sheep • The Swindale Beck, a river extra feed and a whole load of numbers will still be greatly straightened 200 years ago to very costly and carbon-heavy reduced. Then, they say, our high increase grazing land, has had inputs,” Lee says. “By working places could take on a more its bends put back. The outcome within the carrying capacity Alpine appearance, with carpets is improved water quality, less of the land, we get almost of wildflowers instead of barren chance of flooding downstream accidental benefits for nature. expanses created by grazing. and the return of salmon and In the long term, the fells might brown trout. become resilient and sustainable PIONEERING PLAN • Sheep numbers have been cut enough for sheep to go back up there in smaller numbers.” The Lake District National Park is one of the focal points for this Income from livestock and debate. Its latest management ecotourism, plus Government plan aims at “farmer-led nature grants for looking after the recovery combining viable farm environment, fuel the project. business with a nature- and The RSPB came to Haweswater culture-rich landscape”. In what in 1969 after golden eagles could be a template for the moved in, but the last one died uplands, a pioneering project is seven years ago. Recently, taking place in an area that however, a pair flew down from makes up just 1% of the park: the Scotland to pay a visit. “We are stunning Haweswater Estate. making the landscape healthier, more resilient and wilder,” says It’s a joint venture between Lee. “The hope is eagles will be United Utilities, owners of attracted back again.” four-mile-long Haweswater Haweswater is ready for them. Reservoir and the surrounding Photos: Getty, Sean Malyon land, and the RSPB, which Watch John on manages two farms there. Last Countryfile, Sunday year, it became one of only five evenings on BBC One. sites in the UK to meet the IUCN www.countryfile.com 45

MONEY-SAVING TIPS FOR COUNTRYSIDE EXPLORERS As the cost of living rises, travel writers Julie Brominicks and Dixe Wills offer their top tips on how to enjoy 2. SEARCH OUT BARGAIN KIT Grandma Gatewood hiked the Appalachian Trail in canvas shoes and slept under a shower curtain, while Guardian Country Diarist Harry Griffin started rock climbing using his mum’s washing line. I cannot, from my privileged able- bodied position, advise recklessness – good boots on hazardous terrain, for example, can save your skin – but not all kit is essential. While quick-drying clothes are important, I often prefer old and threadbare to pricey technical textiles. And while some brands make kit that really lasts, others do not. Look for bargains on eBay and in charity shops. JB 3. BIRDING ON A BUDGET Many of the UK’s bird observatories present the chance to see cracking avian life and offer very economical accommodation, too. Located in picturesque coastal sites, the observatories have dorms or private rooms, usually with a kitchen so you can cook. They’re all going cheep. DW 1. THE PERKS OF VOLUNTEERING 4. CHEAPER CAMPING Whatever your passion – be it steam trains, birds or folk Real wild camping is a noble pursuit festivals – volunteering gets you in free and is usually in Scotland, is NOT illegal in England enriching. A man I met on one canal told me volunteering and Wales, provided you have the for the Canal and River Trust had saved his life by giving landowner’s permission, and is free. him purpose and the tranquillity of water. WWOOFing If you need facilities, a campsite can (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) is a great be cheap – if you choose carefully, way to access rural life. Check your local Wildlife Trust or bring your own fire fuel and food, and RSPB reserve for cheap or free walks or events. JB avoid costly hotspots. If you are on foot, check for backpacker rates. See pitchup.com. DW 46 www.countryfile.com

MONEY-SAVING TIPS 5. CAMPING BY BIKE 6. TRAIN TRAVEL HACKS With fuel prices sky high, there’s never been a better time to cycle. Throw a Head for a split-ticketing website, tent in your pannier, take your bike on a train and you’re off on an adventure such as Tickety Split (ticketysplit. that won’t cost the Earth. UK Campsite has thousands of sites from which to trainsplit.com), and it will work out choose; ukcampsite.co.uk. Or join the Camping and Caravanning Club for the cheapest combination of tickets £45 for discounts on its 1,300 sites; campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk. DW for your journey and then book them for you. National Rail’s ‘Cheap Fare Finder’ lives up to its name; nationalrail.co.uk. Advance tickets offer huge savings, while rover tickets are fantastic for exploring an area in a day or longer; railrover.org. A host of National Rail railcards is available for various age groups and for friends/ families travelling together. DW 7. HOSTELS AND BOTHIES For a little more luxury than camping, try hostelling. The Independent Hostel Association has over 400 places; independenthostels.co.uk. The YHA, yha.org.uk, and Hostelling Scotland, hostellingscotland.org.uk, run over 200, while the Mountain Bothies Association has around 100 huts, free to use for an annual fee; mountainbothies.org.uk. DW 9. ENJOY SIMPLE, FREE PLEASURES Perhaps we all have memories of simpler golden days, or remember someone who would pedal off into the countryside for hours with just a sandwich. Now we are snarled up in traffic, conspicuous consumption and digital ambush, those experiences are difficult. But gone forever? Maybe not. Rockpooling and birdwatching remain free, as is whiling away time beneath a tree. When I see kids absorbed in crabbing off a pier and people bivouacking under an old tarp it makes me smile – they’re creating the good old days to come. DW 8. LOVE THE BUSPhotos: Alamy, Getty Rural buses are still here, despite neglect, and the 47 further you travel, the more economical they become. Most offer rover tickets for unlimited travel within one day, ‘parent and child’ fares or books of tickets for multiple journeys. But do plan rigorously. Start online with traveline.info (0871 200 2233), but check service provider timetables too, and ring their office if in doubt. Research exactly where to wait and where to get off – the driver may be new. JB www.countryfile.com

MOVING MOUNTAINS Unfit and suffering from depression, Sabrina Pace-Humphreys found lasting joy in running in the countryside. Now a champion of ultramarathons, she helps other black runners to enjoy Britain’s wild places Photos: James Appleton / inov-8.com F  orme,2016wasalife- being present in the moment. For the changing year for a few duration of that run, my depression reasons. Number one, I gave had taken a back seat. And I wanted up drinking alcohol and more of that headspace. embarked upon a life of sobriety, and – a close second – I GETTING ON TRACK took my first steps into the activity It took me seven years to feel confident of trail running. Both were decisions enough to transition from road running that changed my life for the better, to trail running. A decision made when, in ways I could never have imagined. for my 40th birthday, I decided to train I took up running in 2009, following for the Marathon Des Sables, a multi- the birth of my fourth child. It’s day, 156-mile trail race in the Sahara important for me to say that I don’t Desert. Every single training run I did come from a sport-oriented “For it was – is – in the for this race – other than a family, I didn’t run as a child act of trail running that week in Lanzarote – took place and throughout my teenage on UK trails. I had to venture years and twenties, I avoided off-road, learn how to read a any activity that involved being map, find footpaths, create I have found mental andoutdoors. Why? Because, as a routes that would imitate – as mixed-race person, racialised physical strength” far as possible – the ups, downs as black, and living in a rural and geological terrain that I market town, my experience might experience in the Sahara. of rural racism meant the It was no mean feat, but it was outdoors wasn’t a safe space for me, experience where, at five stone fun. A mentally healing experience that due to the abuse I encountered. overweight and lacking any fitness, fast became my favourite thing to do. But that all changed when, at a I shuffled for one minute and walked For it was – is – in the act of trail running 12-week postnatal check with my GP, it for one minute. All the while trying to that I have found mental and physical was suggested that my sustained low cover a mile, to breathe and keep my strength. Don’t get me wrong – at first mood and intrusive negative thought body upright, to get home in one piece. it was hard. That fear of getting lost, of patterns about myself, my baby and I remember falling through our back falling and hurting myself with no one my life were symptoms of postnatal door, spreadeagled on the floor in my around to help me. But once I built a depression. Alongside medication and kitchen, my husband asking me “how little confidence, my trail-running talk therapy, my GP suggested I do was it?” And my one-word response experience just got better. something that gave me some alone “hard”. But, even though that first run Trail running takes me to places time, away from the family was incredibly tough, I realised right inaccessible by car, train or bus. To the environment. Why not “try jogging”? there on the kitchen floor that I had not top of hills where, at the break of dawn, I remember that first run on a canal thought of anything other than moving I feel gratitude for the body I have, the towpath, my first-ever trail run. An my body forward, of breathing, of mental resilience I have built. It really 48 www.countryfile.com

Tune in Part of BBC Radio Three series Between the Ears, The Racing Mind is an innovative meditation on ultrarunning, featuring interview, poetry, sound and music. Available on BBC Sounds. A mother of four and grandmother of two, Sabrina, aged 44, has run 10ks, marathons and gruelling ultramarathons – including the 102-mile Cotswold Way – across some of the world’s toughest terrains

Sabrina has suffered from anxiety for much of her life, but working towards running goals and training on the magnificent trails in the Brecon Beacons near her home town, and here in the Lake District, boosted her confidence as well as her mental and physical strength