BBC Countryfile 08.2022_downmagaz.net

TRAIL RUNNER is a form of nirvana. Being able to for black people when it comes to HOW TO GET STARTED IN traverse natural landscapes that I’d access to the sport, as well as skills TRAIL RUNNING only seen portrayed in books or on and representation. 1 REACH OUT Follow me online and ask questions. If I can’t help you, I’ll know TV has transformed my fear of the Some examples of initiatives we work someone who can. outdoors to curiosity. To run through on include providing financial support 2 JOIN BLACK TRAIL RUNNERS We are a community and campaigning a lush hidden valley as the early for access to the outdoors, trail events, charity that seeks to diversify trail running. No matter what your skin colour, you morning mist rises and see, in the event entry fees and kit. We work to are welcome. distance, a lone deer; to feel the power build confidence via our trail-taster 3 FOOTWEAR If you like trail running, you’ll need a pair of trail shoes. They are of that connection to her as we stare at skills days in navigation, map reading, different to road trainers in that they have more grip. Ask for advice or visit your local each other – it’s magical. I cannot help footwear and clothing, nutrition, safety sport-shoe store to see what’s on offer. but feel innate joy, privilege, a sense of and trail-running technique. And we 4 FIND A TRAIL That means anything that’s not tarmac! The local park is a belonging and comfort in my rightful encourage representation, providing good start. place as a lover of the outdoors. Each opportunities across traditional and 5 WALKING IS NOT CHEATING The nature of trail running is that, ultimately, time I trail run, I experience these social media platforms via audio and it will include elements of walking due to the terrain. Walking does not mean you have waves of wellbeing that stay with me visual content, for our community failed. It means you are sensible! long after the run has finished. members to shine and show the joy 6 BUY A LOCAL MAP/USE AN ONLINE NAVIGATION APP Get to know your I am a they experience locale. You’ll be amazed to find hidden paths you never knew existed. Or use a navigation trail-running “Each time I trail runningonthe app, such as OS App, that makes it easy to addict, and trail. To inspire find a route and follow it. proud of it. run, I experience blackpeople,of 7 TAKE YOUR PHONE Make sure your I believe, as all ages, to be phone is fully charged. Why? In case of emergency and also to take amazing photos. a form of waves of wellbeing what they can running for NOW see. Our 8 IN CASE OF EMERGENCY Carry something that has your emergency beginners, that stay with me” communityisa contact details. I keep a laminated card in there is safe space. A the back of my phone case. nothing better. place to feel 9 FOOD I like to carry a high- carbohydrate emergency snack; The terrain of trails lends itself to the connected, to share knowledge, lived a chocolate-peanut bar works for me. alleviation of injuries associated with experience and revel in the joy that trail 1 0 HYDRATION This depends on the distance you’re running. I always like road running. Unlike concrete, a trail running brings. We add new members to carry some water, just in case. ‘gives’; it works with your body, not daily and also have thousands following against it. And it’s an amazing all-over us online. A recurring comment from body workout, too. But, more than our members being: “I belong here!” that, it forces you to be present, in the We’re so excited about the launch of moment, to be mindful. the first trail-running event designed by Black Trail Runners, at Dunstable BLACK TRAIL RUNNERS Downs, Bedfordshire on 11 September Sharing the beauty of trail running is 2022; blacktothetrails.co.uk. If you my purpose. It’s why I lead local want to try trail running and believe running groups for women and the outdoors should be for everyone, retrained as a run coach and a this is a must-attend event. I hope to personal trainer. And it’s why, in 2020, meet you there. CF I co-founded the community and campaigning charity, Black Trail Sabrina Pace-Humphreys is a coach Runners. Our mission is to increase and co-founder of Black Trail Runners. the inclusion and representation of Her memoir, Black Sheep: A Story of black people in trail running. Why? Rural Racism, Identity and Hope, is out Because there are barriers that exist now (Quercus Books, £16.99). BLACK WALKING AND RUNNING GROUPS Black Trail Runners A community and Black Girls Hike An organisation offering black campaigning charity that seeks to increase women the opportunities to explore the outdoors, inclusion, participation and representation of black hosting group hikes and activity days. bghuk.com people in trail running. blacktrailrunners.run Ultra Black Running This group stages trail Photo: Inov-8 Black Girls Do Run A running community events and outdoor experiences that champion that inspires, encourages and motivates black and empower black runners. instagram.com/ women to run. blackgirlsdorun.co.uk ultrablackrunning www.countryfile.com 51

Wildflowers on wheels Cycling botanist Leif Bersweden toured Britain’s best sites searching for wild plants, hoping to understand them, the dangers they now face, and why so many of us have become disconnected from the beauty at our feet Photos: Trevor Ray Hart Riding a bike has always been my Disturbed by how few people notice our favourite way to travel around. wildflowers and understand their I spent much of my childhood cycling importance, Leif is on a quest to share his through the Wiltshire countryside, knowledge; he has authored two books and looking at nature, pausing by the creates videos on his own YouTube channel roadside to explore sun-dappled woodlands or pockets of downland. Over the years, I had many memorable encounters with wild things spotted from the saddle: plants, animals and fungi that I triumphantly identified (regularly incorrectly) and listed lovingly in my notebook. I found joy in this activity. It calmed me. It was a source of inspiration and entertainment throughout the year. And – unlike in school – I was never bored. From a young age, my love for nature was focused on wild plants. In my local meadows and woods, there were plants that poisoned predators, fought battles and played mind games with pollinators. I discovered climbers and carnivores, puppeteers and parasites. Some were giants hundreds of years old, while others were tiny pinpricks a millimetre across. Their inability to run away meant I could get a good look at them, and I quickly lapsed into a familiar plant-hunting routine. Botanising – the art of simply walking along and noticing the plants growing around me – satisfied my need for quiet and desire to discover. As I grew up and my initial curiosity laid the foundations for a deep sense of care, I began to learn about how vulnerable our wildflowers 52



LEFT Leif spent much of his childhood lying in fields discovering the wonder of wild plants, a curiosity that shows no sign of waning are. It bothered me that so few people seemed people who still have a connection to their local to notice the plants growing all around us, let flora; to prove to myself, if nothing else, that our alone take an active interest in them. The instinctive love for the botanical world has not losses endured by wild plants in Britain and wholly vanished. Ireland are stark, and the dangers they face on a daily basis – climate change, habitat BOTANISING BY BIKE destruction, declining pollinator populations – seem more worrying than ever before. And so, Doing these journeys on my bike was a perhaps inevitably, my love for nature fuelled wonderful way to see the country and I came to a need to share the importance and beauty of know places in a way that I wouldn’t have, had what we have with as many people as possible. I been driving. Cycling gave me more time to take in my surroundings and a greater But if I was going to encourage people to appreciation for the relief of the landscapes spend time noticing plants, I needed to I travelled through. The journeys themselves understand why we have become disconnected felt considered: rather than trying to get from A to B as fast as possible, I deliberately tailored “We so often dismiss plants as routes to take in interesting habitats spotted being boring, but they have on the map. I was able to hunt for plants while travelling, too, as well as at the start and end some amazing stories to tell” of my journeys. BELOW From early spring, from botany, and what it is about wildflowers Spontaneously hopping off my bike to explore look for the rich magenta that intertwined our lives with theirs in the first small roadside copses and meadows provided flowers of the northern place. So I decided to go on some adventures. some of the best and most unexpected finds marsh orchid in damp of the year. There was a stunning collection of coastal dune slacks In 2021, I cycled through the places our plants polypody ferns clustered along the top of a call home, learning about their ecology, their drystone wall in County Cork, hundreds of role in our culture, the threats they face and deep-purple northern marsh-orchids lining Photos: Leif Bersweden, Alamy, Trevor Ray Hart what it is about them that we have grown to love. a main road in Cumbria and old, mossy I botanised my way through an entire calendar woodlands tucked into the valleys of Snowdonia year, walking along windswept clifftops spread National Park. My delight at the foxgloves and with thrift and roaming through flower-filled red campion growing along the twisting, woodland brimming with bluebells. I scrambled high-banked lanes in Devon wouldn’t have been up mountains, climbed trees, squelched the same from the seat of a car, nor would my around marshes and bobbed about on lakes experience of Shetland. Ever since my teenage and ponds, documenting my adventures years, botanising by bike has been my favourite though the seasons as I tracked down the best way to explore the world. of our wild plants. Along the way, I walked with One thing that was driven home during my travels is that we seriously underestimate what plants can do. They face all the same 54 www.countryfile.com

DISCOVER Travelling on two wheels affords easy, spontaneous stops to explore vibrant hedgerows such as this, bursting with foxgloves and red campion, beside a country lane in Devon

A parasitic native, thyme broomrape (Orobanche alba), lives on the roots of wild thyme. Look for it on the coasts of north-west Scotland and south-west England, such as here on a clifftop at Kynance Cove, Cornwall

RIGHT Leif records a BBC change was evident on all my adventures and The Countryfile Magazine most prominent in the extremes: in dry, free- Plodcast draining grassland in southern England and podcast with Annabel Ross high up on the crumbling slopes of Scotland’s Go on a botanical and explains some of the mountains. We recently learnt that plants in adventure with Leif in the the UK are flowering on average a month earlier BBC Countryfile Magazine hidden wonders of a sunny today than they were in the 1980s, which has wildflower meadow significant ecological implications for the Plodcast, available on delicate, synchronised relationships between Acast and all good fundamental challenges as animals: they need plants and their pollinators. With their habitats podcast providers to safely reproduce, deter predators and find disappearing and, in some cases, their very food. But – unlike most animals – they have to existence stigmatised, our plants are face these tasks with the added complication struggling more than ever. Seeing the impact of of being rooted to the spot. “Time spent with our plants For a plant, this produces some serious brings with it an understanding day-to-day obstacles. They don’t have the of the many perils they face” get-out-of-jail-free card of being able to Photos: Alamy, Trevor Ray Hart physically relocate themselves at will. Instead, our actions and thinking about the future Leif Bersweden is a botanist they have come up with some ingenious ways of makes my heart hurt. and author who has recently solving problems. I met wildflowers that mimic completed a PhD at Kew insects to attract pollinators, species that heat It still bothers me, now more than ever, that Gardens. His new book, Where themselves up to more than 30°C to aid with so few people seem to notice our wildflowers. the Wildflowers Grow (Hodder scent dispersal, and floating aquatic plants that But writing Where the Wildflowers Grow is part & Stoughton, £20), is out now. sink below the surface during the winter to of my attempt to change that. Plants can be avoid freezing. While botanising on the Lizard found everywhere we go. As an accessible and Peninsula in Cornwall, I found a colony of thyme mindful activity, with no time-specific broomrape, a highly specialised species that requirements, botanising can benefit us on entirely lacks chlorophyll, obtaining all its a large scale and small, from improving our nutrients and water by parasitising wild thyme. wellbeing to protecting the planet long term. In the pine forests of the Cairngorms, I got to We have something really worth protecting. spend time with common cow-wheat, a plant Spending time with nature gives us purpose, puppeteer that uses ants to get its seeds challenges us while we are outside and leaves underground with plenty of food to germinate. us feeling connected to our surroundings. We so often dismiss plants as being boring, but For me, nature always has been – and always they have some amazing stories to tell. will be – everything. CF WITNESSING NATURE AT RISK Yet despite the feeling of awe impressed upon me so often last year, time spent with our plants, or any part of nature, brings with it a greater understanding of the perils they face. Over the course of my travels, I experienced first-hand that all is not well. The issues were the same everywhere: chronic overgrazing, habitat destruction and endless application of fertilisers and herbicides – humans messing with the status quo. The impact of climate www.countryfile.com Turn over for Leif's selection of the best locations for wildflowers

WILDFLOWERS ON WHEELS BOTANISING HOTSPOTS 1 SOUTH DOWNS NATIONAL PARK, 1 3 Photos: Alamy HAMPSHIRE AND SUSSEX 2 6 4 I cycled the South Downs Way and passed many beautiful spring 5 www.countryfile.com woodlands and old downlands buttered with cowslips. Ditchling Beacon 7 is a lovely stretch of chalk grassland high up on the downs with orchids and vetches, while the ancient woodlands around Butser Hill offer carpets of bluebells in May. There are amazing plants all along the trail, particularly in the west, where there are fewer sheep. 2 MORFA DYFFRYN NATIONAL NATURE RESERVE, GWYNEDD A big sand dune system full of damp dune slacks. In the summer, among the lesser spearwort and creeping willow, you will find wild orchids such as marsh helleborine and autumn lady’s-tresses, as well as other unusual species, including round-leaved wintergreen (pictured). The dunes are home to tough plants with amazing adaptations, such as sea-holly, marram and sea rocket. Be aware that there’s a naturist beach nearby! 3 LIZARD PENINSULA, CORNWALL This is one of the most famous botanical hotspots in Britain and hosts an impressive list of plants. More than half of our native flowering plant species can be found growing on the Lizard, and some are found nowhere else in the country. With a warm breeze, glittering turquoise sea and carpets of yellow hairy greenweed flowers at your feet, it’s hard not to have a good time. 4 SCOUT SCAR, CUMBRIA This idyllic limestone grassland high up on a plateau is totally worth the uphill climb. In June, the combination of bright-yellow rough hawkbit, pink wild thyme and white limestone bedstraw is an iconic sight. Keep your eyes peeled for dropwort, lesser butterfly-orchids and dark-red helleborines while meandering around the grassy paths. 5 INGLEBOROUGH NATIONAL NATURE RESERVE, YORKSHIRE High in the Yorkshire Dales, Ingleborough NNR offers beautiful views and a suite of exciting plants. Purple saxifrage grows on the crags while the lower slopes have bits of limestone pavement harbouring rigid buckler fern and limestone fern. In May, it’s worth having a look for bird’s-eye primrose around the boggy flushes where water seeps over the rock. 6 BALLYNAHONE BOG, COUNTY DERRY A large, lowland raised bog packed full of interesting species. The squashy hummocks of sphagnum bog-mosses are adorned with strands of wild cranberry and harbour carnivorous sundews (pictured). Try getting down on the ground and listening to water percolating through the moss – it’s a wonderful experience. 7 INVERESHIE AND INSHRIACH NATIONAL NATURE RESERVE, CAIRNGORMS One of the few remaining pockets of Caledonian pinewood, this nature reserve feels old. The ancient, twisted pines are the highlight for me, but make sure to scan the ground for unusual ground flora such as twinflower and creeping lady’s-tresses. See if you can track down an aspen by listening for the wind in its leaves. 58

LIGHTWEIGHT & DURABLE... PERFECT FOR THE TOUGHEST OUTDOOR CONDITIONS > 32mm objective, 8x magnification > 32mm objective, 10x magnification > Extra low dispersion optics (ED) > Extra low dispersion optics (ED) > Weight 499g > Weight 499g RRP 299.99 RRP 299.99 > 32mm objective and > 32mm objective and > 32mm objective and > 32mm objective and 8x magnification 10x magnification 8x magnification 10x magnification > Phase coated BaK-4 prisms > Phase coated BaK-4 prisms > Magnesium alloy body > Magnesium alloy body > Weight 510g > Weight 510g > Weight 483g > Weight 453g RRP 129.99 RRP 129.99 RRP 239.99 RRP 239.99 Our 32mm range of binoculars feature lightweight frames and close focus distances from just 2m, making them perfect for viewing birds, butterflies, plants, or other nearby subjects. Whilst being compact, 32mm binoculars also offer the magnification of larger binoculars to give great views of distance subjects, plus a wide field of view so you can easily follow them as they move. No matter how you choose to observe, these versatile binoculars are excellent all-around performers. > 32mm objective and > 32mm objective and 8x magnification 6.5x magnification > Fully multi coated lenses > Fully multi coated lenses > Weight 520g > Weight 520g RRP 139.99 RRP 139.99 Full product details at: www.celestron.com Email: [email protected]

This was Sylvia’s promise to you... A generation ago, a woman named Sylvia made But it doesn’t have to be like this. You can change the a promise. As a doctor’s secretary, she’d watched story, just like Sylvia did, with a gift in your Will. All it stroke destroy the lives of so many people. She was takes is a promise. determined to make sure we could all live in a world where we’re far less likely to lose our lives to stroke. You can promise future generations a world where researchers discover new treatments and surgeries She kept her promise, and a gift to the Stroke ƇDQGHYHU\\VLQJOHVWURNHVXUYLYRUKDVWKHEHVWFDUH Association was included in her Will. Sylvia’s gift helped rehabilitation and support network possible, to help fund the work that made sure many more of them rebuild their lives. us survive stroke now than did in her lifetime. Will you make that promise to generations to Sylvia changed the story for us all. Now it’s our turn come? Please, leave a gift in your Will to the to change the story for those who’ll come after us. Stroke Association. Stroke still shatters lives and tears families apart. Find out how by calling 020 7566 1505 And for so many survivors the road to recovery is or email [email protected] still long and desperately lonely. If you or someone or visit stroke.org.uk/legacy \\RXORYHKDVEHHQDƦHFWHGE\\VWURNHƇ\\RXƊOONQRZ just what that means. Rebuilding lives after stroke The Stroke Association is registered as a charity in England and Wales (No 211015) and in Scotland (SC037789). Also registered in the Isle of Man (No. 945) and Jersey (NPO 369), and operating as a charity in Northern Ireland.

Gplrionissthl,toyhoifnehroeojuuusPrrnhsraocodttoslarea:iGgrrfianinhglloAmitrsvthotohoownwner(uotrintthluehbhs?sseuoatGmghbeb-rarwielniusioaelitos-ttAab-adtbleesdtwu)hahgositrrtodslsdtnayy Photo: Naturepl.com www.countryfile.com 61

LEFT A passing stickleback falls prey to the powerful jaws of a hungry dragonfly larva If you think you need to go to the and grab prey. Carnivorous true 1. WASP SPIDER far reaches of the planet to see bugs impale their quarry with a long savage animals, then I have news pointy rostrum, liquify their innards Argiope bruennichi for you. Some of the most and suck them dry. Some flies and A late-summer walk in long grassland is a great ferocious battles and gruesome beetles purée the insides of snails to opportunity to spot the wasp spider. It’s large, almost 2cm long (not including legs), with vivid deaths are happening right under procure a healthy meal. yellow, white and black stripes across the abdomen. Wasp spiders primarily eat our noses, in the fields, woodlands Dragonflies rule not only the skies grasshoppers, and so are less likely to be found in more manicured urban areas. They are not and clifftops of the UK. but the depths too: their larvae lurk easy to spot initially, so tread carefully so as not to damage the beautiful webs, made using In every part of our countryside, at the bottom of ponds, picking off a zigzag construction called a ‘stabilimentum’. Their large, brown, bauble-like egg sacs can also tiny creatures face a day-to-day passers-by with lightning-fast be seen hanging off grass stems. battle for survival as they fly, scurry reflexes and an articulated jaw not 2. RUBY-TAILED WASP and dig their way out of the path of unlike the xenomorph in the Alien Family Chrysididae Some of our most efficient insect hunters aren’t terrifying predators. Seemingly films. Then there are the parasitoids the fastest or fiercest, but the sneakiest. The ruby-tailed wasp is similar to the cuckoo: just peaceful wetlands, woodlands and that slowly consume their prey alive. like the bird, it lays its eggs in the nests of other species, in this case other solitary wasps. It nature reserves are anything but, tracks down the nest of a potential host, creeps into the entrance, finds the egg and deposits its when you zoom in on the ECOSYSTEM EQUILIBRIUM own alongside. In a macabre twist, the emerging ruby-tailed wasp doesn’t eject the other egg, microhabitats within them. Rather This is all normal invertebrate it eats it, and all the food stored in the nest. than a dog-eat-dog world, I would behaviour. Millions of years of www.countryfile.com mutual carnivory have “Carnivorous bugs gradually settled into a delicate coexistence, in impale their quarry, which predators control the numbers of plant- liquify their innards eating species, creating a balanced ecosystem. and suck them dry” These tiny terrors of the countryside are more helpful to us than we can possibly comprehend. If argue that it is, in fact, a bug-eat-bug we want to keep enjoying our natural world. I’ve never seen a dog eat landscape, we need to take care of another dog, but I have seen lots of these essential beasts, so they can invertebrates dining on each other. continue to shape our land for many Our countryside is full of mini more generations to come. assassins in the form of familiar You can see amazing predators species, such as beetles, wasps and everywhere: find robber flies and spiders, and also lesser-known dragonflies hunting in grass and predators, such as lacewings. Flies heathland. Look at the flowers of and true bugs have got hunting hemlock, cow parsley and wild carrot down to a fine art, equipped with an for solitary wasps and crab spiders. array of specialist weaponry that, Open paths are perfect for observing on a human-scale, would create predatory ground beetles and Photos: Naturepl.com nationwide panic. Ground beetles parasitoid wasps in search of the have large, powerful jaws and an nest holes of their hosts. Enjoy your impressive turn of speed to chase quest to find our tiny terrors! 62

3. DAMSEL BUG Family Nabidae Damsel bugs are feisty beasts that eat aphids, bug nymphs and other soft-bodied, slow- moving invertebrates that cannot outrun them. Once in its grip, the damsel bug inserts its long, needle-like mouthparts into the prey, sucks out the innards and discards the desiccated carcass. Aphids are often farmed by ants, who love the taste of their sugary ‘poo’, known as honeydew; the ants will fiercely defend this valuable food source. Ant damsel bug nymphs (Himacerus mirmicoides) look very similar to worker ants, which may be a cunning mechanism to blend into the colony and sneakily feast on the farmed aphids.

4. GREEN TIGER BEETLE Cicindela campestris The green tiger beetle is one of our most formidable hunters, stalking and ambushing its prey, much like its feline namesake. The most striking feature of this beetle is its marvellous metallic green body, with pink tinges and white spots on the wing casings. Close up, you can see huge eyes that give it excellent all-round vision, long legs that enable it to move with lightning speed, and deadly jaws, which will be the last thing you see if you are unlucky enough to be its prey. 6. ROBBER FLY Family Asilidae You might think that birds of prey are the supreme hunters of our countryside, but here’s an insect that can more than match our raptors’ credentials. Robberflies have mastered the art of aerial hunting, which they perform with clinical efficiency. They hunt a variety of prey – including hoverflies, grasshoppers and moths – which they consume by piercing and paralysing them, then sucking them dry with hypodermic mouthparts. Robberflies can be identified by their long, slender bodies, powerful legs with short, spiny hairs and their impressive facial hair. 5. PARASITIC FLY Phasia hemiptera We tend to think of flies as being scavengers, but some are also prolific predators. Phasia hemiptera is a parasitic fly that uses green shieldbugs as hosts. The female lands on the substantially slower shieldbug and lays her eggs on its surface, then flies away, job done. The resulting larva emerges on to an all-you-can-eat buffet, burrowing into the bug to consume it from the inside. The fly larva even know to eat around the shieldbug’s critical organs, to keep it alive and fresh for longer. 64

TINY TERRORS 7. LACEWING LARVAE 9. FLOWER CRAB SPIDER Order Neuroptera Misumena vatia The vampire-like larvae of lacewings are truly fearsome. They look a bit like short, dumpy Imagine being so good at camouflage that your caterpillars, but with the addition of frankly terrifying pincers. These long, curved food practically lands in your mouth. The female appendages are used to grab prey. They rumble through the vegetation like mini-tanks, flower crab spider has perfected the art of devouring anything in their path, particularly aphids. As if that isn’t scary enough, lacewing blending in. She will find a suitable flower, sit on larvae are known to decorate themselves with the remains of their victims; they plaster top of it, with her rear against the petals, leaving themselves with dehydrated corpses, presumably to fool their prey into thinking that they the nectar and pollen parts fully accessible. She aren’t about to be eaten. then proceeds to slowly colour-shift (often to white or yellow) until she is barely visible, and waits. When an oblivious flying insect lands just in front of her, she lunges forward with super-fast reflexes, then slowly devours her victim. Photo: Gail Ashtonn, Naturepl.com 8. POTTER WASP 10. EMPEROR DRAGONFLY Ancistrocerus sp Anax imperator The potter wasp has highly tuned senses. It can locate a caterpillar hidden inside a plant Life on the water’s edge is perilous for any insect stem, whereupon it extracts it with surgical precision. It paralyses the larva, then flies off if the emperor dragonfly is around. Its four, highly with it, hugging it under its body. Once back at the nest, it stuffs the larva into its nest cell, adapted wings work independently of each where an egg lies incubating. The paralysed caterpillar remains alive as the emerging wasp other, enabling it to accelerate to around 30mph larva proceeds to feast upon the helpless grub. then turn with startling speed and precision to catch flying insects. The emperor dragonfly www.countryfile.com patrols a wide area to hunt, so you may spot one some distance from water, in open grassland. Once up and about, it rarely lands again until bedtime, but if a prey item is too much of a ‘mouthful’ to eat on the wing, it will briefly land to finish its meal. CF Gail Ashton is a photographer, writer and illustrator with a passion for invertebrates. She is co-author of An Identification Guide to Garden Insects of Britain and North- West Europe (John Beaufoy, £14.99). 65

Walk in CONQUEROR COUNTRY Almost 1,000 years ago, on these now sleepy fields, war raged. Sam Pyrah explores the idyllic 1066 Country Walk, through countryside once plundered by invading Norman troops Photos: James Ratchford 66 www.countryfile.com

www.countryfile.com Sam wanders through gently swaying fields of buttercups on Tent Hill on the 1066 Country Walk, a recently revamped 31-mile trail that celebrates over 1,000 years of tumultuous and fascinating East Sussex history 67

ABOVE LEFT From atop I’m lying on my back, thinking of England. the Bayeux Tapestry and created by local artist Tent Hill, Sam keeps a The England, specifically, that existed Keith Pettit. lookout for marauding before William, Duke of Normandy, landed his troops at Pevensey and marched into Even if you’re no history buff, the route armies marching across the most famous English battle of all time. showcases the best of the East Sussex the High Weald countryside: rolling hills and steep-sided ABOVE RIGHT Bright In 1066, the field in which I’m sprawled – a valleys, wildflower meadows and ancient red waymarkers signal stone’s throw from that historic landing point woodland. With the small town of Battle the route, from Pevensey to Rye – would have been underwater. Today, it’s marking the halfway spot, the walk divides swaying with buttercups and the air is filled neatly into two days with an overnight stop. with the song of skylarks and the drowsy hum of bees. The sea has retreated by more than WILDFLOWERS ON THE WEALD a mile over the past 700 years, and one of its Leaving the ghost seas of Pevensey Levels parting gifts is the Pevensey Levels, a behind, I climb north towards the distinctive 3,600-hectare biodiversity-rich expanse shingled spire of All Saints Church. It once of flatland and fen, through which the served the residents of Herstmonceux, but 1066 Country when Sir Roger “I watch two speckledWalkmeanders. Fiennes built This 31-mile trail Herstmonceux tells the story of the wood butterflies Castle in 1441, Norman invasion as dance and spiral he relocated it weaves across one another in a shaft the village so he East Sussex from of dappled light” could enclose the Pevensey to Rye, surrounding land. but it isn’t just a The moated castle march in William – of which you will the Conqueror’s get a fantastic view footsteps. The from the trail – was route reveals myriad layers of Sussex history not only the largest private home in England at through its landscapes, settlements and the time but one of the most fashionable, being monuments. Pevensey Castle is a good built from brick at a cost of £3,800. example. Built by the Normans within the walls I follow the trail along the border of Wartling of a 3rd-century Roman fort, it witnessed Wood, where red campion and bluebells spill centuries of battles and sieges before falling out on to the path. The temperature climbs into ruins, only to be resurrected as a coastal along with the gradient, and I’m only too happy defence during the Second World War, with to pause in the cool refuge of a sunken lane to pill boxes added and troops residing within watch two speckled wood butterflies dance and its walls. spiral one another in a shaft of dappled light. The 1066 Walk isn’t new, but it was But it’s a more expansive vista that stops me a relaunched last year with new signage and mile further on at Boreham Street: a billowing Photos: Alamy information boards – and the addition of patchwork of green stretches off into the 10 beautiful wooden sculptures inspired by distance, seamed with shaws and hedgerows 68 www.countryfile.com

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP Two-thirds of Pevensey Castle’s Roman towered walls are still standing strong; it’s believed the nave of St Thomas the Martyr church in Winchelsea was burned down by the French in the 14th century; waymarkers lead Sam along the border of beautiful Wartling Wood; among the ruins of Battle Abbey, you can stand on the very spot where King Harold is said to have died

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP Hawthorns emerge from the wending totems of Keith Pettit’s sculpture, Farbanks Henge; Winchelsea’s coat of arms shows it was one of the medieval ‘cinque ports’ – a confederation of ports to boost trade and coastal defences; enjoy expansive views over the Weald from the edge of Winchelsea; following Battle Abbey’s closure in 1538, many buildings were demolished, but the great gatehouse entrance survived

and scattered with oasts, farms and sleepy of England. Unlike William, I am in no fit state ABOVE Pretty pink villages. This is the High Weald, designated an for battle when I arrive. Dinner and a bath set rhododendrons and an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. In the me up nicely for an early night. abundance of wildflowers Domesday Book (1086), it was recorded as the border the trail leading most forested area in England. CARVED IN WOOD AND STONE out of Battle Woods, wildflowers and ancient buildings I leave the comely town of Battle the next have been plentiful thus far. What I haven’t seen morning, and soon find myself striding along is people. Given that the south-east of England a wide, easy track through the Great Wood, is one of the most densely populated parts of serenaded by chiffchaffs and blackcaps. The the UK, I’m surprised to have encountered just woods give way, somewhat unexpectedly, to a one dog walker and two runners since I set off. neatly manicured golf course. And if that isn’t When I stop for lunch at the Ash Tree Inn at the enough of a dose of modernity, crossing the fabulously named hamlet of Brown Bread busy A21 certainly is. I’m relieved to melt back Street, I’m keen to chat. into the countryside, roving between pockets of woodland, paddocks and open fields to the At the bar, the waitress doesn’t know why outskirts of Westfield. The thwack of leather on Brown Bread Street is so named, but when she willow follows me up the lane from the village brings my ample-portioned lunch a little later, cricket green. she has found out that it is because there was once a flour mill here. Place names often reveal At Pattleton’s Farm, I find my favourite of past uses – Sussex is full of Furnace Lanes, Pettit’s sculptures – Farbanks Henge. Six because of its once-thriving iron ore industry. monoliths fashioned from oak stand in a circle, each with hawthorn planted inside, creating TIME FOR BATTLE Tent Hill looms in the distance. It is here that William is said to have camped the night before the great battle. It would certainly have made a good vantage point from which to spot any marauding enemies. The view is stupendous – good enough to inspire JMW Turner to paint The Vale of Ashburnham in 1816. I watch a red kite circling as I catch my breath, before cutting across open country and dipping back into the woods. It is almost dusk when I reach Battle Abbey. It was here, on 14 October 1066, that 10,000 men, including King Harold, lost their lives and William the Conqueror declared himself King HISTORY TRAILS AROUND THE UK Photos: Alamy • The 62-mile St Cuthbert’s Way links Romans built in the 3rd century. Starting in Glyndŵr’s Way Scotland to northern England, retracing the Gravesend, Kent, it’s a journey through the footsteps of a 7th-century monk who walked region’s maritime past. ldwa.org.uk from Melrose to Lindisfarne, spreading the word of Christianity. stcuthbertsway.info • In the heart of Scotland, the 64-mile Cateran Trail tells the story of the ‘Caterans’ – much- • Traverse Cornwall coast to coast on the feared cattle thieves who roved and raided the 27-mile Saints’ Way. Starting at Padstow and Perthshire and Angus glens in the Middle Ages. finishing at Fowey, it follows the route of early Christian pilgrims. cornwall.gov.uk/ pkct.org/cateran-trail environment/countryside/cycle-routes- and-trails/the-saints-trail/ • Celebrate the history of Wales on Glyndŵr’s Way, a 135-mile journey through • The Saxon Shore Way mid-Wales, where Owain Glyndŵr, the last takes its name from the Welsh-born Prince of Wales, wrested control chain of defensive coastal forts the of the country from King Henry IV. national trail.co.uk/en_GB/trails/glyndwrs-way/ www.countryfile.com 71

a circle of may blossom in spring. It feels like TOP Close to Battle Abbey also remain. Yet this is ‘new’ Winchelsea. Built a gathering point from our pagan past. where the two armies after the 1287 storm, the grid design that was fought, a Keith Pettit used is said to have inspired the layout of New I stop for lunch at The Queen’s Head in sculpture depicts William York. The town became a hub for the medieval Icklesham, high above the River Brede, which, and Harold – men divided wine trade – you can still visit the medieval wine in William’s time, was navigable by ships. In by the arrows of conflict cellars that sit below the houses – and was an 1287, a great storm entirely reshaped the but united by their desire important naval base until the 15th century, coastline, leaving Icklesham and Rye high for England’s crown when, like its neighbour, Rye, the harbour silted and dry and destroying Winchelsea, where up and trade ceased. I’m headed next, altogether. On the way, from high on a ridge, I get my first glimpse of the sea, Take a detour through the churchyard of shimmering in the heat haze. grand 13th-century St Thomas the Martyr Church and you might find Spike Milligan’s Winchelsea wears its history proudly. The grave, with its infamous headstone inscribed gable end of St John’s Hospital, a medieval ‘I told you I was ill’ (though the inscription is in almshouse, still stands in Chapel Field, amid Irish Gaelic). trees so old and twisted that they, too, are like ancient monuments. Three of the four stone The path out of Winchelsea tumbles down a arched city gates dating from the 14th century steep-sided grassy slope, with tantalising views of Rye’s citadel in the distance – my finish point. Passing the village’s tiny Trumpton-esque station, I turn on to the final leg of the trail into Rye. I know this path well, from years of runs and dog walks, as I live close by. But I’m embarrassed to say that I’d never noticed the elegant sculpture that marks the end – or beginning – of the 1066 Walk. From now on, whenever I pass it, I’ll think of where it leads and how the story it tells shaped the course of our history. CF Sam Pyrah is a journalist and author who focuses on the outdoors. Sam is studying towards an MA in Wild Writing at the University of Essex. KEY CONQUEST SITES Stamford Bridge, Yorkshire The first castle the Normans built on the white Colchester Castle Photos: Alamy, Getty cliffs was wooden, but later versions were made Tower of London The village of Stamford Bridge in the East Riding from stone. english-heritage.org.uk/visit/ of Yorkshire sits astride the river Derwent. It was places/dover-castle here, on 25 September 1066, that King Harold saw off an invasion by Harald Hardrada of Berkhamsted Castle, Hertfordshire Norway. Three days later, William of Normandy landed at Pevensey, forcing King Harold to After the Battle of Hastings, William faced march his troops 200 miles south in under three further resistance as he travelled north. It was weeks to fight. Many believe that is why he lost. at Berkhamsted that the Anglo-Saxons finally surrendered, in December 1066. William Colchester Castle, Essex ordered his half-brother, Robert of Mortain, to build a castle here. english-heritage.org.uk/ The first stone castle that William ordered to be visit/places/berkhamsted-castle built in England, after the Norman Conquest. Construction began in 1076 on the site of the The Tower of London, London temple of Roman Emperor Claudius. colchester. cimuseums.org.uk/visit/colchester-castle One of the capital’s iconic landmarks, the Tower of London was commissioned by William the Dover, Kent Conqueror. Work began in the 1070s, including the building of the White Tower, the stone keep Fresh from defeating Harold, William and his that signified power in Norman architecture. men marched on and ravaged Dover, needing hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/#gs.2c84zd this key strategic base for crossing the channel. 72 www.countryfile.com

KALEWATER COTTAGE A Creative Retreat in the Scottish Borders www.millslade.co.uk [email protected] 01598 741322 Relax and rejuvenate in this unique area of the Scottish Borders. From the front door, stride the historical routes crossing The Millslade offers the best in luxury Cheviots, echoing to the song of skylarks and curlew. Alternatively explore the wealth of Bronze and Iron Age hillforts whilst accommodation in picturesque and taking in the extensive views of this unspoilt landscape. serene surroundings. Situated in the Meet the family - Hownam hares frequent the gardens, herons fish Kalewater, and stir to the call beautiful Brendon Valley, Millslade has of the oystercatcher nesting nearby. gained an unparalleled reputation for excellent food, impeccable service and We can offer single or group bookings in our delightful 3 bedroom, modern, self-catering cottage. One bedroom is the warmest of welcomes. If you are downstairs with an adjacent bathroom. Upstairs there is a Family sized bedroom, plus a single bedroom sharing a large planning a visit to wonderful Exmoor, bathroom. The sitting room and kitchen/dining room are light and spacious. please don’t hesitate to contact Anna or Wi-fi is available in the cottage. Simon for the best in hospitality. (Don’t take our word for it, see our lovely Shopping – A scenic route takes you to the village of Morebattle and onwards to the town of Kelso. guests’ comments on our website!) All the supermarkets deliver to Hownam. Guests are welcome to seasonal fruit and veg, from the garden. 01573 440779 | kalewatercottage.co.uk

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE Explore the Isle of Man Nestled in the Irish Sea, this enchanting Unesco Biosphere Reserve is a place where people and nature entwine to create stories to last a lifetime. Steeped in history and boasts plenty of sights and activities where you will be rewarded with renowned for its glorious, that lend themselves to all kinds of extraordinary views of the Calf of Man. natural beauty, the Isle of adventurers. On your way, see if you can spot The Man is regarded as the gem Burroo (also known as the Drinking of the Irish Sea. From its intriguing Walking and hiking Dragon), a natural rock formation just history to its spectacular walks and One of the most popular walks on the off the tip of the Calf of Man. You scenery, this is a landscape known to à > `ÃÌ>ÀÌÃ Ì ië i ` `wà } can also take a detour to Cregneash, the Celts and Vikings for over 1000 Û >}i v* ÀÌ-Ì>ÀÞ> `w à ià  a small Manx Folk Village, before years and the perfect island escape. Port Erin. With cinematic views and descending further south along cliffs plenty of detours through historical to the sandy bay at Port Erin. With such breathtaking landscapes, villages, this walk along the island’s it would be a crime to visit the Isle of à ÕÌ iÀ V >ÃÌ Ã>wÀ v>Û ÕÀ Ìi] Other scenic walks include Spooyt Man and not go exploring. Its rugged considered one of the best coastal Vane Waterfall, which takes you about cliffs, rolling hills, and picturesque walks in the British Isles; better still it 5 miles to the west of the island and glens are just a few reasons why the can be enjoyed at a very leisurely pace. has a little bit of everything — coast, place is a delight for walking and woodland, views galore and the wildlife enthusiasts. Whether you The route takes you through to the island’s stunning waterfall Spooyt enjoy a peaceful, relaxing break or rocky Chasms, which are huge crevices Vane meaning ‘white spout’ in Manx. an action-packed getaway, the island in the cliffs, towards the Sound Another popular walking route is the

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE Isle of Man’s second-highest peak, North Barrule which is in the north of the island. With the summit being 1842 feet above sea level, you can take the eastern or western ascent to the views at the top, which are certainly worth the effort! Nature and wildlife The Isle of Man is home to an abundance of wildlife. As a matter of fact, in 2016, the island was marked as a leading destination ABOVE North Barrule: The Isle of Man’s second-highest peak, North Barrule, in the world to explore is a popular walking spot with visitors. INSET Manx electric railway: The nature. This led to the Manx Electric Railway is the longest narrow gauge vintage electric railway island being recognised system in the British Isles by UNESCO as a world Porpoises, Whales and you can follow in the footsteps of L ë iÀiÀi} ]Ì iwÀÃÌ Dolphins, not to mention Christian missionaries and Viking time this prestigious award has the island’s summer warriors at Peel Castle on the west of been given to an entire nation. What’s resident, the Basking Shark the island; this impressive fortress was more, you won’t be surprised by the which makes an appearance around once a royal residence, the centre of diverse array of wildlife you’ll spot the end of May through to September. government and a military stronghold. during your visit. Excellent viewing spots for marine life čÛ `L À`Ü>ÌV iÀÃÜ w `>Ü `i include the Sound and Calf of Man, Heritage railway assortment of species including the Niarbyl and the headlands around Peel. The island’s charming heritage Hen Harrier, the Black Guillemot and railway network attracts enthusiasts the Manx Shearwater. As well as these History and culture worldwide to its shores. Whether you resident species you’re also likely The Isle of Man possesses a unique choose to travel by steam or electric, to see migrant birds including the heritage which is as noticeable Þ Õ½ w `> Ì ÀiiÀ> Ü>ÞÃ]Ì ià i v Chough and the Arctic Tern. There’s today as it was thousands of years Man Steam Railway, the Manx Electric > à >*Õvw V Þ i>À*ii pà  ago. The island has everything from Railway and the Snaefell Mountain make sure you bring your binoculars. ancient ruins and monuments to Railway, preserved in time and The Isle of Man is also known for its beautiful botanical gardens. It’s a operating with some original rolling spectacular marine life. You’ll be able place shrouded in folklore, myth, and stock. Travelling via train and tram is a to see everything from the hundreds legends and you can explore medieval great way to enjoy the beautiful Manx of Seals around the Calf of Man to castles such as Castle Rushen, or countryside and extensive coastline. Many of the island’s southern LEFT The Chasms: The breathtaking coastline of Spanish Head runs south from Port St Mary to the heritage attractions are conveniently Sound and offers spectacular views. BELOW Peel Castle: Castle Peel provides panoramic views over located close to railway stations Peel and out to the Irish Sea. making it an easy way to travel. You can just sit back and revel in the spectacular scenery and countryside as it gently passes by. Throughout July and August, there are seven return trains a day through the countryside, one of which is an evening service where you can iÝ«iÀ i Vi*Õ > ÃÌÞ iw i` } which is carried out on the Isle of Man Steam Railway’s beautifully restored Dining Car. Originally built in 1905, the plush Dining Car is one of only a > `vÕ  vw i` } >ÀÀ Ü }>Õ}i dining cars in the world and a fantastic way to experience the island. DISCOVER MORE AT www.visitisleofman.com

Owl Barn Retreat The R116X Microfleece Gilet is a super lightweight fleece layer offering RELAX…REWIND…REBOOT… great comfort and performance. Your perfect holiday partner. Stunning self-catering accommodation set on the edge of the shop.resultclothing.com Tanat Valley in glorious Mid Wales. Eco-friendly and close to RSPB Lake Vyrnwy. We enjoy a stunning rural location surrounded by the Berwyn Mountains, rolling fields and wildlife. With its beauty changing season after season Llanrhaeadr is a special place to relax, rewind and reboot. Winner of the Green Tourism Gold award. 01691 780491 | www.owlbarnretreat.com PoThse sibilities www.recyclenow.com Endlearess Recycle your magazine and seven days later it could come back as your newspaper

August daGyrseoautt www.countryfile.com/walks GREAT RAILWAY ADVENTURES Climb aboard a train this summer and journey through some of Britain’s most majestic countryside, from Scotland’s Highland coast to the quiet hills and vales of the Cotswolds Connecting Tywyn to Nant Gwernol in west Wales, IN ASSOCIATION WITH the picturesque Talyllyn Railway line inspired Reverend Wilbert Awdry to write his much-loved 77 Thomas the Tank Engine books (page 84) www.countryfile.com/walks

CONTENTS Your handy guide to this month’s Great Days Out p78 p88 p86 p90 p84 p83 p88 p89 p92 HIGHLAND EXPRESS Building big: Glenfinnan Viaduct is West Highland Line a whopping 380m long, 30m high and has 31 semi-circular spans Highland, p78 TRAIN/WALK: West Highland Line, Highland CLASSIC COTSWOLDS Cotswold Line HIGHLAND EXPRESS Oxfordshire/Gloucestershire, p83 The rhythmic chug of a train as it bustles through the British countryside never fails to elicit a sense of times past and journeys to come. Few lines are more WHISTLE AND CHUG evocative and exhilarating than the West Highland Line, writes Chris Gee Talyllyn Railway There’s still something giving way to suburbs, which in a steam locomotive at the Gwynedd, p84 romantic about rail turn are replaced by a rolling head of your train, that sense travel across the British countryside of fields, trees, hills, of effort is palpable, and the SYLVAN SILVERDALE Isles. Stepping on board at hedgerows, moors, mountains chug of the locomotive and Furness Line your departure station marks and stunning coastal views. smell of hot steam only adds the beginning of an adventure to the sensory experience. Lancashire, p86 as your train gets underway There’s a more intimate to take you effortlessly to connection with the landscape TRACKS THROUGH TIME ESSEX ADVENTURE your destination. as your train whisks you on Epping Ongar Railway high embankments, across Britain’s rail network expanded Grab a window seat and then tall viaducts and through rapidly in the mid-19th century Essex, p88 sit back to watch the journey those tunnelled feats of to spread to the far reaches of unfold outside: townscapes engineering. When there’s this land. The railway enabled LOTHIAN LOCOMOTION Bo’ness and Kinneil Railway West Lothian, p88 SOUTH DOWNS STEAM Watercress Line Hampshire, p89 SNOWDONIA SOJOURN Conwy Valley Railway Conwy, p90 RIDING HIGH Riviera Line Devon, p92 SEASIDE RAILWAYS Top seven Nationwide, p94 78 www.countryfile.com/walks

GREAT DAYS OUT All aboard! Discover more magical train rides with Michael Portillo on BBC Two’s Great Coastal Railway Journeys, available on iPlayer the Industrial Revolution, from the famous Settle–Carlisle IRON ROAD TO THE ISLES operating throughout in 1894. introduced standardised time The extension to Mallaig was across Britain, and was a great line across the Pennines, to Regularly voted one of the best opened in 1901 and quickly social leveller, opening up became known as the Iron affordable and practical the West of England mainline railway journeys in the world, Road to the Isles. Long before holidays and travel for all. the Skye bridge was built, this along the Devon and Cornwall the West Highland Line was the way to reach the Isle of For a brief period in the Skye – by train to Mallaig and 1960s, the railways of Britain coasts. You can still step on connects Glasgow with Fort then by ferry to Armadale. fell out of favour as we fell in The ferry still operates today. love with the car, but the William – the early 21st century saw a rail At the time, Mallaig was an renaissance as a greener “GRAB A WINDOW SEAT, gateway to important fishing port on the alternative to congested roads. SIT BACK AND WATCH Ben Nevis. West Coast of Scotland and THE JOURNEY UNFOLD” A branch line trainloads of fresh fish would Our railways remain an runs from depart daily for the Scottish important part of the national Crianlarich to capital. The line survived the infrastructure, supporting the Oban, but Beeching closures in the economy through the 1960s and today offers a movement of goods and perhaps wonderful way to enjoy people. They are also fabulous spectacular Highland scenery, leisure activities in their own the most particularly behind the right and there are some steam-hauled Jacobite. splendid journeys to be had, board a sleeper train in London spectacular section of an and wake up the next day in already impressive route is the Penzance, Inverness, or Fort extension from Fort William to Photo: VisitBritain/Joe Cornish William, a splendid way to the fishing port and ferry get to the starting point of terminal at Mallaig. perhaps the most scenic of Construction of the line from all rail journeys: the West Glasgow to Fort William began Highland Line. in 1889, with the first trains www.countryfile.com/walks 79

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP The Jacobite train meets the coast and crosses the Loch nan Uamh viaduct; look MOUNTAIN TO SHORE for golden eagles as the train skirts sea and freshwater lochs; the walk starts at the Silver Sands of Morar Our steam train gets underway from Fort William station and immediately runs on below towering Ben Nevis as it threads its way through Banavie and Corpach. The scenery is spectacular as the railway hugs the shore of salt-water Loch Eil. The engine is working hard on the climb as it hauls the train away from the loch and across the impressive Glenfinnan Viaduct. This viaduct saw early use of concrete as a construction material, built by ‘Concrete Bob’ McAlpine and more latterly made famous in the Harry Potter films. As the train slows across the viaduct, spectacular views open out across to the Glenfinnan monument and along the length of Glen Shiel. The journey continues to impress as your train winds on through some of the best West Highland scenery on offer, a mix of Munros and lochs. Then suddenly, as you approach Beasdale, you get your first glimpse of the coast at Loch Nan Uamh. Just when you THE ROUTE IN ASSOCIATION WITH 8.9 MILES/14.3KM | 5 HOURS (ONE WAY) | MODERATE–CHALLENGING 1 2 5 3 4 SCAN HERE Photos: Alamy, Getty to access this route on your www.countryfile.com/walks mobile device 80

GREAT DAYS OUT think it couldn’t get any better, 1 LOCHSIDE LANE a small beach, follow the path How to use the line continues on through away from the water as it climbs OS Maps the pretty village of Arisaig, Leave the station and head past the cottage at Wester on your device and by Kinloid, where there are south-east on the B8008, Swordland. At a fork, keep left views across to the Isle of Skye taking care of traffic. The road on a wider track, which ascends OS Maps gives unlimited along with the smaller isles of veers to the left, then, as it bends further to meet the track access to OS maps Eigg, Rhum and Muck. right, look for a side road to the heading through Glen Tarbet. left, signed ‘Loch Morar’. Head throughout Great Britain. The superlatives are never east on the quiet lane to reach 4 LOCH TO LOCH exhausted as you continue the northern shore of the loch. Discover hundreds of above the Silver Sands of Morar Route finding is easy as you Turn left and climb through the thousands of ready-made for the final run into Mallaig and follow the lane for three miles glen to reach a cairn at the routes at your fingertips. journey’s end. The harbour to its terminus at Bracorina. summit of the track. The track makes a great place to potter, then descends steeply to the No signal? No problem. but if you’re hungry, you should 2 MORAR MONSTER jetty at Tarbet on Loch Nevis. Download maps and sample locally caught mussels routes and use them and langoustines at the Cabin The lochside path heads over 5 FABULOUS FERRY wherever you go. restaurant, or you could save it a bridge and into trees, an for the end of the day with a ancient route along the Hopefully you will have made it Visualise your routes in full visit to the Crannog restaurant deepest freshwater lake in in time to catch your booked 3D, and print out as required. in Fort William. Britain. As well as enjoying the ferry for the stunning sail back stunning mountain scenery, be to Mallaig. Use the AR Viewer to pan If you’re staying locally and sure to keep an eye out for across the landscape and fancy stretching your legs, Morag, a local relative of the THE ROUTE From April to late there is a fabulous 8.9-mile Loch Ness Monster. By all October, The Jacobite departs daily rediscover your view. walk from Morar station to accounts, she is equally shy, so at 10.15 from Fort William to Mallaig. Tarbet on Loch Nevis, where you are more likely to see red In high summer, there is a second Get access to the whole of you can catch the ferry back to deer, otters or golden eagles. daily round trip departure at 12.50. Britain for only £28.99 for Mallaig train station. There’s The rocky path continues past Return fares start at £52. a 12-month subscription. only one ferry to Mallaig a day the restored Chapel of Inverbeg westcoastrailways.co.uk and you need to pre-book it and on through the remains of HOW TO GET STARTED (westernislescruises.co.uk). an old settlement at Brinacory. Chris Gee is the Alternatively, you could walk author of Walking 1. To access BBC Countryfile along the path towards Tarbet 3 REMOTE HOUSE the Yorkshire Coast: Magazine routes, download for as long as you want, then A Companion Guide. retrace your steps to Morar. Continue for two miles along a QR code reader app the shore, then just after on to your phone. DISCOVER MORE OF THE WEST HIGHLAND LINE 2. Hold the phone above the QR code beside the map. FORT WILLIAM–CORPACH TYNDRUM–BRIDGE OF ORCHY CRIANLARICH–OBAN 3. The map will appear on Take a 10-minute journey from Catch the train from Tyndrum Enjoy a stunning 70-minute, your device, and off you go! Fort William to Corpach to enjoy to Bridge of Orchy to enjoy a 42-mile journey from Crianlarich spectacular views of Ben Nevis fabulous horseshoe curve on along the shores of Loch Awe and and sample a short section of the the line before sampling a Loch Etive to visit the busy port of Great Glen Way alongside the seven-mile stretch of the West Oban, gateway to the Western Isles. Caledonian Canal, including Highland Way on the Old Military With plenty of places to stay, the Neptune’s Staircase on the canal. Road to return to Tyndrum. seaside town makes a great base. www.countryfile.com/walks 81

SAVE £20 WITH THIS CORDLESS ‘TRIM-IT’ SET WITH TELESCOPIC POLE Practical Solutions for the Home & Garden The Cordless Shrubs SAVE Trim-It Set Lawn Edges £20 TRIMS AND SHAPES SHRUBS Scan me! AND BUSHES PLUS...NEATLY TIDIES LAWN EDGES, TOO! How to keep your garden trim & tidy with No kneeling & No bending! • Battery powered for cordless convenience • Features fully-adjustable telescopic handle • Use as a hand-held or with add-on wheels • Ingenious 180º swivel head for easy access If you want to trim and shape topiary, shrubs, bushes and hedges, or even lawn edges, all with minimum of effort and fuss, then this 3.6V lithium-ion shear is the right tool for you. The Eckman ‘Trim-It’ set uses the very latest lithium-ion technology for powerful cordless trimming convenience. It features a 4½” (110mm) long reciprocating trimmer blade for topiary and alike, but add the telescopic pole and wheel set with 3¼” (80mm) wide grass shear blade and you can sculpt lawn edges using the ingenious 180 degree swivel head-without bending, stooping or kneeling. Blades can be interchanged in seconds (no tools required). MORE GREAT FEATURES: Includes a fully-adjustable detachable telescopic handle with wheel set; wheels have 3 height settings; unit weighs just 680 grams (1.5lbs); soft grip handle; 30-40 mins continuous use a single charge. ORDER BY POST: CODE ITEM PRICE QTY TOTAL £4.99 POST TO: ECKMAN (CODE G28CFTS) EKTR2 Cordless ‘Trim-It Set SAVE £20 £69.99 £29.99 DRMG House, Cremers Road, Sittingbourne, Kent, ME10 3US £5.99  www.minitrimmer.co.uk  0844 441 3010 Calls to 0844 numbers are EKTR2B 3.6V 2-In-1 Trimmer Set Extra Battery charged at 13p per minute plus network extras RL60399 Safety Glasses I enclose cheque/PO (payable to Eckman) or charge my Mastercard/Visa/Maestro/ Visa Electron Card No: Standard 7 Working Day Delivery Northern Ireland, Channel Islands, Highlands and Scottish Islands + £6.00 P&P Security No Expiry Date: Start Date: Priority Processing and Express Delivery + £3.00 Signature: (last 3 digits on signature strip): ORDER TOTAL £ Issue No: We think you’d enjoy some of the latest products and selected offers by post from other trusted retailers, charities, finance, Name: travel, FMCG and utility companies. If you would prefer not to receive these by post, please tick this box T . To learn more Address: about our trusted partners, see our privacy policy at www.eckman.co.uk - If you wish to change your marketing preference at any time, please call customer service. Details of the way we use your data can be found on our privacy policy at www. Tel: eckman.co.uk - Our standard delivery to UK mainland is free and takes up to 7 working days. Customers have 28 days Email: from receipt of goods to approve purchase. Customer Services: 0203 455 0498. Calls to 0871 numbers are charged at 13p per minute from a BT landline plus network extrass. Eckman Ltd. Registered Number 6333962, DRMG House, Cremers Road, Sittingbourne, Kent, ME10 3US.

GREAT DAYS OUT TRAIN: Cotswold Line, Oxfordshire/Gloucestershire SLEEPY COTSWOLDS BY RAIL There’s no better way to relish the dreamy days of late summer than with an evocative scenic journey through the hills of the Cotswolds, hopping from one honey-stoned village to the next, says Ben Lerwill It doesn’t take long for the BUSES, BRUNEL AND BEER views expand, as the Of heat the express-train drew Cotswold Line to start Cotswolds appear in all their up there/ Unwontedly. It was showing off. Snaking Hanborough is the first stop. sheepy finery. Expect vast late June. north from its starting point Disembark to visit the brilliant oaks standing solo in grass of central Oxford, the line Oxford Bus Museum, a meadows, hamlets glimpsed For the cherry on your soon passes the wildlife-rich nostalgia-heavy collection beyond farm gates, and errant Cotswolds cake, journey’s end expanse of Port Meadow – of restored charabancs and Labradors sniffing happily is the honeyed town of an area of common land said buses set in warehouses in down country lanes. More tiny Moreton-in-Marsh, where the to have been unploughed the station’s old goods yard. stations whizz by – there goes high street is laden with large since the days of the It’s run by volunteers and Ascott-under-Wychwood, now lime trees and a range of Domesday Book. It then could easily absorb you for Shipton – before a stop at tearooms in which to refuel. delves into the green a couple of hours. foodie favourite Kingham. crinkles of the Evenlode Route details: Cotswold Line Valley, where rising fields The line then winds through POETIC LANDS Trains depart Oxford to Moreton-in- and hawk-flown woods furl a couple of little-used village Marsh at least once an hour. Buy out on both sides of the track. stops before reaching the more As the train continues north, it the Cotswolds Discoverer One-Day substantial station at pretty then passes the site of the Pass for £10.50. The line runs to Worcester Charlbury, designed by Brunel now-defunct Adlestrop Station, and beyond, but here we’re and these days frequented by preserved in Edward Thomas’ Ben Lerwill is a focusing on the initial stretch well-heeled visitors to the evocative 1917 poem: Yes. I travel writer and between Oxford and nearby chic hotel, Soho remember Adlestrop – The children’s author Moreton-in-Marsh. Farmhouse. From this point, name, because one afternoon / based in Oxfordshire. the landscapes widen and the Photo: Alamy ABOVE Adlestrop Station is now defunct, but the charming GWR bench and station sign can still be seen adorning the village bus shelter www.countryfile.com/walks 83

TRAIN: Talyllyn Railway, Gwynedd WHISTLE, STEAM AND CHUG After the thrill of the Talyllyn Railway (Rheilffordd Talyllyn), walk among the umbrellaed tree canopies and gurgling cascades of an enchanted oak woodland, entices Julie Brominicks Steam, wood, iron. The THE ROUTE IN ASSOCIATION WITH tangibility is thrilling. Leather straps open 1.1 MILES/1.8KM | 45 MINUTES | EASY–MODERATE SCAN HERE windows that admit the reek of sulphur, whistle-blast and 1 to access this steam, and as the train pulls 2 route on your away from Tywyn, noises mobile device too, that are rumbly and rich. 3 so biofuels such as e-coal (an The Talyllyn Railway is Dolgoch Falls loop. But 3 TRAM TRUNDLE amalgam of coal-dust, olive Photos: Alamy, Getty special. It is alleged to be the perhaps my favourite is the stones and molasses) are first narrow-gauge railway Cascade Trail from Nant Returning by the old tramway, being trialled, despite being authorised to carry passengers Gwernol Station. To alight your focus drifts to the hills expensive and the long-term – one year after being founded here after rain is to enter a rising above. Here are quarry impacts on engines are as yet in 1865 to export slate from sparkling world. ghosts – slate fences and unknown. It will take a special Abergynolwyn – and the first disappearing tracks. Descend institution to meet this to be preserved by volunteers. 1 INTO THE WOODS to the station by Allt Wyllt challenge – long live Talyllyn. The railway was rescued so incline, down which finished THE ROUTE Find the Talyllyn Railway promptly after the quarries’ Follow the yellow waymarkers slates were conveyed. – which includes the booking office, closure in 1948 that the original across the footbridge. Ascend shop, museum and King’s Café – at rolling stock was retained. slate steps into Coed Nant The woodland is luminous, Tywyn Wharf Station. An Explorer Furthermore, it now boasts Gwernol, a broadleaf woodland the air lucid, waiting a pleasure. Ticket (ride all day) costs £22. UNESCO status, being integral where grey wagtails flash Board the train, which talyllyn.co.uk to the Slate Landscape of upstream and pied flycatchers momentarily glides quietly Northwest Wales World zip through sessile oaks. before the rich rhythmic Julie Brominicks Heritage Site. rumble returns. The Talyllyn is a Snowdonia-based 2 BRIDGING STREAM Railway is gorgeously romantic. landscape writer It is also special in spirit. Yet this lustrous woodland and walker. Volunteers still maintain the Cross the next footbridge. exists despite of, not because stations, trains, tracks and the Water slides into silver of it. Coal has driven the museum, which includes a jacuzzis ensconced by ferns climate crisis and sourcing it reconstruction of the study and bryophytes. from Russia is now intolerable, where Reverend Awdry, inspired by Talyllyn, wrote the Thomas the Tank Engine books. There are special events too, (like Fish-and-Chip Frydays and Sunset Specials) alongside regular timetables. August is always busy, but there are quieter months. And silences. The sudden diminishing of sound as the train halts is as atmospheric as its chunter. So, too, is Dyffryn Fathew, which it climbs, puffs of steam chasing sheep and ferns almost tickling the glass. The numerous station walks include the Quarryman’s Trail around Bryn Eglwys, and the 84 www.countryfile.com/walks

GREAT DAYS OUT CLOCKWISE FROM TOP Explore the tumbling waters of Nant Gwernol on the Cascade Trail; for a more strenuous walk, follow the blue waymarkers of the Quarryman’s Trail; author Julie celebrated her wedding on the Talyllyn Railway Line; the train leaves Rhyd-yr- onen, a third of the way along the line; an old tourism poster promoting the Talyllyn Railway as “One of the great little trains of Wales” www.countryfile.com/walks 85

CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE At times, Leighton Moss plays host to some of Britain’s rarest birds, including ospreys, Eurasian spoonbills and black terns; the train rolls through the Arnside and Silverdale AONB; wander beneath Warton Crag, a site nationally important for butterflies and moths 86 www.countryfile.com/walks

GREAT DAYS OUT TRAIN/WALK: Furness Line, Lancashire SYLVAN SILVERDALE Explore Lancashire’s rugged limestone coast on a car-free eco escape, says Mark Sutcliffe For many, Lancashire’s ABOVE Disembark from the Furness Line at tiny Silverdale Station extensive views out across coastline conjures up Morecambe Bay and up to the images of candyfloss, AONBs on foot, by bike or on hear the secretive bittern – Lakeland fells. ‘kiss me quick’ hats and e-bike. The pretty little station a shy, brown heron that skulks Blackpool Tower, but the of Silverdale sits at the sylvan around the water margins, 4 SILVER SHORES Red Rose county is also heart of the AONB and is the making a resonant ‘booming’ home to some outstandingly perfect starting point for coast call from deep within the reeds. The path descends north then beautiful rural scenery and and countryside walks, as well You could also see equally rare west across the seaward end of unique landscapes. as visiting one of England’s bearded tits, marsh harriers, the nature reserve, crossing best-loved nature reserves: ospreys or avocets. the saltmarsh to the rocky Tucked away in a secluded RSPB Leighton Moss. coastline south of Silverdale. corner of Morecambe Bay – This varied 7.6-mile circular where the foothills of the If you’re on foot (after arriving walk cuts through the reserve 5 FLORAL FORAY Lakeland Fells meet the rugged by train), entry to this expanse and goes on to explore some limestone coastline of North of lagoons, wetlands and of the highlights of the AONB. Follow the Lancashire Coastal Lancashire – lies Arnside and reedbeds is half price. It’s one Way past the chimney of the Silverdale AONB. This of the best places in Britain to 1 STATION START smeltworks. Continue on past undiscovered enclave is home Jenny Brown’s Point and the to dense native woodland, SCAN HERE From the station, take the first wildflower meadows of the wildflower meadows and lane on the left past the visitor National Trust’s Jack Scout extensive nature-rich wetlands. to access this centre. Continue on to follow reserve to reach Lindeth Tower, route on your the bridleway on the right at where Elizabeth Gaskell wrote ECO ESCAPES mobile device Home Farm. parts of her novel Ruth. The Forest of Bowland and 6 UNDER THE TREES Arnside and Silverdale AONBs have joined forces with Beyond Lindeth Tower, skirt the Lancashire County Council to village of Silverdale, following promote sustainable tourism the woodland trails past the across the county this summer. wells fed by the underground Their Eco Escapes campaign aquifers in the limestone. encourages visitors to arrive by train and explore the two 7 THOUGH THE GLADE THE ROUTE Continue into Lambert’s Meadow – a prominent clearing 7 12 2 WATER WORLD in the woodlands – then climb 6 steeply up the steps then left Follow the gravel causeway across the golf course and between the lagoons then back to the station. climb through the woods past Route details: Silverdale lies on the 3 Leighton Hall, family seat of the Furness Line, which hugs the Lancastrian and Cumbrian coastline from Lancaster, Gillow family. on the West Coast mainline, to Barrow in Furness. Trains run hourly from Lancaster 5 3 HIGH GROUND to Silverdale and the journey takes Photos: Mark Tattersall, Alamy 14 minutes; from £4.40 per adult. IN ASSOCIATION WITH Beyond the hall, the path swings northernrailway.co.uk 4 around to the south and climbs Mark Sutcliffe is based in the Forest of Bowland and steeply through the parkland to writes about sustainable Warton Crag, where the rugged tourism and active travel. limestone summit affords www.countryfile.com/walks 87

TRAIN: Epping Ongar Railway, Essex ESSEX ADVENTURE Travel back in time on a historic rail ride through some of the finest countryside in Essex, streaming through ancient Epping Forest before returning on foot, says Abigail Hamilton-Thompson The Epping Ongar the character of bygone years. North Weald Station opened in 1865, Railway was opened Vintage buses take you from serving mainly as a goods yard in 1865 as a single- track extension between Epping station to the restored Loughton and Ongar in west North Weald Station, with an Essex, adding to the existing original signal box dating from Eastern Counties Railway 1888. Pause for lunch in the between Stratford and Anglia Buffet restaurant before Loughton. Declining boarding one of the steam- or passenger numbers in the diesel-hauled trains that run mid- to late-20th century led between Ongar and Epping to the closure of the line Forest. If you buy a Railway onwards from Epping, with Rambler ticket (adult £8, child the Central Line taking on £4), you can return to Epping the remaining section. along the Essex Way footpath. The turn of the century saw Abigail Hamilton- the formation of the Epping Thompson is a Ongar Railway Volunteer Hertfordshire-based Society, which began to restore outdoor writer. the line and stations, retaining TRAIN: Bo’ness and Kinneil Railway, West Lothian LOTHIAN LOCOMOTION Hop aboard a heritage train and journey along the bucolic banks of the River Forth before discovering one of the finest railway museums in the country, promises Fergal MacErlean The 10-mile return journey Volunteers of the over West Lothian and starts at Borrowstounness, Scottish Railway towards Edinburgh; the commonly known as Bo’ness Preservation masonry viaduct is 105m long Society began development and almost 21m high. on the Bo’ness and Kinneil Photos: Alamy Railway in 1979. Today, the Back at the start point in the nostalgic steam and riverside village of Bo’ness, heritage diesel trains visit the Museum of Scottish delight visitors as they chug Railways and learn more about for 10 miles beside the the restored line. Filled with estuarine River Forth. interactive displays and old rolling stock, you can get a With several stops along the discounted entry when you way, this journey through open buy a train ticket (adult, £13). countryside and woods of oak, ash, hazel and wild cherry Fergal MacErlean evokes feelings of yesteryear. is an outdoor writer After Birkhill, there is a lofty who loves exploring sensation as the train crosses Scotland on foot. the Avon Viaduct, with views 88 www.countryfile.com/walks

GREAT DAYS OUT TRAIN: Watercress Line, Hampshire STEAM ON THE SOUTH DOWNS Step back in time as you travel along a famous heritage railway, with Duncan Haskell For both children and adults, a ride on the Watercress Line is like stepping into the pages of classic literature. Evoking memories of places you’ve never visited and times you never knew, there is just something about steam locomotive travel that stimulates the senses like no other form of transport. Skirting the idyllic countryside of the South Downs National Park, the line runs for 10 miles between the Hampshire towns of Alton and Alresford, and originally opened in October 1865 as a way of connecting the existing lines at Alton and Winchester. Its creation enabled the establishment of commercial watercress growing in the area, as this highly perishable product could now be swiftly transported to London. VINTAGE VIBES CLOCKWISE FROM TOP After its closure in 1973, the Watercress Line reopened as a heritage railway in 1977; steam along with engine number one on special Thomas days; enjoy 50s fun on a vintage weekend So what does a day on the Photos: Alamy Watercress Line look like in weekend (27–29 August), at Alresford Station serves climbing aboard a stunning 2022? A typical itinerary, complete with vintage organic, locally sourced old steam engine and setting starting from and returning displays at the stations, live produce; their ‘Shunter off down the tracks. to Alton, takes in the stations music, dancing and a Breakfasts’ are an ideal way of Ropley, Alresford and traditional fête. Further ahead, to start any day. For those Route details: The Watercress Medstead & Four Marks. As enthusiasts can enjoy three who like to fill their minds as Line runs from Alton to Alresford or well as enjoying the stunning days of nostalgic journeys well as their stomachs, the Alresford to Alton and stops at views and joys of steam travel, during the Autumn Steam Railway Museum in the Medstead & Four Marks and Ropley each station gives you a Gala (7–9 October), and the Goods Shed at Alresford stations. An advance adult ticket glimpse of what life would Steam Illuminations are a Station tells the line’s history costs £20; a ticket for children aged have been like along the line must for your festive calendar. and has enough memorabilia 5–16 is £10. watercressline.co.uk back in its heyday. to satisfy even the most STOP AT THE STATION ardent ferroequinologist. Duncan Haskell is the Special themed days are editor of Songwriting organised throughout the If you don’t fancy a trip on a For the sights, smells, Magazine and has a summer. This year, families train, the line is still well worth a sounds and all-round passion for rural tales. can take a ride with the visit. The West Country Buffet experience, nothing beats famous tank engine on a Day Out With Thomas (6–14 August). There’s also a 50s-and-60s themed www.countryfile.com/walks 89

The Conwy Valley Line passes through Betws-y-Coed (pictured), then climbs through the longest single-bore tunnel in Wales on its way to Blaenau Ffestiniog TRAIN: Conwy Valley Railway, Conwy SNOWDONIA SOJOURN Travel by a single-track scenic railway line from the North Wales coast, past castles, valley towns and great mountain peaks, to Betws-y-Coed and its Railway Museum, says Dorothy Hamilton Starting at Llandudno, of the coastline, Puffin Island of Dolgarrog fringe the signalling equipment, lanterns, Photo: Alamy the Conwy Valley off Anglesey and, further on, forested hillside, leading to the station masters’ hats, an early Railway traces the Conwy Castle. The train stops village of Trefriw, where paddle booking office, posters and River Conwy along its at Llandudno Junction, where steamers called until 1939. signs. There is also a mini estuary and passes through passengers travelling on the railway offering short rides. lush pastures framed by North Wales Line join the MINIATURE RAILWAY wooded hillsides and Conwy Valley Railway. Betws-y-Coed is a great mountains to reach the Just before Llanrwst North walking centre with level and heart of Snowdonia National The train now becomes station, the train stops at a hillside trails. One of the Park. Never far from the single track as it glides into the signal box for the exchange of easiest is to the confluence river, there’s much birdlife. Conwy Valley to pass the tokens. After a few more of the Conwy and Llugwy Conwy RSPB reserve. It runs miles, you’ll cross the rivers rivers, starting near the Now operated by Transport close to the river where, at Conwy and Llugwy to arrive at Tourist Information Centre. for Wales, the line was originally low tide, shelducks and Betws-y-Coed. Cross the part of the London and North oystercatchers probe for bridge over the railway if you ROUTE DETAILS There are four Western Railway, which arrived molluscs. Herons stand would like to visit the Conwy trains a day from Llandudno to at Betws-y-Coed in 1868. gaunt in the shallows and Valley Railway Museum. Here Betws-y-Coed. The cheapest return cormorants may be spotted you will find intricate model ticket is £6.60. tfw.wales WINDOW WITH A VIEW drying their wings. railway layouts, some with Victorian street scenes and Dorothy Hamilton For the best views, sit on the Snowdonia’s most northerly stations, others with tunnels enjoys watching wildlife right side of the carriage, mountain, Tal y Fan, straddles and mountains. The many and taking long walks facing the direction of travel. the long ridge above the valley. artefacts on display include in the countryside. Leaving the town, enjoy views Further on, the white houses 90 www.countryfile.com/walks

SuperDog takes our 50 years of award-winning Joints & Bones Health & Vitality nutritional expertise even further – all the innovation 60 Chewable Tablets 60 Chewable Tablets and careful, effective formulation you’d expect from Vitabiotics, now available for your special companion. Proud supporter From vitality to healthy joints and bones, SuperDog of Battersea, formulations provide optimum levels of micro-nutrients caring for to safeguard the diet of your furriest family member. dogs and cats since 1860 From Amazon, Ocado, Paws.com and Vitabiotics.com 2022-07-07_ADSPDCONP *Nielsen GB ScanTrack Total Coverage Value & Unit Retail Sales 52 w/e 23/04/22. To verify contact Vitabiotics Ltd, 1 Apsley Way, London, NW2 7HF. Vitabiotics Ltd will donate 35p + VAT from the sale of each SuperDog product to Battersea Dogs’ Home Limited which donates its profits to Battersea Dogs’ & Cats’ Home (registered charity number: 206394). Stockists may vary.

TRAIN: Riviera Line, Devon RIDING HIGH ON THE RIVIERA Bag yourself a window seat on this spectacular coastal train, says Fi Darby, before returning partway on foot beside the glistening sea If you have never travelled protect the sea wall and railway The train between Exeter and Teignmouth can on the Riviera Line is still ongoing today. reach speeds of 60 miles per hour. Disembark at between Exeter and Teignmouth and walk partway back for a chance Torbay, you have missed WALK THE LINE to absorb the coastal scene at a slower pace out on a sensory treat. Photo:Alamy With the exception of tunnels, Whether you are a first-time the Riviera Line offers splendid visitor or an eager returnee, estuary and sea views all the that first glimpse of water as way from Powderham to Newton your train meets the wide Abbot. Enjoy the speeded-up expanse of the Exe Estuary is spectacle in seated comfort, guaranteed to lift your soul. then absorb a healthy dose of The light changes here, and sea air as you complete the when you disembark at Teignmouth to Dawlish Warren Teignmouth, you’ll discover section of your return journey that the air does, too. on foot. TRACKS OF CHANGE The views will look remarkably similar. For the most part, this The first section of the Riviera walk directly follows the railway Line, from Exeter to line. A steep diversion avoids Teignmouth, was opened in the tunnels between Holcombe 1846, and extended to Newton and Dawlish but takes you Abbot later that year. Further up the intriguingly named extensions took it to Paignton Smugglers Lane as well as by August 1859. The line was past some surprisingly rural originally one of Isambard scenery. On your way, enjoy the Kingdom Brunel’s ill-fated British seaside at its traditional broad-gauge railways, but best with amusements on government diktats led to it Teignmouth Pier, ice creams at being converted to standard Dawlish, sand dunes at Dawlish gauge in 1892. Another one of Warren, and enough swimming Brunel’s quirky choices was the opportunities to satisfy the most atmospheric propulsion ardent of outdoor swimmers. system that powered the railway for just a year. THE ROUTE Embark at Exeter St Davids and disembark at Teignmouth The Riviera Line has been (£5.50 off-peak day return), then walk prone to rock falls and sea the South West Coast Path back from damage since its conception. Teignmouth to Dawlish Warren, and In February 2014, it made the return to Exeter by train. greatscenic news for all the wrong reasons. railways.co.uk/lines/riviera-line Stormy seas breached the sea wall at Dawlish and washed Discover more of Fi away a significant section of Darby’s adventures by track. This cut off the whole of train: fidarby.co.uk/ the south-west peninsula from adventures-by-train the rail network. Work to 92 www.countryfile.com/walks

GREAT DAYS OUT www.countryfile.com/walks “THAT FIRST GLIMPSE OF WATER AS YOUR TRAIN MEETS THE WIDE EXPANSE OF THE EXE ESTUARY IS GUARANTEED TO LIFT YOUR SOUL” 93

TOP SEVEN 03 STRATHCARRON TO KYLE OF LOCHALSH, HIGHLAND SEASIDE Boarding at Strathcarron, the final 16 miles of the Inverness to Kyle of RAILWAYS Lochalsh railway line hug Loch Carron’s shoreline before reaching the sea near Stromeferry. Lucky rail trippers may spot white-tailed eagles, golden eagles, seals and otters from the warm confines of the railway carriage. Simon Whaley 3 selects seven 5 summer coastal 4 railway journeys with a difference 2 6 1 7 01 EAST HILL CLIFF RAILWAY, HASTINGS, KENT Opened on 10 August 1902, the UK’s steepest funicular railway links Stade Beach – home to Europe’s largest beach-launched fishing fleet – with Hastings Country Park. Take the 81-metre journey to explore this nature reserve, home to peregrines and Dartford warblers. 02 SOUTHEND PIER RAILWAY, Photos: Alamy, Getty SOUTHEND, ESSEX Serving the world’s longest pleasure pier, the railway line stretches 1.25 miles into the Thames Estuary, terminating at the pier head. Collect a Wildlife Watch leaflet (£1), take the 10-minute journey to Pier Head, then tick off your wildlife sightings – seals, porpoises, dolphins, curlews, oystercatchers, dunlin and more. 04 ABERYSTWYTH CLIFF RAILWAY, CEREDIGION The longest funicular electric cliff railway in Britain travels 237 metres to the summit at a stately four miles per hour, linking Aberystwyth with Constitution Hill. At the top you’ll find one of the world’s largest camera obscuras, with its 35.5cm lens offering views across 1,000 square miles of Wales and Cardigan Bay. 94 www.countryfile.com/walks

GREAT DAYS OUT 06 LYNTON AND LYNMOUTH CLIFF RAILWAY, DEVON Linking Lynmouth with Lynton, this is the highest and steepest completely water-powered railway in the world. Using water from the River Lyn, the carriages rise to a height of 152 metres along 262 metres of track. Using mostly manual labour, excavation of the cliffside to carve out the precipitous route began in 1887 and took less than three years – a remarkable achievement. 05 GIANT’S CAUSEWAY AND BUSHMILLS RAILWAY, COUNTY ANTRIM On its launch in 1883, the Giant’s Causeway Tram was hailed as the world’s first long electric tramway. Today, a two-mile narrow-gauge railway uses the tram’s track bed to take visitors on a 20-minute journey from Bushmills, travelling beside the River Bush and the vast sandy sweep of Bushfoot Beach to the World Heritage Site. www.countryfile.com/walks 07 SEATON TRAMWAY, SEATON, DEVON This three-mile electric tramway links the charming town of Colyton with the Jurassic Coast at Seaton. Passing through two nature reserves, the 30-minute ride is perfect for spotting kingfishers, herons, foxes and little egrets. Seaton’s station is just 250 metres from the town’s pebble beach, where you can join a stretch of the South West Coast Path. 95

READER IMAGES YOUR GREAT DAYS OUT… IN PHOTOS Share your best photos of the British countryside with us and you could see your image published in print or online and win a great prize. Email your images to photos@countryfile.com photo BLACK AND WHITE of the month By: Nathan Benstead Where: Hythe, Kent “I woke at 4am to look for marble white butterflies roosting at my local meadow and country park. I like to walk slowly, scanning the leaves and grass, as it’s the best way to find insects. I’m pleased with this image because the black background isolates the butterfly and shows the marbled white wing pattern really well.” THE PRIZE This month’s winner receives a pair of Ariat Skyline Mid Waterproof boots, worth £130. The boots are mesh-lined and made with waterproof full-grain leather, plus a shock-absorbing EVA midsole and extra wear protection around the toe and heel. A dual-density Duratread™ outsole provides multi-dimensional traction for sure footing. Sizes: women’s 3–8.5; men’s 7–12. ariat.com 96 www.countryfile.com/walks

GREAT DAYS OUT WINNING CLIFFS By: Luke Whatley-Bigg Where: Beachy Head, East Sussex “Aged 16, I took this photo of the beautiful Sussex coastline as part of an award-winning film I created, called Sussex Sites.” WATER WORLD By: Clive Wood Where: RSPB Middleton Lakes, Stoke on Trent “The avocets were resident at the reserve for some weeks. The light was behind me, allowing some decent shots overlooking the lakes.” PUFFIN POSE PASTORAL BLISS REEDY DELICIOUS By: Steve Watkin By: Tracey Laing By: Graham Kirchin Where: Farne Islands, Where: Derwentwater, Where: RSPB Fowlmere, Northumberland Keswick, Cumbria Cambridgeshire “Puffins are such fascinating “I was on a walking holiday “I heard munching noises birds. Capturing this image, with my dog when I took this along the stream path, so set with one puffin stretching shot. The scenery is so up my lens, and soon this its wings, made a great day lovely around Keswick and gluttonous little water vole out complete.” sheep are everywhere.” popped out of his bankside home to munch on reeds.” HARE STARE 97 By: Paul Browning Where: Market Harborough, Leics “I camped up in farmland in my camouflage poncho and got lucky at sunset as this hare came so close.” GARDEN FOX By: Tom Wright Where: Scorrier, Cornwall “This captures the graceful movement and stealth-like focus of loyal visitor ‘Megan’.” www.countryfile.com/walks

August Lazy days BOOKS › TV › RADIO › FILM › LETTERS › PUZZLES Reviews editors: Margaret Bartlett, Maria Hodson To prevent pollution, buffer strips such as this one beside a field of barley in Yorkshire help to slow the flow of water and contaminated run-off from farmland, while also boosting biodiversity IN SEARCH OF SUSTAINABILITY Complex problems and possible solutions for UK farming are explained in this illuminating book BOOK her journey. From a dairy farmer who avoids placing the blame squarely on Photos: Alamy, Getty ROOTED: STORIES OF switched the breed of their cows to the shoulders of farmers. Instead, she LIFE, LAND AND A arable farmers exploring heritage crops, delves into the subsidies that until the FARMING REVOLUTION she uses these often heartbreaking 1970s paid farmers to do things such as stories to explore the reasons why many remove hedges, and highlights the BY SARAH LANGFORD, VIKING, £16.99 (HB) conventional farming methods are no impact that supermarket pricing has had longer viable, and the regenerative on farms. The reader doesn’t escape The story of a city dweller solutions that people are turning to. either, as she explores the role the leaving behind the urban Within this, she skilfully explains complex consumer has in changing the system. sprawl to live the good life in ideas, such as agroforestry and mob the countryside is not a new grazing, striking the perfect balance This is a great read for anyone one. However, in Rooted, between detail and narrative flow. interested in food and farming, the Sarah Langford goes challenges we’re facing and some of beyond her own tale of agricultural In discussing the issues that farmers the solutions that may help us build a epiphany, weaving in stories from a are facing – including Brexit, climate more sustainable food system. number of other farmers to complement change and ever-increasing inputs – she Steph Wetherell, farming writer 98 www.countryfile.com

LAZY DAYS BOOK Iolo Williams (right) finds that HINDSIGHT only a handful of puffins now breed on Puffin Island BY JENNA WATT, BIRLINN, £14.99 (HB) CATCH-UP TV of puffins. However, a rat infestation Who owns land, what they IOLO’S ANGLESEY during the 1800s wiped out much of the do with it and why are population and now only a handful of among the defining issues BBC ONE WALES, AVAILABLE ON IPLAYER puffins nest here, despite its name, but of our time. Particularly so the island is the only breeding site in in the Scottish Highlands, Much-loved wildlife presenter Iolo Wales for distinctive eider ducks. where debates around Williams fronts a new four-part series rewilding, gamekeeping, about the delights of Wales’ largest In episode two, Iolo visits the Dingle, farming and tourism can be acrimonious. island, Anglesey. Iolo discovers the rich a beautiful woodland in the centre of In Hindsight, Watt, a playwright and diversity of wildlife found on the island’s Anglesey, home to red squirrels and theatre director burning with “an insatiable varied landscapes, taking viewers on carpets of spring wildflowers. On the desire to understand the story of the a tour of the island’s hidden gems, by wetlands, he finds nesting sand martins, land” in her native country, navigates this land and sea. spots otters and is lucky to make a rare tricky terrain with great sensitivity. sighting of a bittern. During her research, Watt spends time Iolo starts his Anglesey adventure in with deer stalkers, conservationists and spring, visiting the lowland wetlands of Next, he visits the Skerries Islands academics, and has an uncomfortable Cors Ddyga, home to some of Britain’s and Wales’ only Acrtic tern colony. conversation with a billionaire estate rarest breeding birds. Here he watches In the final episode, Iolo heads out to owner. She goes hind stalking – harder a pair of breeding marsh harriers, one of sea on the lookout for porpoises and than for stags, apparently, without the only 400 pairs in Britain. Risso’s dolphins, and visits an artifical macho posturing associated with underwater reef. Despite nationwide bagging stags as trophies. Her gripping On the south-east of Anglesey, Iolo habitat loss, Anglesey offers real hope account of the stalk, split into four parts, visits Puffin Island, which was once for the recovery of nature. lends dramatic tension to the book and home to over 50,000 breeding pairs the honesty with which she questions her motives on the hunt reminded me of Louise Gray’s The Ethical Carnivore. Hindsight offers a refreshing female perspective on subjects such as wildness, how to cope with ecological grief, reintroducing beavers and the social devastation wrought by the Highland clearances. Watt points out, for example, that Scotland’s traditional models of land ownership and management are intrinsically male. In these worlds, women are all too often subordinate or made to feel uncomfortable – literally so, in the case of guns and stalking gear that don’t fit female bodies. Ben Hoare, naturalist and author AUDIOBOOK heroine Goody Brown sets out to avenge the An engraving from 1890 shows a tranquil WINCHELSEA murder of her adopted father Ezekiel Brown, and bucolic Winchelsea High Street who had allowed smugglers to store their BY ALEX PRESTON, spoils in the tunnels beneath his home. To READ ON BBC RADIO FOUR IN 10 EPISODES find justice, Goody and her brother Francis join a rival gang of smugglers and an exciting, Be transported to 18th-century Sussex in at times gory, tale ensues, seeing Goody this series of 10 readings from Alex Preston’s transform from a child to a woman of the highly praised historical novel, set in the world along the way. The story’s spellbinding smuggling town of Winchelsea. language, skullduggery and intrigue will have you gripped from beginning to end. In this thrilling story of revenge and espionage, murder and battles, 16-year-old www.countryfile.com 99

BOOK Fiennes focuses on Norfolk and Saltmarsh surrounds Stonemeal Creek at Holkham NNR LAND HEALER his role as director of conservation at Holkham, a 10,100-hectare “grand in BY JAKE FIENNES, EBURY, £20 (HB) every sense of the word” estate, including a 3,600-hectare national Land Healer is about nature reserve. He dwells on the Earl the author’s ambition of Leicester’s farming legacy (Coke to “restore natural of Norfolk’s monument to crop balance to the land”. rotation) and the ton of visitor’s dog Fiennes loves “muddy poo they must dispose of weekly. boots” learning, hedgerows, farmland Fiennes is big fan of regenerative wildlife and reversing impacts of agriculture (see page 38) and, post-war agriculture. He charts his forgiving a few factual oversights, time as a gamekeeper at Knepp reflects on his laudable mission to Estate, wields DEFRA farming data, restore the health of the countryside, reminisces on his upbringing with his specific to the areas he knows well. famous siblings and waxes lyrical He wants farmers and nature- about habitat ‘edges’. It can, at times, knowledgeable gamekeepers to be in be tricky to follow the author’s the same room on the journey ahead. passionate, unfettered thoughts. Rob Yorke, rural commentator Q&A FROM THE SOIL UP Director Colin Ramsay discusses his crowd-funded documentary, Six Inches of Soil, which depicts a budding agricultural revolution as British farmers reject industrial-scale methods Photo: Alamy What inspired you to tell the story of How could agroecology help us Did any of the unconventional the British farmers turning their fight climate change? farming stories you encountered backs on industrial farming? British farmers are becoming strike a particular chord with you? I was standing in a cover crop of legumes increasingly aware of how industrial- Many amazing things are happening, and sunflowers, as local farmer, David, scale tillage, monocultures and chemical from silvopasture and agroforestry to dug up a shovel of soil. It was spongy, full of input practices have depleted our soils mob grazing and living mulches. Farmers worms and you could smell the biology. and hammered our biodiversity. we’ve met are excited to be part of the In his conventional-farmer neighbour’s Agroecology promotes nature-based change, taking risks, sharing knowledge, field, who had the same soil type, it was farming. By using fewer inputs, minimal innovating, building communities and like digging up a house brick. I want the or no tillage, decreasing fuel use and seeing what works on their land. Every audience to experience this feeling. using local supply chains, farmers are farm is different. Economically it’s tough; massively reducing their carbon subsidies are changing so we (the public) What is agroecology and why is it so footprint, which puts them and their need to do all we can to support them. important for British agriculture? communities back in control. Agroecology is about farming and food Has the film inspired you to change production with nature and people at its Does industrial-scale farming have your own shopping and eating habits? core. So rather than controlling nature, a future in the UK? I consider the provenance of food, buy we work with it to produce food, steward Some of the most productive farms are less meat, grow herbs and try to buy local the land, increase biodiversity, sequester small and you can scale regenerative and seasonal food. When I see a field carbon and create resilience in our food techniques across larger farming with tilled bare soil, or a crop planted up to systems while making a living. systems. It’s not easy and takes time, the margin, I wonder what that farmer’s Regenerative agriculture is a suite of but we have to think long term. The position is on nature. I also look at the soil farming techniques (within agroecology) food system also needs to reorient a lot more and, in quieter moments, that work in harmony with nature to towards farmers making these changes. reach down and grab a handful. promote soil health. Many of these ideas It’s complex, and there are many were practised pre-industrialisation, so stakeholders, but it’s not an intractable Six Inches of Soil is due to debut at regenerative farmers are rediscovering approaches to problem and farmers are on the ground agriculture show, Groundswell, on 28–29 June farming that were forgotten. making the change. 2023. sixinchesofsoil.org 100 www.countryfile.com