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Countryman Diary - June 2011
Over the last month I’ve realised how easy it is to absorb a distorted view of the countryside.
As I sit at my untidy desk I’m bombarded by emails and literature telling me of all the current problems facing the countryside. In the last few days: three different views of bovine TB from three lofty organisations appear in my inbox; there’s a leaflet about imported food damaging British farming; press releases tell me of threatened wildlife; and there’s a disturbing note about the possible scrapping of the Wildlife & Countryside Act.
Readers write to me about their concerns over everything from quarrying to dog dirt; from blighted land due to road/rail plans to trees being removed from the local wood; and off-roaders destroying a favourite rural retreat.
I imagine this must be what it is like for a politician or civil servant sitting in Whitehall, taking in all this information and coming up with a view on what life is like in rural Britain. Rarely will he or she receive communications about things going right. We’re British, we just don’t do that.
Those politicians and pen-pushers should follow my lead. Do what I did during the glut of long weekends we’ve just had, and get out into the countryside and witness it for themselves.
They may be surprised to see that beyond that pile of vitriolic paperwork is something of immense beauty waiting to be enjoyed — and celebrated.
Relaxing with the birds
On one day I spent a relaxing hour watching the sand martins which annually nest in a stretch of bank alongside the beck close to my home. The beck was very low at the time of writing but the sand martins kept themselves so busy I could hardly train my binoculars on them.
I understand the Sir Peter Scott Centenary Hide now has its first pairs of sand martins in residence at WWT Arundel Wetland Centre in the South Downs. Two pairs of sand martins moved into the unique artificial nesting bank over the busy Easter weekend. Grounds manager Paul Stevens says:
“Our highest visitor numbers of the year were recorded over the Easter weekend but this didn’t put off the sand martins from moving in. Maybe noise won’t be as big an issue for them as we thought.”
On the Saturday both pairs of sand martins were spotted hovering outside the pre-made, sand-filled nesting holes on the right side of the two-winged hide. On Sunday their interest shifted to the left side, where they are now entering and leaving the same two individual nesting chambers.
“The sand martins have spent at least thirty minutes in these holes which leads me to think they are nesting, possibly already laying eggs,’’ explains Paul.
The sand martins hollow out a space in the chamber sand, then line it with grass and feathers. The four to five eggs they lay will take two weeks to hatch. They will raise two broods between now and September.
Behind each of the 300 nesting holes is a removable wooden door leading to a viewing area.
“Once the eggs have hatched,” Paul adds, “we will open these small doors for a peek at the nest to see how the broods are progressing. I will have to be patient until then.”
Wedded to the Yorkshire Dales
While most people were occupied with a rather fancy wedding, I headed out to Malham Cove in the Yorkshire Dales in an effort to catch sight of peregrine falcons who by the time this magazine appears should have produced this year’s offspring.
I was unfortunate in not seeing the male, but the local RSPB reported at the time that the female had not emerged from behind lots of foliage for several days, leaving them to believe the chicks would be hatching in the following few days.
I really like this part of the Dales with all its exposed limestone. Walking above the cove up the dry valley of Watlowes (pictured), out of the strong breeze, was a real pleasure — give me this in preference to walking up the aisle of Westminster Abbey any day
Restoring our canals
Another day I took a stroll alongside the Leeds-Liverpool Canal where more boaters than usual were enjoying a beautiful stretch of countryside. Despite there being a large number of locks to negotiate in this region, the canal remains popular.
In the Midlands, the £12.7 million restoration of the historic Droitwich Canals is due for completion at the end of May. This will connect the River Severn and Worcester & Birmingham Canal through Droitwich for the first time in nearly a hundred years, and open up the first and only canal loop in Europe that can be cruised in a long weekend.
An official reopening is planned for 1st July, coinciding with the 240th anniversary of the canals’ original opening.
The Droitwich Canals Partnership, made up of the Waterways Trust, British Waterways, Wychavon District Council, Worcestershire County Council and Droitwich Canals Trust, has been working for ten years to restore the two canals that run through the historic town of Droitwich — the Barge Canal and the Junction Canal.
After ninety-four years of dereliction, the 250-year-old six-mile (9.5 km) long Barge Canal reopened in September 2010. The reopening of the 11⁄2 mile (2 km) long Junction Canal this summer will complete the final piece of the jigsaw needed, once again creating the Mid-Worcestershire Ring, a twenty-one mile (34 km) loop through the scenic heartland of Worcestershire.
And the lesson is…
Lifting your head from the daily grind and getting out and about in our glorious countryside certainly helps create a fresh perspective on rural life.
Competition Winners
Mrs E Dale, Market Harborough.
Mrs V E Everett, Lyme Regis.
Penny Andrews, Gayton, Norfolk.
Thank you to everyone who entered.
Paul Jackson
Editor
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