From the editor

As we hurtle into yet another decade of rapid change it is more important than ever that our countryside heritage and history is meticulously recorded. Many ancient traditions and valuable skills are being lost through what is labelled ‘technology advances’. I hope I don’t sound too much of a fuddy-duddy when I say that our reliance on quick, cheap ways of producing goods and providing services is lowering standards. Traditional craftsmanship, which always prides itself on care and attention to detail, is disappearing in so many different trades.

If future generations are prepared to accept the inferior in their throw-away society then today’s remaining craftsmen need to have their skills recorded as a reminder of better times. Step forward photographer Paul Felix, a regular contributor to The Countryman. He has been capturing countryside crafts for many years and this month we pay tribute to his work and those disappearing artisans.

In the February issue of The Countryman...

Paul Felix: an eye for crafts
Siân Ellis profiles a Countryman regular

The church on the Tor
Gill Saunders visits St Michael of the Rock in Devonshire

Shrieker of the woods
The jay stirs the imagination of Jack Watkins

Wildlife pairings
Nature musings with John Derek Smith

Keeping tags on birdlife
The efforts being made to track our feathered friends with John Henderson

Carving out a future in wood
Peter Hardy meets a craftsman in the Peak District

Keeping a weather eye open
Why weather vanes fascinate Hamish Brown

Prose master of the Wiltshire Downs
Jack Watkins profiles author W H Hudson

Pond life in the north country
Mike Isherwood digs in and gets his feet wet

Winter’s natural patterns
Photographer Paul Miguel captures Nature’s beauty

A game of aerial kiss-chase
Robert Hine watches woodpeckers getting frisky

Boating on the Norfolk Broads
Messing about on the river with Jack Watkins

Mud life crisis
Is Tim Wallers brave or just barking mad?

The ‘wise woman’ of Wales
Julie Richards-Williams on a woman with a healing touch

Any old iron
‘Re-use and recycle’ with a Sussex blacksmith by Roberta Lockerby

The gutting quines of Scotland
The hardy life of fisherlasses in olden times by Mark Brownrigg

Champion for the common man
Tony Greenbank profiles a remarkable individual