ON the wild, winding road to Flimston Chapel, a remote spot on the Pembrokeshire coast, you suddenly come across a sign in German: ‘FÜR LKW VERBOTEN’ (‘Forbidden for trucks’; LKW is short for Lastkraftwagen —German for trucks). Above it, in English, the sign says: ‘NO ACCESS FOR TANKS.’ The sign is one of the last relics of an extraordinary story. From 1961 to 1996, the German Army came to the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park to practise gunnery exercises and tank-firing out to sea at the Castlemartin Training Area.
My family’s seaside cottage is just by the military range, so my childhood holidays were punctuated by the sound of gunfire and by thrilling cliff walks past battered British Chieftain tanks and German Leopard tanks, used for target practice. One tank’s camouflaged turret had been flipped open and furled back like a tin of sardines, the only flash of colour a small, pristine Union Flag. On one thrilling bike ride, I found five spent bullets by the coast path and my mother once descended to Flimston Bay for a swim, only to be faced by 100 naked German soldiers about to go skinny-dipping.
Esta historia es de la edición February 17, 2021 de Country Life UK.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición February 17, 2021 de Country Life UK.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery
