I WAS very lucky during my childhood as, for nearly 20 years, I lived in an old mill house surrounded by ravishing Surrey countryside riven with ponds, streams and woodland. In those golden days, wildlife was rich—grey wagtails and kingfishers were taken for granted and even water shrews and otters occasionally made an appearance. Insects were especially abundant, because, as we all know, water is a powerful magnet for them. The mill and the water around it were renowned for hosting numerous kingfishers and hardly a day passed without hearing their shrill cries. From our windows overlooking the mill stream, we saw them fishing from the low alders around the pond and glimpsed them streaking down like glittering blue low-flying missiles. We may not have had central heating or iPhones, but the wildlife on our doorstep was compensation beyond measure.
For those who remember the wealth of flora and fauna in the 1950s and 1960s, its catastrophic decline is hard to accept. Insects, my particular interest, seem to have come off especially badly. Many of us today have no concept of what we have lost over the past 60 years, just as my own generation, in turn, cannot imagine the abundance of wildlife even earlier in the 20th century—an insidious phenomenon known as ‘shifting baselines’. That is why we need to treasure what we have left.
この記事は Country Life UK の December 09, 2020 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は Country Life UK の December 09, 2020 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
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
