I felt a strong affinity with the naturalist and writer Mary Gillham. I’d spent many years cycling and walking the Taff Trail — a Sustrans cycle route, stretching some 55 miles from Cardiff to Brecon — observing, recording and writing about the wildlife of the area. I had also spent many happy hours exploring Forest Farm Country Park, somewhere which Mary had got to know so well.
The country park lies approximately five miles north of Cardiff. It encompasses a designated nature reserve and a Site of Special Scientific Interest — Glamorganshire Canal and Long Wood. Long Wood is a semi-natural ancient woodland, and the designated nature reserve contains a variety of habitats which include wetlands, open water and semi improved grassland. Two bird hides overlook the wetlands, and an artificial sand martin cliff has been built in one of the hides. I have observed birds as diverse as waterrail and snipe here, and bittern have also been seen in recent years. A heronry has been established on a nearby site, and if you walk along the canal on a warm, sunny day, you’ll encounter all sorts of insect and aquatic life. Dr. Mary Gillham MBE dedicated herself to wildlife, and was the founding member of the Glamorgan Naturalists’ Trust and the Cardiff Naturalists’ Society. She gained a degree in agriculture, and a first-class honours in botany and completed a PhD on Skokholm Island in Pembrokeshire.
この記事は Evergreen の Summer 2017 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 Evergreen の Summer 2017 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
Anglesey's Beacon
South Stack Lighthouse.
Wiltshire's Strange Place Names
The county of Wiltshire is famous for unusual ancient sites such as the standing stones at Avebury and Stonehenge, and the man-made mound of Silbury Hill. It also has its fair share of places with strange and amusing names. Blue Vein, Knockdown and Bleet are just a few.
Escape To The Lake District
The early months in the lead up to summer offer the perfect chance for the first warm weather getaway of the year. Spring wafts in with the promise of summer bursting forward, and a trip to the mountains makes it extra special.
Music Makers
When it comes to ceremonial occasions nobody does it better than the British and there is nothing finer than a colourful procession supported by one or more military bands in full flow.
Then & Now
Banbury Market Place, Oxfordshire
On The Air
Well-loved programmes from the world of wireless.
Cinemagic
I love the history and grandeur of my little London retreat; some say it is too big for me alone, but I love the space.” Ava Gardner’swords might perhaps conjure images of some bijou bolt-hole nestled in the heart of the capital, but the beautiful Hollywood star was actually referring to her 3,000 square foot home on the first floor of 34 Ennismore Gardens in Knightsbridge. It was here in this elegant garden square flat that she spent the last decades of her life enjoying a surprisingly quiet existence.
Rural Rides
How many of us search for a dream, and then spend a lifetime fulfilling it? Clough Williams-Ellis spent 20 years seeking the ideal location to build his Italianate village and 50 years building it. Originally he thought an island might be a possible location, but it was only when he came to an untamed peninsula on the breathtaking Traeth Bach tidal estuary that he realised he had finally found his chosen spot.
The Literary Pilgrim
Browsing recently in a charity shop, I came across a copy of a book I had at home on my shelf of treasured children’s books. I was young when I first read it and it proved to be a seminal book, one to which I have been indebted ever since. First published in 1937, it was written by a Wesleyan minister who roamed England in a horse-drawn caravan, writing as he went of the countryside and its wildlife. He called himself Romany.
Almanac
The Lady Of Vision.
