THE high country of the winds, which are to the falcons and the hawks,' wrote the rural author Henry Williamson, 'clothed by whortleberry bushes and lichens and ferns and mossed trees in the goyals, which are to the foxes, the badgers and the red deer: served by rain-clouds and drained by rock-littered streams, which are to the otters.' He was describing Exmoor in the decades before its official designation as one of Britain's 15 national parks, the 70th anniversary of which is this weekend (October 19).
At 267 square miles, Exmoor is the fourth smallest national park-after the Broads, New Forest and Pembrokeshire coast-one of the least populated (fewer than 11,000 people and shrinking) and, arguably, one of the least heralded. There are no major roads through it and its geographical position on a dog-leg off the arterial routes to south Devon and Cornwall means that motorists and train travellers tend to whistle past; it receives about two million visitors a year compared with some 16 million in the Lake District. Although house prices aren't cheap, Exmoor isn't dominated by second-homers and any new housing is designated for local needs.
It is, principally, a farmed landscape; the romantic wild, heathery expanses and steep, wooded combes for which it is famed actually only comprise about 25% of the area and they are interspersed with fields. The National Park includes the once-mined Brendon Hills; this is now sparsely populated farming and forested country and, weather-wise, arguably wilder than the moor itself.
Exmoor's beauty is in the infinite rising and falling of the skyline, way, way into the distance, its trees-the writer Hope Bourne, who lived in a desolate caravan beside the River Barle, described its beeches as 'breaking over the harsh moorland landscape like a benediction-and its ever-changing palette of colours: pink and purple heather, red rowan berries, yellow gorse, rust-red soil, greygreen sea and velvet forests.
ãã®èšäºã¯ Country Life UK ã® October 16, 2024 çã«æ²èŒãããŠããŸãã
7 æ¥éã® Magzter GOLD ç¡æãã©ã€ã¢ã«ãéå§ããŠãäœåãã®å³éžããããã¬ãã¢ã ã¹ããŒãªãŒã9,000 以äžã®éèªãæ°èã«ã¢ã¯ã»ã¹ããŠãã ããã
ãã§ã«è³Œèªè ã§ã ?  ãµã€ã³ã€ã³
ãã®èšäºã¯ Country Life UK ã® October 16, 2024 çã«æ²èŒãããŠããŸãã
7 æ¥éã® Magzter GOLD ç¡æãã©ã€ã¢ã«ãéå§ããŠãäœåãã®å³éžããããã¬ãã¢ã ã¹ããŒãªãŒã9,000 以äžã®éèªãæ°èã«ã¢ã¯ã»ã¹ããŠãã ããã
ãã§ã«è³Œèªè ã§ã? ãµã€ã³ã€ã³
A Nose for Nature -With an uncanny ability to detect elusive species in the wild, dogs are poised to play a vital role in conservation and biosecurity.
áiba seems to be the perfect colleague: hard-working, efficient and fun to be around. However, Ziba isn't a person; she's a conservation detection dog, especially trained to sniff out the presence of rare bats and birds. The sixyear-old German shorthaired pointer is one of an increasing number of dogs helping to conserve wildlife. Similar to sniffer dogs employed to detect drugs or explosives, these detection dogs are using their extraordinary sense of smell to identify anything from great crested newts to pine martens.
Duck and Cover - With a comical and heart-warming call, the eider or 'cuddy duck' is a convivial bird that was highly favoured and protected by Northumberland's patron saint, says
Anyone who has spent time on the rugged, castle-fringed coast of Northumberland will be familiar with the call of the eider duck. The male emits a fluty 'ahoooh' that sounds amazed and a little censorious. The female responds with a throaty cackle-Dame Barbara Windsor to the drake's Kenneth Williams, if you like. There's something good humoured, fond and comforting in the eiders' calling. It evokes feelings of nostalgia even in those hearing it for the first time.
Not to be sneezed at
The ritual and performance of snuff, the 'titillating dust' that has fuelled creativity and enhanced social situations since the 16th century, is still popular today, discovers
Where her tears fell, asters grew
Small-flowered asters, with their quiet beauty and clouds of starry blooms, are the final shout of autumn, advises
You had me at Merlot
The British wine industry is growing at a rate of Nebuchadnezzars, altering the palate of the countryside market, finds
And they're off!
Four historic country houses with long-standing racing credentials come to the market in prime sporting areas of Berkshire and Oxfordshire
Hooked on classics
A new generation of designers is learning the language of Greek and Roman architecture, finds
England at its best
The Exmoor National Park Authority is celebrating its 70th birthday. Kate Green recounts what makes this 'high country of the winds', of deer, dark skies, tough ponies and resilient farmers, so special
Once upon a time in the west
Having returned to the fabled Grimersta lochs and streams of Lewis for the first time in 40 years, our correspondent finds himself reliving the glory
Meet the tusk force
The Chinese water deer, with its distinctive tusks and delicious venison, has thrived here since escaping from deer parks in the 19th century. Paula Lester stalks one for her supper