WE are never more than 72 miles from the sea. Britain, including the islands, has a coastline of more than 19,000 miles, a mere 5,000 miles shorter than the circumference of the earth and blessed with all the diversity for which the land has been lauded for centuries. Yet, until the late 18th century— and, really, not until the 20th century—the coast was a distant poor relation, perceived as merely the abode of fishing folk, military fortifications, lawless pirates and smugglers. This was despite Britannia long and proudly parodying itself as an island race and ruling the waves.
William Cobbett in his Rural Rides (1821–26) generally gave the coast a wide berth and H. V. Morton, a century later in his In Search of England, charted a decidedly inland course. The Spectator, when reviewing the Batsford guide to the English coast as late as 1936, could still write with justification that guidebooks generally overlooked ‘the exciting and beautiful relationship of the land to the sea’. Unlike the countryside, which is largely the result of centuries of human endeavour, the coast is the last repository of wilderness, the evocative recall of the absent traveller or the welcome sight on their return—but none of that made an iota of difference.
Denne historien er fra April 10, 2024-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra April 10, 2024-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Happiness in small things
Putting life into perspective and forces of nature in farming
Colour vision
In an eye-baffling arrangement of geometric shapes, a sinister-looking clown and a little girl, Test Card F is one of television’s most enduring images, says Rob Crossan
'Without fever there is no creation'
Three of the top 10 operas performed worldwide are by the emotionally volatile Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, who died a century ago. Henrietta Bredin explains how his colourful life influenced his melodramatic plot lines
The colour revolution
Toxic, dull or fast-fading pigments had long made it tricky for artists to paint verdant scenes, but the 19th century ushered in a viridescent explosion of waterlili
Bullace for you
The distinction between plums, damsons and bullaces is sweetly subtle, boiling down to flavour and aesthetics, but don’t eat the stones, warns John Wright
Lights, camera, action!
Three remarkable country houses, two of which have links to the film industry, the other the setting for a top-class croquet tournament, are anything but ordinary
I was on fire for you, where did you go?
In Iceland, a land with no monks or monkeys, our correspondent attempts to master the art of fishing light’ for Salmo salar, by stroking the creases and dimples of the Midfjardara river like the features of a loved one
Bravery bevond belief
A teenager on his gap year who saved a boy and his father from being savaged by a crocodile is one of a host of heroic acts celebrated in a book to mark the 250th anniversary of the Royal Humane Society, says its author Rupert Uloth
Let's get to the bottom of this
Discovering a well on your property can be viewed as a blessing or a curse, but all's well that ends well, says Deborah Nicholls-Lee, as she examines the benefits of a personal water supply
Sing on, sweet bird
An essential component of our emotional relationship with the landscape, the mellifluous song of a thrush shapes the very foundation of human happiness, notes Mark Cocker, as he takes a closer look at this diverse family of birds