Country Life 411 (Full Edition)

Miss Zewditu Gebreyohanes

Zewditu is the director of Restore Trust and deputy editor of the digital history publication History Reclaimed, as well as a senior researcher at think tank the Legatum Institute and a trustee of the V&A Museum. She is the daughter of Mike Hailu Gebreyohanes and Flora Eleanor Rhalou Griffin.

Photographed at the V&A Museum, London SW7, by Mike Garrard

Give it a whirl: houseleeks and other succulents thrive

THIS WEEK

48 Peter Brathwaite’s favourite painting

The opera singer and author selects a work on the theme of social equality and justice

50 Madresfield revisited

76 The land of raw milk and honey

Tom Parker Bowles savours a pint of pure dairy delight and meets the farmers who swear by it

86 Interiors

134 The big one

There’s always extra spice when England take on Australia. James Fisher looks ahead to the Ashes

136 The good stuff

Hetty Lintell’s lavender luxuries

Surfers at Whitsand Bay, Cornwall (Karl Hendon/Getty)

COVER STORIES

52 Powered by the wind

John Goodall is blown away by a visit to the UK’s largest onshore wind farm at Whitelee in East Renfrewshire, Scotland

60 Changing tides

North Devon is riding a fresh wave of optimism after being awarded World Surfing Reserve status, as Ben Lerwill discovers

80 COUNTRY LIFE’s Little Green Book

Rosie Paterson and Giles Kime seek out companies ‘striving to make the world a better place without compromising on style’

102 Romancing the garden

An end to spraying was the start of something special at Serge Hill in Hertfordshire, finds Non Morris

Fiona Reynolds is intrigued by the atmospheric Worcestershire home that inspired Evelyn Waugh

64 Native breeds

Kate Green on the English goat, the perfect smallholder’s breed

66 Farming for the future

Nine guardians of the land set out their plan of action on food security and land management

74 What’s in a word?

Do you know your hydroponics from your herbal ley? Read Sarah Langford’s farming glossary

‘Buy once, buy well’ for a green home, learns Arabella Youens

110 How to be a human squirrel

John Wright shares his tips on the art of pickling and preserving

112 Fool me once

The gooseberry can be a thing of beauty, says Tom Parker Bowles

114 Go ahead, jump!

Jack Watkins leaps for joy at the renaissance of the true cricket

118 The master of the shadow

John McEwen shines a light on the genius of Norman Stevens

in the microclimate

The world in our hands

THE search for a scapegoat is the easiest of all hunting expeditions,’ the 34th US President Dwight D. Eisenhower once said. It’s certainly easier than finding consensus on the world’s hottest topic. The debate on ‘sustainability’—and on climate change and the environment—which is the central theme of this week’s issue, has become arguably the biggest blame game of all, leaving swathes of the population bewildered as to what they can do to help or, worse, indifferent.

Just Stop Oil and other headline-grabbing protest groups take out their frustration with mega corporations by inconveniencing ordinary members of the public trying to get to work, to hospital or simply to have a day out; as a result, their messages are failing. Vegans blame meat-eaters for destroying the planet; livestock farmers retort that many veganfood processes, and importations, aren’t so eco-friendly either. Rights-of-way and

environmental agitators blame landowners for lack of access, but fail to realise that these are often the people investing most highly in protection of the landscape. Protesters could be far more effective in both their message and their work by actively helping, such as by litter-picking here or in poor communities around the world, where council recycling schemes are non-existent.

Celebrity eco-warriors are effective at raising awareness, but then blow it by flying around the world in air-conditioned bubbles. Selfinterest so often takes over at the discovery that a wind turbine or solar panels are being constructed in one’s backyard. Purist rewilders blame livestock for a denuded landscape, when, managed properly, grazing animals have an important role to play in promoting bird and insect life and soil health. We demand to use rivers, seas, skies, mountains, moorlands and forests for leisure, but often can’t avoid leaving a negative imprint in the process.

More understandably—and justifiably— suffering countries such as Pakistan blame the developed, industrial nations for the actions that help to trigger the flooding, drought or other extreme condition that may be devastating their lives. And, conversely, in some parts of the world, damage is being done by the poorest communities, who are helplessly fuelling demand for cheap food and cheap processed goods in plastic wrapping because they can’t afford to do anything different. We desperately need more housing, but not every building contractor has a conscience, for which, when in doubt, blame the Government. Can we sort out this mess? Yes, we can. It doesn’t have to be sackcloth-and-ashes and we are rich in clever technology. If we can take individual responsibility, overcome prejudice, sift through the statistics and believe the science, become more modest in consumption and more tolerant in attitude, we really could change the world.

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Labour sets out stall for the countryside

THE countryside ‘does not belong to the Conservatives,’ said Peter Mandelson, as he set out the stall for Labour’s ambitions for the next general election and beyond. At the Future Countryside conference at Hatfield House, Hertfordshire, last week, the Labour peer said rural votes were ‘up for grabs’ and emphasised not only his, but the party’s, links to rural England in a speech to several hundred conference delegates, which included farmers, campaigners, environmentalists, policymakers and business leaders.

Lord Mandelson was keen to remind those present that, despite poor rural returns in recent years, the Labour party had taken a very pro-countryside approach in the past, especially after the Second World War,

adding that the ‘countryside was, is and will be a great Labour cause’. He reminisced on the actions of his grandfather, Herbert Morrison, who said ‘we are a national party, or we are nothing’, and highlighted Labour’s creation of national parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in the post-war Attlee government. He added that, in the past, the party would never have ‘pitched city against countryside’ and that the party ‘understood in those days, that Labour’s appeal had to be to the whole country, not just select parts of it, not just where people were running into our arms’.

He told delegates: ‘Pitching town versus village was not the Labour way—that’s what we have to remind ourselves. There’s been two worlds with an incomplete understanding

We have the ideas, now’s the time for action

As the great and the good descended upon Hatfield House for the inaugural Future Countryside conference, there was an air of anxious excitement. For someone who spends a lot of time online, reading ideas and counter ideas about the past, present and future of rural Britain, the guestlist was like watching my Twitter feed come to life. One thing is sure—it was no mean feat getting so many people, with so many different viewpoints, into the same room. Regardless of what happens next, this was progress.

But, as Rory Stewart (right ) pointed out in his opening address, it was only a start. He made the salient point that, although ‘many of us disagree profoundly with each other, at forums like this, we suppress those disagreements’. This, he pointed out, would simply not do. Now is the time to make tough decisions and to accept that not everyone was going to get exactly what they wanted.

Speeches by Henry Dimbleby, Thérèse Coffey, Peter Mandelson and Daniel Zeichner were all well and good, but it was the delegate discussions that were both exciting and disheartening. People took Mr Stewart’s words to heart and didn’t pull their punches about what they believed to be the issues facing the countryside—housing, Nature, sustainable food production, to name a few. But we’ve heard a lot of this before. The issue was, and is, a lack of political will to enact change. The ideas are there. The passion is there. Let’s hope those in the halls of power who were present can put them into action.

of each other. We have a choice. Do we want to bridge that division or widen it? For a national party aspiring to be in Government, the answer is “we bridge, not divide”.’

He also fired a warning shot to those on the left of his party, whom he cautioned against ‘picking a fight’ with rural people and their traditions. ‘Rural people feel that we don’t get them, that we want to pick a fight with them,’ he said. ‘We are about power, not protesting in the streets. If it is wrong for the right wing in our country—and I believe it is wrong—for them to stoke culture wars against minorities, it is just as wrong for the left wing to stoke culture wars against rural minorities.’

He also took aim at the Conservatives’ rural record in Government for the past 13 years, saying that he saw ‘a Conservative party that has taken rural Britain for granted’ and that rural people are ‘feeling let down and angry’. He said that the Conservatives had ‘chased trade deals that have let farmers down, standards down and the public down’, before adding that rural voters ‘are as ready for change as everyone else’.

Throughout his speech, he repeatedly expressed his own adoration for the countryside, talking about his own farm and how the countryside gives him ‘solace, decompression and friendship’. He concluded his words by giving his backing to farmers, saying that ‘if we aren’t careful, sometimes the narrative around the countryside can sound quite negative. Don’t give into the temptation to be negative’. ‘The important truth is that our countryside is utterly magnificent,’ he said, before adding that ‘everyone has a part to play in the discussion of our countryside. Its future matters to us all. It should be a point of unity, not a source of division’.

Have a wee spy for wee stags

IT’S time for the Great Stag Hunt, but rather than reaching for your rifle, grab a pen and paper, as it’s not monarchs of the glen we are after, but stag beetles and their larvae. Run by the People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES), the Great Stag Hunt is calling for volunteers to keep an eye out for the UK’s largest land beetle and to record where they see them. From now until the end of July, these ‘iconic’ insects emerge from the ground in search of a mate and the males especially can be easily identified by their large, antler-like jaws.

‘Last year, almost 10,000 sightings were recorded by thousands of volunteers, giving us a real insight into [the stags’] range, which is crucial for the species’ long-term survival,’ says PTES conservation officer Laura Bower. ‘Whether you’re out in the garden, dog walking in a local park, on the school run or even walking to the pub, keep your eyes peeled for these beautiful beetles and tell us about any you see.’

Stag beetles were once widespread, but numbers have been declining in recent years due to habitat loss, with the species now extinct in some parts of the UK and western Europe. PTES hopes that by identifying where they are now they can help protect and grow the population. As well as recording sightings of the large-mandibled critters, PTES is encouraging volunteers

The mini rut: stag beetles fight over territory in an echo of their mammalian namesakes. Learning where they live will aid conservation

to build logpiles and pyramids to boost their habitat. The beetles mostly prefer warm areas with light soil, so are prevalent in southern England, but one was seen for the first time in the Lake District last year. ‘This record from a woodland in Cumbria was really surprising, as we weren’t previously aware that stag beetles were in this part of the country,’ added Ms Bowers. ‘We now need anyone in the Keswick area, where this stag beetle was spotted, to find out if that beetle is part of a wider population or if it was somehow transported there by accident.’ For details, visit stagbeetles.ptes.org

Good week for British leather

John Lewis has revealed that 100% of the leather used to make its ownrange sofas and chairs will come from the higher-welfare British farms that supply Waitrose beef Bison bridges

Four bridges will be erected near Canterbury to enable a greater roaming area for the UK’s only free-roaming bison herd. The European bison were released in Kent last year to help ‘rewild’ the woodland Nutty goes to Narrow

The only surviving narrow-gauge Sentinel steam locomotive, one of three built in 1927 for the London Brick Company, has been loaned to the Narrow Gauge Railway Museum in Tywyn as part of the Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway’s celebration of 60 years of preservation

Content is king

The Earthshot Prize will have a twoyear partnership with YouTube to show content related to climate solutions, it has been announced

The grass isn’t greener

A Government minister is calling for a Wales-wide ban on artificial grass, citing reports of ‘toxicity’ and effects on local sustainability. Wales’s new law banning some single-use plastics could be used to make it possible

Bad week for Racing’s Singapore sling

The Singapore Turf Club will close the city state’s only racecourse after 180 years to make space for housing Ducking autocorrect

‘I was on ponies from age dot and started riding out when I was 15,’ says artist Jessica Hills of her equine connections. Her works, such as Quick Change (above), will be exhibited alongside those of Clementine St John Webster, Lara Robinson and Michelle McCullagh in ‘Impressions of the Turf’ at the Osborne Studio Gallery, 2, Motcomb Street, London SW1, which coincides with Royal Ascot and runs until July 15 (www.osg.uk.com)

Apple will implement an AI-powered upgrade to its autocorrect functionality that will learn to predict words, including swear words, in line with the user. It has been confirmed they are not taking the poss Shell-shushed

The Advertising Standards Agency has banned campaigns by Shell as they may overestimate its green credentials. It is thought only 1% of Shell investments were made in renewable energy in 2022 AEW

Town & Country Opinion

Talking a good game

AT a time when most people realise and concur that the Nature around us is disappearing at an alarming rate, it remains unfortunate that we cannot agree on how to put it right. It seems to me that the entire debate about who and how best to manage our land is more toxic than ever: whether it is about rewilding, intensive, regenerative, organic or hill farming, hunting, shooting or fishing, there is dissent even within each tribe. If we don’t start acting soon, the inertia will continue until we witness not only the decline, but the extinction, of many of the species that we say we care so much about.

How do we move forward?

The most sensible thing we could do is talk to—instead of throwing bricks at—each other, because, ultimately, the people with no hidden agenda, those that really care about Nature, all want the same result: a sustainable, vibrant, rich countryside. In a world dominated by social media, it is all too easy for the vociferous few—who often have little knowledge of the subject at hand—to upset and destroy trust in organisations and individuals as they hide behind a screen. I have thought for a long time that bringing people together from different camps, having faceto-face discussions in a chosen space, where open, honest exchanges of views can be made in a relaxed environment, would go a long way to building trust and forging positive relationships. A shining example of this is Why Moorlands Matter, a three-part summit that took place this year on May 25–30 at Croasdale Lodge, on a grouse moor near Lancaster in Lancashire. Launched in 2021, it seeks to build the basis for a ‘more coordinated, collaborative and compromising approach’ to solving the challenges we face.

‘I believe the CEOs of all the organisations large and small that have a relevance in how our countryside is managed are actually letting people down,’ explains the summit organiser, Tarquin Millington-Drake, who is a respected fly-fisherman and experienced game shot. ‘Continuing feuds instead of talking and seeking compromise and ways forward is irresponsible. As they argue, British wildlife collapses; so the talking and working

together needs to start now and that is what our guests are assembled to do.’

I was invited by Mr Millington-Drake to the educational part of the summit on May 27–28. Having worked as a gamekeeper on a grouse moor and experienced the politics that plague this particular debate, I must admit I was both interested and suspicious. However, a conversation with Mr MillingtonDrake about the concept of the summit quickly allayed my fears—this clearly was not going to be a moor owner-sponsored smokescreen to carry on regardless—and revealed we were on the same page over the need to bring divergent views together. This was a genuine attempt by several passionate people to promote moorland management for the people and wildlife that thrive in these unique and threatened habitats. (Remarkably, Mr Millington-Drake has raised the money to fund the summits from contacts he has outside the grouse-shooting world.)

We agreed that showing people a grouse moor in spring would make for excellent education, as many guns—let alone conservationists and critics—have never enjoyed that wildlife spectacular, nor do they understand why or how it happens. I had a reminder of it as soon as I arrived at the summit, early after a six-hour drive. As I pulled off the

track to the lodge, a curlew walked across 10 yards in front of me with three well-grown chicks in tow. Then, winding down the window, in came the moorland music—the sound of burbling curlews, pewits, skylarks all mixed together, a depth of birdsong lost to so much of our lowlands and uplands.

After lunch, guests had the opportunity to meet one another and we heard from people who earn their living from the uplands. Two young women, born and reared on hill farms, who have carved diverse careers, together with a dog trainer and an experienced keeper, gave a heartfelt account of what the moorlands mean to them and their families. Their stories and their commitment made an impact and, looking around the room, you could see cogs starting to grind. People talked in a polite, structured way. Topics that had been ignored or lobbed as grenades were discussed (under Chatham House rules, so I can’t divulge details), with everyone listening and engaged.

When it comes to understanding the moors, however, no amount of intellectual stimulation—and there was plenty—could match the evening drive across the hill to see and hear the assemblage of birds that migrate here to breed and the different habitats that support them. The uplands ebbs and flows in the spring and summer: a well-managed moor is alive,

Dialogue, tolerance and trust are crucial to Nature restoration, so events that encourage an honest exchange of views among different camps, such as last month’s Why Moorlands Matter summit, mark the way forward

vibrant and full of new life. However, it can be a hostile place, too. When the weather changes in the summer, it can wipe out much of the vitality. As autumn approaches, the migrants leave, with only the hardy red grouse and heather remaining, fuelling the misconception that this is all a moor has to offer. Being in a vehicle surrounded by moorland provides a great opportunity to exchange views, as any sight can trigger a conversation—a far better recipe for success than sitting in an office staring at papers or a screen. The results of these get-togethers must have been, I hope, as enlightening to others as they were to me. To hear someone else’s view, when it is delivered intelligently and rationally, gives you a chance to review your own thoughts and dispel a few myths: at Croasdale, one delegate discovered that grouse moors do not make money; another that the last thing anyone associated with a moor would do is to burn peat—the very foundation of the landscape—as doing so would spell disaster.

Country Mouse Praying for rain

CORNCOCKLE, a charming, purple cornfield annual, is the latest addition to grace our wildflower meadow, alongside the cornflowers, buttercups and daisies. Once considered a nuisance, because it made bread bitter-tasting, the corncockle has sadly almost disappeared from the countryside since the introduction of modern herbicides.

The meadow has been a success in its first year and has, so far, been left completely alone since it was sown. Not so the rest of the garden, which needs constant tending and, in the past few weeks, daily watering to keep all the new plants alive. We haven’t had a drop of rain for ages, each day begins with a cold northerly wind—yet, by the afternoon, it is sweltering. Our rainwater reservoir, which is filled by the water that falls on the house, was emptied a month ago and now feels like something of a folly, as, when I need to use it during a drought, it is completely drained.

Encouragingly, it quickly became evident that we do agree on so much: that we need to look at moors holistically and stop getting bogged down on a few headline topics, often bird-centric (we know little about invertebrates); that we must instigate better science and monitoring to improve future management practices; and that sufficient Government funding is critical to maintaining and improving these unique areas both for wildlife and for local communities. There was shared frustration at the time Government bodies take to move things forward and an equally shared eagerness for officials to listen to practitioners, rather than merely pay them lip service. And, amusingly, there also was a surprising, across-the-board dislike of the words ‘conservation’ and ‘biodiversity’.

‘Tarquin Millington-Drake’s initiative to bring together conservationists, conservation organisations, scientists, gamekeepers, farmers and

grouse-moor owners is brilliant, with a safe space to talk through what can be a highly charged subject—bringing us all a better understanding of the complexity of the moorland ecosystem,’ notes Sir Charles Burrell, owner of the Knepp Castle estate, West Sussex, and a rewilding pioneer. ‘Because we have removed apex predators, mesopredators are a serious threat to the future of our ground-nesting birds. If Man does not intervene, then we will lose these precious birds to predation. My hope is that we will be able in time to re-balance the ecosystem and have E. O. Wilson’s half earth.’ (The American naturalist proposed setting aside half of the planet in reserve in order to save the ‘living part’ of the environment.)

If everyone left the Why Moorlands Matter summit happy, wiser and more tolerant, then that is the road to success, because working together is the only way we will reach our collective goal of restoring Nature. If participants from all angles of opinion can talk constructively, then surely the CEOs of key conservation and shooting organisations can follow suit, advising and challenging the Government and working together for the common good. The clock is ticking for British wildlife: the question is, are those in authority up to the task?

Before retiring, Simon Lester was a gamekeeper for more than 40 years, most recently at Holkham in Norfolk and the Langholm Moor Demonstration Project in Dumfriesshire

It feels like a race against time to get the plants established before hose-pipe bans are imposed. I scan the weather forecasts daily for rain, but none is predicted for at least another 10 days. George II is reputed to have observed that a British summer was three fine days and a thunderstorm, I wish that was still so. MH

Town Mouse Filling the time

back into the swing of London life after a golden half term was made easier last week by a bout of glorious weather. A particular highlight was a large evening reunion in the green oasis of the Chelsea Physic Garden. It was many years since most of those present had last seen each other and there was something rather uplifting about scanning the assembled sea of seemingly unfamiliar faces and then suddenly, by a smile or a gesture, recognising individuals within it.

GETTING

One of the children, meanwhile, has been busy with their first ever formal round of mock exams at school. The breezy confidence of post-mortem reports each day has begun to alarm. Only Maths has not been ‘easy’, ‘aced’ or even (bizarrely) ‘eaten’. After Computing, the child returned home with their arms completely covered in ink-drawn patterns. Quite unselfconsciously, it was explained that, after having completed the test and checking their answers twice (the latter detail offered to calm exasperated incredulity on my part), there was nothing else to do. The cheerfulness and optimism is wonderful, but it has begun to grate and it’s impossible not to feel that such confidence is seriously misplaced. We all keenly await the results and I only hope that they are not too crushing. JG

No intellectual stimulation could match the evening drive on the moor

Town & Country Notebook

Quiz of the week

1) Snails and slugs belong to the same class of molluscs: which one?

2) What grand Elizabethan house in Lincolnshire hosts one of the world’s most prestigious horse trials?

3) Britain’s Viking Age is generally considered to begin with the 793AD raid of a monastery on which island?

4) Mrs Danvers is a character in which British 20th-century novel?

5) Tamworth, Middle White and Gloucestershire Old Spot are all breeds of which animal?

Word of the week

100 years ago in June 16, 1923

THE contrast in the development of French and English painting has always been great, but never, perhaps, more striking than in the third quarter of the 19th century, when in both countries a group of young artists rebelled against the existing tradition in the name of truth and fidelity to Nature. For the Frenchmen, realism meant putting aside all the literary and academic subject matter and opening their eyes to the beauties and interests of their common everyday lives; and it led to their evolving a perfectly new technique. For the Englishmen, it only meant having before them every detail they inserted into their picture… Thus, while the Impressionist movement was eminently progressive, the pre-Raphaelite was retrospective.— Mary Chamot

Cabinet of curiosities by David Profumo

IT was at Ballynahinch Castle, on an Irish fishing trip with the Editor of Country Life, that I first succumbed to ‘Writers’ Tears’ (I believe we were celebrating my three salmon to his zero). It’s a seductive blend of single copper still and malt Irish whiskies, with a long finish enjoying notes of almond and oblivion. The lachrymal pattern on its box speaks of many a literary travail, from rejection slips to the heartfelt wake. It has pride of place in my Cocktail Cabinet of Curiosities, alongside Danish Fisk, Agua de Bolivia, Riga Balsam and the Australian liquor branded as Croc Piss (which not one late-night toper here has ever sampled). Harold Pinter

Time to buy

Recycled-fabric ‘Leggy’ bird, £20, Kate Medlicott (www. katemedlicott.com)

once vouchsafed his plays were all about ‘the weasel under the cocktail cabinet’—well, I do also have a stuffed stoat. Follow David on Instagram @david_profumo

Stainless steel water bottle (500ml), £39, FLSK (www.flsk.co.uk)

Riddle me this

I’ve seen you where you never were, are or will be. Yet in that very place, I can see you or me. Where is that?

Handmade recycled fabric cushions, £165, Carolina Irving & Daughters x Atelier Raff (www.atelierraff.co.uk)

‘It was a lovely church–one of those places which look as though God might be about to give a marvellous party’

Eva Ibbotson

In the spotlight

Meadow cranesbill (Geranium pratense)

Wines of the week

Bring in the heavyweight Domaine Naturaliste, Discovery Sauvignon Blanc-Semillon, Margaret River, Western Australia, 2021. £16.50, The Vinorium, alc 12.5% Bruce Dukes is a Margaret River legend, so even this entrylevel wine punches above its weight, offering complexity and interest. The 17% Semillon makes its presence felt with pithy citrus and cut grass to support the Sauvignon’s bright acidity and tropical richness, and there’s a compelling texture and toastiness thanks to time in oak.

Time to rosė and shine

The flowers hold their heads aloft on wiry stems in June, springing out of long grass on verges and in ancient grassland. At this time, they form pools of a ravishing, deep sky-blue, washed with a smidgen of violet, which makes the flowers glow in luminous hues at dusk. Meadow cranesbill (Geranium pratense) is plentiful along numerous waysides, especially on limestone soils. After flowering, the seeds develop and the reason for the ‘cranesbill’ moniker becomes apparent when the elongated and pointed

Unmissable events

Until September 3 Elmer’s Art Parade, Petworth House, Petworth, West Sussex. Ten sculptures bring to life children’s book character Elmer the Patchwork Elephant (01798 342207; www.nationaltrust.org.uk/ visit/sussex/petworth)

Until October 1 ‘Painted Love: Renaissance Marriage Portraits’, The Holburne Museum, Bath. Works by Hans Holbein the Younger, Nicholas Hilliard and Antonio Pisanello show the role of art in 15th- and 16th-century marriages (01225 388569; www.holburne.org)

seedheads, like long beaks, appear. They snap open when ripe, flinging the seeds for several feet and, as the season progresses, the deeply incised leaves take on the warmer tints of autumn. Numerous selections and hybrids have been added to the range grown in gardens, including pale ‘Mrs Kendall Clark’, with delicate, white pencilling through the petals creating a paler flower, and Geranium pratense ‘Plenum Violaceum’, in which each flowerhead is packed with petals, creating little purple-button blooms.

Santo Isidro, Nico de Pegões Rosé, Setúbal, Portugal, 2021. £7.99, Waitrose, alc 12% Made from the Castelão grape, this salmon-pink rosé has pretty strawberry and peach aromas. Delicate strawberries-and-cream palate, with fresh acidity and crisp citrus. A great-value summer sipper, either on its own or with salads and light fish dishes.

Power play

Buenas Vides, Specially Selected Malbec, Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina, 2021. £8.99, Aldi, alc 14%

There’s another 2021 Buenas

June 17–September 24

June 15–30 ‘Quibe, renowned minimalist artist Christophe Louis’, The Country House and Stables, Winkfield, Berkshire. Simple lines render horses’ heads, tigers and women’s profiles in the work of this French artist (07788 798687; www.the countryhouseandstables.com)

‘Mastering the Market: Dutch and Flemish Paintings from Woburn Abbey’ ( pictured ), The Barber Institute of Fine Arts, University of Birmingham, Birmingham. A spectacular selection of 17th-century artwork from the Duke of Bedford’s seat (0121–414 7333; www.barber.org.uk)

June 19–22 How to grow the perfect rose, Hever Castle, Edenbridge, Kent. Country Life garden contributor Val Bourne gives a walking tour of the castle’s rose gardens (01732 865224; www.hevercastle.co.uk)

Little Ponton Hall, Grantham, Lincolnshire, NG33 5BS. June 18, 11am–4pm

You sense the reassuring feel of establishment as soon as you arrive at Little Ponton, where the garden has been built up by generations of the family around the elegant house (not open). Venerable trees frame the views across spacious lawns and, in the summertime, shrub and climbing roses are a highlight. Do not miss the river walk.

Vides Specially Selected Argentinian Malbec (£6.29, with a pale blue and white label), but this is worth the extra. Powerful but poised notes of boysenberry and blueberry, with dusty tannins and fresh acidity.

First port of call

Graham’s, Fine White Port, Douro, Portugal. £13.95, The Wine Society, alc 19% Graham’s white Port is fine indeed, balancing fleshy, sweet stone fruit with notes of fresh almond, camomile and apple blossom. The perfect base for a Port & Tonic or simply on the rocks, this is a compulsory presence in the fridge door through spring and summer.

For more, visit www.decanter.com

Letters to the Editor Mark Hedges

Looking deeper

Letter of the week

Green planning

WHY is it that, in the current age, attaching the word ‘green’ to anything makes it right? Here in beautiful unspoilt mid Wales, a scheme involving the erection of dozens of 220m-tall (720ft) wind turbines and the associated 65km (40 miles) of 27m (88ft) pylons is considered to be fine, as the company proposing it has added ‘green’ to its name. Forget the designated areas of SSSI on the Radnor Forest that would be lost, forget the additional wind farms that will be built along the pylon route right down to South Wales. Don’t worry, it’s green! When the obvious answer is for the turbines to be offshore or for tidal-power schemes, no, let us ruin one of Britain’s remaining areas of beauty.

The writer of the letter of the week will win a bottle of Pol Roger Brut Réserve Champagne

It’s all in the mind

ANYONE who writes a sen tence such as ‘Charlotte Mullins imagines how best to spend a spare £10,000 on art…’ (‘The money’s on the wall’, May 31) makes me reach for my copy of Ernst Gombrich’s The Story of Art to remind myself, ‘there really is no such thing as Art. There are only artists’. It’s almost as bad as saying ‘I love art’ without qualification and should not be seen in a well-informed journal.

IAM puzzled by the report on the apparently imminent destruction of Lake Windermere (Town & Country, June 7 ). I wouldn’t want to doubt the three respected comedians who described its condition as a national scandal, but Government data for the two bathing areas of the lake—Millerground Landing and Fellfoot—are rated ‘Excellent’ (4 stars) from 2018 to 2022. That’s only two sites, but a survey by 100 volunteers at 95 locations, led by scientists from Lancaster University and the Freshwater Biological Association, was published in January.

Samples taken from the shoreline did show that only 21% had concentrations of phosphorus low enough to be rated ‘Good’ under the EU directive. The Freshwater Biological Association pointed out that this was probably due to a blue-green algae bloom occurring in November 2022, when samples were taken. No doubt phosphorus contributed to this, but rivers in the catchment

Pecking order

WOODPECKERS have been a problem for me, too (Letters, June 7 ). I have numerous nest boxes fully occupied as usual at this time in the year, but it is the first time I have heard the constant hammering of our spotted friend, who usually feeds his young one on our telegraph poles. I, too, have had to take action with metal rings, so that

area showed 100% low phosphorus concentration, giving them ‘High’ status. And of levels of bacteria in Windermere, indicating potential contamination by human or animal faeces, 95% were low, the water quality rated ‘Good’ or ‘Excellent’ under the directive.

I don’t doubt that United Utilities needs to clean up its act and stop discharging sewage into Windermere, but I think there is some danger of exaggeration by campaigners leading to unnecessary fear. Windermere (above) is a huge body of water and I think it’s worth looking a little deeper into the figures.

he cannot get his head and sledgehammer beak inside them. I wonder why this year in particular he has been raiding our boxes. Usually, we blame the magpies for the loss in their numbers. Or could it be the introduction of popular bird boxes? Before that, we had many small birds finding nooks and crannies, as Nature has always provided for them.

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Creepy crawlies

WE read about the fascinating ermine moth (Notebook, May 31) and discovered the ‘creator’ of the spooky cobwebs on the hedgerow of our daily walk. We were able to clearly see the caterpillars, but only for one day.

Excellent timing, C OUNTRY L IFE Mr and Mrs F. Horsford, by email

Unleashing opportunity

Angry gnome

ARECENT series of letters in The Times on the subject of ‘Great British Lies’ elicited a letter from me, suggesting, as a candidate, the phrase ‘with great respect’, which I added ‘invariably implied that the addresser had the IQ of a garden gnome’ (‘Gnome alone’, May 17 ).

When published, I received an irate letter, written and illustrated in multicoloured crayons, from the secretary of the British Garden Gnome Society, (postmarked from Manchester), threatening to sue me for defamation.

JUNE 21

The elegance of Britain’s

IT may be 18 months to a General Election, but the political parties are already clearing the decks for what Agromenes fears will be a long and pretty unattractive campaign. Being in Government is hard, but seeking to replace the incumbent party isn’t easy either. Last week’s fallout around Keir Starmer’s sensible environmental policy reminds us that delivering necessary change presents problems to all politicians—not only the Tories. In promoting yet more oil and ignoring real growth jobs, Sir Keir’s GMB and Unite unions sounded as out of date and uncomprehending as Rishi Sunak’s reactionary Right.

Even when faced with the realities of a world under existential threat from climate change, the entrenched supporters of both major parties find reasons to oppose any particular measure. At the same time, they claim they recognise the need for action. It’s another version of the nimbyism that supports renewable energy as long as no one suggests a turbine anywhere nearby. Labour’s internal row serves as a salutary lesson for those who think that a simple change of Government will move us inexorably along the road to net zero.

On the other side of the aisle, the Conservative party showed that it has begun to wake up to the threat to its rural seats. The local-election results finally convinced it that something had to be done. The Tories had considerable losses in the 199 rural constituencies they hold— particularly to the Liberal Democrats and the Greens. National figures such as Jacob ReesMogg saw almost every one of their Tory councillors booted out and, even under the likely new boundaries, their seats look precarious. Party workers in these country areas reported almost universal dissatisfaction with the Conservatives, even among those who finally did vote for them. ‘They take us for granted’ was the widespread complaint.

This realisation has produced a new Government programme for action: Unleashing Rural Opportunity. It concentrates on encouraging rural enterprise; increasing rural connectivity; providing more housing for local people; and dealing more effectively with rural crime. These are four well-chosen areas and address some of the most important concerns of country people. Although stronger on generalities than specifics, there are some really innovative commitments: £7 million to fund leading-edge mechanisms for bringing the internet to hard-toreach communities; sensible changes to reduce restrictions on barn conversions; a programme for improving electricity infrastructure in rural areas; new attention to transport and dental services; and renewed efforts to stop fly-tipping and address rural crime. However, perhaps the most important proposal for longer-term change is the plan to look at the way rural poverty is calculated. It has long been recognised that the nature of the countryside conceals poverty in a way that the towns don’t. Where poverty comes thatched, it is often overlooked. The services that the poorest most need are more distant and difficult to engage. Many villages no longer have much of a working population and are dominated by part-time second homers. This loss of a historic community further isolates such old and poor as remain. Yet, the way we reflect poverty and vulnerability nationally fails to reflect these particular problems of the countryside. If this initiative corrects that distortion, it will make a considerable difference.

Like Mr Sunak’s Food Summit, Unleashing Rural Opportunity is a long-overdue acknowledgement of rural needs. However, it’s only a start and there is much more to do if these are not to be seen as mere electoral ploys. Historically, the Tories were the party of the countryside. Today, they must be seen to rediscover their roots if we country people are to trust them again.

The countryside conceals poverty in a way that the towns don’t. Where poverty comes thatched, it is often overlooked

beautiful butterflies, the man who bought Stonehenge, grow-yourown dinner parties, cave art and Panama hats

Heritage protection and the environment

OFTEN underlying debates about greening our lives are two fundamentally contrasting attitudes towards climate change. On one side are those who think that life can go on as before and that climate change is effectively something that humanity will navigate. This is a perspective lent weight by convenience, but it’s often justified as well with reference to the potential of new technology to solve problems. In opposition to it are those for whom climate change is a crisis that must be averted by immediate, uncomfortable and profound shifts in our collective behaviour. For some, that in turn links the issue to social change.

Athena suspects, without any authority, that the reality will lie somewhere between these views. That is to say, we will have

to make changes to our lives, but technology will rescue us from some particularly intractable problems. If that’s the case, she also predicts that the standards we apply to personal and institutional change will be radically different. Simply put, while we feel directly the cost and disruption of changes that affect us personally, the impact of legislation on business will both be technical (and incomprehensible to most of us) and also felt financially at one remove.

Ambitious targets for net zero promise

buildings

All this has a cultural bearing because, for better or worse, the Government’s ambitious targets for net zero promise an uncomfortable day of reckoning for our historic buildings. Whereas developers will be able to design in response to environmental legislation and pass on the expense, those privately responsible for listed buildings—or living in conservation areas—may be compelled

to alter properties at their own expense to conform to new and high specifications for energy performance. Of course, health and safety legislation offers a precedent for such difficulties, but not for changes on a comparable scale or at such speed. Added to which, our existing heritage legislation is all framed in terms of protection; protection of fabric, setting and appearance. That’s an approach in direct conflict with the demands that are clearly coming for physical change in pursuit of net zero. The problem has already been highlighted by the debate over solar panels on Grade I-listed buildings (Athena, November 22, 2022). This level of protection has hitherto prohibited such outward alteration, but must we accept it as a necessary quid pro quo for the benefits it brings? Likewise, the appearance of wind farms in the wild landscapes that we love?

Whatever your view, the reality is that the affirmative answer has already been given to these questions. What has not been discussed, however, are the actual terms of the agreement: what degree of change is proportionate to need. This strikes Athena as vitally important because if—say—York Minster can install solar panels on its roof, on what grounds might you resist installing them on any other building in the country?

The way we were Photographs from the C OUNTRY L IFE archive

1907 Published A woman on the threshold of Quenby Hall, Leicestershire. She seems to be holding the door rather than opening it. This photograph was taken by Charles Lathom for English Homes, a series of illustrated books published by COUNTRY LIFE. By the time Quenby was photographed for the magazine in 1911, the ivy had disappeared.

Every week for the past 125 years, COUNTRY LIFE has documented and photographed many walks of life in Britain. More than 80,000 of the images are available for syndication or purchase in digital format. To view the archives, visit www. countrylifeimages.co.uk and email enquiries to licensing@ futurenet.com

an uncomfortable day of reckoning for our historic

My favourite painting Peter Brathwaite

Young Woman with Peonies by Frédéric Bazille

Peter Brathwaite is an opera singer, radio broadcaster and author. His book Rediscovering Black Portraiture is out now

As a British Barbadian, I feel a deep connection to Bazille’s exploration of Afro-European identity. The model signals her Caribbean heritage with a madras head wrap, typically worn in Dominica, St Lucia and the French Caribbean. Rooted in laws that forced enslaved women to cover their hair, the madras head wrap was later reclaimed as a public declaration of black femininity. Here the combination of the head wrap and modern Parisian attire, suggests a blending of cultures with symbolic power. Bazille painted this work a little over 20 years after the French abolition of territorial slavery. To me, it reads as a plea for social equality and justice in a society that remained not only racialised, but also extremely gendered

Young Woman with Peonies, 1870, oil on canvas, 23½in by 29½in, by Frédéric Bazille (1841–70), National Gallery of Art, Washington DC, US

Charlotte Mullins comments on Young Woman with Peonies

FRÉDÉRIC BAZILLE was a friend of Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir and would have become an Impressionist had he not been killed in the Franco-Prussian War aged 28. He studied with them at the teaching studio of Charles Gleyre in Paris, despite promising his parents that he would study medicine. Instead, he was drawn into the avant-garde world of Édouard Manet and Charles Baudelaire and spent his time painting outdoors in the Fontainebleau forest with Monet. This work, Young Woman with Peonies, was painted in the summer of 1870 before he enlisted. A woman sits with a shallow basket that is filled with cut flowers: roses, tulips, narcissi, lilac and more. She steadies the basket with her left hand, as,

with her right, she offers us a bunch of delicate peonies, raising an eyebrow to ask if we would like to buy them. The peony was Manet’s favourite flower and in this work Bazille pays homage to his de facto leader. The flowers are painted with such truth to Nature that we feel the heavy weight of their heads bending on their stems.

This painting also references Manet’s Olympia from 1865, in which a white prostitute is given flowers by her black servant. In Young Woman with Peonies, the black woman is not a servant, but looks out as Olympia did, meeting our eyes. The flowers are for sale, exactly as Olympia herself was, and the sad eyes of the flower seller suggest that this livelihood does not bring her joy.

A walking life

MADRESFIELD COURT must be one of the most mysterious of all the houses in England. Tucked away in a quiet corner, between the Malvern Hills and the meandering River Severn, it has lived, largely quietly, for nearly 1,000 years, occupied by the same family—the Lygons— for 29 generations, only emerging occasionally to play a role on the national stage.

Walking in a large circle around the house, as I am doing today, reveals little. Its Elizabethan façade is protected by dense planting, including many spectacular pines. Each entrance is marked by a neat, half-timbered lodge and long views are obscured by the gentle contours of the landscape.

Yet I find the place irresistible. The Worcestershire countryside is lovely, steeped in history, and Madresfield’s stories are compelling. It was the inspiration for Evelyn Waugh’s A Handful of Dust (where it was doomed Tony Last’s ancestral home, Hetton Abbey) and, more famously, Brideshead Revisited, drawing on the Lygons to create the intriguing Flyte family, Sebastian at its heart. The elegiac novel was filmed for the ITV series at Castle Howard, but its description matches Madresfield, which Waugh often visited in the 1920s.

The house Waugh stayed in was built for entertaining and is at least the third on the site. Madresfield first appears in the Domesday Book and a 12th-century Great Hall lies at its core. It was comprehensively rebuilt in 1593 as a Tudor Court with a long gallery. Long oak and elm avenues were planted to celebrate the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, and a series of radial avenues date from the early 18th century. A further remodelling of the house began after 1798 when William Lygon inherited a vast (and contested) sum from distant relative William Jennens and,

in 1863, further improvements were initiated by Henry Lygon, 5th Earl Beauchamp, during which almost everything was pulled down, save the Elizabethan façade, to create a vast, 60-bedroom Victorian mansion.

I begin my walk at the northern end of the village of Madresfield, taking the Three Choirs Way north-east past the house, and skirting the park to reach Old Hills, a small promontory of common land. This misty morning, there is an ethereal quality to the landscape, with charming cottages grouped around the common. From Old Hills I cut across the fields to Pixham Farm, a huge red-brick farmhouse perched above the Severn. As I descend to the river, looped here in a huge meander, the landscape changes. Gone are the small, intimate fields and instead are the great skyscapes of a mature river valley. I walk by deep ditches from which yellow flag iris is emerging, hugging the valley’s edge until I reach Clevelode Farm and am reunited with Worcestershire’s undulations.

From Clevelode, I cross the estate, passing Garter Wood, planted by William Lygon (7th Earl Beauchamp) to celebrate his appointment as Knight of the Garter in 1914, then Cabinet Wood, planted in 1908 when he was

appointed to Asquith’s cabinet. He served as First Commissioner of Works with responsibility for historic sites—a duty he loved—and was an early supporter of CPRE, SPAB, the National Trust and Ramblers’ Association. I think I’d have liked him. As Lord President of the Council, he, as did Penny Mordaunt at Charles III’s, carried the Sword of State for George V’s coronation in 1911. We will never take that role for granted again!

It was in William’s time, however, that Madresfield’s fortunes collapsed. A pacifist and homosexual at a time when both were scourges to be routed, he was forced abroad, abandoning his impressive career and young family. The house, which had entertained 2,366 visitors in the single month of July 1904, withdrew into itself and resumed its silence.

As I walk back through Home Farm and along the drive lined by ancient oaks, I contemplate longevity and continuity. The centuries speak through the landscape and it’s clear Madresfield will have more to say, one day.

Fiona Reynolds is chair of the Royal Agricultural University governing council and author of ‘The Fight for Beauty’

A walk around the home that captured Evelyn Waugh’s imagination is intriguing and atmospheric

Madresfield revisited

It has lived for nearly 1,000 years, only emerging occasionally on the national stage

Powered by the wind

Whitelee Windfarm, East Renfrewshire

Operated by ScottishPower Renewables

Turbines are becoming a familiar feature of the landscape. John Goodall looks at their operation, form and future through the example of the largest onshore wind farm in the UK

WIND turbines have long been objects of controversy. The erection of large, prominent and moving manmade structures in the landscape has seemed shocking to some. To make matters worse, wind farms have necessarily been erected in remote areas loved for their wild beauty. Attitudes towards them, however, have undoubtedly softened in the past few years. A widespread acknowledgement of the reality of climate change and, more recently, the massive spike in energy prices caused by the war in Ukraine have done a great deal to shift attitudes. Certainly, if we are to enjoy affordable power and reduce our carbon emissions,

wind is clearly a hugely important future source of clean energy. Whether we love or loathe them, therefore, they are a fixture for the foreseeable future.

There is no better way to learn about wind farms than by visiting the largest on-shore example in the UK. Whitelee Wind Farm, built by Scottish Power between 2007 and 2009, comprises 215 individual turbines set out across 32 square miles of peat moor in East Renfrewshire, East Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire. Although Scotland constitutes only 1% of the European landmass, it receives a disproportionately high quantity of the area’s wind. This makes it particularly well suited to wind-generated power; that’s in

contrast to much of England, which has less wind and more sun, making solar panels a better source of renewable energy. Scotland’s wind may also explain why the first turbine to generate electricity was set up by a Glasgow engineer, Prof James Blyth, to power his holiday home at Marykirk in 1887.

The placement of modern turbines relates not only to wind, but the inherited infrastructure of power supply. Its foundations were laid in the middle decades of the 20th century with the establishment of the National Grid and the post-war decisions to supply the bulk of the power on it with a network of power stations variously fuelled by coal, nuclear fuel and gas. The consumption of

power is relatively predictable, but even today gas, in particular, remains important as the only reliable means of creating a rapid supply at moments of peak usage. The grid was conceived as a transmission system that could carry high-voltage electricity—which travels with much less wastage—by pylon to the areas where it was needed. A lowvoltage network of cables and poles then distributed the power locally.

Precisely because coal and gas remained cheap, it was not until the 1970s that Britain, Denmark and Germany began to develop prototype wind turbines. It was a further 20 years before the commercial potential of this technology began to be explored in Britain.

Scottish Power bought its first wind farm at Carlingcross in Cornwall in 1992 and built its first one in 1995 at Hagshaw Hill, Lanarkshire.

At the time, the construction of turbines was relatively expensive, with a poorly developed supply chain of parts. Financial incentives from the Government for renewable energy, therefore, played an important early role in getting this technology off the ground in the UK.

Whitelee was first identified as a suitable site for wind generation in 2001. Not only was the moor exposed—and very windy, even by Scottish standards—but conveniently situated with easy access to the existing transmission grid. It was also close to several centres of population, including Glasgow, about 10 miles to the north. It’s a striking statistic that the entire area of the wind farm is about half that of the city itself. As well as overcoming public opposition to the scheme and securing planning permission, Scottish Power had to confront a practical problem with developing the site. Wind farms

cause interference or ‘clutter’ on radar, so new radar facilities had to be created before work could begin.

In advance of construction, it was necessary to determine the placement of turbines on the moor, which are organised in groups or ‘arrays’ of six to eight with linked cables. The individual turbines need to be positioned in the landscape so as to take maximum advantage of the prevailing wind—which, at Whitelee, is from the north-west—without shadowing each other. One way of doing this is to erect anemometers—devices that measure wind speed and direction—across the site on the proposed position of turbines and test their results over a period of time.

Another important consideration was the effect of the turbines on birds. Wind farms should not be erected on regular migration routes and, in some cases, the needs of particular species have to be taken into account. At another wind farm, Beinn An Tuirc on Mull of Kintyre, for example, Scottish Power recently liaised with the RSPB to create an alternative habitat for golden eagles to attract them away from the turbines. In the case of Whitelee, a substantial area of the wind farm is formally designated as a Habitat Management Area and supports a wide diversity of wildlife.

It should be said in this regard that one of the great advantages of turbines is that, in most respects, they do not interfere with existing habitats or land use. That’s in contrast, for example, with solar panels, which in rural settings often cover fields and necessarily change land usage. In the case of Whitelee, parts of the site are otherwise owned by the Forestry and Land Scotland, Scottish Water or worked as farmland.

A diagram illustrating the growing power of turbines and their scale relative to notable buildings. The operational life of a turbine is only about 20 years, so the replacement will be relatively rapid and components, including blades, need to be fully recyclable

When the construction here finally began in 2007, work was extraordinarily rapid. A network of roads extending about 80 miles was laid over the top of the peat moor, using earth and rock extracted for the concrete foundations on which the individual turbines sit. There are three types of turbine across the site, but the principal components of all are the same: a tower, a nacelle and a rotor with blades. The tower is essentially a tall tube. It usually comes in sections and, in the most recent designs, incorporates a service lift. On top of this is the nacelle, a casing that can revolve freely on the tower. An anemometer turns the nacelle so that the attached rotor, with its three long blades, can face the wind and operate with the greatest efficiency.

The first turbine was set up by a Glasgow engineer to power his home in 1887

The nacelle contains the generator that is driven by the rotor blades. Connecting the two is a gear system that increases the speed at which the generator mechanism spins, so producing more electricity. From an engineering point of view, the number and design of the rotor blades is crucially important. There are three—rather than two or four— blades and they operate in the face of winds between 6mph and 56mph. During sustained gusts over the latter wind speed, the gears in the nacelle will cause the rotor and generator to disconnect and prevent damage to the turbine. Depending on the force of the wind, the rotor will turn between one and 16 times in a minute, with the tip of the largest blades travelling at up to 190mph.

The components of the most numerous turbine type at Whitelee were manufactured by Siemens in Denmark and were shipped to Glasgow for assembly on site. Each of these has a blade diameter of 305ft (93m) and stands 361ft (110m) high. Incredibly, that’s just short of the 364ft dome of St Paul’s Cathedral in London. With the help of a crane, the entire process of assembling a single turbine of this type took a team of 20 men two days. In addition to the 140 Siemens turbines there are six Alstom turbines of about the same size and a further 69 Alstom turbines about 460ft high (140m). All are painted off white, a colour derived from the colour of the clouds against which turbines are usually to be seen outlined. Work on the whole wind farm was completed in only two years.

The turbines produce electricity at 690 volts and each array is connected to a transformer (camouflaged in green) that increases its voltage in order to allow it to travel with less wastage. From the transformer, at 33,000 volts, it passes to a primary substation, where it joins the grid at either 275,000 volts

or 400,000 volts. A reverse process reduces the voltage and allows the electricity to be locally distributed at the point of need. The actual quantity of electricity produced depends on the wind, but a single revolution of the rotor produces sufficient electricity to charge about 300 mobile phones. Each Siemens turbine has a maximum output of 2.3 megawatts, roughly enough to power 1,000 homes, and over the past three months the average daily output of the wind farm as a whole has been 4,475 megawatt hours.

All this, of course, is a small fraction of national usage. Daily demand in the UK is presently somewhere between 34 and 45 gigawatts and that of Scotland alone is between three to five gigawatts. Despite energy-saving technology, that demand is likely to grow exponentially in the years ahead as people turn to electric power for more of their energy needs. At present, for example, 87% of homes in the country are heated by gas, a situation that may change in the near future. In all its forms, meanwhile, transport is increasingly taking advantage of electricity rather than using fossil fuels directly.

Wind as a clean and plentiful supply of power clearly has an important role to play in meeting this growing demand. In part, this is a consequence of continual improvements in the technology available with a clear trend towards fewer and larger turbines. These promise to make the generation of electricity by wind ever more efficient and cheaper. It’s one indication of the huge changes that have taken place in the past 40 years that whereas the first wind farms had a capacity of 750 kilowatts, the single largest turbines can today generate 20 megawatts, enough to power 20,000 houses. As old turbines age and are replaced, existing wind farms will consequently shrink in area and grow in height.

Another important change is the capacity to build offshore wind farms, where the wind is yet more plentiful and reliable. Hitherto, it has only been possible to construct them in relatively shallow areas of the sea around the English coast, but it is now feasible to anchor turbines off the much deeper Scottish coastline. These structures, which borrow from the experience of managing oil rigs, can be yet bigger still—and more powerful—than their counterparts onshore. They are also less immediately visible to those who will benefit. Meanwhile, the manufacture of parts is growing more efficient, making construction

The rotor will turn between one and 16 times in a minute, the blade tip up to 190mph

quicker and cheaper. Building an offshore wind farm might now take two years and one onshore half that time. Only a solar farm, which might take a month, can be erected more quickly. By degrees, and with a combination of wind, solar, hydroelectricity and tidal power (diversity of sources is vital for system resilience), the fossil fuels that once powered the bulk of our national energy supply could be largely displaced. Indeed, huge strides have been taken in that direction. Today, on average, 97% of Scotland’s electricity is being produced

from renewable sources. In England, that figure is about 50%, but rising all the time.

One of the surprises of Whitelee was that this huge piece of infrastructure is now an attraction. Scotland’s right to roam meant the site’s service roads were publicly accessible and the area was consciously developed as a public amenity with walks and rides. These proved unexpectedly popular; a visitor centre and café have been erected as an afterthought.

It’s not hard to see what draws people here. There is something compelling about the

ranks of these massive machines deployed in restless, but stationary rows across such a huge landscape; so, too, the scale of the turbines close up and the swish of their sweeping blades. When rain falls, it rattles on the metal surfaces and in sunshine there is the ubiquitous sound of larks on the wing. This is industrial architecture that we must accommodate by necessity, but which we might come to love with acquaintance. Who knows, perhaps, like cooling towers, in the future we may even come to regret its disappearance.

Sustainability

Changing tides

North Devon recently became the UK’s first official World Surfing Reserve and its upgraded status is shining a much-needed light on how much more the sport has to offer beyond riding waves, says Ben Lerwill

Sustainability

ON the surface, Waikiki Beach and Woolacombe Bay have little in common. The first is a glitzy strand backed by tropical palms and Hawaiian high-rises, the other a saltyaired stretch of Devon coastline lined by beach cafés and sand dunes. Waikiki has huladancing shows; Woolacombe has ranger-led rockpool walks. But what bonds the two places is what’s happening under the surface —literally—where the topography of the seabed and the swell of the waves turn them both into world-class surf spots.

the World Surfing Reserve scheme in 2009, explains more. ‘Becoming a reserve is based on all the tenets of what a coastal ecosystem really entails,’ he says. ‘The way we look at it, there’s the biological component, the flora and fauna that exists in these places, as well as the geophysical component, looking at how the waves are created offshore. And then, really importantly, we also look at socioeconomic components. The communities that live on the coastline are an integral part of the entire surf ecosystem.’

together.’ The designation means that, collectively, the groups are now better able to protect the area from risks such as pollution, overdevelopment and dredging. ‘There hasn’t been that unified voice before,’ he adds. Organisations such as The Wave Project, which uses surfing as therapy for young people, and Wave Wahines, a surf club for women and girls, are also involved.

For the initiated, the surfing scene in north Devon has long been a gift to relish: locals and surf tourists have been riding the waves here since the early 1900s. But for outsiders, especially those who still view the sport through the lens of Beach Boys album covers, the concept can seem improbable. Prime-grade surf breaks just off the Bristol Channel? Really? If hard proof of the region’s credentials were needed, it came in mid May, when north Devon was formally designated as the UK’s first—and the planet’s biggest—World Surfing Reserve, joining the likes of Santa Cruz and Malibu in the US on a prestigious, 12-strong international list. This was no idle bestowal. Only one such designation is awarded each year, so the competition is considerable—2022 was the turn of Costa Rica’s Playa Hermosa, whereas Australia’s fabled Noosa was chosen in 2020 —and the recognition serves various purposes. Firstly, it acknowledges that the north Devon coastline, specifically the 18-mile stretch between Saunton Sands and Lynmouth, has a set of geological features that creates a superb variety of waves, catering for everyone from hardened pros to tentative newcomers. Here, surfing is a democratic affair. ‘There are a million ways to surf,’ goes the apt old adage, ‘but as long as you’re smiling, you’re doing it right.’

The waves themselves, however, are only one reason for the designation. Trent Hodges of the Save The Waves Coalition, the international non-profit-making body that founded

This term, surf ecosystem, essentially acknowledges that the local surfing scene is about far more than grabbing your board and striding into the swell. It’s also about culture, livelihoods, history, tourism, business and conservation. Where there are surfers, there is economic benefit and environmental awareness. ‘Surfers are naturally incentivised to try and protect these places,’ says Mr Hodges. In north Devon, the designation has also brought together a wide range of other bodies, all of whom have an interest in safeguarding the coastline. Adam Hall, a sustainability consultant, is one of the five volunteers who now coordinates the reserve, but, as he explains, involvement is far-reaching.

‘The five of us are the core team,’ he says, ‘but where the reserve gets its power is through local stewardship, which is made up of major stakeholders such as the National Trust, the North Devon UNESCO Biosphere, Plastic Free North Devon, the beach owners, the surf clubs and so on. We’ve all come

Mr Hall is locally born and bred—and has surfing in his blood. ‘We’re not blessed with loads of amazing sporting facilities in the West Country, so, for children growing up in the coastal regions of north Devon, our facilities are the beach and the sea,’ he says. ‘I was doing surf lifesaving from a young age and my first ever job was at Gulfstream Surfboards in Woolacombe, sweeping the factory floor in the mid 1990s. I’ve surfed all my life.’

He forms part of a local surf culture with serious scope and heritage. The village of Braunton, just inland from the surf hotspots of Saunton and Croyde, has been home to the award-winning Museum of British Surfing since 2012. Among countless other objects, its collection includes at least one example board from each British shaper, or maker, and a photograph of a young Agatha Christie, who described surfing as ‘one of the most perfect physical pleasures I have known’ (she was, after all, a Devonian). Surf shops and surf schools, meanwhile, have been plentiful across the region for decades.

‘There’s such a sense of community in the area, all centred on the joy of surfing,’ says

We’re not blessed with loads of amazing sporting facilities, so, for children growing up here, our facilities are the beach and the sea

Mr Hodges, who is based in California in the US, but who travelled to Devon with colleagues to award the designation. ‘There’s an element of that in most surf places, but we were actually quite stunned to see the level of it in north Devon. I found the influx of surf culture, combined with the older traditions of the UK, to be a pretty unique combination.’

The popularity of surfing is on the rise. Numbers are notoriously tricky to hammer out—nobody’s out there doing an audit on

Combesgate Beach at 7am on a summer’s morning—but there are estimated to be some 35 million active surfers worldwide, with about 500,000 in the UK alone. The national governing body, Surfing England, reported a boom in interest following the pandemic, which is, in many ways, unsurprising. ‘It’s a very active lifestyle, with a very healthy engagement with the environment,’ says Mr Hall.

Some 250 locals congregated on the head land above Woolacombe to witness the

Surf’s up! Best of the rest UK surf spots

Sennen, Cornwall

A beautiful cove near Land’s End, with one of the longest-running surf schools in the country and good options for both beginners and advanced surfers. Fistral Beach, off Newquay, is another top

Cornish spot

Thurso East, Caithness

One for the experts. This northern Scottish town is home to one of the most legendary waves in the UK and

is accustomed to hosting international competitions

Portrush, Co Antrim

There are several surf spots around Portrush, including the beginners’ beach of East Strand. When the weather picks up, faster waves roll in to keep advanced surfers happy Saltburn, North Yorkshire

The North-East’s best-known surf spot is Saltburn, where you’ll find

designation in May, which was testament not only to the work the community put into the bid, but to the demographic breadth of the local surf scene. As Mr Hodges points out, it’s one sport where age is no barrier to getting involved. ‘It’s such an incredible way for people to build confidence,’ he says. ‘You can start surfing as soon as you can walk and you can surf until you’re 100.’

For more information, visit www.savethe waves.org or www.northdevonsurfreserve.org

respected surf schools and surfable waves either side of the pier. Further down the North Yorkshire coast, Cayton is another strong option

Llangennith, Gower Peninsula

Known for its reliable surf—and its three-mile golden beach—it has long been a magnet for visitors to the Gower. Heading west into Pembrokeshire, meanwhile, Whitesands Bay has surf charms and glorious scenery of its own

Native breeds English goat

Did you know?

The Old English has historically been interbred with feral goat herds—‘sending the nanny up the hill’— to preserve hardiness and some of today’s breeders continue the cottager’s tradition

THE English goat is surely one of the prettiest of all breeds, with its delicate white facial and lowerleg markings and black eel stripe, which probably trace back to the Bezoar goats of the Caucasus, from which they are thought to be descended. Yet it has become the rarest British goat breed, plummeting in numbers during the 1930s when the breed association was disbanded (it was later re-formed, in 1978). This was largely due to the fact that cross-breeding with Swiss goats to increase milk production, which started in the late 19th century, became so successful that the original was in danger of dying out. In 2004, a group

of breeders set up a society to preserve the Old English goat (a smaller, hairier, less commercial version of the English goat); both types are classified as ‘priority’ by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust.

The English has plenty to recommend it, as well as being a delight to look at. It is the perfect smallholder’s goat, a dual-purpose animal (milk and meat) whose milk converts well into cheese, having a naturally high level of solids—it’s finding increasing favour with soap-makers. Its colour scheme and markings make for attractive goatskin rugs and the animal’s dainty, deer-like conformation makes it a sensitive conservation grazer. KG

Farming for the future

Prof Sir Dieter Helm

F

ARMING has no option—it will have to be sustainable, otherwise it will not be sustained. Proportionately, it is the biggest carbon emitter and responsible for much of the pollution in rivers. Put simply, it has to produce food, achieve net zero and protect biodiversity and rivers.

That does not mean a return to some arcadian past. Science is crucial in this transition. Agriculture is increasingly a digital enterprise, mapping crops, soils and baselines for natural capital. Big data, AI and robotics are taking over and, with them, new skill sets and new kinds of farmers. Genetics are replacing the traditional plant and animal breeding.

Meanwhile, carbon credits, rewilding and anti-meat campaigns grab the headlines. The Wild West of carbon credits lacks serious system and land-use planning, and can sometimes increase emissions. Rewilders often confuse conservation management with abandoning the land and have few answers when it comes to the obvious question of where the food is going to come from. Anti-meat campaigns can lack a serious understanding of how livestock production and the soils interact, as well as the role of soil as a store of carbon and biodiversity.

Farming needs to rise above these fashions, navigating around silo policies and always with the science in mind. Activists mean well,

Food security and land management are two of the most pressing issues facing the UK today, but the way forward isn’t simple. Here, nine guardians of the land outline what they think the next step should be

but the risk is the road to hell is paved with simplistic rewilders and lynxes and wolves, trees planted on peats and thin soils, and the eradication of animals in upland farm systems. Sir Dieter Helm is professor of economic policy at Oxford University and author of ‘Green and Prosperous Land’

Baron Newborough

IBELIEVE the farming industry must focus on improving its carbon footprint. Every farm in the country should work out exactly what its carbon footprint is by doing soil tests on the first 30in of topsoil across the whole farm, then using a carbon calculator to work out the benchmark. Each farm can then make its own carbon plan to improve the environmental impact of its business.

Rhug estate is highly diversified, with many different businesses—farms, tenanted farms, a farm shop, green energy and skincare— and we have made a carbon plan for each one

that involves things such as reducing cultivation, feeding additives to the cattle to reduce methane emissions, mob grazing and fencing off areas of habitat, more sustainable packaging, using hydrogen vehicles, and so on.

Carbon is becoming increasingly valuable and, with proper universal certification, it will become a highly tradable asset for the future. We have been organic farming for the past 22 years and, without the use of artificial fertilisers or sprays, we have built up a considerable tonnage of carbon in the soil. We intend to build on that and improve our carbon footprint further with the ultimate goal of trading it on an annual basis through carbon-offset schemes.

Lord Newborough owns the Rhug estate in north Wales, which includes a 6,700-acre in-hand organic farm

The Rt Hon the Lord Deben

THE UK had the driest February for 30 years and the wettest March for 40 years. Climate change is not only about the everincreasing likelihood of extreme weather events, it’s about an unprecedented shift in the normal weather patterns. Farmers will have to adapt to these inevitable changes at the same time as playing their essential part in stopping runaway global warming. It’s simply not going to be possible to farm as we have done; regenerative systems are becoming necessities —not merely green alternative lifestyles.

Sustainability

We have to recover the fertility of the soil lost to decades of dependence on chemicals. That recovery will foster carbon sequestration and begin to restore the earth’s ability to balance the emissions we will still produce even after we have cut back. Livestock will be a part of this; we will eat less meat, but it will be better meat, pasture fed and reared in Britain with the lowest carbon footprint in the world.

Robin Hanbury-Tenison

AS a hill farmer on Bodmin Moor, Cornwall, I’ve seen many changes. When I bought Cabilla in 1960, we grew oats, barley, wheat, turnips and flat-pole cabbages. We also had 65 Jersey cows, 40 Galloways, 10 Large White sows, 50 Devon Longwool sheep and 30 laying hens. I employed eight workers full time—that’s eight families living off 350 acres. Now, the average age of farmers around us is 62.

We have biodiversity more diminished than any other nation and its recovery is essential to defeat climate change. Replanting hedges, growing the right trees in the right places and using natural solutions to protect against flooding—this is the future. But it will only be possible if the Government provides the certainty and inspires the confidence that farmers need to deliver revolutionary change. Former Environment and Agriculture minister Lord Deben chairs the Committee on Climate Change, sustainability consultancy Sancroft International and recycler Valpak

In 1962, the UK joined the CAP (the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy) and, from then on, the uplands saw a steady decline: jobs disappeared and mixed farms were nudged towards monoculture, mainly sheep. Today, 22% of the UK is farmed for sheep, producing only 1% of our national calories. Some 90% of the annual income of hill farmers on Bodmin Moor comes from subsidies and grants, which went with Brexit. By 2028, they will have gone, to be replaced by a British policy granting public money for public goods. Any chancellor will see farming subsidies as an easy pot to raid.

The uplands are not suitable for intensive agriculture or commercial forestry. We now have an opportunity to make them as sustainable and productive as they were when I started farming. Many of the last vestiges of the temperate rainforest, which used to cover one-fifth of Britain, are to be found here. This is the habitat best suited to fighting climate change, restoring ecosystem

Farming needs to rise above fashions, navigating around silo policies, always with science in mind

Sustainability

Then there’s regenerative farming, a buzzword, inspirational to many, and agroecology, a solid descriptor.

What I think ultimately distinguishes ‘sustainable’ from the rest is knowing what principally fuels and sustains the ‘engine’ of the farm system—is it biology or is it synthetic inputs? So much is bound up in that distinction and flows from it. We all now know the difference between renewable and nonrenewable energy. We can distinguish singleuse products from recyclable ones. Could farming and food move to a place where we just as comfortably talk about ‘biological’ and ‘synthetic’ food?

More radically, is it feasible that some kind of profiling system be developed to help distinguish the outputs of differing systems, rather than restricting methods of production as current accreditation standards require us to do? If it is, we give buyers an informed choice and farmers the opportunity to develop and deliver a type of biological farming of the future.

services and contributing to mental health. With clever use of regenerative farming, an elegant solution providing future livelihoods may be possible.

WE need our land to do so much: house us, feed us, make our energy, sequester carbon and restore wild habitats and shattered natural systems. Food security is dependent upon environmental security; we cannot have one without the other. The current government rates of ‘public money for public good’ are based upon income foregone, but the true value of farmers’ actions is worth so much more, from growing overwinter cover crops to prevent flooding to the capacity of healthy soils to store carbon and cycle nutrients. A private natural capital market might be able to pay farmers proper rates if it can find a way to price the priceless. What I am sure of is that if we properly reward how farmers manage their land, the transformation to Nature systems and what we eat will be swift and revolutionary.

I wrote my book, Rooted, about the pioneering farmers using old wisdom and new technology to change how they grow food, but those farmers also taught me lessons that reached far beyond a field. They showed me what it was to read the landscape as a biography and how it feels to be stitched

to a place, holding onto threads that tie the past to our future. They taught me to look for the root of a problem, rather than reach for a solution. By teaching me that everything was connected, the farmers I talked to changed the way I saw the world. The challenge for this urban nation is to recognise the value of this knowledge too and ensure we don’t lose it before it’s too late. Sarah Langford is an arable and pasture farmer in Suffolk, former barrister and author of ‘Rooted: How Regenerative Farming Can Change The World’

Laurel Foreman is a wildlife-friendly farmer producing award-winning pies and Royal Warrant-holding organic meats at Wark Farm, Aberdeenshire

Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones

F ARMING is changing fast: new technology, such as vertical farming, is turning city warehouses into green spaces full of plants. It’s a big step forward, but farming isn’t only about new gadgets. It’s about people, too.

The real problem isn’t a lack of new tools, but a lack of new faces. We need people from all backgrounds to join us, who love the land, who care about the future and who have new ideas—for the good of farming and for the good of our planet. That’s why I started The Black Farmer’s New Face of Farming initiative. We want to show people that anyone can be a farmer, no matter where they come from. We’re offering help, teaching people the ropes, and making room for new ideas. It isn’t only about change—it’s about growth.

Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones is a farmer in Devon and founder of The Black Farmer range of food products

Laurel Foreman

I AM challenged by what moving to widespread sustainable farming and food actually is and how it might be precipitated. Does it fall within the framework of certified organic farming? I’m not convinced; it’s far from a universally desirable label for all farmers and consumers—and I say this as a committed, long-time organic farmer.

Jake Fiennes

YOUmight not believe it, but the word sustainability hasn’t been around that long in the English language—only about 50 years—and is probably derived from the Latin sustinere, whereas agriculture has been around for about 12,000 years.

Agriculture utilises some 40% of habitable land globally; in England, 70% of land is

The challenge is to recognise farmers’ knowledge and ensure we don’t lose it before it’s too late

Sustainability

Above: Hedgerows and lanes are corridors for wildlife, as well as humans. Below: Agriculture can rescue Nature, believes Jake Fiennes dedicated to some form of agriculture. In the past 70 years, its impact on our water, soil, air and biodiversity have been anything but sustainable. Agriculture must not be entirely to blame, as we have all played our part at some point, but it has the potential to reinstate much of what has been lost, should it be given the incentive and encouragement to do so.

Of course, things will not resemble those of the past or the pictures depicted in Beatrix Potter and Ladybird books. It will be a farm system that makes space for Nature as well as producing healthy, nutritious food in climate-resilient soils. It will be a farm system that doesn’t pollute waterways and the air we breathe; it will be visible to all and will take many forms. We can, and should, find ways of living with Nature that are compatible with food production.

One thing we can learn from the past is that when our food and farming systems were a mixture of livestock and arable, vegetables and fruit, they provided Nature with a range of habitats. ‘Sustainable’ doesn’t have to mean static, we can adopt a system that is sciencebased, technically robust and data driven. We can still progress, with a food and farming system that is fit for purpose.

Jake Fiennes is an author and the conservation manager at Holkham Hall, Norfolk

Isabella Tree

THE number-one priority for the UK is a resilient landscape for both Nature and farming. Our health, prosperity and very survival depend on it. We know we cannot continue farming as we are now. Topsoil is disappearing, slurry, fertilisers and pesticides are killing rivers, the nutritional value of the food we produce is falling, we are squandering

carbon stored in the soil and burning huge amounts of fossil fuels by farming industrially. Thankfully, a strong movement among our farmers, such as Groundswell, is already converting to low- or no-chemical, regenerative farming. Rewilding can be a powerful ally in this shift to food production that restores the ecosystem. It can help replenish depleted soil, restore water tables, clean polluted water and provide the insects and creatures that pollinate crops and help control pests and disease. Natural margins around fields increase crop yields and rewilding can absorb the effects of storms, droughts, frosts and floods.

Rather than being seen as competing with agriculture, rewilding should be recognised as its most powerful ally. Ribbons of vibrant, living habitats threading through our farmed landscapes will provide a life-support system for productive, healthy agriculture. This web of rewilding, nationwide, will fight climate change, too, by storing carbon, and provide wild natural places for human mental and physical health. The UK Government needs to embed this vision of farming and Nature restoration working hand-in-hand for Nature recovery. Without it, we have no future. Isabella Tree wrote ‘The Book of Wilding’ and is co-conservationist, with her husband Charlie Burrell, of Knepp in West Sussex

What’s in a word?

Agroecological (adjective)

An umbrella term for methods that focus on the connection between plants, animals, people and their environment, so communities can feed themselves, look after the natural world and mitigate climate change

Agroforestry (noun)

The growing of crops between rows of trees to increase biodiversity, protect crops and, in some cases, boost yield

Aquaponics (noun)

Using the nutrients created by fish manure to fertilise plants and vegetables grown hydroponically in the same water that the fish are grown in

Bi-cropping (or companion cropping) (noun)

Growing two (or more) crops together to spread risk, reduce inputs and increase yields

Biodiversity net gain (noun)

Scheme whereby farmers are paid a form of off-setting by private companies to increase biodiversity, sequester carbon and prevent soil erosion and water run-off

Biodynamic (adjective)

A holistic method using herbal and mineral preparations and an astronomical calendar to guide sowing and harvesting dates

Biologicals (noun; plural)

Naturally occurring microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi, used to boost crop production rather than synthetically produced products

Carbon sequestration (noun)

Converting atmospheric carbon into soil organic matter using natural plant processes

Community-supported agriculture (noun)

Smallholder farming run by, and providing food for, a local community

Conventional (adjective)

In use for only 60 of agriculture’s 12,000 years, this high-input, high-output farming uses synthetic fertilisers, pesticides (insecticides, herbicides and fungicides) and ploughing

Cover crop (noun)

Plants sown after harvest to keep the ground covered over winter. They prevent nutrient run-off and improve soil structure

Crop rotation (noun)

A diverse, multi-year rotation that enables farmers to break the cycles of pests and disease left by the previous year’s crop

Cultured meat (noun)

Lab-grown, invitro or cell-based meat produced from a cell culture taken from an animal and grown on a scaffold into a specific shape

Flying flock (noun)

A herd of sheep that travels to different farms to, for example, graze disease off early cereal crops instead of using fungicide

Green manure (noun)

Plants that are cut and left to rot down, or buried with a plough, to fertilise the soil

Herbal ley (noun)

A fertility-building mix of grasses, legumes and herbs developed by organic farmer Newman Turner, who described it as ‘my manure merchant, my food manufacturer and my vet all in one’

Hydroponics (noun)

Growing plants in mediums other than soil, such as sand, gravel or liquid, by adding nutrients

Mob grazing (or adaptive multi-paddock grazing) (noun)

Electric wire divides a field into cells so that a ‘mob’ of animals, sometimes including poultry, can be regularly moved onto fresh grazing and kept off grazed areas, boosting regrowth above and below the ground

Natural capital (noun)

The natural stock on a farm, such as its soils, air, water and living organisms, which can be increased through a change in farming methods

Nature-friendly farming (noun)

An official network of farmers seeking to restore natural systems within the farming landscape

No-till (noun)

Sowing seeds directly into the soil with a direct drill to avoid the damage done to worm populations, fungal pathways and soil structure by ploughing, it relies on herbicide to clear weeds

Organic (noun)

Regulated in the 1990s, it prohibits synthetic chemicals and fertilisers and demands high animal-welfare standards

Pasture cropping (noun)

The planting of crops in strips cut into pasture so weeds are suppressed, but without ploughing or spraying

Permaculture (noun)

This subset of agroecology focuses on designing small-scale and holistically managed farms that replicate natural ecosystems

Precision fermentation (noun)

Specific molecules (i.e. proteins) are harvested from fermented microbes fed on hydrogen, made by splitting water modules in electrically powered vats. These are then added to foods as an alternative, for example, to meat

Regenerative (noun)

A system that puts back more than it takes out, it minimises use of chemicals and mechanical soil disturbance, ensures living roots are in the ground all year round and reintroduces livestock

Rewilding (verb/noun)

The restoration of ecosystems to the point where natural processes take care of themselves without human interference

(The) Soil food web (noun)

The way plants and animals above ground are connected to the tens of thousands of species of organisms (and those not yet discovered) that live, eat, reproduce, predate and die in soil, cycling nutrients all the time

Undersowing (or living mulch) (verb/noun)

The sowing of a crop into low-growing plants (such as white clover) to suppress weeds, fix atmospheric nitrogen for the crop and provide post-harvest grazing

The trend towards sustainable farming has led to a boom in new words and phrases, some straightforward and others less so. Sarah Langford decodes the ones you need to know

The land of raw milk and honey

Raw milk has been vilified in the press and by food agencies and competitor industries for decades, but its superior taste and health benefits demand we take a second look, argues Tom Parker Bowles

YOU never forget your first sip. Of raw milk that is, fresh from the cow, simply filtered, cooled and bottled. No pasteurisation, homogenisation or standardisation. Meaning it still contains the full complement of vitamins, minerals and natural digestive enzymes. As well as providing the most lusciously creamy mouthful of pure dairy delight; rich, sweet and voluptuously full bodied. If the average supermarket pint is Dorothy in Kansas, all drab monochrome, then raw milk is the moment she steps into Oz and the screen erupts into dazzling Technicolour. For someone who was ambivalent about milk, the raw stuff was a revelation. And that revelation came courtesy of Steven Hook, a fourth-generation Sussex dairy farmer,

way back in 2011 at Selfridges, in London. A manager of its Food Hall had tried his raw milk at the Abergavenny Food Festival, fallen in love and, after a few meetings sorting out the legalities (the law stated that raw milk could ‘only be sold from the farm premises’), it agreed that Mr Hook could rent some floor space in the Food Hall, install his own raw-milk vending machine, and sell direct to his customers. And it was from that machine, after plugging my coin into the slot and filling up my own glass bottle, I took my first taste. The punters couldn’t get enough. Selfridges was happy. Mr Hook was delighted. But then the trouble began.

‘For 50 years, the pasteurising industry had been bedevilling the image of raw milk

as a dangerous food,’ explains Mr Hook. ‘However, in December 2011, one of the pinnacles of the private food sector, Selfridges Food Hall, was very publicly endorsing raw milk.’ Within 24 hours, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) demanded that the machine was removed because it was illegal. It wasn’t. Selfridges responded, saying it was Mr Hook’s machine, so the FSA should contact him. They never did.

Anyway, to cut an epic story rather short, thanks to circumstances way beyond Mr Hook’s control (and involving an entirely unrelated issue), he decided to withdraw the machine in March 2012—although Selfridges agreed the venture had been a great success and no laws had been broken. However, the

prejudice against raw milk goes back many years, a mixture of scare stories, misinformation and, once upon a time, some very legitimate fears, too. ‘The idea that raw milk is unsafe and poisonous is ingrained in the British psyche,’ says Jon Cook, from Dora’s Dairy in Wiltshire. ‘But there was a good reason for pasteurisation. During the Industrial Revolution, when dairies moved into towns, the cows were fed brewery and bakery waste, rather than grass. And they became ill. And ill cows produce ill milk.’ Add in hygiene standards that ranged from the poor to the non-existent, and pasteurisation became an essential and lifesaving innovation.

These days, however, English and Welsh raw-milk producers (the milk is still illegal in Scotland, for some unfathomable reason) operate to some of the highest hygiene standards in the world. In 2014, once the FSA had visited Hook and Son (as well as Ellie’s Dairy in Kent), its officials were, in the words of Mr Hook, ‘incredibly impressed. And began to understand that farmers could pro duce raw milk safely, train staff, have food management systems in place, that they understood pathogen risks and mitigated those risks, and carried out independent

testing to validate their raw-milk sales.’ By 2018, the demand for raw milk had grown by five times and licensed farmers went from 70 to 200. Now, with FSA support, there’s a Raw Milk Producers Association (www.rawmilkproducers.co.uk), which offers guidance to anyone new to the sector.

As to the health benefits of raw milk, its supporters, of which there are many, claim it can lower your cholesterol, fight infection and offer an incredible source of protein, as well as help with eczema, asthma and many allergies. It’s even suitable for those with lactose intolerances. I’ve spoken to many people who swear by its beneficial properties, but as Mr Hook points out, ‘the only real claims that pasteurised milk can legally make is it being a good source of calcium and possibly a good source of protein’. The problem is that there has been no serious research into its empirical benefits. ‘Why is raw milk such a mystery?’ he asks. ‘Very simple. It’s not in the corporate food world’s interest for this knowledge to be out there.’ In the meantime, give raw milk a chance. Not only

Raw milk provides the most lusciously creamy mouthful of pure dairy

Sustainability

are you supporting a dairy industry already on its knees, but you’re giving those taste buds an experience they’ll never forget. The fact that it may have other benefits simply makes raw milk taste all the more sweet.

Meet the raw-milk dairy farmers

Morwick Dairy, Northumberland

WE started in 2003 as an ice-cream parlour,’ says Ben Howie of the family dairy business, ‘and started selling raw milk, pre-bottled, in 2016. We’ve always drunk it in the farmhouse, and it has so much going for it.’ It now has a raw-milk vending machine, and the milk travels a mere 30 yards between dairy and machine. The herd is made up of a mixture of Holstein and Ayrshire cows, as well as a few Jerseys, too. ‘It’s an intensely local product. All I can say is “give it a go”.

Dora’s Dairy, Gloucestershire

WHY raw milk?’ asks Jon Cook, who runs the dairy together with his wife, Sarah. ‘Why would you not have the most nutritious food? Pasteurisation destroys goodness. Raw milk is a complete food, perfectly designed to grow a baby mammal for up to a year.’ The herd is made up of a mix of Jerseys and alpine breeds, such as fleckvieh and brown Swiss. ‘Your farming practices

Whereas a commercial cow can produce up to 14,000 litres of milk per year, we get only 2,000–3,000 litres (440–660 gallons). But, once people have tasted it, there’s no going back.’

www.dorasdairy.co.uk

Old Hall Farm, Norfolk

WE went up to Scotland for a holiday in 2016,’ says Rebecca Mayhew, ‘and not only fell in love with the cows up there, but raw milk, too. Which is ironic, as it’s illegal to sell in Scotland.’ The Mayhew family have been farming in Norfolk since the mid 1940s, but their pedigree Jersey herd is their passion. Cows at the cow-with-calf dairy are entirely pasture fed—‘you can taste the terroir of our milk’.

www.oldhallfarm.co.uk

Hook and Son, Hampshire

STEVEN HOOK spent six years trying, but ultimately failing, to start a conventional organic-milk production and delivery service with seven other Sussex and Kent farmers, but found they simply could not compete on prices. ‘Our provenance, story and quality of milk didn’t mean a thing. The only thing that mattered was price.’ In 2007, he looked into selling raw milk and found that it was not only legal, but that he had to sell it directly. Meaning no middlemen. ‘I also believe that, because raw milk is not pasteurised or homogenised, everything in it is in its natural state, which makes it so clean on the palate. It’s as if the body’s metabolism knows what it is and loves it instead of thinking “what the hell is this?”.’

w ww.hookandson.co.uk

Sustainability

COUNTRY LIFE’s Little Green Book

WHICHEVER way you look, the world is awash with companies—big and small—braying about their green, sustainable and eco-credentials, but, more often than not, they’re doing the bare minimum, if that. We’ve all moved beyond single-use plastic claims. The time for bigger and better action is now. The selection of companies below, straddling industries such as travel, food and drink, homes and fashion, is by no means conclusive or perfect—there’s always more we can do and it’s the collective effort that counts—but they represent a phenomenal starting point, leaders in this green collective, determined to march us all forward towards a brighter future.

Homes

Artorius Faber

AFAMILY-RUN Somerset specialist in homegrown stone that quarries, crafts and conceives interior flagstone flooring, external paving and architectural detailing for legacy projects (www.artoriusfaber.com).

Blake & Bull

THIShighly skilled specialist company brings much-loved old Agas back to life, re-enamelling and refurbishing, then converting them to electric (www.blakeandbull.co.uk).

Gaze Burvill

THIS Hampshire-based specialist in luxury outdoor furniture offers to clean, recondition and recoat its extensive range of benches, chairs, loungers, tables and kitchens (www.gazeburvill.com).

Hypnos

DEVOTED to Global Organic Textiles Standard (GOTS) organic fibres, the company’s new collection is made in Britain from homegrown wool (www.hypnosbeds.com).

Jennifer Manners

THE designer’s sustainable fibres made from recycled bottles have a beautiful look and feel—and an outstanding performance (www.jennifermanners.co.uk).

Real Wild Estates

THIS land-management business delivers landholders viable financial returns via large-scale Nature restoration projects (www. realwildestates.com).

Porta Romana

THE highly creative lighting and furniture brand, which has its own lampshade

In our inaugural Little Green Book, COUNTRY LIFE presents a list of brands that are ‘striving to make the world a better place without compromising on style’

by Giles Kime and Rosie Paterson

Travel

The Brando Hotel, Tahiti

studio and makes 75% of its range within 45 miles of its Hampshire office, runs an Upcycling Club that will breathe new life into old designs, change their look or trade them in for new designs (www.portaromana.com).

The Wrought Iron and Brass Bed Co

THIS company makes high-quality beds in Norfolk from locally sourced materials and recently launched a collection of mattresses made from wool from the flock on the Sandringham estate, where it is based (www.wroughtironandbrassbed.co.uk).

Urquhart Hunt

F

RESH from winning best in show at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show last year for its rewilding beaver-habitat garden, this company specialises in making low-maintenance gardens (www.urquharthunt.com).

CRISS-CROSSING

the globe to get here comes with its own carbon footprint (although the hotel is within touching distance of ensuring every guest enjoys a carbonneutral stay), but no other hotel in the world can claim to be as green as The Brando, where the buildings are cooled using a stateof-the-art seawater air-conditioning system (www.thebrando.com).

Stay Beyond Green

THIS group presents a curated collection of the world’s greenest hotels—all of which must pass a rigorous vetting process, based on globally recognised sustainable tourism standards and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (www.staybeyondgreen.com).

Singita

THE story of Singita started more than a century ago, when the grandfather of founder Luke Bailes purchased a 30,000acre plot of former hunting land in South Africa and turned it into a conservation reserve—now Singita Sabi Sand. Today, its lodges, reserves and camps form and help fund important projects across Africa, including the empowerment of local communities (www.singita.com).

Food and drink

The Ethical Dairy

THIS farm in Rainton, Castle Douglas, produces traditional cheeses made with organic milk, in a cow-to-calf commercial

There’s no need to sacrifice cosiness with a refurbished electric Aga from Blake & Bull

Sustainability

system, which means calves are allowed to stay with their mothers for extended periods of time (www.theethicaldairy.co.uk).

Alara

ALARA’S mueslis, bircher and porridge oats, seeds and granolas are produced using 100% renewable energy and sold in home-compostable packaging. The zero-waste company was instrumental in establishing the Organic Arable Group (www.alara.co.uk).

Totally Wild Food

FOUNDER James Wood organises cooking classes and foraging workshops across the country that teach participants how to make the most of truly wild food. He also supplies fruit- and vegetable-box producer Abel & Cole with wild-foraged sea spinach, three-cornered leeks and much more (https://totallywilduk.co.uk).

Black Isle Brewery

THISCertified B Corp company on the Black Isle in north-west Scotland has been at the forefront of organic craft brewing for more than 25 years. The farm is home to a flock of Hebridean sheep and small herd of cattle, which are fed with spent grain called draff. Any excess draff goes into the compost system, which feeds the biodiverse garden (www.blackislebrewery.com).

Whittington Lodge Farm

THISfamily-run, 700-acre Cotswold farm has a herd of organic Certified Pasture For Life, pedigree Hereford cattle and swathes of important wildlife habitats (the wildlife meadows support valuable insect,

lapwing and skylark populations) and organic arable crops. The cattle are moved to new pastures every day (they do not visit the same area for a minimum of three months) and cows and calves remain together for the duration of their lives. The online farm shop sells delicious beef boxes, including a taster box, beef-bone-broth box and marrow-bone box (www.cotswoldbeef.com).

Restaurants

Wilson’s, Bristol

THISindependently owned and operated bistro boasts its own two-acre market garden, where most of the vegetables, herbs and flowers on the menu are grown. Other ingredients are sourced from small-scale, regenerative farmers and producers in the local area (www.wilsonsbristol.co.uk).

Silo, Hackney Wick, London E9

SILO is a proud zero-waste restaurant— even the furniture and fittings have been upcycled using materials that would have otherwise been wasted. It also has its own flour mill that turns ancient varieties of

Sustainability

wheat into flour using traditional methods (www.silolondon.com).

FIELD by Fortnum’s, 181 Piccadilly, London W1

FORTNUM & MASON’S newest restaurant serves up seasonal, majority plantbased food, sourced from small-scale suppliers (most are UK-based including greens from hydroponic farms in London). The interiors have been decked out in repurposed furniture, crockery, glassware and packaging from the wider Fortnum’s business (www.fortnumandmason.com).

Tillingham, Peasmarsh, East Sussex

THISmulti-purpose vineyard-cum-working farm-cum restaurant with rooms was awarded a Green Star in the 2023 Michelin Guide. The Garden Menu showcases produce

from the venue’s own walled garden, surrounding farms and fish caught daily off Rye Harbour (www.tillingham.com).

Angela’s, Margate, Kent

THISunderstated bijou bistro sticks to a concise menu, scribbled out on a black board and eaten off recycled plastic tables. Sustainable day-caught fish is bought from one supplier—Tom, the youngest boat owner in Ramsgate’s fishing fleet—and vegetables from two acres of exclusive land at Nonington Farms (www.angelasofmargate.com).

Inver, Strachur, Scotland

THISformer crofter’s cottage and boat store doesn’t shout about its sustainable credentials, but it has an unwavering com mitment to local and foraged ingredients and clutch of beautiful bedrooms to boot (www.inverrestaurant.co.uk).

Lifestyle smol

SMOL’S selection of laundry capsules, dishwasher tablets, multi-purpose surface spray and more work as well as big brands, but uses far fewer harsh chemicals. Everything comes in compostable, recyclable or refillable packaging— delivered free to your front door —and is vegan friendly (www. smolproducts.com).

Petalon

ACERTIFIED carbon-neutral and seasonal flower-delivery service, Petalon has B Corp Status and donates 100% of its end-of-year profits to UK conservation pro jects. Where possible, the company uses flowers grown on its own Cornish farm. Packaging is recyclable or biodegradable and a subscription service is available (www.petalon.co.uk).

&Daughter

THIS responsibly sourced and spun Scottish and Irish knitwear brand was founded by Buffy Reid. She was inspired by her Irish grandmother, a superb knitter, and her father, who sold Donegal tweeds and Arans. Today, she works with five yarns and five makers (www.and-daughter.com).

Carrier Company

ANORFOLK-BASED, family-run firm, Carrier Company handmakes stylish, outdoor clothing designed to stand the test of time. All the materials used are UKsourced and the Shetland jumpers are made in Scotland on a circular zero-waste loom (www.carriercompany.co.uk).

Better than new

Sustainability relies on creating furniture and appliances that can be fixed–and the skills to do so, says Arabella Youens

IN May, a book was published titled Broken: Mending and repair in a throwaway world. It tackles the reality that we live in what the author, Katie Treggiden, describes as a ‘single-use society’, where fashion is fast, disposability is the norm and it’s easier to replace than to repair. She traces the linear take-make-waste model that has dominated Western economies back to the Industrial Revolution and champions the need to transform it into something more circular for the good of our planet, and ourselves.

Mending—or the desire to have things mended—is both generational and attitudinal. For some, it’s instinctive. My mother-in-law, born in 1938, has never needed to be lectured about the importance of looking after resources (we’ve come to blows about using margarine to make white sauce; I pointed out that butter rationing ended in 1954). To the distraction of the rest of the family, she has steadfastly held onto the belief that all items can and should be mended and for many years amassed a collection of redundant toasters, kettles and vacuum cleaners. A Belling warming cabinet, which hasn’t warmed a plate since at least 2005, has been repurposed as a storage unit. The problem—and this is one experienced by many—is a blend of not being able to distinguish between what is worth mending (or would be hazardous should an electric current ever pass through it again) and not knowing where the skills lie to have pieces fixed, if they exist at all.

Yet, if television programmes are a bellwether for societal trends, there is a growing appetite to have pieces mended, which is best illustrated by the popularity of the BBC’s The Repair Shop, of which The King is a fan. At the grass roots, this interest is also demonstrated by several so-called ‘repair cafés’ that have cropped up across the country, which match people who need things to be fixed with people who like fixing things. The initiative is Dutch in origin and the aim of Repair Café International, the mother organisation, is as much about skills sharing and learning as it is about items being fixed.

to make spare parts available for a decade (why only a decade?) after production. However, the legislation, for the time being at least, only covers washing machines, washer-dryers, dishwashers, fridges and televisions.

This right to repair should cover almost everything we make, says Prof Naughton. When it comes to furniture and furnishings, the good news is that the skills and knowledge are out there, but the process starts with having well-made items in the first place. Some high-street offerings are held together with staples or glue, and are often impossible to put back together once disassembled. In contrast, a traditionally constructed sofa will have a dowel-jointed frame, sprung or webbed seat, and either feather-and-down cushions or a horsehair-squab cushion. Properly made, these will last at least 150 years, but can easily be refreshed by either re-covering or swapping in loose covers.

This highlights a third obstacle, however: the fact that many designs are harder to repair. Prof John Naughton, from the University of Cambridge’s Minderoo Centre of Technology and Democracy, believes that this denies consumers the right to repair at a moment in time when the environmental impact of technology is having huge planetary consequences. A new law was introduced in 2021 to encourage manufacturers to design their products to be more repairable. It compels them

‘If we all had the “buy once, buy well” approach to everything we bought, then the logic follows that restoration offers much greater value than replacement,’ says Lulu Lytle, co-founder of British-made furniture, lighting and fabrics designer Soane Britain. We are far more likely to value something in which we are both financially and emotionally invested—look how people tend to trea-sure inherited things more—rather than a less considered, more impulsive buy, she adds.

Yosh Reilly and his wife, Clarissa, run Digger & Mojo, an antiques warehouse and restoration service a few miles outside of Pewsey in Wiltshire. An agriculturalist who

If we all had the “buy once, buy well” approach, restoration offers greater value than replacement

worked in Africa and Papua New Guinea before returning to the UK nine years ago, Mr Reilly has turned his hand to restoration and says that almost anything made of wood is repairable. ‘My approach is to take pieces apart to understand how they were constructed. Restoration is a choice that comes down to value and how much people are prepared to pay for the work.’

Herein lies the challenge: few will attach any emotional value to a piece that is cheaper to replace than repair. But those that have been beautifully made—or have provenance —are different, notably the secretaire passed down the female line of one of Mr Reilly’s family since the Battle of Waterloo. With every owner’s name inscribed on the inside of the drawer, it is certainly worth the investment; the current custodian asked Mr Reilly to repair some of the delicate fretwork, which had broken, before handing it on to her niece, a process that involved tracing the original pattern on paper and replicating it by cutting and sawing tiny fragments of wood. ‘It’s a 200plus-year-old piece of family history that is being handed over, but not every piece of furniture is regarded in an equal light.’

There are signs that attitudes are changing, starting with manufacturers themselves. Outdoor furniture specialist Gaze Burvill offers an aftercare service and lighting manufacturer Porta Romana has recently established a refurbishment and part-exchange service. Called The Upcycling Club, it allows customers to update existing lamps or trade in old Porta

Romana pieces for new ones. At the other end of the furniture-buying spectrum, the online auction site eBay has just launched a ‘Better Than New Homeware’ hub, which collates vintage, refurbished and repaired pieces for sale —better for the planet and wallets, it says.

It’s clear that we would all be far more likely to have things repaired if it was obvious where to go, but sadly, we are still some way off every high street offering all the repair services

we need. ‘Thankfully there is an increasing number of places that offer sewing and darning, often a local dry cleaner, and ours also does shoe repairs now,’ says Mrs Lytle. ‘However, fashion is still ahead of furnishings in this respect, I fear, and we would all benefit enormously from equivalent restoration services for woodwork and upholstery, as well as china, glass and electrical goods.’

Restoration is a choice that comes down to value and how much people are prepared to pay for the work

Heart and soul

This year’s WOW!house brings interior design to life, finds Giles Kime

WHAT brings inspiring interior design to life like nothing else? Well, actual interior design, of course, in all its threedimensional, tactile, multicolour glory. The fact that opportunities for ordinary mortals to see the latter are rare was identified half a century ago with the launch of Kips Bay, the most successful and long-lived showhouse in the US. Although there was an attempt to establish something similar in London, it never caught on, which makes last week’s unveiling of the second WOW!house equally as exciting as the first.

With 18 rooms occupying more than 5,000sq ft, it’s a challenge to make generalisations about a project of such depth and breadth, from the panoramic vistas of the entrance foyer that was dreamt up by Mark D. Sikes (whose client list included the Bidens, no less) to a kitchen that has been elevated

beyond the merely functional thanks to a collaboration between luxury kitchen specialist Martin Moore and Henry Prideaux. And in between? There’s Nicky Haslam’s appositely named Legend Room, Vanessa Macdonald’s happy marriage of classic and contemporary and the gem that is the bathroom designed by Barlow & Barlow for Drummonds.

As well as the breadth, there is also the fathomless depth to consider; the almost imperceptible details that combine to create a whole that is infinitely greater than a sum of the parts. There are lots of them here; the sinuous curves of the shower surround in the

Drummonds bathroom, the braid-edged linen that forms canopies that hang above the pair of single beds in the de Le Cuona bedroom by Christian Bense, the flatweave Christopher Farr rug that mimics wood grain in De Gournay’s Morning Room by Waldo Works and Simon Orrell’s relief panels in the Martin Moore kitchen designs by Henry Prideaux.

The WOW!house is more than a source of inspiration. It’s a demonstration of how and why interior design, of all creative endeavours, is not only one of the most multifaceted, it is also the one that has the capacity to transform our experience of our daily lives. Recognition of this fact is this year’s charity partner, TP Caring Spaces, which was launched by the interior designers Bunny Turner and Emma Pocock, who are using their design expertise to transform utilitarian therapy and respite-care spaces into havens for carers and patients.

Interior design has the capacity to transform our lives

Interiors

Interiors

WOW!house is open until July 6, Monday–Saturday, from 10am, with last entry 5.30pm. Individual tickets cost £20, with two or more tickets for £16 each on weekdays. There is a 2-for-1 offer on Saturdays, when tickets cost £20. Student tickets are £10. For more details and to buy tickets, visit www.dcch.co.uk

dates from 1550. £6.5m

To the manor reborn

WRITING in C OUNTRY L IFE of The Manor House, Sandford Orcas, near Sherborne, Dorset (March 3 and 10, 1966 ), a house he describes as ‘one of the most charming manor houses in the West of England’, the magazine’s then Architectural Editor, Arthur Oswald, maintains that ‘often the most enchanting of Tudor houses prove to have been those that were deserted by their owners in the 18th century and turned into farmhouses’. He explains that ‘although farmers might not be the best of custodians, they were unlikely to make more than minor alterations themselves, and most landlords would have been content with the minimum of maintenance. So the house would remain unchanged’.

Thus it was that, in 1872, after 124 years of farmer occupation, Hubert Hutchings, whose family had owned the estate since the early 1700s, decided to live at the manor himself. Working closely with his architect, Harry Hall, who, according to Oswald, ‘had a light touch and no aggressive urge to leave the marks of his own personality behind’, Hutchings carried out a ‘quite unusually sympathetic’ renovation of the manor house,

now listed Grade I. Hutchings died in 1898 and, following the death of his widow in 1914, Sandford Orcas passed under the terms of his will to his cousin, Sir Hubert Medlycott, the 6th baronet, of Ven House at nearby Milborne Port. Sir Hubert was succeeded at The Manor House by his son, also Hubert, and his grandson, Christopher, who let the house until 1978, when it passed to the late Sir Mervyn Medlycott, the 9th baronet. He died in 2021, after undertaking another extensive refurbishment, during which the roof was renewed, and the entire house re-plumbed and re-wired. Now on the market for the first time since 1736, through Knight Frank in Sherborne (01935 810062) and London (020–7861 1717), The Manor House is being offered either as a whole or in three lots. Lot 1, comprising Sandford Orcas Manor, set in 73 acres of formal and walled gardens, woodland and pasture, is for sale with a guide price of £6.5 million. Lot 2, the 259-acre Manor Farm, comprising two separate blocks of farmland, a four-bedroom farmhouse and a large farmyard with modern agricultural buildings, is on offer at £2.65m. Lot 3, a further parcel of pasture currently let under a Farm Business Tenancy, is available at £350,000.

Historically part of Somerset but transferred to Dorset following a county boundary change in 1896, the village of Sandford Orcas takes its name from the sandy ford across the stream beside which the original settlement grew up, whereas Orcas derives from the surname of the Norman de Orescuilz family who held the manor in the 12th century. In 1939, Arthur Mee, editor of The Kings England, described the village as ‘lying in a green lap surrounded by hills and reached by a sunken lane. Its gracious Tudor manor house stands by the church, its gatehouse like a friendly neighbour of the House of God’.

In the 14th century, the manor was held by the Knoyle family from Wiltshire and, in 1533, was inherited by Edward Knoyle, who built the present house, probably in about 1550. Much of the interior stonework, such as the fireplaces in the hall and the parlour, dates from this period, whereas the glorious woodwork that is such an important element of the house was originally put in place by him or his immediate successors.

The Knoyle family fortunes took a turn for the worse when their Catholic beliefs and

A charming Tudor house in Dorset comes to the market for the first time in almost three centuries

The manor house

“stands by the church, a friendly neighbour of the House of God”

support for the Royalist cause in the Civil War left them in dire financial straits. By 1651, the house was heavily mortgaged and, in 1674, the mortgagees decided to foreclose. The Knoyles eventually left Sandford Orcas in about 1700, after which the absentee owners were London merchants who, in 1736, instructed a local lawyer, John Hutchings, to sell the property. Clearly a man with an eye for a bargain, Hutchings bought the house himself, since when The Manor House and its estate have been owned by his descendants.

Built of the local, golden Ham stone under stone slate roofs, The Manor House provides 9,225sq ft of atmospheric living space on two main floors, with a bedroom and ante-chamber in the gatehouse, and four attic rooms on the third floor. The entrance porch leads through to the 17th-century screens passage, with a door through to the Great Hall, arguably the most impressive room in the house.

The fireplace in the hall is 16th century, with further 16th-century fireplaces in the Solar chamber-bedroom and upstairs chambers.

A stone spiral staircase at the west end of the screens passage leads to the Red Room antechamber, bedroom and bathroom, beyond which are the inner chamber and Great Chamber bedrooms. The kitchen is located in the west wing, which has been fully refurbished and consists of a delightful country kitchen, a breakfast room with flag-stone floors, four bedrooms, a bathroom and a shower room. Further accommodation is available in the three-bedroom Manor Cottage, currently let under a protected life tenancy, and the onebedroom Stable Flat, presently let under an assured shorthold tenancy with a two-month notice period.

Across the county border in south Wiltshire, West Tisbury is a large rural parish situated seven miles north-east of Shaftesbury, Dorset, and four miles east of East Knoyle. It extends west of Tisbury village to take in the grounds of the Pythouse estate and is one of England’s most beautiful and unspoilt corners, where rolling hills, woods, lakes and a rich variety of architecture diversify the landscape.

The focal point of the estate is Grade II*listed Pythouse, an imposing, early Georgian country house originally built in the 1720s by Thomas Benett, who, according to John Martin Robinson (COUNTRY L IFE , January 6, 2005 ) ‘came from a line of architecturally minded squires who had owned Pythouse since the 16th century’.

Over a three-year period from 1802–05, his grandson, John Benett, who succeeded in 1797 aged 24, rebuilt the house, still in the Anglo-Palladian style, but with neo-Classical detailing, including Greek Ionic for the portico and loggia columns, and tripartite Wyatt windows in the side elevations. Much of the architectural impact of Pythouse derives from its magnificent setting on high ground and the carefully designed landscape of the hillside park. Benett’s father had made this possible by selling off land elsewhere to fund the expansion and consolidation of the Pythouse estate.

The house was little changed in the early 20th century, and when Evelyn Benett, the

Property market

widow of Jack Benett, its last owner, died in 1957 with no surviving children, Pythouse was acquired by the Mutual Households Association, later the Country Houses Association (CHA), which repaired the house and converted it to apartments for retired gentlefolk.

Half a century later, the CHA was in financial trouble, and, in early 2004, Sir Henry Rumbold, the owner of the estate, exercised his option to acquire Pythouse so that house and park could be put together again and sold as a residential estate. That same year, Pythouse, set in some 93 acres of mature parkland and farmland, was acquired by the current owners, who have carried out a substantial programme of works throughout the house, which still has potential for further improvement.

Having used Pythouse mainly as a second home, the owners are now looking to downsize and the splendid neo-Grecian mansion, which boasts some 38,680sq ft of internal floor space on three floors, including an impressive range of state rooms, 16 principal bedroom suites, two staff apartments and extensive cellars, is for sale through Knight Frank’s country department (020–7861 1065) at a guide price of £18m.

The heat is on

Lucy Denton investigates how heat pumps can help our heritage buildings in the move to a more sustainable future

THERE isn’t a building in the country that can’t be heated effectively with heat pumps,’ says Will McCarthy, senior consultant at ISO Energy in Horley, Surrey, ‘and it’s a myth that it can’t be done. It can be made to work, as long as it’s designed and installed correctly.’ The pressure is on to reduce carbon emissions and heat pumps have emerged as an energy-source antidote to the old fossil-fuel guzzling gas and oil boilers, endorsed by the Government offering grants of £5,000 or more to potential takers, as long as a new system meets certain standards. Yet, the response has been lacklustre, a curiously British phenomenon that means a significant lag behind other countries. ‘It will take time to catch up with the rest of Europe,’ adds Mr McCarthy.

Heat pumps have become a divisive subject, rousing bad press, notably for the hefty fees for purchase and installation, which often run into tens of thousands of pounds, and for the long wait for cost benefits. ‘What any good installer should do is produce calculations showing expenditure and payback time, but be aware that this could potentially extend beyond your lifetime,’ points out Ed Stancliffe, senior design engineer at ENG Design, based in London. The physical impact on the historic built environment can be invasive and the planning process protracted, depending on availability of conservation officers. Ground-source pumps require expensive bore holes or trenches to be dug by specialists, whereas air-source units can be noisy and unsightly. Both work best when combined

with effective insulation, ‘which I would promote ahead of everything, where possible,’ says Mark Hoare, director at Hoare, Ridge & Morris architects in Suffolk, who has installed a ground-source heat pump at his own 16th-century timber-frame cottage and has ‘no regrets’.

There are more encouraging stories: at Grade I-listed Dorfold Hall in Cheshire, a superlative Jacobean brick-built house intended to accommodate a visit from James I, the tradition of shrewd development has been fulfilled in the 21st century. Here, one of the first heat-pump systems installed at a country domain, combining both groundand water-source energy from a nearby field and lake, has been nothing short of transformative in the effort to be sustainable,

Property comment

particularly as the electricity that powers it comes from renewable sources. ‘It required a significant investment, but it changed our lives,’ stresses Candice Roundell, custodian of Dorfold, ‘and it has outperformed our initial expectations. It’s the best thing we ever did. And it works especially well in historic houses where the constant temperature it generates benefits the collections and fabric of the building.’

There is an auspicious synchronicity between rural stately piles, with all their outbuildings and land, and the practical requirements of ground- and water-source energy. What is still the Roundells’s family home has a huge ‘boiler’ room on site, allowing space for water tanks and heat pumps in the clocktower—to the naked eye, there is no obvious sign of this state-of-the-art system.

However, the dynamics of each building will be unique and thought must be given to a site’s age, location and function. The surprisingly wide variation in results when traditional boiler systems were replaced with heat pumps has been uncovered in a case study of 10 small-scale historic properties recently produced by Historic England in collaboration with Max Fordham LLP, netzero technology specialists, which analysed impact on churches, private dwellings and retail units. ‘There are effective solutions in buildings of all sizes and ages,’ concludes Morwenna Slade, head of historic-building climate-change adaptation at Historic England, ‘but it is not a case of one size fits all. Heat pumps are effective when situated properly and the resident knows how to use the system.’

It depends on how the building is employed: a modest congregation occupying a mid-19thcentury church only intermittently, which got cold throughout the rest of the week, found that the underfloor heating powered by an air-source heat pump took too long to warm up days later. Yet a similar set-up proved very efficient in providing a constant ambient temperature and eliminating condensation at a Georgian equivalent in Cumbria that was more frequently operational.

Investing in companies and planners with good knowledge of these systems in order

to produce an optimal design that is fit for purpose is essential, otherwise ‘it can be deeply frustrating,’ points out Rob JonesDavies, a director of the RJD Consultancy, which specialises in rural development, ‘especially when a very expensive heat pump is installed by a specialist, who then defers to a local plumber for everything beyond the plant room, so you’re dealing with two different suppliers. And internal infrastructure often has to be replaced.’

Heat pumps produce a lower temperature and existing pipework will almost certainly need to be updated with an increased diameter, so that heat isn’t lost. If retrofitting a new system, the existing radiators won’t be as hot and may also need changing. Mr Stancliffe advises starting with a heat-loss calculation with a sensible worst-case external temperature, cautioning that ‘unless you know how much heat that building requires, it is only half the game. If you don’t know the heat loss, then you’re guessing at the amount of heat you need. In the case of ground-source heat pumps and their collectors, it’s a good idea to have one contractor responsible for it all, to ensure compatibility’.

Interventions in the historic fabric of listed buildings will also require formal consents from the local planning authority, who will ‘need to decide whether the harm caused to the building by the upgrades

is outweighed by the benefits offered,’ says Alice Jones of Savills’s heritage-planning team, although ‘we are seeing a shift in attitudes from officers and the public benefit of improving the energy efficiency of a building is being given more weight in this balance’. Fitting heat pumps is a complex operation, with heating requirements in different rooms, amount of space and land and geology all being factors, even the potential for snow

build-up and how many baths will be run at the same time—although maintenance is usually no more than for a ‘traditional’ oil or gas system. There are ways around what might seem like problematic circumstances, including combining boreholes and dry-air coolers for multi-storey blocks; ISO Energy has even designed systems to be buried under car parks, extensions, in paddocks and registered parkland. Some do, indeed, like it hot-ish.

There are effective solutions in buildings of all sizes and ages, but it is not a case of one size fits all

In historic houses, the constant temperature benefits the collections and fabric of the building

Romancing the garden

The home of Kate Stuart-Smith

Stopping spraying and allowing plants to self-seed was the first step in the gradual and brilliant reinvention of the walled garden at Serge Hill, says Non Morris

Photographs by Jason Ingram

WHEN one thinks of the garden at Serge Hill, what comes to mind is a handsome, whitepainted Regency villa, its generous windows and comfortable verandah looking down over rolling Hertfordshire parkland—these days, hazy with long grass. A trio of rocking chairs nestled under a spreading strawberry tree create a sense of comfort, everything is settled and calm.

And then there is the Walled Garden at the side of the house. Nothing prepares the visitor for the scented, surging, fairy-tale profusion they have entered. Everyone gasps as they begin their journey along one of its staggeringly beautiful garden paths. You are in a shimmering painting of pale mauve, dark purple, electric green and stately, sky-rocketing whites and yellows. Who has seen mullein used in this way before: a heady upward-dashing cocktail of slender white Verbascum chaixii, ghostly V. lychnitis and great yellow candelabras of the giant mullein, V. bombyciferum ‘Arctic Summer’?

Serge Hill is home to Kate Stuart-Smith and her husband, David Docherty. It is where Ms Stuart-Smith was brought up with her five siblings, one of whom—the internationally renowned landscape designer Tom StuartSmith—lives next door in a handsome converted barn surrounded by another remarkable garden (‘Field trials’, September 7, 2022).

When her grandfather bought the house in 1926, the lawn beyond the verandah was dotted with circular rose beds. By 1953, when his only daughter, Joan, took over with her barrister husband, Sir Murray Stuart-Smith, the formal rose beds had gone, but the scale of their stafffree, post-war country garden felt overwhelming. The pair decided to set up a market garden, which would allow them to employ a gardener. ‘They had magnificent greenhouses with sliding doors and grew tomatoes, strawberries, chrysanthemums and daffodils,’ explains Ms Stuart-Smith. ‘Having six children in six years gave them access to a small army of additional helpers and we were constantly deployed. It was an amazing education. We learnt to recognise weeds and spent hours in the garden every day during the summer holidays.’

What Ms Stuart-Smith really loved was ‘projects and doing things in teams. I loved the

Preceding pages: Verbascums reach for the sky. Left: Fastigiate yews anchor the borders

When the spraying stopped, the selfseeding began and everything softened

fact that you could embark on clearing a bit of wasteland and turning it into a garden. We would all do it together. Both my parents loved that’. Her mother’s particular passion was for propagation, a skill she passed on from her favourite chair in the greenhouse at the top of the Walled Garden—from where she could see everything that was going on.

Gradually, the Walled Garden changed. It was no longer a market garden, but remained highly productive, with immaculate beds of salad and vegetables, fine stands of artichokes and long rows of pleached apples. An asparagus bed in the sunny top corner gave way to a Hot Patch—a richly coloured summer border with Stipa gigantea ‘planted at the front to hide the weeds’—and a pergola draped with clematis was designed by son Tom after a visit from Penelope Hobhouse, who declared that the garden needed structure.

Ms Stuart-Smith moved to London after university, where she trained and worked as a garden designer, but returned to Serge Hill in the late 1990s to begin to take responsibility for the garden. But how to make a garden your own when it is a much-loved family garden, albeit with the sensibility of an older generation?

‘The situation here was so different to Tom’s. He began with nothing, an empty field around a barn. I inherited many lovely plants and all this structure. For then, I was very much the under gardener, but, over time, I would have to decide what I wanted to keep and what not to keep. It was hard to know where to start.’

Ms Stuart-Smith decided to photograph the garden to work out her approach and, in 2008, when her mother was 80, started redesigning the bottom of the Walled Garden. ‘I was a long way from my mother in the greenhouse at the other end. I felt free to try out perennials and use soft smoky colours rather than her favourite reds. The garden felt austere, I wanted to cover the earth and to have lots of repetition and self-seeding.’

A fundamental change was to stop spraying. Her mother used to rise at 6am on a still day to tackle the gravel. When the spraying stopped, the self-seeding began and everything softened.

The next move was to consider the structural planting. Outdated 1960s conifers and ‘monstrous’ variegated ivy were removed. Plants such as Cotinus coggygria were adapted by ‘pruning them hard to get wonderful bronzy new leaves and lose the heavy redness of a mature plant’ and six fastigiate yews were added to anchor the animated borders. Another turning point was the removal of two spreading cedars of Lebanon, which Ms Stuart-Smith

Kate Stuart-Smith on creating romance in the garden

You can’t really garden in the way we understand without exerting quite a bit of control, but the key to a romantic garden is to make sure that you can’t see that control I garden organically and encourage plants to self-seed, which softens everything. It’s well drained here and plants such as Erigeron karvinskianus and Verbena officinalis var. grandiflora ‘Bampton’ love it. My technique is to put a pot of a plant I like on the gravel and leave it to scatter itself

I don’t think you can have a romantic garden without roses, but some roses

are more romantic than others. I have realised that ramblers work better than climbers on the front of the house because they are much less stiff. A recent discovery is ‘Purple Skyliner’, almost identical to ‘Veilchenblau’, but with continuous soft purple flowers Smoky, subtle colours work particularly well in a romantic garden. I love the magical steely blue of Delphinium requienii, the slightly grey-washed blue of Aconitum ‘Stainless Steel’ and the glamour of Salvia turkestanica

had long found ‘too masculine’. She disliked the way they ‘dictated the landscape’, felt liberated when they were gone and decided to take out a beech hedge, too. This area is now a wildflower meadow with a mown path through a relaxed grove of the exquisite crab apple Malus hupehensis, a place of calm after the thrilling headiness of the Walled Garden.

By the time Lady Stuart-Smith died in 2015, she had described her daughter’s changes as ‘astonishing’. The garden at Serge Hill is an exemplary balance between old and new. The patiently propagated box plants are now glorious bulging hedges, the perfect foil for wine-coloured sunflowers and dazzling foxtail lilies. The layout within the Foster & Pearson greenhouse continues because it works so well, but, instead of compost, the bays outside are full of salvias, Verbena bonariensis and tumbling squash. ‘It was much more functional before. I want people to go “wow” at the romantic abundance as soon as they arrive.’

Ms Stuart-Smith has created a garden that is thoughtful and generous, experimental and passionate. She is aware that her gardening style is intensive and that she could not manage without the commitment of her gardener Richard Spicer and her Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) volunteers. She knows too that future change is inevitable. ‘Perhaps the next generation will simply divide the Walled Garden into allotments and plant trees. I would probably encourage them, but this feels right for now’.

The garden at Serge Hill, Belmond, Hertfordshire, will open for the National Garden Scheme, together with Tom StuartSmith’s Barn, on June 18, 1pm–5pm. Pre-booking is essential (www.ngs.org.uk).

Private groups may come on combined visits with the Barn during June and July (www.tomstuartsmith.co.uk)

The garden is an exemplary balance between old and new

Ramblers retreat

IN the village where I grew up, all the cottages grew the same pink rambling rose against their walls. Blowsy, prickly and very sweet scented, my grandmother told me that its name was ‘Albertine’, a Wichurana Rambler introduced in France in 1921, the year my father was born.

But why did everyone grow the same variety? The answer is because it was so easy to propagate: stuff 10 cuttings into the soil in autumn and, two years later, you have 10 flourishing rambling roses. Cuttings passed willingly between neighbours until everyone had a specimen or two to cover their walls.

But ‘Albertine’ wasn’t the only rambling rose to spread from cottage to cottage. Other villages have different varieties that were equally as popular because they are no less easy to grow. I know a village in Sussex where every house has sweetly musky, whiteflowered ‘Albéric Barbier’. My wife grew up in the middle of Salisbury Plain, where the houses were wreathed in late-flowering crimson ‘Excelsa’ and there are many villages where the dominant rambler is pretty pink ‘Dorothy Perkins’ or pink-and-white ‘American Pillar’. If you ask the present-day owners for the name of their rose, they seldom know the answer, although ‘Village Maid’ is a catch-all that I come across from time to time.

Many of those ancient plants— most were grown from cuttings more than 100 years ago—are flourishing still. The owners are country people and they attend to

their rambling roses every winter. They climb up a ladder; they prune; they tie in the growths. But when the owners get too old to manage, their children put the cottage up for sale to pay for the nursing-home fees. Then it is bought by a young couple from London who want to live in the country. What will happen to the roses? The townies have better things to do in their leisure hours than struggle with a prickly Leviathan. Out comes the ancient rambler and in goes a blowsy beauty from David Austin. Is there a problem of conservation?

Yes, in the sense that the village begins to lose its character, but also no, because those ancient ramblers are still very widely grown all over Britain and Ireland.

Rambling roses enjoyed a bull market between 1900 and 1940.

Horticultural aide-mémoire Propagate pinks

Pinks are easy to propagate at this time of year. You will see several non-flowering side shoots. These are the ones. Remove one or two from each plant by pulling, as the shoot is jointed in the manner of a telescope. Place five around the edge of a pot filled with free-draining compost. Label, water and place in a cool, shady spot. They will root in a few weeks and be ready to pot on or line out next spring. The mother plants will be unaffected and will furnish further supplies next year. SCD

In the pink: cottages in the West Country are awash with rambling ‘Albertine’ roses, a variety that is easy propagate

Their vigour and their eagerness to please were a revelation. The need to give the rambling roses something over which to drape their loveliness initiated a revolution in Edwardian garden design. Well-todo gardeners constructed pergolas, bowers and arbours for them; cottage gardeners would make a rustic arch of wood for roses to clamber up and over; and the gardeners on large estates spent many winter weeks laboriously thinning them out and tying them down so that, for perhaps one month in high summer, the ladies of the house in long, lace-edged cotton dresses could wander underneath the pergola and imagine themselves as lovely as the roses overhead.

Sometimes, reality punctures the romantic daydream. Roses trained along a pergola will reach for the sky—most plants move towards the light—which puts the passerunderneath in the dark, with nothing to admire above their leghornhatted heads except the stems and leaves. It soon became clear that a better way of displaying rambling roses was to tie them into trelliswork or to train them along ropes and swing them from post to post. You can see this done to perfection at Queen Mary’s rose garden in Regent’s Park, London, the design

of which remains unchanged since it was laid out in the 1930s. It’s a way of enjoying roses that is simpler to maintain because, if you set your ropes no higher than 6ft, it requires no ladder-work. And you can see the roses easily and get up close and personal to admire and stick your nose in them. In Regent’s Park, the supports are slightly taller and the roses are garlanded along three ropes, set about 2ft apart. I settle for two strands and I even use plastic rope from a ship’s chandler—it’s much cheaper and no one notices.

But I am sorry to see those pretty centennial roses disappear from cottage walls. Ramblers flower earlier than Hybrid Teas and Floribundas and I enjoy driving around country villages at the time of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, looking for walls of stone, flint or mellow brick simply dripping with roses. Last year, I passed an old thatched farmhouse in Wiltshire where the patterned walls were covered by a deep-red rose that I did not know. Might I take a photograph? Yes, of course. And isn’t it beautiful? Village Maid, we call it. May I come back in autumn and take a cutting? Yes, please do. I did and, fortunately, they remembered me. I took the cutting, plus a spare—and both have now made roots and are growing vigorously in my garden. It’s a funny thing, said the owner, but we were thinking of digging it out and planting a David Austin rose instead.

Charles Quest-Ritson wrote the RHS Encyclopedia of Roses

Next week Russell Page

Rambling roses enjoyed a bull market between 1900 and 1940

How to be a human squirrel

Pickling and preserving is a great way to extend the shelf life of seasonal produce, says John Wright, who shares some of his top tips and ideas

IHAVE been squirrelling away food for winter for 40 years—I like the reassurance of a full larder, not buying so much stuff out of season and, perhaps most of all, the preserving process itself. There are many ways of storing food: drying, salting, smoking, bottling, pickling, fermenting, and pastes, plus the clamping of root vegetables, and ‘forcing’ the roots of biennials for fresh winter leaves.

Bottling and drying are my favourite methods, with several days in the year taken up by a flurry of messy activity. Bottling only works with fruits, as the high temperature needed for vegetables is unobtainable in the kitchen without serious kit in the form of a ‘canner’ (a species of pressure cooker). Still, bottled fruit and fruit juices are superb—and don’t forget that tomatoes are fruit. Berries can be bottled whole, but larger fruits, such as pears, need to be prepared and softened with light cooking to allow them to fit snugly into your jars. The fruit is bottled in a sugar syrup, the strength depending on how sweet the fruit is—anything from 10% for very sweet fruit to 40% for something sour. The more adventurous can add flavourings, such as cinnamon (itself an excellent preservative) into the mix.

Having once bought a stock-pot so large (75 litres/16½ gallons) that it won’t fit in the house and has to live in the garden, I now use the ‘water-bath method’. For the most part, I bottle juices, such as rosehip syrup, apple, blackberry and sea buckthorn. I fill the bottles with juice, leaving a 12mm (½in) gap at the top, arrange them tightly in the pot atop a tea towel, to protect their bottoms

two jars of cherry plums in the shed that were dated 2010. They were absolutely fine, although the dried seaweed next to them wasn’t. All vegetables and fruit can be dried, but with variable success. I mostly dry mushrooms, seaweeds, nettles and herbs, plus the occasional root vegetable, which I finely slice or cube. The windowsill is my easiest go-to place, but above the woodburning stove, on what is left of my daughters’ trampoline in the garden and in a temperature-controlled electric food dryer work as well. If you use the dryer, set it to the lowest temperature to avoid losing the aromatics. You can slice and dry onions, but don’t; their ghosts will linger for three

Sustainability

Florence fennel, celeriac, sun-dried tomatoes (make your own!), garlic, parsley and coriander, but the choice is yours. A spoonful or two can be used instead of a stock and an unopened jar will be fine for six months.

I dislike and distrust pickles—only pickled mushrooms hold any appeal. I usually work with wild mushrooms (proceed with caution). I use the caps of very small species, slicing the larger ones. The process in essence is: wash them, leave them in salt for 15 minutes, drain off the liquid, repeat the salting, drain again, wash extremely quickly, dry with tea towels, blanch in simmering cider vinegar for 30 seconds, drain, place in a jar and cover with olive oil.

None of the above, splendid as they can be, can help preserve salad vegetables. For this, we either need to grow them in a heated greenhouse, on the windowsill or in a dark room. The last of these seems like nonsense, but I used to grow chicory in my allotment, providing me with fresh, crisp leaves until February. Choose a ‘forcing’ variety of chicory. The roots are dug up in late autumn and kept in cool, dryish sand. Plant a few, indoors, in a sterile, watered compost and cover with a tent of black polythene. The ‘chicons’ will grow blanched and are harvested when of a good size.

months. Better to string them whole and hang them somewhere cool. Dried and powdered vegetables and herbs can be mixed with spices to produce a homemade stock powder, something I use every day.

Speaking of stock mixes, my friend Pam ‘the Jam’ Corbin includes one in her book River Cottage Handbook No 2: Preserves. She calls it ‘Souper’. It is effectively a coarse purée of vegetables and herbs, plus, critically, 25% salt. She recommends leek, carrot,

Bottling and drying are my favourites, with several days in the year taken up by a flurry of messy activity

My favourite recipe

Fool me once

THE gooseberry is not an easy fruit to love. Not only do you have to battle through a perilously thorny bush to reach your bounty, but, once there—hands usually resembling the aftermath of a brawl with a particularly spiteful alley cat—you’re greeted by a fat green blob, wearing what looks like a three-day growth of stubble. Worse still, unless you time your expedition with immaculate precision, you’ll find a berry so spectacularly sour that it doesn’t just make the tongue pucker, but makes the soul wince, too.

This meant that gooseberry picking, as a child, ranked one step below collecting eggs from the broody, pecky hen. And believe me, that particular clucking chore took the courage of Hercules and the cunning of Moriarty to escape unscathed. Gooseberries, on the other hand, were one of those rare fruits that I simply didn’t trust. Something about those bristles unnerved me. Also, they bit back.

In terms of reputation, the gooseberry is in urgent need of some slick PR spin. The first image that springs to mind, after those hairs, is to ‘play gooseberry’. That is, to be a glum passion killer, the unwanted third wheel to an already amorous pair. It all goes back to the fruit being a Victorian euphemism for chaperone. Usually some stern-bosomed, moustachioed matron who tuts at uncovered table legs and is sent along to ensure proper standards are upheld. Meaning there’s scant chance of sly jiggery-pokery. Sexy, it ain’t.

It’s also a fruit that seems to have rolled out of fashion. Whereas rhubarb, quince and

Gooseberry custard cream

This recipe comes from Mary Norwak’s English Puddings: Sweet and Savoury, an utterly essential paean to one of the glories of our national cuisine. She says it has been handed down in a Suffolk family for more than 300 years, as an early version of the classic

damson wear their sharpness with aplomb, the gooseberry is a rare visitor to the more modish menus, which seems a shame.

Native to Europe and a lover of the cold and damp, it was once the star of 19th-century ‘gooseberry clubs’, where keen growers, particularly in the Midlands and the North, vied to produce ever larger and sweeter varieties. George W. Johnson, the British gardening writer, writes, somewhat snootily, of the huge specimens grown around Manchester, by ‘the lowest and most illiterate members of society, [who] by continual experimentation and perseverance in growing and raising new sorts, have brought the fruit to weigh three times as much as before’. These days, you’d be lucky to find gooseberries in a decent greengrocer, let alone your average supermarket.

Enough, however, of the disparagement, as a good gooseberry is a very fine thing indeed. They come in a palette of colours, from white and yellow right through to bold red. And although those meant for eating must be picked late, those bound for the pot should still pack a decidedly acidic punch.

They add welcome sharpness to a classic crumble, make wonderful jellies, vinegars and jams. Gooseberries also cut a dashing swathe through the richness of both mackerel and goose. They’re perfectly suited to the fool, too, that most simple and splendid of English puddings. Line the bottom of a martini glass with crushed ginger snaps and, if you’re feeling particularly exuberant, a hearty jigger of The King’s Ginger liqueur. Then, stew the fruit with a little sugar until soft, mix with double whipped cream, transfer to the martini glass and serve.

As for their etymology—a ‘culinary garbling’, according to Jane Grigson. Some say that the name was a result of their use as medieval stuffing for goose. Others argue (they always do) that the word derives from krûsil, the Flemish for crisp berry, which became groser or gorzer in French. Indeed, the French call it the groseille a maquereau, or the ‘mackerel red currant’, thanks to its natural affinity with the fish.

gooseberry fool. She notes the fruit in early fools was mashed, as it is here, rather than sieved, and I like the extra texture this gives to the pudding.

Method

Wash the gooseberries and top and tail them. Put in a pan with the water and simmer until soft and broken.

Edward Bunyan, fruit expert and wit, described gooseberries as ‘the fruit par excellence for ambulant consumption. The freedom of the bush should be given to all visitors… and the exercise of gathering, too, is beneficial to the middle-aged and also stimulates their absorptive capacity’. I’m not sure I’d go that far, but the gooseberry is an undoubtedly glorious fruit—even if its gathering can be fraught. But do watch out for interlopers. The Chinese gooseberry, better known as the kiwi fruit, is a relation in name alone. As is the Cape gooseberry, or Physalis, a ridiculous fruit that must have some use, somewhere. But I’ll be damned if I know what it is.

Stir in the butter, rosewater and sugar and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved. Beat the cream and eggs together in a bowl until well mixed. Stir the egg mixture into the gooseberries over low heat and cook gently until just thickened

Pour into a serving bowl and chill. Serve with small, sweet biscuits.

Ingredients

Serves 6

2lb gooseberries

Half a pint water

1oz butter

1tbspn rosewater

8oz sugar

Half a pint double cream

4 eggs

A fat green blob wearing a three-day growth of stubble, sexy it is not, yet the gooseberry adds a welcome sharpness to jellies, jams and a simple fool, says Tom Parker Bowles

Something about those bristles unnerved me

Go ahead, jump!

True crickets once basked in the warmth of the kitchen or sang their cheerful summer song in the fields. Now, after years of decline, some species are making a welcome comeback, finds Jack

THE usually mild-mannered 18thcentury curate Gilbert White suggested that house crickets ‘may be blasted and destroyed by gunpowder discharged into their crevices and crannies’ when they became ‘noisome pests’ in houses. If that sounds drastic, the author of The Natural History of Selborne had other remedies. ‘Cats catch hearth-crickets, and playing with them as they do with mice, devour them,’ he wrote. He also recommended setting down phials half-filled with beer or other liquids in their haunts ‘for, being always eager to drink, they will crowd in till the bottles are full’.

These days, however, the critters have a much more positive, albeit somewhat low, public profile. Although the Talking Cricket (renamed Jiminy in Walt Disney’s sanitised Hollywood cartoon) is killed by Pinocchio in Carlo Collodi’s original story of 1883, another specimen is the hero of Charles Dickens’s popular Christmas story, A Cricket on the Hearth. Drawing on the old tradition that, as Mrs Peerybingle declares, ‘to have a cricket on the hearth is the luckiest thing in the world!’, it brings comfort and reassurance to her humble dwelling ‘where its shrill, sharp, piercing voice resounds’ and seems ‘to twinkle though the outer darkness like a star’.

A few decades earlier, John Keats used the cricket as a symbol of ‘the poetry of the earth’ in his sonnet On the Grasshopper and Cricket (1817), its song ‘in warmth increasing ever’—a reminder that, in past times, when crickets were more numerous, their chirpings were regarded as a soundtrack of a long, hot English summer.

The house cricket is one of the four species of true cricket (Gryllidae) found in this country and the only one to be non-native. Probably originating in the dry regions of north Africa and south-west Asia, it may have arrived in England alongside crusaders returning from Outremer in the 13th century. Unable to stand the cold, here, it is essentially an indoor creature, except in especially hot spells, when it may fly off into gardens and hedges. Traditionally inhabiting warm kitchens and bakehouses, the house cricket is much

Leap of faith: a house cricket jumps in front of a fireplace, drawn to the home’s warmth

As Mrs Peerybingle declares, “to have a cricket on the hearth is the luckiest thing in the world!”

less common than in the past. Many, unlike Mrs Peerybingle, will count that a blessing, as the ‘singing’ of these crepuscular creatures, a high-pitched, repeated chirrup carried out over long periods to the point of monotony, is loudest at night.

White spent more time researching the life cycle of the field cricket, one the three true crickets now accepted as native to Britain, which favours open, sunny, south-facing slopes. Each year, White recorded their first song of the spring in the pastures of the Short Lythe, a short walk beyond the churchyard gate at Selborne. He loved their ‘agreeable, shrilling noise’ or ‘cheerful summer cry’, which lasted the length of the season. William John Lucas, in his A Monograph of the British Orthoptera (1920), described the field cricket’s song as ‘more sonorous than that of the house-cricket’.

He noted that: ‘In Italy, the crickets are kept in little wicker-cages for the sake of their song, in much the same way as Gilbert White kept them.’ Sadly, White’s Selborne crickets suddenly disappeared from the area and, by the 1980s, these creatures, the song of which was once familiar on the formerly well-grazed heaths of Hampshire, Surrey and Sussex, were facing extinction. Requiring bare ground and short vegetation and thus vulnerable to scrub reversion, they were reduced to a single

site in West Sussex. In recent years, however, new colonies have been established as part of a Species Recovery Programme on the RSPB reserves at Farnham Heath in Surrey and Pulborough Brooks in West Sussex. Another native true cricket, the wood cricket favours the warm, deep leaf litter of deciduous woodland rides and clearings. Even if sighted on old stone walls or earth banks, they’ll seldom be far from trees. The song of the wood cricket has been described as a subdued churring, interrupted by short pauses. David R. Ragge in his Grasshoppers, Crickets and Cockroaches of the British Isles (1965) wrote that, when a field cricket is heard in its natural haunts, ‘it is generally a chorus of singing males and the continuous sound suggests perhaps a nightjar or grasshopper warbler’. Although active during the day, it will sing at night in warmer weather.

White loved their “agreeable, shrilling noise” or “cheerful summer cry”

The scaly cricket is now accepted as native to this country, but is extremely rare. An inhabitant of shingle beaches, it was not discovered until 1949, on Chesil Beach, Dorset. It’s since been found in a few other coastal locations. Although this little cricket doesn’t sing, its lifestyle is fascinating: living under pebbles and larger stones just above the beach tideline and feeding on decaying plant and animal matter.

The closest orthopteran relative of the true crickets is the mole cricket (of the Gryllotalpidae family). This burrowing cricket, one of the most elusive of the species, likes loose, damp soil and was long considered a garden pest, disturbing plant and vegetable roots and causing ridges to appear on the surface similar to those of a mole (to which its enlarged forelegs have been compared). Lucas described its trilling song, delivered from its burrow entrance

To thine own self be true

True crickets (Gryllidae) and their closest relatives the mole crickets (Gryllotalpidae) have whip-like antennae, longer than the body, and a rounded head. In grasshoppers, the antennae are shorter. True crickets are scalier than bush-crickets, which belong to a different orthopteran family, the Tettigoniidae, and which are mostly carnivorous (true crickets are omnivores). Crickets rub their wings together to create their ‘song’ (‘stridulating’), whereas grasshoppers rub their hind legs against their wings. Only males sing, hoping to attract a mate.

Field cricket (Gryllus campestris)

A large, shiny black cricket (18mm–23mm), with a yellow band across base of forewings, most distinct on the male

to attract a mate and heard from April, as ‘a love-ditty in a low dull jarring uninterrupted note not unlike that of the nightjar’. It was no longer especially common even at the time Lucas was writing, but had been widespread enough to have accrued a list of local names, including fen cricket, Cambridge nightingale and churr-worm. Yet it hadn’t been found in this country for several decades, until four males were heard calling in the New Forest

Wood cricket (Nemobius sylvestris)

Notably smaller, dark brown cricket (male 6mm–8mm, female 7mm–9mm). Hindwings absent and forewings short House cricket (Acheta domesticus)

Grey-brown with dark-brown markings on head and pronotum. Male 14mm–20mm in length, female 14mm–18mm

Mole cricket (Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa)

Large, chestnut brown (male 35mm–45mm, female 40mm–45mm). An elongated body. Antennae and hindlegs sturdier than the wood, field and house crickets

Scaly cricket (Pseudomogoplistes squamiger)

Small and brown, (8mm–13mm), resembling the wood cricket, but highly unlikely to be found in the latter’s favoured wooded locations

in 2014. Buglife wants it to be given its own Species Recovery Programme.

Dragonflies are sometimes called the birdwatcher’s insect, because they are easily identified and are striking in appearance. However, the true crickets and their nearest relatives, although perhaps not as eye-catching as some of the bush-crickets and grasshoppers, are also equally captivating. Long may their chirrups ring out.

Artist of the week

The master of the shadow

THE death of Norman Stevens, at the age of only 51 in 1988, was a great loss not only to art, as a forthcoming exhibition, book and catalogue raisonné will demonstrate, but to anyone who came across him; his Times obituary stressed his concern for ‘a friend in difficulties, an artist neglected, or for the public good’.

His widow, Jean, remembers his ‘great sense of humour’ and his love of gardens and conservation: ‘He was always getting people together to protest about old buildings being knocked down.’ At Rugby Mansions, London W14, where the Stevenses lived latterly, he turned the communal backyard into a garden, with a fountain by Ainsley Yule and wall sculpture by Nigel Hall; it is named in his memory.

Catalogues raisonné tend towards practicality, but the one produced by the 100-year-old Redfern Gallery in London W1, which Stevens joined in 1977 and which represents his estate, is as pleasing to a book lover as a specialist. Most of the 108 prints show the ‘charm and mystery of the English countryside’, as

Twin passions: Norman Stevens considered The Stilt Garden, Hidcote his masterpiece

The painter-turnedrenowned printmaker’s light shone but fleetingly, and he has been overshadowed by his friend David Hockney, yet Norman Stevens left a luminous legacy that deserves greater recognition, says John McEwen

Artist of the week

Michael Healey of the Redfern writes in his comprehensive introductory essay, Master of Shadow. It is an apt title, because printmaking as an art and shadow as a subject became Stevens’s obsession.

entering the junior department of Bradford College of Art for a vocational course in painting and decorating. At 15, he progressed to the senior department, where he formed close friendships with some fellow students, most significantly Mr Hockney and Jean Warhurst. The group would hitchhike to London to see museums and shows. In 1957, physically ineligible for National Service, he enrolled at the Royal College of Art to study painting; Mr Hockney followed him. In 1961, Mr Hockney was best man when he married Jean. The couple settled in Lancashire, where he taught at Manchester College of Art and she worked for

The print revolution

As the book Norman Stevens: The Complete Prints by John Crossley and Michael Healey (Redfern Gallery, £40) explains, ‘egalitarian ethos’ and London’s ‘intensity of change’ ended ‘the separation of craft from art’. In 1971, Mr Crossley, a master printmaker, and James Collyer founded J. C. Editions, which became a renowned intaglio printmaker, ‘nearer the painterly way of working’. Stevens was an ideal collaborator, his work remaining a ‘high benchmark in late20th-century British art’. He was no less skilled at etching, lithography and screenprint and the book provides a glossary of printmaking methods. William Weston, whose London gallery in 1972 gave Stevens his first print exhibition, recalls the medium enabling ‘the crispness of form and subtle changes of light that he sought’.

a textile company. The year after, a burst dam swamped their house. ‘We shattered the landing window to hand [our baby son] Luke to our neighbours,’ Jean recalls. ‘When the water went down we found one of our ducks sitting on the sofa in the front room!’ The episode inspired Stevens’s first print, a surreal Landscape Mr Hockney moved to Los Angeles in the 1960s, where Stevens visited him twice, triggering the obsession with light and shade; this was not fully exploited until combined with his love of English gardens and encouraged by the print boom, which galvanised the English art world, as artists and printmakers

William Packer, artist and critic, his early champion and Times obituarist, explained the fascination of shadows: ‘the reality of object and space… described by something with no physical entity’; the way this transforms a subject and the differing moods created. The hint of human presence, never shown, was, Packer suggested, ‘a game of hide-and-seek with the real world’. Radiant California opened Stevens’s eyes to light effects, but it was English subjects and fleeting light that fully engaged his romantic nature, hence his taste for Thomas Hardy, whose The Shadow on the Stone was one of several poems he illustrated in a 1979 edition of The Gates Along the Path Stevens was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, in the summer of 1937, three weeks before his fellow citizen David Hockney, and contracted polio as an infant, which inflicted a lifelong limp. He helped his father, a sign writer, with lettering and posters before, at 12,

Radiant California opened his eyes to light effects, but English subjects engaged his romantic nature

Artist of the week

began to collaborate. His landscape subjects are invariably of identifiable places. Many artists since Constable have been inspired by Stonehenge; none but Stevens has better conveyed the age-worn monumentality of that archaic sundial. He equally delighted in the seemingly inconsequential—a dappled path, a shadow-casting fence or gate, as in White Wicket Gate, Nettlecombe (in west Somerset). English topiary’s informality, its sensual and mysterious exploitation of light and shade, is fully explored, even in moonlight. The print scholar Pat Gilmour noted Stevens’s ‘handling figuration like an abstraction’, a quality seen to mesmerising effect in Old Barn, Summer Appledore

Stevens considered The Stilt Garden, Hidcote (1981) his print masterpiece, but of Monet’s Garden Jean writes: ‘It was only finished the night before the 1987 RA Summer Exhibition opened, but they had left a space for it! Ruth [our daughter] delivered the print to the RA early in the morning. The hanging team took it, framed it and hung it and by lunchtime the edition was all sold!’

A bright light extinguished

June 17, 1937 Is born in Bradford, West Yorkshire

1939 Contracts polio

1949 Enters junior department at Bradford College of Art

1952 Moves to senior department

1957 Enrols at the Royal College of Art

1959 Is selected for Young Contemporaries, an ACGB national touring exhibition

1960 RCA graduation. Wins J. Andrew Lloyd Landscape Scholarship and Abbey Travelling Scholarship. Teaches at Manchester College of Art where, in 1964, he makes his first print, a Surrealist ‘landscape’

1961 Marries Jean Warhurst

1965 Solo exhibition of Surrealist paintings, Mercury Gallery, London. Takes Greyhound bus across US to California

1966 Moves to London. Teaches at Maidstone College of Art

The light

The multiple print is financially the poor relation of the unique painting. The Redfern show prices are £350–£5,000—the record auction price for a Hockney painting is $92 million. Artifice and imagination are incalculable—prints reward affordable discernment. Stevens’s final two prints were of trees at Kew felled by the Great Storm of 1987. As Mr Healey writes: ‘They could stand as a poignant metaphor for the artist,

The

who, too, was struck down in his prime.’

‘Norman Stevens: The Complete Prints’, accompanies ‘Norman Stevens RA’ at The Redfern Gallery, 20 Cork Street, London W1, June 21–July 31 (www. redfern-gallery.com)

1975 First exhibition of prints in public gallery, Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol

1977 Second print show at Arnolfini Gallery. First show at the Redfern Gallery

1978 Solo print show at Tate Gallery

1979 The Gates Along the Path shown at the V&A Museum

1980 Show of complete (60) prints, The Redfern Gallery

1983 Is elected ARA

1968 Solo show at Hanover Gallery, London, of representational paintings inspired by Californian light

1971 Second Hanover show. Lectures on art, becoming head of painting at Hornsey College of Art in London. Self-publishes two prints, prompting commission from Editions Alecto

1972 Collaborates with J. C. Editions

1973 Gives up teaching

1974 Is appointed Gregory Fellow in Painting, University of Leeds

1985 Levens Hall Garden illustrates poster and catalogue for RA Summer Exhibition

1987 Great Storm damage in London inspires last two prints, of fallen trees

1988 Dies from cancer

Today, Stevens’s prints are in 58 public collections, including the British Museum and the Museum of Modern Art, New York, US. Jean lives in Wiltshire near their daughter, Ruth. Their son, Luke, lives in France and is an artist, specialising in animal paintings

None but Stevens has better conveyed the age-worn monumentality of that archaic sundial

The green furniture trade

PERHAPS the earliest ecological green shoot in the British art business emerged tentatively in 2002, when one of Sworders’ partners, the surveyor Robert WardBooth, persuaded his colleagues that, rather than seek another industrial site for expansion, the Stansted Mountfitchet auctioneer should create an unprecedented building of its own. Five years later, the business proudly opened its new complex, with what was then the

largest straw-bale building in Europe, on a four-acre slope running down to the Cambridge Road, half a mile north of the Essex village. The outsides of the compressed bales were lime-rendered and the insides lime-plastered. Rainwater was directed from the cedar-shingle roof to flush lavatories and, together with a biofuel woodchip boiler and solar panels, provided much of the hot water and the heating for the reception and offices. At night, fans blew

Devoted to recycling by its very nature, the antiques world is now finding evermore innovative ways to go green, from straw-bale buildings to sea freight

the day’s warmth into the salerooms. At that time the energy requirements of the 12,000sq ft complex were no more than for a three-bedroom semi.

Unsurprisingly, Sworders was an early supporter of Antiques

Are Green (AAG), a movement launched in 2009 to ‘promote the green credentials of antiques’. Since then, AAG’s message has been helped by the expansion of media channels and the development of online antiques marketing. Other supporters include both national and multinational dealers’ and auctioneers’ associations.

The AAG emphasises that the antiques trade is, self-evidently, a valuable form of recycling. However, there is a reverse to the coin. Currently, the British Antique Dealers’ Association

A helping hand behind the sales

Sustainability is relevant not only to trades, but also to traders. Unknown to many involved in the art business, its members are sustained by a dedicated charity, the Fine Arts Provident Institution (FAPI), which helps those in need of financial assistance. The origins of FAPI go back to 1842, when a group of philanthropic London dealers headed by Richard Lambe, a print publisher, established it as the Virtuosi Provident Fund and Dealers in the Fine Arts’ Benevolent Institution for the assistance of members, their widows and children. Membership was open to ‘masters in the above trade, who shall have kept shop, showroom or gallery principally for the sale of works of art, for three years, and assistants of six years’. The subscription was a guinea

annually or 10 guineas for life membership. The name was pruned to a more practical length in 1918, but the essentials remain the same: anyone in the fineart trade or related services is eligible and the current membership includes auction-house staff, framers, restorers and other linked businesses, as well as dealers. The cost of life membership has recently been raised to £100, and awards are given on a discretionary basis by the committee, which meets three times a year.

Amazingly, the membership currently stands at a mere 106. Given that the FAPI’s funds are in a very healthy state, the committee is keen to increase it. Anyone interested in applying should contact Rosalyn Gibson, formerly of Christie’s, on fapi.secretary@gmail.com

The AAG emphasises that the antiques trade is a form of recycling

new future with ancient

(BADA), another of those supporters, is working on a new initiative that aims to cut its members’ carbon emission dramatically. In this, it is working closely with the international Gallery Climate Coalition, which has recently reported that the fine arts and antiques community has a disproportionate impact on the environment because of its international travel, shipping, use of materials and energy consumption. They have come up with a rather splendid rallying cry, branding the trade ‘caretakers of human history and ingenuity’; it has a ‘unique opportunity to use its cultural influence to set a positive example and help to shift the public debate’.

The BADA identifies four principal areas of concern and the actions that members can take immediately, albeit recognising

that not everyone will be able to do everything at once.

International air travel Set a quota allowing only the most essential flights. Employ video conferencing where practical. Use a flightemissions calculator to compare emissions between airlines and routes. Have a ‘train-first’ policy. Get on your bike.

International shipping Use sea freight where possible. Consider collaborating with colleagues on shipments and containers. For

local shipments and deliveries, engage bike couriers or hybrid vehicles and choose couriers that have a green tariff. Packing materials Avoid singleuse plastics derived from fossil fuels, such as bubble wrap, foam padding and tape. Incorporate the GCC Five Rs of waste hierarchy —Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Rot, Recycle—into gallery practice. Opt for low-impact materials, such as recycled paper, corrugated card, glassine, blankets and cotton straps. Ask shippers to minimise packaging where possible, especially for short journeys. Use appropriately sized boxes. Energy consumption Switch to a reputable green-energy supplier. Aim to avoid temperature extremes and use timers, so that heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems run minimally overnight. Ensure that computers

and appliances have an EPC rating of C or above. Where possible, switch to LED rather than halogen or fluorescent lighting. Soaring energy bills will encourage this.

The BADA will set up a Green Team of members and specialists to assist and advise and, to share the pain (if that is what it is), it will commit itself to reducing its office and administrative emissions year on year. Once again, Sworders has set a good example in this. In 2021, it surveyed its carbon usage, which came out at 782.7 tons per annum, equivalent to 13.7 tons per employee and 12.2 tons per auction. This is being used as a baseline from which to monitor subsequent performance. Any business of whatever size is advised to set up a dedicated committee to shrink its footprint.

A

materials:

straw-bale headquarters of Sworders of Stansted Mountfitchet in Essex

The BADA calls the trade “caretakers of human history and ingenuity”

Art market

Antique histories, as preserved for posterity in printed catalogues, must not be neglected

A matter that is not on this list should also be considered, as it has ramifications that go far beyond the art world. The printing, publication and distribution of catalogues are not carbonfree activities. Already, printed auctioneers’ catalogues are becoming rare and dealers are probably cutting their print runs. However, this problem needs to be approached with care and forethought. Online cataloguing is all very well and, indeed, has positive advantages, such as when a viewer can zoom in and literally examine all sides of a picture, but it is not always as easily accessible as print in the long term. Research, history and provenance need to be safeguarded, too.

Next week New Treasury

The Language of Trees

IT would be surprising if trees, like other forms of life, did not possess some means of communication. We are perhaps at the very beginning of being able to understand it, although surely we will never be able to hold any kind of conversation. This book explores the idea of a relationship between trees and humans, alternating between celebrating the mystery of tree growth and lamenting the ignorance of human attitudes to trees and tree cover, with familiar disastrous consequences.

Half the book is made up of illustrations, delicately printed in the romantically named Pantone 357 U, more familiar to my eye as the sort of Brunswick Green used for steam locomotives, Coalbrookdale garden benches and Amy Johnson’s biplane. This colour is also used for the author’s tree alphabet, in which a tree

The Thousand Year Old Garden: Inside the Secret Garden at Lambeth Palace

Nick Stewart Smith

(The History Press, £16.99)

HOW do you tell the story of a garden that has been cultivated from at least 1197—and occupied by Archbishops of Canterbury ever since?

Nick Stewart Smith, currently head gardener of the 10 acres at Lambeth Palace and used to giving visitors tours, takes inspiration from the existing garden. The three large white Marseilles

If trees could talk

silhouette is allotted to each letter of the English alphabet, and, indeed, to a tree name beginning with that letter. Thus, in the manner of a children’s picture book, we go from apple, beech and cedar right through to yellowwood and zelkova. The idea is sound and well carried through, but there are inevitable stumbles

when we come to viburnum (not a tree) and xanthoxylum (usually spelt with a Z). I wonder how many British readers will be familiar with American species such as the Kentucky coffee tree (that’s K) or the nannyberry.

The front cover is adorned with a gilt-on-green silhouette

figs growing in the courtyard are a perfect example. Brought back as cuttings from a visit to Rome by Cardinal Pole in 1556, they have survived plagues, wars and even the Great Fire. Then in 2014, Archbishop Justin Welby completed the circle by taking a rooted cutting to give to Pope Francis. As Mr Stewart Smith says, he should write to the Vatican gardeners to try to find out if the original is still growing in Rome.

John Tradescant the Younger is summoned up via

of a forest, complete with understorey and vast subterranean network of roots, very properly reminding us that the earth not only supports tree life, but that the forest growth itself improves the quality of the earth with its perpetual cycle of leaf fall and decay. A repeated theme of the book is the breach in continuity caused by the clearance of trees for development: one writer in this varied anthology describes the experience of occupying a tree as its neighbours are steadily sawn down around her;

the mature tulip tree (perhaps 100 years old) that stands at Lambeth today: he had brought back from Virginia the very first seeds and cuttings of Liriodendron tulipto reach these shores. Musing on the present greenhouse, the author guesses that it is probably less impressive than that described by John Evelyn after a visit to the garden in 1691. That consisted of three sections with a stove in the middle and housed some precious orange

another watches as animals and birds crowd into the adjacent field as the property over the road is bought and redeveloped, with the rich habitat of mixed scrub replaced by a mown lawn. The quality of writing varies and the subject matter is frankly too diverse to prevent the urge to flick through to the next item of interest. One bonus is a long and detailed bibliography. I was interested to see that it makes room for George Monbiot, but not for Oliver Rackham. Discuss.

Woven into these stories is a gardener’s almanac: the sowing of seeds, the scything of meadows —which revisits Tolstoy’s wonderful passage from Anna Karenina Together with this insight into how a head gardener goes about his work, Mr Stewart Smith thanks the members of the Community of Saint Anselm at Lambeth Palace, founded by the present Archbishop, for not only volunteering their help, but saving hundreds of seedlings from going to waste by transplanting them. It is a fascinating read and best of all, with appetite whetted, the reader can arrange to visit the garden which opens to the public through the National Garden Scheme. TD

A repeated theme is the breach in continuity caused by the clearance of trees for development

Memory Makers: The Politics of the Past in Putin’s Russia

Jade McGlynn

(Bloomsbury, £20)

IN the preamble to this scholarly, revelatory and deeply unsettling book, Jade McGlynn, lately lecturer in Russian at Oxford and now a researcher in the war studies department at King’s College, London, says forlornly: ‘I hope that one day Russia will remind me of the country I fell in love with as a 12 year old.’

In chronological terms, that was a Russia liberated from its Soviet nightmare, able freely to embrace again what the author really fell in love with: its infinite culture, literature and, of course, history—‘unruly and discontinuous’, long-suffering, frequently heroic and frequently dark. Later, living in Moscow, she came to love the Russian people themselves. But what happens when a country stares too long in narcissism’s historical mirror, she asks? Answer: ‘It enters a lookingglass world, possessed by the history it suppressed.’

Dr McGlynn, who, I suggest, is more plugged-in to Russian state,

The Three

public and social media than the usual suspects of the commentariat, explains why and how Russians came to be transfixed by a wholly misleading image of their country. To answer ‘Putin’, she argues convincingly, would be facile. The war in Ukraine is not simply ‘Putin’s war’, but Russia’s.

Yes, the Kremlin has manipulated the narrative, but to be successful this ‘relied on a genuine public appetite for a more patriotic history… To this end, those in power used their dominance over information channels to manipulate rather than coerce audiences wherever possible’. The Russian establishment under Putin has focused on reinstating old Soviet attitudes towards history, denigrating the critical approach seen during the perestroika era.

Through ‘historical framing’, the pro-Kremlin master commemorative narrative supports three broad arguments: that Russia needs a strong state; that it has a special path of development; and that it is a messianic great power with something unique to offer the world. ‘Whether the celebration of the state in question relates to Stalin or Nicholas I is less important than that the state being celebrated is evidently strong’. Therefore, the war in Ukraine functions almost as a ‘test of Kremlin historical propaganda and ability to export abroad its vision of cultural consciousness as the quintessence of national identity’, located in a supposed ‘historical truth’. The invasion has failed, says Dr McGlynn, because it has come into contact with real Ukrainians

as opposed to ‘those constructed in mythomaniac minds’.

In 1968, I went to hear the USSR State Symphony Orchestra on its British tour. The Soviet army had just invaded Czechoslovakia and protesters bade me ‘Remember dead Czechs when you clap at the end’. I was in my teens and I wanted to hear a Russian orchestra. I’ve regretted it ever since. But it’s not only the state institutions I’d have to forgo. Dr McGlynn’s brilliant, remorseless study inculpates almost the entire Russian nation. It may well be that she, still in her youth, will regain her childhood love, but I doubt that I can. It took 10 years to de-Nazify Germany sufficiently to call them friends, and that was only after unconditional surrender and occupation.

AMANDA CRAIG doesn’t believe in wasting characters; they, or their offspring, often turn up again in subsequent

books. Happily for me, my favourite of her novels is her brilliant first, Foreign Bodies (1990), set in Tuscany and featuring the attractive lecturer Andrew Evenlode; here, we’re back in the dreamy Tuscan hills and Evenlode pops up because his mother, the aristocratic Diana, is one of the titular ‘three graces’. They form a trio of octogenarians retired to Italy: Ruth, an American, is a doctor and organic

farmer; Marta, whose family fled Nazi Germany, is a musician preparing, despite great pain, for her annual concert; and Diana, who married at 17, has fallen on hard times and cares for her frightful husband with an inexplicable combination of love and duty.

Other plotlines involve the illadvised forthcoming marriage of Ruth’s grandson to a seemingly vacuous influencer, the baffling arrival of a Zimbabwean

stranger, a Russian persecuted by Putin and a mystery body floating in a millpond. At first, concentration is needed to deal not only with the large cast, as well as the author’s trademark themes of prejudice and imbalance within society—clunkily inserted and none too subtle at times—but the story gets into its stride, satisfyingly tying up loose ends and building to a spectacular wedding scene. KG

This brilliant study inculpates almost the entire Russian nation

The big one

IT’S the Ashes and it begins on Friday. From then until July 31, the England men’s team will face off against our antipodean rivals in five Test matches, the winner of which will receive a comically small urn that matters far more than the World Test Championship (WTC) that Australia have just won or lost. Who is good? Who will win? Let’s find out.

England, in Test cricket, are on fire. They have won 11 of their past 13 games, against India, South Africa, New Zealand and Pakistan. In their most recent victory against Ireland, they hit 500 in 80 overs, which was only dwarfed by the 506 they scored in 75 overs against Pakistan. As previously written, they have chucked out the rule book, the sense of patient decorum, and decided to attack their opposition from the first ball to the last, which has provided astonishing results. Stuart ‘the Nighthawk’ Broad may have been being facetious when he described the last tour to Australia as a ‘void series’, but, as far as Australia are concerned, they are playing a totally different team. Coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes have completely revitalised not only an abject England, but an entire format. Of course, to the discerning English Test-cricket watcher, none of that past success will matter unless the Australians are defeated, but, considering where they were two years ago, England have given themselves the best possible chance of victory.

The team should be familiar to even the most casual fan by now, but we shall go through it anyway. Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley will open the batting, fresh off scores of 182 and 56 respectively, then Ollie Pope will come in at three, having just smashed Ireland for 205 runs off 208 balls. Joe Root and Harry Brook will bat at four and five, captain Stokes at six and Jonny Bairstow will keep wicket and bat at seven. Many will be upset about the exclusion of Surrey’s Ben Foakes, widely considered to be the best wicketkeeper in the world. He did everything that was asked of him, including scoring big runs when required, but, realistically, he was never going to keep

Bairstow out of the side, and England have shown that they will persist with Crawley at the top of the order regardless of whether he scores runs or not. Life is not fair, and professional sport is significantly less fair than that—just ask Jack Leach who, having overcome Crohn’s disease, sepsis and concussion, was ruled out of the entire series with a stress fracture of the back two weeks ago.

But, runs are a valuable currency, and few have been better at scoring them in the past 18 months than Messrs Brook and Bairstow. Before breaking his leg in a freak golfing accident, Bairstow had scored six hundreds in 10 matches, including three in four innings. His replacement, Brook, didn’t so much fill a gap as dig a trench, and averages more than 80 in his 11 matches, with four centuries and three half-centuries.

Sprinkle in Root and Stokes and the England middle order

is the current envy of world cricket. It will be key in taking on tired Australian bowlers, assuming Crawley, Duckett and Pope can hold their ground against a new Duke’s ball. England’s bowling is much more of a concern, with injuries and old age exacerbated by a stuffed schedule that will see five Tests played in six weeks. The pack of bowlers will consist of Ollie Robinson, James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Matthew Potts, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood and Josh Tongue. It is highly unlikely that any of that group will have the fitness to play all five games, so Stokes will have to constantly shuffle his deck depending on injuries and conditions.

Leach, so often maligned in the past, will be a big loss: no other bowler has played more games, bowled more overs or taken more wickets for McCullum’s England than he has. Step forward Moeen Ali, who has answered the call to un-retire from Test cricket. The spinning all-rounder will slot in to bat eight, adding even more firepower, and McCullum et al will be hoping that his bowling can stand up to the occasion. We all know what Broad and Anderson can do, with more than 1,000 Test wickets between them, but much will rest on the shoulders of Robinson, who is the most likely of all to play the most games and has been in stellar form in the past year. He has long been touted as the man to take over as leader once Anderson and Broad retire—here is the series to prove it.

Australia, thankfully, are in a similar position. Their star line-up of bowlers has been hit with injury, with Josh Hazlewood having missed the WTC final and looking unlikely to play more than two or three games. Scott Boland has only ever played one game of red-ball cricket in England

It’s the series we’ve all been waiting for. Can Pat Cummins and co resist the hottest team in world cricket, asks James Fisher

and captain Pat Cummins will effectively be tasked with playing six games in seven weeks. Mitchell Starc is fast, but lacks accuracy, something that England’s explosive batting line-up may try to take advantage of—the quicker you bowl, the quicker the ball goes to, or over, the boundary. Michael Neser has been called up as cover and will probably play at least one game. A lot will rest on the very large shoulders of young all-rounder Cameron Green, Australia’s lab-grown answer to Stokes and Andrew Flintoff. Again, he is relatively unproven, but has certainly shown flashes of immense talent. He will be expected to play every game, and to bowl a lot of overs— at least he has youth on his side.

With regards to their batting, few will forget the Bradman-esque performance of Steve Smith in 2019 and he will look to resume his role as England’s tormentor-in-chief. He will be supported by Usman Khawaja, who has been in sublime form since his recall to the side in 2021–22, Travis Head, who was the leading run-scorer in the last series in Australia, and Marnus Labuschagne, the number-one ranked batter in world cricket. David Warner is the one question mark in the top order—he struggled in the last series in England in 2019, but there is no doubt

he has the capability to score a lot of runs should he decide he has had enough of being mocked about his role in #sandpapergate. Alex Carey is a more than capable wicketkeeper and batter, whereas Green, as mentioned, seems to have the talent to win games with both bat and ball and is coming off a stellar Indian Premier League season, averaging more than 50 with the bat.

suggest that success will come, but this will certainly be the philosophy’s toughest examination. Despite injury, there are very few bowling attacks that have been as good as Australia’s current line up and statistics suggest that, at some point, England will be bowled out for less than 200 and look very silly indeed.

‘Let’s see them do it against our boys’ has been the phrase uttered by most opposition teams when confronted with the behemoth of ‘Bazball’. So far, each test has been passed with flying colours, but it is one of the many idiosyncrasies associated with this summer sport that nothing really matters unless it’s against Australia. Victories against top sides such as Pakistan, India (albeit only one Test), South Africa and former World Champions New Zealand is enough of a sample size to

Although it is true that Australia haven’t won a series over here since 2001, it is also worth remembering that they really should have won in 2019, bar Stokes’s heroics at Headingley and 11 hungover Australians turning up for the final Test at The Oval. This Australian team is better than that Australian team and will certainly be no pushovers. The addition of Green as a genuine all-rounder gives the team much-needed balance that has been lacking for some time and Cummins, Labuschagne and Smith are arguably three of the finest players on the planet.

What we do know for sure is that this series will be the most exciting since 2005, played in a style that will push the boundaries of Testcricket entertainment. Home conditions are probably the only thing that give England an edge—it will be tight, but perhaps just enough to get them over the line.

Prediction England 3, Australia 2

Steve Smith will look to resume his role as England’s tormentor-in-chief

Crossword Bridge Andrew Robson

A prize of £25 in book tokens will be awarded for the first correct solution opened. Solutions must reach Crossword No 4784, Country Life, 121–141 Westbourne Terrace, Paddington, London, W2 6JR, by Tuesday, June 20. UK entrants only

ACROSS

1 False emotion displayed by a line of schoolkids? (9,5)

8 Affirm where cricket buffs may be? (6)

9 Neckerchief of daughter tucking into fruit (7)

12 Suggestion accepted by Irish in Tipperary (4)

13 Tiny workman—one on the watch? (6,4)

15 Arrive at stretch of river (5)

16 Undersized chap’s large bottle (8)

17 Mostly stable coniferous tree (3)

18 Cook too little grub at first for weaker party (8)

20 Unusually regal English composer (5)

23 Gatherer of crops representing Ham’s Tavern (10)

24 Small group beginning to tour Brazilian port (4)

26 What we learn by accepting established award (7)

27 Time to introduce metropolitan headgear (6)

28 Selfishly protective type, one in the modern gang, perhaps (3,2,3,6)

DOWN

2 Reportedly subscribed to roundhouse? (7)

3 Ship’s company uttered cries of triumph (4)

4 Ideal sergeant finally reformed military task force (6)

5 Navvy extremely eager to join political party (8)

6 Pieces of fruit deployed in set range (10)

7 Substitute stable employee’s limited space (8,4)

10 In total, a momentous mission (5)

11 Complete food, say, for a pedigree horse (12)

14 Cornets Hal deployed for a 1920s dance (10)

16 Enjoy archaeological excavation (3)

17 Moor in Scottish river, giving description of ruby wedding (8)

19 Game moves quickly (5)

21 Rubbish bishop kept in building accommodating car (7)

22 Soldiers in bar initially mishandling domestic fowl (6)

25 Bachelor hastened to get roughage (4)

IUSED to travel to all three US Nationals each year—I went to more than 30 in succession back in the 1990s. However, life takes over and I haven’t been able to make a Nationals since 2014. So it was exciting to attend the 2022 Fall Nationals in Phoenix, Arizona. The schedule has improved markedly since then with the inclusion of the Soloway Knockout Teams.

My English sextet brushed aside jetlag (isn’t it so much easier travelling west?) to start the tournament well. First, we feature team-mate Espen Erichsen, of Tunbridge Wells.

South West North East

1NT(15-17) Pass 2 (1) Pass

2 (1) Pass 3NT End

1) Stayman—asking for fourcard majors. Answer: neither.

West led the five of Diamonds to East’s King, declarer winning the Diamond return with dummy’s bare Ace. Needing to make something of his Spades, at trick three declarer led a Spade to his King.

SOLUTION TO 4783

ACROSS: 1, Besprinkling; 8, Pollard; 9, Playoff; 11, Regular; 12, Year dot; 13, Start; 14, Archetype; 16, Arboretum; 19, Shawl; 21, Kampong; 23, Shuts in; 24, Tripoli; 25, Toecaps; 26, Northeastern. DOWN: 1, Bologna; 2, Scarlet; 3, Redbreast; 4, Nippy; 5, Leakage; 6, Noonday; 7, Sportsjacket; 10, Fatherliness; 15, Campsites; 17, Bambino; 18, Root out; 19, Squeeze; 20, Abstain; 22, Gripe.

The winner of 4782 is Mr Sloan, Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria

South West North East

1) Playing Five-card Majors. In Four-card Major-Acol, you have to respond One Spade. 2) Help-suit game try.

West led the seven of Spades, which went to the four, ten and declarer’s bare King. Declarer did not want to have to broach either minor—unable to win more than the Ace if he did so. He enlisted East’s help—and bear in mind he knew East had most of the outstanding strength for his take-out double.

Declarer drew two rounds of trumps, finishing in dummy (East discarding a Club). At trick five, he led the nine of Spades and, when East necessarily covered with the Knave, he discarded (a Diamond) from hand (key play).

East was endplayed (if you can use that term so early in the play). A Club lead could be run to dummy’s Queen. A Diamond would similarly give declarer a second trick ( 5, 2, Q, A, with the ten and Knave now as equals against the King). And a Spade would promote dummy’s Queen. Such a simple, but elegant, way to make his tenth trick.

Next, it was the turn of Peter Crouch of Surrey (no, not the footballer) to shine.

West won the Ace of Spades and continued with the Knave of Diamonds. Declarer and East both discarded Hearts and declarer won the Queen. At trick five, declarer led a second Spade and inserted the eight when West played low, needing to lose the Spade trick to East who held no more Diamonds. After winning the ten, East switched to a Club (a Heart is better). Now what should Mr Crouch do?

The Club finesse could wait. Declarer rose with the Ace (noting West’s nine). (As an aside, I once had a partner who swore that: ‘The Queen always lies with the nine.’ No science in that, of course, but it does seem to work surprisingly often.)

Declarer now played to maximise his chances of making a third Club trick without losing the lead to West. He next cashed the King of Clubs—key play. If no Queen had appeared, he’d have crossed to the Ace of Hearts, cashed the 13th Spade then led towards Knave-eight of Clubs, hoping East held the Queen.

In fact, West’s Queen did fall (the Queen lay with the nine, naturellement), so declarer could cross to the Ace of Hearts, cash the long Spade, then take the marked third-round Club finesse, leading to the (seven and) eight. The Knave of Clubs was his ninth trick and the King of Hearts was his tenth. Game made plus one.

Spectator Joe Gibbs

Being bullish

YOU don’t see the imaginative functionality there once used to be in farming couture. My neighbour Christopher had an uncle Donald who habitually toured the outer isles in his farm pickup for his autumn holiday. He slept in the back of the wagon and, being long of limb, his legs rested alfresco on the tailgate inside a hundredweight fertiliser bag tied up with binder twine. That said a lot about Donald and his keen agri-fashion sense, even in bed. What a charmer.

With a few holes in the right places, one-cwt bags made stylish waterproofs. The fertie-bag waistcoat has given way to the poncey padded gilet, but there is an entire Facebook site dedicated to binder twine. Again, it isn’t quite the sartorial accessory it used to be. When did you last see a farmer’s waistband, fly buttons or boots tied up with it, as of old?

Should you feel nostalgic for that other common sight of yesteryear, the livestock archetype clad in green rubber leggings suspended

from his trouser belt, go to Dingwall mart. You’ll find him by following the whiff of black-shag tobacco as he is also one of the few pipe smokers left in the kingdom. He was there recently, running a critical eye over cattle going through the ring for the annual pedigree Luing (silent ‘u’) sale. He may very well be the last of his own breed.

I was at the mart to support the Mother Laird, maternal vessel of our friend the Lovelorn Laird of the West. She had reached the reluctant conclusion that, with her son still searching for a mate and absent on manoeuvres, her Luing herd must be dispersed. It had become too much work for her 80 years, but not enough to justify a farmhand. The breed, which was started on its eponymous Argyllshire island in 1947, is a blessing to rough-pastured West-Coast farms. Its one-quarter Highlander antecedence renders it hardy and lean-burn, whereas the remaining three-quarters Beef Shorthorn puts on the meat. The Mother Laird was sad to see them

go. Her eyes looked dewy through the Dame Edna glasses. These were held around her neck not by binder twine, but by a most un-bucolic necklace of splendid pearls. Her chief concern was that the bull, to whom she had formed a particular attachment, would go for dog meat.

We sat in the Drover’s Rest café, where I tried to cheer her up with the offer of a Scotch pie— mutton, not beef—and cup of tea. When that failed, I said her new set of teeth looked great. They’d cost the price of a new Argocat, she groaned. She had brought

her filing cabinet, a Tesco’s plastic bag full of random papers. We shuffled through the final demands looking for documents on Aphrodite, Buttercup, Boudicca, Tea Rose, Yasmine and the rest. In the sale ring, the heifers and cows with calves at foot went for reasonable prices on what was not a stellar day for Luings. Zodiac the bull was due through last. Early bidding for him bumped along in guineas. The auctioneer’s chant struggled to get lift off. We feared the worst and craned forward in our seats. At last, the faltering price clambered free of pet-food gravitational pull and out into a brighter celestial taurine future. We spotted a new contestant enter the fray. A flurry of final bids ensued and the stars fell into alignment. The beastie had been knocked down to a neighbour. To her delight, the Mother Laird would continue to see Zodiac doing what bulls do best after all.

At last, the faltering price for Zodiac clambered free of pet-food gravitational pull

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