Will Dr Beeching be turning in his grave, the CPRE ask this week in a press release commending a report, The vision, Connecting Communities – Expanding Access to the Rail Network. The report publisher is the Association of Train Operating Companies, and it recommends the expansion of rural railways, including new stations and reopening of freight lines for passengers amongst many other things. I suspect as  usual that decisions will be down to what is most viable financially rather than what is needed to satisfy anything ecological or otherwise, as per Dr Beeching. There’s a rural line where I live, the Settle-Carlisle, which certainly has the doctor squirming uncomfortably. He condemned the line but nowadays, thanks to unflinching work by volunteers and backing now from Network Rail is a shining example of what can be achieved on the countryside network.

The picture of a steam special was taken one gloomy evening last week on the line at Ribblehead viaduct.

We hear much about the need for affordable housing in the countryside yet we are also told of worries over unemployment in rural areas. If there are no jobs why do we need more housing? If it’s true that there are no jobs for local people how come thousands of EU workers manage to find employment in he countryside every year? If there isn’t enough housing how come all those foreign workers seem to find somewhere to live?  If there’s a shortage of rural housing why do we allow the wealthy to buy up properties as second homes in those areas? And why when I travel round the countryside do I see so many For Sale signs? More importantly, why when there is so much countryside and nature to enjoy am I sitting here thinking about these man-made problems? Maybe you’ll have it all sorted by the time I return.
Photo shows Saints Bay, Guernsey… look out for my report on the island’s countryside in August’s edition of The Countryman

Just a few miles from where I live is Malham Cove – an impressive tourist attraction at the best of times. But over the past few weeks nesting peregrine falcons have been drawing in the crowds to this sheer limestone curtain which is some 80m high and 300m wide. Members of the local RSPB have set up a viewing area from where the public can get a good view of the nest which has four chicks. They will have had a better view through some impressive equipment than I get from my binoculars but nevertheless I enjoyed my visit. I’d been unfortunate not to catch a glimpse on previous trips but this time one of the adults put on a fabulous display of aerobatics and judging by its screeching  I believe it was trying to persuade one of the youngsters to take its first daunting leap off the ledge where it was perching. The youngster stretched its wings a few times and the crowd below held its breath - but it wasn’t to be this time.
Despite the best efforts of the RSPB in giving visitors a great view of the birds, some people just had to get as close as possible - despite there being fences and notices of prosecution for anyone venturing near the nest. Through my binocs I watched a couple who had obviously ignored the warnings – and the fact that there was a near vertical  drop of more than 250 feet below them – settling down to eat their sandwiches within 30 feet of the nest and then wondering why the display had stopped.

I’ve just spent a few days on Guernsey looking at how the countryside is managed and enjoyed by locals and tourists – you’ll be able to read of my findings in a future issue of The Countryman. The hedgerows on this Channel Island are a joy to behold but I was surprised to learn that the State authorities insist that they are trimmed back severely twice a year or else the landowners are fined. They have until next week to complete the first military regulation short back and sides then the hedges are allowed to grow again until September. Given the narrowness of some of the lanes I can see this might be a good idea but it is a shame that many early summer visitors – humans and birds and bees alike – miss out on these glorious hedgerows which hold a great variety of plants, shrubs and small mammals. I was also lucky enough to see fields of orchids, barn owls, cuckoos and a host of other bird life, including a black swan. My visit also coincided with the arrival of hundreds of thousands of migrating painted lady butterflies from the Mediterranean.