Sauntering around the rural Lakeland village of Grasmere at the weekend I came across this little scene. It made me smile. The tiny allotment was definitely in need of a little TLC; overgrown but not a totally neglected. I pictured two old friends and neighbours sitting in their favourite spot enjoying the crack and maybe a rolled up cigarette and some home brew. Perhaps it was a private haven away from busy wives nagging for those jobs around the house to be done. Here the world’s problems were solved, the young admonished and those good old days remembered. Many an hour would be spent in silent contemplation, too; here the steep fells and ever-changing weather dominate and stimulate the mind. William Wordsworth once wandered lonely here – no doubt with a little more inspiration than me and my two imaginary characters.

On my daily journey to and from the office I cross a small range of hills, the ‘peaks’ of which are mostly around the 200m mark – small, but still quite significant. They’re pretty, mostly grazed and green with the odd clump of trees here and there. All very rural and peaceful… until now, for part of the range, near Brightenber Hill,  is at the centre of a great windfarm battle. German company EnergieKontor UK want to build five 100m wind turbines here. It’s worth pointing out that this will make the tip of the blade some 300m above sea level… if a crow flies due west from this point it will not find anything higher for knocking on twenty miles. The Yorkshire Dales National Park also starts just a few miles away. I’m all in favour of seeking alternative, sustainable power sources and finding ways of saving energy – turning off all the shop and office lights at night in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds would help, for starters. But I’ve yet to be convinced that wind power is the right solution. Water and the waves or even conversion of our own waste, seem much better bets. But with this being on my doorstep I’ll probably just be branded a NIMBY – well, I’ve been called worse. My greater concern is that this could be a foot in the door and this whole range of attractive small hills could become a real industrial-style eyesore. A planning inspector, appointed by the Secretary of State, is to hold a public inquiry shortly. Picture shows part of the area mentioned above.

Britain’s Wildlife Trusts do an incredible amount of work in our countryside yet the general public know little about these national or local organisations. Important projects often go unreported nationally as the media concentrates on vacuous celebrities and greedy bankers.I wonder, for example how many people have heard of the important work being done by the Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust (BBOWT).  They are using a new grant to support the conservation of chalk grasslands in 13 nature reserves across the Chilterns. The reserves span from College Lake, near Tring (Bucks) in the north, down to Hartslock, near Goring (Oxon) in the south.
Chalk grassland is said to be Europe’s equivalent of the rainforest - it supports as many as 40 plant species per square metre, as well as many rare insects and molluscs. But the grasslands are under continuing threat; an estimated 80% have been destroyed in the past 60 years, largely due to changing agricultural practices.
In addition to protecting wildlife, BBOWT also aims to educate and inspire local landowners to take action to help preserve this important national wildlife treasure. Maybe such work to save our countryside and wildlife by these unsung volunteers is not as important as who wins Big Brother?

While driving over this road near Kettlewell in the Yorkshire Dales last week I was halted in my tracks by a grey heron. It was not perched looking miserable by the side of the stream as is usual for this bird but was standing right in the middle of the road. I couldn’t make out what was in its beak but it was about the size of a rat and dark coloured. I’ve know herons eat small mammals as well as fish but I’ve never seen one with what I presume was such large road-kill. It certainly had no intention of letting go or moving out of my way as I edged closer. Eventually it took off in that lazy fashion and for a while flew parallel to me, following the stream. At the top of this hill several lapwings were swirling round making one heck of a racket – I sat and watched them for several minutes before remembering I was supposed to be working.

A lovely lady called last week to ask how she could join the CPRE (Campaign to Protect Rural England). ‘I don’t have one of those computer thingies,’ she told me while I was searching on screen. ‘My grandchildren say I should get one - it will open up a whole new world, they say. I tell them I’m quite happy with the world I have, thank you very much.’  When I ham-fistedly thumped the wrong button I prolonged the conversation by adding that we might all be better off with a simpler way of life. In a gentle melodic Welsh accent she told me how she was content to potter about in her small garden, sit and look over a beautiful valley and listen to the birds or immerse herself in a book. Her life was surely as rich as that of anyone with all the trappings of modern living.

Funny then that I came across this paragraph in the CPRE’s vision of rural England in 2026: ‘In the face of growing environmental consciousness and a common understanding that financial prosperity alone does not result in good lives, economic growth is no longer seen as an end in itself. There has been a retreat from consumerism and a new focus on quality of life, embracing the beauty of our surroundings, local character and the enjoyment of green, open spaces.’

It would seem some people have already seen the future – and like it.