MYSTERIOUS: 4 - What They Never Told You

Country diary: An ancient site of discovery and disorientation

Rollright Stones, Oxfordshire: Much is elusive about these three groups of stones, including, it seems, time itself

The Guardian - UK · Mar 26, 2024

Country diary: Even castles can look reduced in the drama of this landscape

Harlech, Gwynedd: The sky is a grey dome today and the great hills of Llyn Peninsula have been half-disappeared by mist and cloud

The Guardian - UK · Mar 25, 2024

Country diary: The air carries the faint fragrance of spring awakening

River Itchen, Eastleigh, Hampshire: As we take our monthly swim, goat willows dip towards the water, and red-tailed bumblebees ping-pong between daffodils

The Guardian - UK · Mar 22, 2024

Country diary: Winner and losers at the lowered reservoir

Tunstall Valley, Weardale: Where greylag geese normally swim in 10ft-deep water, chaffinches are pecking among the green shoots. What exactly is happening?

The Guardian - UK · Mar 15, 2024

Country diary: This wee park is a suburban underdog

Pollokshields, Glasgow: Springtime is moving in at this wonderful suburban green space, with long-tailed tits, copious lime trees and calling buzzards

The Guardian - UK · Mar 14, 2024

Country diary: The fields are alive with the sound of waders

Allendale, Northumberland: The valley is suddenly active – it’s reassuring to find oystercatchers, curlews, golden plovers and peewits where they should be

The Guardian - UK · Mar 13, 2024

Country diary: Breeding buzzards in a stylish, choreographed dance

Abbeydale, Sheffield: They follow each other’s moves as though they’ve been practising this for years – which is quite possible

The Guardian - UK · Mar 12, 2024

Country diary: Back by poplar demand – this simple stick carries our high hopes

Gosmore, Hitchin, Hertfordshire: There are very few black poplars around, and we lost a notable one in storms last year. Then came this ostensibly dead cutting

The Guardian - UK · Mar 11, 2024

Country diary: Seasons are changing as the Mersey slides by

Speke and Garston Coastal Reserve, Liverpool: The willows are upright and leafless, but still I hear my first greenfinch of the year

The Guardian - UK · Mar 8, 2024

Country diary: Myth and inspiration spring forth from this spot

Glenthorne, Devon: Many before me have passed this lush spot with its marble-basin fountain – the cross is a clue to one particular passerby, according to folklore

The Guardian - UK · Mar 7, 2024