Spring – and hope – is in the air
Credit: Hever Castle
Spring – and hope – is in the air. Bluebells, daffodils and tulips are pushing up through the soil, and dormant trees are budding and bursting into life. And perhaps (whisper it) we may be able to enjoy the new beginning with friends and family this spring: outdoors and at a distance, perhaps, but closer than we’ve been in months.
If you are planning a spring reunion, look to these glorious parks and gardens in the grounds of Britain’s loveliest palaces, estates and castles. Crucially, the essentials are covered too: each location offers toilets and outdoor cafes or takeaway food.
There s a bitter north-easterly wind whipping the waves as Chris Ranger moors his ageing sailboat and steps off with a small net of oysters.
‘This time last year, I’d be selling 1,500 of these for Valentine’s Day,’ he says. ‘But Covid has closed the UK market and Brexit has ended EU exports. I’m down to a few web sales, perhaps 300 oysters. To be honest, I’m struggling.’
His plight is shared by the handful of traditional oyster and scallop boat crews working Cornwall’s River Fal. It’s a difficult job and the season is restricted to six months between October and March, when the weather is at its most bitter.
Favourite cross-Channel ferry moored on river in Cornwall
By Johnny O Shea
image captionThe Pride of Burgundy is moored on the river Fal and faces an uncertain future
A favourite cross-Channel ferry that has been taken out of service is now moored on a river in Cornwall.
The P&O Pride of Burgundy served the Dover to Calais route for 26 years but is now on the River Fal near Truro.
Shipping enthusiasts said it was very sad the ship they called the Burg had been laid up due to the falling demand during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Shipping writer Nige Scutt said she is a favourite and feared she may not return to service.
Rivers across Devon and Cornwall are being polluted by abandoned metal mines
The Environment Agency says abandoned mine waste sites are causing serious environmental harm across the region
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Rivers across Devon and Cornwall are being polluted by metals from abandoned mines, monitoring from the Environment Agency shows.