Country diary: drizzle only makes the bracken more vivid

North Devon and beyond Roaring deer and singing wrens, mossy scree and ferny oaks, the swish of the sea and other snapshots of a 100-mile walkThe sight and sound of sea accompanies half our 100-mile walk from Braunton Great Field almost to Taunton, south of the Quantocks. From the coastal path, distant views of Lundy give way to those of south Wales, sometimes catching light from the lowering sun, but more often masked in cloud. Low tide reveals shining sand at Saunton; a swimmer heads for flat water off Croyde to "bob around" on his afternoon off.Next morning at Woolacombe, surfers ride big waves before dawn. That day, drizzle enhances the vividness of green grass and orange bracken between the slippery jagged slate of Morte and Bull Points, above vertiginous cliffs and tiny coves scattered with lumps of quartz. The zigzag descent to Ilfracombe was engineered for Victorian tourists, as were the resort's tunnels, bored through cliffs towards tidal bathing pools. Continue reading...