Country diary: midwinter has its own discreet beauties

Morfa Bychan, Gwynedd A distant, writhing, black line resolves itself into a low-flying flock of scoter ducksAt the western end of Black Rock Sands, the beach where Roman Polanski filmed the battle scenes in his powerfully unsettling 1971 version of Macbeth, is a dark crag of ancient rock, trap-dyked, quartz-seamed, dripping. In it are the sea-caves that Robert Graves inhabited with the "Things never seen or heard or written about" of his poem Welsh Incident (1929). A dull winter's afternoon intensified their gloom. The bright orange flash of a kingfisher whirred around sombre overhangs until it found shelter among deep shadow. I turned to face seawards. Related: Climate change is radically reshuffling UK bird species, report finds Continue reading...