Country diary: the fells are buzzing with hope

Bannisdale, Cumbria: Thousands of birch, holly, hawthorn, rowan, oak, alder and aspen are being planted to create new habitats and lessen floodingIt was midday, but already the sun was low to the alder-fringed ridge of Dryhowe Pasture. A buzzard passed above the skyline, its underwings and tail stained like December's landscape: peat-dark, and the paler patches like snow-remnants on winter bracken. A kestrel swerved elegantly into view, then dropped into the top of a birch tree, sunlight filtering through its fanned wings.With nowhere to park and two miles back to the main road, Bannisdale is usually a tranquil place, but today the buzz of machinery echoed around the valley. An all-terrain vehicle tracked around the fellside, dumping bundles of stakes at intervals. At Dry Howe farm, bristling bundles of stripling trees were being loaded into a pickup ready to be zipped up to one of these planting sites. Continue reading...