Country diary: a muddy climb is rewarded with sweeping views

Borth, Ceredigion: Beneath towering clouds, the patches of open water looked almost black in the afternoon sunThe narrow lane down to the beach was edged with the yellow flowers of celandines, huddled at the base of the hedge. After days of rain, the field drains jetted water from the steep, saturated fields above, giving the overgrown brook an unusual urgency as it tumbled towards the water-rounded cobbles of the shoreline.Storm surf driven by recent gale-force winds had stirred up sediment and detritus from the floor of the shallow bay, leaving the seawater discoloured and turbid. Breaking waves still pitched and roared over the dark, outlying skerry rocks and hissed across the wave-cut shallows, while oystercatchers wheeled uncertainly above their usual perches. Continue reading...