Country diary: Hardy swimmers and brisk walkers await the sun's arrival

Kit Hill, Tamar Valley: This country park, on the site of a derelict quarry, is full of visitors defying the gloomThe steep way up the former incline railway, on the north side of Kit Hill, is edged with yellow gorse, stunted trees and lumps of granite, shrouded in emerald moss and polypody ferns. Near the top of the hill, which dominates the valley, discarded blocks lie where they have been tipped downslope.The derelict quarry closed in 1955 after providing finished granite for parapets, embankments, lighthouses and monuments. At its busiest, between the two world wars, almost 100 men worked there, blasting, cutting, shaping, polishing and loading up stones for lowering towards the junction with the single track railway, which then curved towards Gunnislake and the viaduct at Calstock to link with the upcountry network. Granite ledges, crevices and wet hollows now host lichens, mosses, ferns, cotoneaster shrubs and willow, with pondweed in the standing water. Continue reading...