Country diary: Long-horned cattle and fine views across Bodmin

Cardinham, Cornwall: Still no snow here, but the moor is dotted with molehills and sites of old castlesThe way to Bury Castle, in the south-west corner of Bodmin moor, crosses downland with long-horned, hairy cattle. They wander among the coconut-perfumed gorse and hazel coppice, beneath golden catkins blowing sideways in the wind. In the adjoining woods, tree trunks and branches, boulders and uprooted beech are smothered in moss, luminous green against the dull leaf mould.On the hillside, fresh molehills of dark brown earth dot the sheep pastures. A narrow track leads uphill between withered ferns and glossy pennywort, which grow on degraded stone banks overhung with gnarled oak and stunted blackthorn (still there is no hint of swelling flower buds). Continue reading...