Country diary: Breeding newts with all the drama of a flamenco dancer

Allendale, Northumberland: In this natural swimming pool there are newts everywhere, gulping invertebrates, swimming in bursts, fanning and pulsingFeet over the side, then inching slowly, I felt the shock of the cold as I eased into the natural swimming pool. Gravity-fed from a spring, the water came from deep below the ground to be warmed only by the sun. At one end a pipe issued into a stone basin with a soothing constant sound. From there it filtered through seven feet of limestone gravel, cleaned by the plants that grew there. I looked down at my legs, tinted green, and felt the silkiness of strands of weed.That was last summer. Now I'm back - not to swim, but to watch the many newts in their annual courtship display. Of the three species native to the UK, two come to this pool to breed: smooth newts, Lissotriton vulgaris, and palmate newts, Lissotriton helveticus, which spend the rest of the year on land. Everywhere I look I see newts: hanging against the algae-cushioned sides, lounging about on the curved steps, speeding up from the depths to gulp air then plummet down again. Continue reading...