Country diary: Shrunken blackberries and a solitary swallow

Llanfarian, Ceredigion: On an increasingly warm and cloudless day, I take a riverside walk where I'm grateful for the shadeNorth of Llanfarian village, the valley of the Afon Ystwyth winds in tight meanders between wooded hills, the river itself barely visible beneath the dense summer growth. Cloud shadows move across the landscape, allowing patches of sunshine to highlight individual trees and copses in sequence. Following the route of the long-departed railway that once ran between Aberystwyth and Carmarthen, the path still carries occasional reminders of the former role - a cutting colonised by trees and topped with an iron road bridge.At Pont Tanycastell I turn to the west, cross the river and take the narrow path that follows the southern bank of the Ystwyth. Here in the shade of riverside trees there is some shelter from the growing heat of the day. Despite the recent rain, the undergrowth on this sandy soil is pale and crisped by the sun. Continue reading...